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Sayur lodeh

Sayur lodeh is everyday cooking in Central Java, made in big pots in Solo and Semarang kitchens and ladled over rice, with lontong rice cakes at Lebaran, or alongside opor and sambal goreng on festive tables. It's soupy rather than thick: a fragrant broth of coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf that carries chunks of aubergine, long beans, chayote and sweetcorn, plus tempeh and tofu to make it a meal. The flavour is mellow and slightly sweet, so the heat comes from sambal on the side. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a gentle simmer once the coconut milk goes in and stir now and then — a rolling boil splits the coconut milk into oily curds.

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Sai oua

Walk through Chiang Mai's Warorot market and you will smell sai oua before you see it: long coils of sausage smoking over charcoal, flecked green with lime leaf and orange with chilli paste. The meat is coarse and juicy, the flavour loud with lemongrass, galangal and turmeric, and Northern Thais eat it in thick slices with sticky rice, raw cabbage, nam prik noom and a few slices of fresh ginger. If you have no casings or sausage stuffer, the same mixture makes excellent flat patties. Chef's tip: fry a teaspoon of the mixture before you stuff anything and taste it; this is your only chance to fix the salt and chilli.

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Pasta e patate

Pasta e patate is Neapolitan home cooking at its most thrifty: potatoes and mixed broken pasta (pasta mista, the odds and ends from many packets) cooked together in one pot like a risotto, until the potato breaks down and the starch makes everything creamy. Naples families eat it on weekday evenings in winter, and many stir in cubes of smoked provola at the end so it goes stringy (pasta patate e provola). Children love it. Chef's tip: cut half the potato small and half larger; the small pieces melt into the sauce while the larger ones keep their shape.

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Lu pulu

Lu pulu is a Sunday dish in Tonga, cooked in the umu (earth oven) after church in Nuku'alofa and by Tongan families in Auckland and Sydney: taro leaves are layered into a cup, filled with corned beef, onion and thick coconut cream, wrapped in foil or banana leaf and baked until the leaves melt into a rich, silky parcel. It is served with boiled taro, yam or sweet potato. The mistake is undercooking the taro leaves: they must cook for at least an hour, as raw taro leaves irritate the mouth and throat. Chef's tip: if you can't find taro leaves, use large spinach or silverbeet leaves, cooked for 45 minutes.

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A mumu is the earth oven of the Papua New Guinea highlands, around Mount Hagen and Goroka, made for feasts, bride-price ceremonies and Christmas: pork, kaukau (sweet potato), bananas and greens are wrapped in banana leaves and steamed over hot stones for hours. This dish contains pork. This home version packs the same ingredients, with coconut milk, into a covered roasting tin and cooks them slowly until the pork is soft. The mistake is cooking the pork fast and hot; it needs long, gentle heat to become tender. Chef's tip: add the greens only for the last 30 minutes so they stay bright.

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In the Sino-Portuguese shophouses of Phuket Town, descendants of Hokkien tin miners still begin the day with this: fat, chewy yellow egg noodles fried with pork, prawns and squid, then simmered in a little stock until the sauce becomes a savoury gravy that coats every strand, with an egg stirred through at the end. It is the island's signature noodle, ordered in old coffee shops with a glass of strong local coffee or a bowl of clear pork soup. The texture is slippery and thick, the flavour mellow and peppery rather than hot, so chilli vinegar goes on the table. Chef's tip: loosen the fresh noodles under hot water before they go in the wok; cold, stuck-together noodles snap into short pieces when tossed.

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Oka i'a

Oka i'a is the raw fish salad served at every Samoan to'ona'i, the big Sunday lunch after church in Apia and the villages of Upolu and Savai'i, and in Samoan homes in Auckland. It is close to Fiji's kokoda but usually uses tuna, a shorter citrus soak and more vegetables, with a finish of spring onion. As a raw fish dish it is written here as a safer version: buy very fresh, previously frozen sashimi-grade tuna, keep it cold and eat within 2 hours. Raw or citrus-cured fish is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; for them, sear the tuna as described in the steps. The mistake is cutting the fish too small, so it goes mushy; keep the cubes about 1.5 cm. Chef's tip: chill the coconut cream and the bowl, so the salad is cold and refreshing.

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A lovo is Fiji's earth oven, dug in the ground for weddings, church feasts and Christmas in villages on Viti Levu and Vanua Levu: hot stones are covered with parcels of meat, fish and root vegetables in banana leaves, then buried for hours. This home version wraps chicken marinated in coconut, garlic and ginger with taro, cassava and sweet potato in foil and banana leaves and roasts them slowly, giving the same steamed, smoky-sweet result. The mistake is wrapping loosely, so the steam escapes and everything dries; seal the parcels tightly. Chef's tip: a few drops of liquid smoke or a smoked paprika rub gives a hint of the earth oven.

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Loco moco was first served in 1949 at the Lincoln Grill in Hilo, on Hawai'i's Big Island, as a cheap, filling meal for teenagers, and it is still the plate-lunch classic across the islands: white rice topped with a beef burger patty, a fried egg and a generous ladle of brown gravy. People eat it for breakfast, lunch or late at night with a scoop of macaroni salad. The mistake is a thin, floury gravy; cook the flour in the beef fat until it browns before adding the stock. Chef's tip: press a dimple into the centre of each patty so it stays flat as it cooks.

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Gai tod Hat Yai

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