The world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is bursting with hybrid animals, unique cities, and of course, most importantly, strange and intriguing foods. Many of the dishes that are showcased throughout the series are heavily inspired by Asian cuisine, with real-life counterparts, and there’s even a new official Avatar cookbook available for die-hard fans to recreate their favorite eats (per CBR).
Luckily, for those wishing for more of a DIY situation, there is still plenty to replicate from the show alone. Below are some of the most recognizable foods of the series, and fans will have to decide for themselves if they are brave enough to try every single one, especially onion-banana juice.
Lychee Nuts
Featured heavily in “Jet”, when Fire Nation soldiers use them to bait small animals, lychee nuts are an obvious staple to the Avatar world. They grow primarily in the Earth Kingdom, appearing small and red throughout the series.
The lychee nut might not be as prevalent or interesting as other entries in this list, but they were a large part in helping to fill out the environment. More importantly, they are very recognizable food to the Avatar franchise, which gives them icon status in their own right. The real lychee nut is native to southern China, the innards resembling a peeled grape, and the “nut” is just a nickname, as lychee belongs to the fruit family.
Bean Curd Puffs
The only appearance of the puffs was in “The Fortune-Teller,” when the kids await for Aunt Wu to predict their fortunes and Sokka goes to town on an entire bowl. The real-life version of this snack is called a tofu puff. Instead, it’s more of a meat substitute than a traditional “puff.” Sokka chows down on his as though they were Cheetos, but in most Thai dishes, bean curd puffs are the substance that forms the meal.
It’s an interesting departure from the actual food, but the creator’s choice to make the Avatar version more of a snack helped build Sokka as the “hungry” guy, which ends up being an inherent staple of his personality. His exuberant manner of eating is what memorializes the puffs, and the snack surely stands vivid in any fan’s mind who thinks of Sokka’s most glutinous moments.
Fire Flakes
In Avatar: The Last Airbender’s first two seasons, viewers could only imagine what the Fire Nation looked like, as there were hardly any episodes that took place there. As such, little references went a long way in helping fans build a solid mental image. One such food, fire flakes, were some of the only ties to the culture in the majority of the series.
A spicy and inherently Fire Nation snack, they made appearances in “The Deserter,” “Return to Omashu,” and, one of the funniest episodes in the series, “The Ember Island Players.” They became an iconic snack with these appearances, especially given how they were a large representation of the “invisible” Fire Nation for so long. Unfortunately, no real-life counterpart exists, though several YouTube videos give ideas for how to cook the flakes.
Air Nomad Fruit Pies
First mentioned in “The Southern Air Temple,” when Aang has a flashback to his mentor, Monk Gyatso, these pies are some of the most appetizing looking in the entire series. The bright and cheerful aesthetics of the food illustrate the fondness that Aang holds for his past, which elicits nostalgia for what he has lost. With the Air Nomads wiped out, the fruit pie no longer exists, and this absence represents themes of pain and destruction that reverberate throughout the series. Needless to say, the dish is very important, and, unfortunately, they were not inspired by a real dessert.
Bakers have also tried to create look-alikes by using cream cheese pie recipes, but no one has managed to replicate the exact look. It seems like air bending truly is the secret to a perfect fruit pie.
Onion-Banana Juice
Featured prominently in “The Guru,” Pathik described the beverage as “the first step to gaining balance” for Aang to master the Avatar state. The guru’s infatuation with onion-banana juice is unrivaled by anyone else in the series. The humor it brings to the very spiritual and deep episode is what makes the drink stand out as an iconic Avatar food.
Onion-banana juice is a real drink, and it’s described as a way to open up chakras in the body, just like Aang uses it in the series to open his chakras. The mixture also has alleged health benefits like sources of fiber and antioxidants as well, and it’s one of the more surprising real-life counterparts on this list.
Sea Prunes
Sea prunes show up twice within the series. They first appear in “Bato of the Water Tribe,” and then in “The Puppetmaster,” though Hama uses ocean kumquats as a substitute for the real thing. The “fruit” of the dish, the prune, is found within the ocean, and for the traditional water tribe meal, must be subsequently dried and prepped to be boiled.
As Aang’s spit take illustrates in “Bato of the Water Tribe,” the sea prune is an acquired taste, and his disgust is what makes this meal so memorable, as it stays with Aang from season one to season three. And although there is no real inspiration for the meal, the official Avatar: The Last Airbender YouTube channel takes a stab at it, using actual dried prunes and a vegetable broth to make the dish.
Egg Custard Tart
“Is that…egg custard…in that tart?” Yes, Aang. Perfectly golden, round, and sparkling in the light, the tart looks other-worldly in the episode “The Great Divide,” and it’s been firmly established as Aang’s favorite food within the canon of the show. The scene frames the dessert in a ray of light, as though shined upon by the sky, and this humorous animation is really what propels the egg custard tart to be so emblematic of the franchise. It’s funny, Aang’s eyes grow giant, and the image of the tart becomes entrenched within any viewer.
There is a real version of the dessert called the Hong Kong egg tart, a much smaller pastry sold in lots of bakeries in the city, and they look just as delicious as Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s rendition.
Unfried Dough
Droopy, “unfried” cut-outs of Aang, these snacks were featured prominently in the episode “Avatar Day” as the new official festival food. There is no real version of the unfried dough, as there would probably be taste and health concerns, amidst other worries, but there’s still something charming about the floppy little Aangs.
It’s also the most meta food on this list (and the most adorable), firmly taking a spot as one of the most iconic in the Avatar universe because it’s a literal “fan-made” dessert of Aang, who is an icon is in his right. It might be in the fandom’s best interest to stay away from recreating the unfried dough, however, and stick to the more healthy options like lychee nuts and bean curd puffs.
Cactus Juice
Second on this list only by a hair, Sokka’s infamous journey down the cactus juice train is hailed as one of the greatest moments from the show. In “The Desert,” Sokka finds liquid trapped in a cactus, and he and Momo begin to hallucinate after drinking from it. His line “It’s the quenchiest!” is possibly the most quoted from the entire series. There are so many t-shirts and stickers of the beverage that it certainly deserves icon status.
In real life, thankfully, cactus juice does not have a hallucinogenic effect. Like onion-banana juice, cactus juice is actually a healthy beverage, and a good source of vitamin C, iron, and calcium. Fans can try it out guilt-free. If they enjoy the drink, then maybe even make it a part of their daily routine.
Cabbages
The cabbage merchant and his cabbages have inspired a Funko pop, a tea set, and even a board game, and they were the longest-running gag of the series. His cabbages are beloved by the fandom, and as such, deserve the top spot on this list. There is nothing special about the cabbage merchant’s cabbages aside from their knack for getting destroyed, though all the hybrid animals seem to have a particular taste for them.
In “Tales of Ba Sing Se,” the rabaroo joyfully chomps down his display, and in “The Serpent’s Pass,” a platypus bear eagerly munches upon the vegetables. In “Appa’s Lost Days,” though they don’t belong to the cabbage merchant, Appa eats a good amount of cabbage from the animal trainer, showing even he has a great affinity for the produce.
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