Google has released its annual ‘Year of Search’ report, which is a comprehensive look at this year’s search trends. In 2021, the focus of Google searches was on healing nutrition due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Among the most popular listings in the Trends Search of the Year report are offbeat and viral dishes like Feta Pasta.

Birria Tacos

Birria, a hearty traditional Mexican stew, has soared in popularity this year. Pieces of lamb or beef braised with sweet, sour, and mildly spiced adobo are placed on soft bread toasted to a crisp, golden-brown exterior. Birria tacos became a Tiktok sensation in late 2020 and early 2021. With spice, rich colors and immersion action, #birriatacos videos on Tiktok have garnered more than 565 million views.

Nasi Goreng

Nasi goreng is a long-consumed dish in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is basically fried rice with meat and vegetables. What makes nasi goreng stand out are the dark brown rice grains coated with kicap manis. When the rice is cooked in a high-heat wok, it is covered with a caramelized sauce. Nasi goreng melimpah is a search term especially popular in Malaysia. The reason for the interest can be traced back to Nasi Goreng Melimpah Viral, an open-air restaurant in Selangor, Malaysia. This search term is also popular in other Southeast Asian countries in Sri Lanka.

Feta Pasta

The recipe involves cooking a block of feta cheese, tomatoes, olive oil in a pan until the cheese softens, before mixing it with pasta, basil leaves, paprika and garlic. Baked white pasta first exploded on the Finnish food blog scene in 2018 when a blogger published the recipe. The dish rose to international fame in January this year when Tiktoker, behind the Grilled Cheese Social account, posted a 30-second recipe video. The trend, more pronounced in Canada, Australia, Finland and Denmark, lasted for about three months until the beginning of April this year.