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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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The name goes back to the canals of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, where vendors cooked noodles in narrow wooden boats and passed tiny bowls up to customers on the bank; the bowls are still small, and at Victory Monument diners stack ten or more empties beside them. The broth is what people come for: beef simmered with star anise, cinnamon, galangal and pandan, darkened with soy and red fermented bean curd, then sharpened at the table with chilli vinegar. Stalls traditionally stir in fresh cow's or pig's blood for body; here it is optional and left out by default, and the soup is still rich and deep. Each bowl gets thin rice noodles, tender beef, beef balls, morning glory and Thai basil, finished with crisp garlic and pork crackling. Chef's tip: keep the pot slightly under-salted and let everyone season their own bowl with fish sauce, sugar, chilli and vinegar.

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In Rome supplì are bought from pizza-by-the-slice shops and friggitorie and eaten standing up, wrapped in paper, before the pizza arrives. Unlike Sicilian arancini they are oval and the rice is cooked in tomato sauce, so the inside is orange-red; when you bite one in half, the mozzarella stretches into a long 'telephone cord', which is where the nickname al telefono comes from. Roman bars usually add meat ragù; this version keeps it vegetarian with a basil-scented tomato rice. Chef's tip: cook the rice a day ahead and chill it in a thin layer; cold, firm rice shapes neatly and does not split in the oil.

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