~1131 cal · 35g protein · 170g carbs · 33g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Green chilies in creamy cheese sauce over red rice
🇧🇹 Thimphu
In Bhutan chilies are produce, not spice — dried on every rooftop and eaten by the handful. Ema datshi ("chili-cheese") is on every table at every meal, and homesick Bhutanese abroad describe missing it like missing a person.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 3 —
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3/4 lb mild-to-medium green chilies (Anaheim/serrano mix), sliced lengthwise
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1 cup + 1/2 cup farmer cheese + a melty cheese (datshi stand-in)
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1 onion, sliced
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1 tomato, chopped
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3 cloves garlic, crushed
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1 tbsp neutral oil
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3 cups cooked red rice (or any rice), to serve
Instructions
1
Put chilies, onion, tomato, garlic, oil, and 1.5 cups water in a pot; boil 10 minutes.
2
Add the cheeses and stir gently 5 minutes as they slump into a creamy sauce.
3
Rest 2 minutes, covered — Bhutanese cooks swear by this settling.
4
Serve over red rice. Warn guests the chilies are the vegetable; watch them become believers.
Thimphu daily-table tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Thimphu. The capital where chili-cheese is a food group.
🗺️
Bhutan. The kingdom that measures happiness and eats chilies as vegetables.
🌍
Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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