What's the Difference between Shakshuka and Menemen? (2024)

FAQs

What's the Difference between Shakshuka and Menemen? ›

Shakshuka's sauce is often more complex and deeper in flavor, reflecting the culinary traditions of the Middle East and North Africa, known for their layered spice blends. Menemen, on the other hand, is Turkey's celebrated dish, characterized by its eggs combined with a bright, fresh tomato and pepper sauce.

Shakshuka features a thick, saucy tomato base of peppers and onions with baked eggs. With menemen, the concept is a little different. Think of it as more of a soft egg scramble with lots of silky green peppers and fresh tomato. Both make perfect companions to sourdough toast or flatbread.

Menemen is a popular traditional Turkish dish that includes eggs, tomato, green peppers, and spices such as ground black and red pepper cooked in olive oil. Menemen may be made with onions, but the addition of onions is often debated and is more common when menemen is eaten as a main dish, rather than at breakfast.

Even though many people today associate shakshuka with Israel, it actually originated in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire: the only reason shakshuka is eaten in Israel is because North African Jewish immigrants brought it there.

In Andalusian cuisine, the dish is known as huevos a la flamenca; this version includes chorizo and serrano ham. In Italian cuisine, there is a version of this dish called uova in purgatorio (eggs in purgatory) that adds garlic, basil or parsley.

These two dishes are completely different. Huevos rancheros are fried eggs served with warm salsa on a fried tortilla and Shakshuka are eggs poached in a zesty tomato sauce.

It's a toss-up as to whether it's more fun to say "shakshuka" or the name of its Turkish counterpart, menemen, but both are incredibly tasty, straightforward dishes that should be in your arsenal.

It is believed to have a Tunisian origin. Shakshuka means "a mixture" or “shaken” in Tunisian dialect. Shakshuka is a staple of Tunisian, Libyan, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisines traditionally served up in a cast iron pan with bread to mop up the sauce (most important).

shakshouka, a Maghrebi (North African) dish, popular throughout the region, featuring poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, seasoned with peppers, onion, garlic, and various spices. The word shakshouka comes from Maghrebi Arabic dialect and means “mixed.”

Turkish Menemen and Israeli shakshuka are very similar but differ in the method and seasoning. Both are breakfast dishes where eggs are cooked in a tomato sauce. In menemen the eggs are virtually scrambled into the sauce, whereas shakshuka eggs are placed on the sauce and only slightly mixed.

What does shakshuka mean in hebrew? ›

Shakshuka, meaning “all mixed up” in hebrew, is a traditional middle-eastern breakfast of eggs poached in a richly spiced tomato sauce.

The Turkish culture would agree, especially when it comes to a Turkish Breakfast. Traditionally, Turkish breakfast consists of cheese, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey, fruit, sausage, and Turkish tea. The first meal of the day is a breakfast fit for a king.

Whilst strapatsada uses subtle flavours such as green peppers, pepper, basil or parsley and scrambles the eggs with feta cheese, shakshuka gains its distinctive flavour from spices such as (at least) cumin and turmeric, and requires that you poach the eggs towards the end of the cooking process.

The main difference between shakshuka and eggs in purgatory is the spices and herbs. Skakshuka features Middle Eastern spices, such as cumin and sweet paprika. Eggs in purgatory does not include these spices and uses Italian herbs, such as oregano and basil.