I'm British and I see it's wrong because it simply isn't true...
We have a ton of spicy foods. The stereotype that we only eat comfort foods like in the meme is old and worn out.
Maybe that's all you eat, but that's on you.
Yeah never got this. The nation's favourite dish is curry. My favourite dish is curry. Isn't it a running joke amongst Indians how much the Brits love curry?
Things like beans on toast and fish finger sandwiches are cheap and easy lunch snacks for students but not our actual diet.
Yep, just seems disingenuous to act like the history of the spice trade hasn't affected our food culture when it clearly has massively.
Hell, even curry in Japan is popular not because of India but because of British influence. The reason "Katsu Curry" is called Katsu is because of the English word "Cuts" referring to the cuts of meat in the curry, which is Japanese sounds like 'katsu'.
Americans know it as Apple Crisp, because the US has to perpetuate the myth than American English is anything but a bastardisation of an existing language and therefore have different words for the same thing.
And yes. Hot Ambrosia® custard, not ice cream, and not Birds®. Just as I was served at school dinners (which somehow bow are called lunch).
Gotta have lashings of Bisto gravy, yorkies and good ol' British Maris Piper potatoes too. Occasionally carrot turnip mash if you're feeling posh. Cauliflower and broccoli if that's your thing. Served by Lynda Bellingham.
Except all the most popular curries in the UK aren't Indian, they're British, and infact pretty much any curry outside of southern Asia was introduced by the British (or occasionally Portuguese) like Japanese curry for example.
Eh, to some extent, but we've got the foresight to accept these dishes as being British when you consider that the foods we eat aren't authentic to those areas. Spag Bol isn't being eaten in Italy, nor is Chicken Vindaloo in India.
We've got a long enough history that we can trace back when the Normans and Saxons came here, alongside the culture changes of Indian settlers, Jamaican workers, Irish, etc. That acceptance is not only why there're a lot of distinctly British versions of different cultures' food, but why many cities in the UK also serve decidedly authentic food at some of the best restaurants in the world - and that doesn't even factor in how some cultures have fused over time.
In this context I think it's comfort food because it's kiddy food. Something simple and familiar that reminds you of being younger. In England, children's menus will usually contain basic things like chicken nuggets and fish fingers that aren't (heavily) spiced.
Mine is soy sauce ramen loaded with chipotle, garlic, onion, black pepper, and chili flakes. Throw in some sweet peas and green onion, maybe some fried tofu, fuck yeah.
As you say, lots of spicy food options. Our National Dish is actually a curry - chicken masala and Phall, the hottest curry, was invented in Birmingham.
Also - in the picture are baked beans. They're invented in the USA. We adopted them, but they're not ours.
Did an ethnically British person invent the chicken tikka masala and phall, or was it an immigrant from the Indian subcontinent or one of their kids/grandchildren?