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Cendol
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Cendol

Pandan jelly in coconut milk

On a sweltering afternoon in Melaka, the queue snakes out of the cendol shops on Jonker Street: a bowl of shaved ice drenched in salted coconut milk and smoky, dark gula Melaka syrup, hiding soft green jelly 'worms' made from rice flour and pandan, with red beans at the bottom. It's sweet, salty, creamy and cold all at once, and it's the city's signature dessert. Melaka's own gula Melaka is the key; it should smell of caramel and woodsmoke. Chef's tip: a pinch of salt in the coconut milk makes the palm sugar taste deeper; without it the bowl tastes flat.

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MlawiFolded flatbread with tuna

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Mofo ananaGreens fritters

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Bellam paramannamRice and moong dal jaggery pudding

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45 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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BettarazukeSweet koji-cured daikon

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Bihari aloo bhujiaFried potato sticks

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BlåbärssoppaBilberry soup

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BlatjangDried apricot chutney

Bo-Kaap households keep a jar of blatjang beside the salt, because a spoonful goes next to almost everything: bobotie, a bowl of curry and rice, cheese on toast, a braaied mielie. Dried apricots are simmered down in vinegar with onion, ginger, garlic and red chilli until the fruit collapses into a thick, glossy, burnt-orange paste that is sweet first, then sour, then warm at the back of the throat. Some aunties keep it chunky, others push it through a sieve until it is as smooth as a sauce; both are right. The usual mistake is to take it off the heat while it still looks loose in the pot, which leaves a runny chutney that weeps in the jar. Chef's tip: soak the apricots overnight in the vinegar and they break down in half the time, with a cleaner, brighter fruit flavour.

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Bohar bhajiFlower bud curry

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Boller i karry for toddlersMeatballs in mild curry for toddlers

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Karuveppilai sadam (curry leaf rice)

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Bossam kimchiWrapped cabbage kimchi

Bossam kimchi comes from Gaeseong, the old Goryeo capital just north of today's border, and it is the kimchi families make with special care at kimjang time in late November and set out for Seollal guests. Instead of rubbing seasoning into whole cabbage halves, the inner leaves are folded around a rich filling of radish, Korean pear, chestnut, jujube, pine nuts and herbs, then wrapped in large outer leaves like a gift. Unwrapped at the table, it is crisp, juicy and sweet from the pear, with mellow chilli heat and the savoury depth of salted shrimp. Traditional versions add raw oysters; here they are optional. Raw oysters are not safe for pregnant people, babies, older people or anyone with weak immunity, so leave them out for those guests or for any kimchi you mean to keep beyond 3 days. The common mistake is under-rinsing the cabbage, which makes every parcel too salty; rinse three times and taste a stem. It is ready after 3–4 days in the fridge, when the juice turns pleasantly sour and slightly fizzy. Chef's tip: tie each parcel with a blanched scallion if the leaves won't stay closed.

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Bogobe jwa lerotseSorghum and melon porridge

When the lerotse melons ripen on the lands around Serowe and Mahalapye after the summer rains, households stir their pale flesh into the evening pot of sorghum, and the porridge turns soft, smooth and quietly sweet. Lerotse is a hard-skinned field melon, closer to a mild marrow than a dessert melon, so it melts into the bogobe and gives it a light, fresh taste against the sour, nutty grain. It is eaten as a side with seswaa, beans or morogo, or on its own for supper with a sprinkle of sugar. Outside Botswana, look for lerotse at African grocers; otherwise a firm cooking melon or a winter melon gives a very close result. Chef's tip: the mistake people make is dumping the sorghum in at once, which gives lumps; rain it in slowly while you whisk.

45 minSouthern AfricanSidesVeganGluten free
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Century egg and pork congee

Across Guangdong and in Hong Kong's congee houses, this is the morning order everyone knows: a silky congee with nuggets of salted lean pork and dark, jelly-like century egg, finished with ginger and spring onion and eaten with a crisp youtiao on the side. The pork is salted the night before, which firms it and seasons it to the middle. The usual mistake is adding the pork at the end in big lumps; it should simmer long enough to turn tender and reach 71 °C. Chef's tip: mash one of the century eggs into the congee as it cooks and save the other for the top, so the whole pot carries its rich, savoury flavour.

95 minChineseRice & GrainsGluten free
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BourrideFish stew with garlic sauce

Bourride is the fish stew of Sète and the Provençal coast, a quieter, creamier cousin of bouillabaisse eaten for Friday lunch and summer dinners by the sea. Firm white fish poaches in a broth of fennel, leek, orange peel and thyme, then the broth is thickened with a rich garlic aïoli until it turns silky and pale gold. It is high in protein and suitable as part of a balanced diet; skip the traditional bread or keep it to one thin slice, and serve with steamed greens. About 400 kcal and 8 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is letting the broth boil after the aïoli goes in, which splits it like scrambled egg. Chef's tip: use pasteurised egg yolks, and stir the broth over a low heat until it coats a spoon and reaches about 72 °C.

50 minFrenchFishGluten free
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Jok mooRice porridge with pork balls

In Bangkok, jok is breakfast at a roadside stall or the market at 6 am: broken jasmine rice cooked until almost smooth, with tender pork balls, an egg cracked in at the last moment, and heaps of ginger, spring onion and crisp patongko or fried dough. Seasoning sits on the table, so everyone adds soy, white pepper and chilli vinegar to taste. For a meat-free bowl, swap the pork balls for shiitake mushrooms and cubes of silken tofu, and use soy instead of fish sauce. The common mistake is a thin, watery jok; keep simmering until it holds a soft ribbon. Chef's tip: whisk the cooked rice hard for a minute at the end; it breaks the last grains and makes the porridge creamy.

65 minThaiRice & Grains
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Bubur kacang hijauSweet mung bean porridge

In Java, the bubur kacang ijo seller pushes a cart through the neighbourhood from early morning, ladling warm mung bean porridge sweetened with palm sugar and topped with thick coconut milk. Many people eat it with a slice of white bread dunked in, and late-night stalls in Jakarta sell it alongside instant noodles. The common mistake is adding the sugar too early, which keeps the beans firm; cook them soft first. Chef's tip: cook the coconut milk separately with a pinch of salt and a pandan leaf and pour it on top, so the bowl has a sweet layer and a slightly salty, creamy one.

60 minIndonesianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Khai kataPan eggs with pork and sausage

Khai kata, "pan eggs", came to Thailand through the Vietnamese communities of Isan, and in Udon Thani and Nong Khai, and now in Bangkok cafés too, it arrives sizzling in its own little metal pan with toppings of pork mince and sweet Chinese sausage, plus a crusty roll and a strong coffee. The eggs are cooked just until the whites set. The common mistake is cracking the eggs onto raw mince; cook the pork through first, then add the eggs. Chef's tip: heat the pan before the eggs go in, so the whites set at the edges with lacy, crisp frills.

15 minThaiBreakfast & Brunch
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Bún đậu mắm tômNoodles, tofu and shrimp paste

Bún đậu mắm tôm is served on round bamboo trays in the narrow alleys of Hanoi's Old Quarter, where groups of friends squat on low stools at lunch to share squares of pressed rice noodles, cubes of tofu fried until puffy, slices of boiled pork leg or belly and bundles of perilla and Vietnamese balm. Everything is dipped into mắm tôm, pungent fermented shrimp paste whisked with lime, sugar and a splash of hot oil until it foams. It is loud, salty and moreish. Chef's tip: whisk the shrimp paste hard for a full minute; it turns pale and fluffy and its harshness mellows.

50 minVietnamesePasta & Noodles
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Bún mọcVermicelli with pork balls

Bún mọc is a Hanoi breakfast from the old Mọc village, now swallowed by the city: a clear, gently sweet pork broth poured over soft rice vermicelli, with bouncy balls of pounded pork and wood ear mushroom, slices of pork and a fistful of herbs. Locals eat it early at low plastic stools before work. The common mistake is mixing the pork paste with a spoon; it needs a hard beating so the balls turn springy instead of crumbly. Chef's tip: wet your hands and slap the paste against the bowl twenty times, and chill it for 15 minutes before shaping.

95 minVietnameseSoupsGluten free
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Bún ốcSnail noodle soup

In the lanes around Đồng Xuân Market in Hanoi, bún ốc is a cold-weather lunch for people who love a sharp, sour broth: tomatoes cooked down with the gently fermented rice vinegar called giấm bỗng, a pork-bone stock, golden fried tofu and plenty of tender river snails, served over soft rice noodles with perilla and a spoon of chilli. This home version uses cooked frozen snail meat from Vietnamese or Asian grocers and ordinary rice vinegar. The stock is made from pork bones. Chef's tip: add the snails at the end and just heat them through; long boiling makes them rubbery.

95 minVietnameseSoups
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Satay beef instant noodles

In Hong Kong's cha chaan teng diners, the morning set often means a bowl of instant noodles in clear broth topped with tender beef in a sweet, peanutty satay sauce, eaten with a buttered bun and a cup of milk tea. Restaurants use a jarred Chinese satay paste; this quick home sauce gets close with peanut butter and curry powder. The usual mistake is putting cold beef in a crowded pan, which makes it stew grey; fry it hot and fast in one layer. Chef's tip: a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in the marinade makes the beef silky and tender, the cha chaan teng way.

20 minHong KongPasta & Noodles
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Burong isdaFermented fish and rice

Burong isda is a Kapampangan treasure. In Pampanga, and in neighbouring Bulacan and Tarlac, families make buro in the rainy months when mudfish and tilapia are plentiful, and the sautéed paste is set out at home lunches with fried or grilled fish, steamed okra and eggplant, and blanched mustard leaves (mustasa) to wrap it in. Cooked rice and salted fish ferment together for about a week until the rice has melted into a soft, pinkish porridge and the fish bones soften. Sautéed with garlic, onion and tomato, it becomes creamy, sour, salty and deeply savoury, a little like a cheese spread. Because the fish ferments raw, two rules matter: cure it first in 20% salt, and always cook the buro until bubbling hot before eating; never eat it straight from the jar. Pregnant people, babies, older people and anyone with weak immunity should only eat it freshly cooked, or skip it. Common mistake: packing hot rice, which spoils the ferment; cool it fully. It is ready to cook when it smells pleasantly sour, like sourdough, and the rice is soft. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of angkak (red yeast rice) gives the traditional pink colour.

75 minFilipinoChutneys & DipsGluten free
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Mangai sadam (raw mango rice)

When hard green mangoes pile up at the markets of Tamil Nadu in April and May, school lunch boxes fill with mangai sadam, sour and fresh like lemon rice but with a fruitier bite. Grated raw mango is cooked only briefly in a mustard, chana dal and curry leaf tempering so it softens but keeps its tang. The mistake is overcooking the mango into mush, which makes the rice sticky; two or three minutes is enough. Chef's tip: taste the mango first. A very sour one needs a pinch of sugar, and a half-ripe one needs a squeeze of lemon at the end.

22 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Yubu jumeoniFried tofu pouches with glass noodles

Yubu jumeoni, "tofu pockets", are a Bupyeong Kkangtong Market speciality, said to have been dreamed up by a fish-cake vendor there in the 1980s. Little fried tofu pouches are stuffed with glass noodles and vegetables, tied with a strip of chive like a drawstring purse and left to soak in a steaming pot of anchovy and kelp broth. On cold Busan evenings they are served in a paper cup with a ladle of broth and a dab of soy. Chef's tip: fill the pouches only three-quarters full; they swell as they absorb the broth and split if packed tight.

50 minKoreanSnacks & Starters
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Shepu bhaji (dill and moong dal)

In Pune and the villages of western Maharashtra, bunches of shepu (dill) come to market in winter, and this dry bhaji of dill and soaked yellow moong dal is packed with bhakri or chapati in the lunch dabba. The dill wilts down to a soft, aromatic tangle, and the moong dal gives it body and a little protein. The mistake is adding water: the leaves release plenty of their own, and extra liquid makes the bhaji stew and lose its fresh, sharp smell. Chef's tip: soak the moong dal for at least 30 minutes beforehand, so it cooks through in the dill's own steam without turning mushy.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Cachitos de jamónHam-filled crescent rolls

Every Caracas panadería opens its morning with trays of cachitos: soft, slightly sweet crescent rolls wrapped around finely chopped cooked ham (pork), eaten standing at the counter with a café con leche. Some bakeries add a little bacon or cheese; cheese-only cachitos are a good vegetarian swap. The common mistake is overfilling, so the ham pokes out and burns. Chef's tip: roll each wedge snugly from the wide end and tuck the point underneath so it doesn't unroll as it bakes.

150 minVenezuelanBaking
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Wali wa naziCoconut rice

Coconut rice sits under almost every coastal plate from Mombasa's Old Town to Malindi, beside bean stews, mchuzi wa samaki or a simple tomato salad. Swahili cooks use two coconut milks: a thin one to cook the grains, and the rich first pressing poured over at the end, so the rice is fluffy, faintly sweet and fragrant rather than greasy. Done right, the bottom of the pot forms ukoko, a golden crust that families argue over. Long-grain pishori or basmati works best, and stirring after the thick milk goes in is the mistake that turns it gluey, so leave it alone. Chef's tip: lift the lid only once, at the end; the trapped steam finishes the grains and sets the crust.

35 minEast AfricanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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