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Taiwanese beef noodle soup
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Taiwanese beef noodle soup

Taiwan treats beef noodle soup as a national dish, and Taipei even holds an annual festival where noodle shops compete for the best bowl. The red-braised style is the classic: beef shank simmers for hours with chilli bean paste, soy, star anise, ginger and tomato until it is meltingly tender, then the rich broth is poured over thick wheat noodles with blanched greens and pickled mustard greens. The braise uses Shaoxing rice wine, which contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free version use extra stock with 1 tsp rice vinegar. Chef's tip: blanch the beef first and rinse it; this gives a clear, clean-tasting broth.

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Raja mircha chutneyGhost pepper chutney

Raja mircha, the king chilli or bhut jolokia, is grown in the hills around Kohima and Dimapur and was once ranked the hottest chilli in the world. Naga households pound it with tomatoes smoked in the embers, ginger, garlic and salt into a thick red chutney that is fruity, smoky and ferociously hot. It is eaten in tiny amounts with rice and boiled vegetables, and at the Hornbill Festival there are eating contests. Chef's tip: one king chilli is plenty for this amount; wear gloves, open the window when roasting, and keep the seeds if you are brave.

20 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Rajasthani kalmi vadaChana dal fritters

Kalmi vada gets its name from kalam, the Hindi word for pen: the fried chana-dal log is sliced into thin, slanted pieces that resemble pen nibs, then fried again until the slices are crunchy right through. In Jaipur and Ajmer, kalmi vadas are sold by weight from big trays, especially during the monsoon, and served with mint chutney and hot tea. The dal is ground coarse and spiced with whole coriander, fennel and chilli, so every bite crackles. The mistake to avoid is adding water when grinding; a wet mix won't hold its shape and absorbs oil. Chef's tip: let the first-fried logs cool completely before slicing, or they'll crumble under the knife.

55 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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SolteritoBroad bean, corn and cheese salad

Solterito, the 'little bachelor', is a cold salad from Arequipa in southern Peru, so called because it was simple enough for a single man to make. Broad beans, sweet corn, fresh cheese, tomato and red onion are tossed with black olives, parsley and a little rocoto chilli in an oil and vinegar dressing. It is eaten with the spicy dishes of Arequipa's picanterías, or on its own as a light lunch. Rocoto is a fat, fiery red chilli; a red pepper with a little habanero gives a similar crunch and heat. Use queso fresco made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: peel the broad beans after blanching; the pale skins are tough and the bright green beans inside make the salad sweet and tender.

15 minPeruvianSaladsGluten free
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SolyankaSour mixed-meat soup

Sbornaya myasnaya solyanka is the soup Russian cooks make on 2 January, when the fridge is full of leftover ham and sausage from the New Year table; Moscow restaurants also keep it on the menu all winter as the cure for a heavy night. A beef broth is sharpened with pickled cucumbers and their brine, then loaded with strips of smoked sausage, ham and tender beef, salty olives and capers, and finished in the bowl with a slice of lemon and a spoon of sour cream. It contains pork (ham and smoked sausage). Serve it with rye bread. The usual mistake is salting the broth early: pickles, brine, capers, olives and sausage all bring salt, so season only at the very end. Chef's tip: fry the tomato paste with the pickles until it darkens before it meets the broth; it takes away the raw tinny taste and gives solyanka its deep orange colour.

140 minRussianSoups
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Rakott krumpliLayered potato and egg bake

Rakott krumpli means 'layered potatoes', and it is a family supper baked all over Hungary, especially in winter in the north-east around Miskolc and Eger, where every household layers it slightly differently. Slices of boiled potato are stacked with hard-boiled eggs and plenty of sour cream, then baked until bubbling and golden. Many versions add smoked sausage; this vegetarian one uses sautéed mushrooms and a dusting of smoked paprika for depth. It is rich, creamy and needs only a sharp cucumber salad or pickles alongside. Chef's tip: boil the potatoes in their skins and peel them while warm; they slice cleanly and don't soak up water.

75 minHungarianVegetarianGluten free
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Somlói galuskaHungarian sponge trifle

Somlói galuska was first served at the Gundel restaurant in Budapest in the 1950s and named after the Somló wine hill in western Hungary. Today it is the dessert everyone orders at the end of a Sunday lunch: spoonfuls of three sponges (plain, walnut and cocoa) soaked in rum syrup and layered with vanilla custard, then topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. It is assembled the day before and spooned out into rough dumplings, which is where 'galuska' comes from. This version thickens the custard with flour and egg yolk rather than gelatine. Chef's tip: soak the sponge only lightly; it should be moist but still hold a spoon-shaped scoop.

80 minHungarianDesserts
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Ram ladooMoong dal fritters with chutney

Despite the name, ram ladoo aren't sweet. They're small, crisp moong and chana dal fritters, sold from carts across Delhi in winter, when white radish is at its best. The vendor splits a few hot ones, smears them with a sharp coriander chutney and buries them under a heap of grated mooli and its leaves, with lemon and chaat masala over the top. Hot, crunchy fritters against cold, peppery radish is the whole appeal; it's a light snack for a foggy evening. Chef's tip: grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible, then beat the batter by hand for 3–4 minutes; air whipped into it is what makes the ladoos puff up and stay light.

50 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Ranon'apangoToasted rice water

Ranon'apango is the everyday drink of Madagascar: after rice is cooked, the crust at the bottom of the pot is left to toast until golden, then water is boiled with it to make a pale amber, nutty, slightly smoky drink. It is served warm or cold in jugs alongside meals in homes and hotelys, and is a safe way to drink boiled water. Chef's tip: toast the crust until golden-brown, not black; burnt rice makes the drink bitter.

30 minMalagasyDrinksVeganGluten free
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RasabaliFried cheese discs in milk

Rasabali comes from the Baladevjew temple in Kendrapara and is one of the 56 offerings of Puri's Jagannath temple. Flattened discs of chhena are deep-fried until reddish-brown, then soaked in milk that has been simmered down until thick and sweet with cardamom. Unlike rasmalai, whose discs are poached in syrup, rasabali's are fried, so they keep a chewy, slightly caramelised skin under the milk. It is eaten chilled at festivals and weddings in Odisha. Chef's tip: press a dimple into the centre of each disc before frying, so it fries evenly and holds more milk.

90 minIndianIndian Sweets
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So'o yosopyGround beef and rice soup

So'o yosopy, "pounded meat" in Guaraní, is a soup Paraguayans make for anyone who is tired or recovering, and on cold days in Asunción's winter: beef is ground very finely and stirred into cold water so it breaks into soft, delicate threads, then simmered with onion, tomato, pepper and a little rice and oregano. The texture is smooth and the broth light. The mistake is adding the beef to boiling water, which makes it clump into meatballs; mix it into cold water first and stir as it heats. Chef's tip: ask the butcher to mince lean beef twice, or pulse it very fine in a food processor.

55 minParaguayanSoupsGluten free
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Rava dosaCrisp semolina crêpes

Rava dosa is the instant dosa of Karnataka's Udupi restaurants: a thin, pourable batter of semolina and rice flour, studded with cumin, cracked pepper, ginger and curry leaves, poured onto a very hot griddle so it sets into a crisp, holey lace. There's no soaking or fermenting, so it's the dosa to make when the craving strikes. Serve straight from the pan with coconut chutney and sambar. Because it contains semolina it's not gluten free. Chef's tip: the batter must be watery, thinner than single cream; pour it from a height onto the pan instead of spreading it, and stir the bowl before every dosa because the semolina sinks.

30 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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Ravitoto with porkPounded cassava leaves with pork

Ravitoto sy henakisoa, cassava leaves with pork, is a favourite of the Malagasy highlands around Antananarivo and is served at family Sunday lunches with a mound of white rice. This dish contains pork. The cassava leaves are pounded to a dark green paste and simmered for a long time with fatty pork, garlic and ginger until rich and soft, often finished with coconut milk. The mistake is undercooking the cassava leaves: they must cook for at least an hour to be safe and lose their bitterness, so don't cut it short. Chef's tip: frozen pounded cassava leaves (sold as ravitoto, pondu or saka saka) save a lot of work.

120 minMalagasyMeatGluten free
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RawonBlack beef soup

Nothing else on the table looks like rawon: a beef soup as dark as strong coffee, served in Surabaya from breakfast through to the late-night warungs that stay open after the football. Its colour and flavour come from keluak (kluwek), the fermented kernel of a tropical tree nut, which tastes earthy and faintly bitter, somewhere between black olive, cocoa and mushroom. Tender beef cubes swim in the broth, and it's served with rice, short crunchy bean sprouts, a salted duck egg and prawn crackers for crunch. Raw keluak contains a natural poison and is only safe after long processing, so always buy ready-prepared kluwek nuts from an Asian grocer. Chef's tip: crack one nut first and taste a crumb; good flesh is moist, black and smells chocolatey, while sour or dry, pale flesh should be thrown away.

120 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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