Featured recipe

Adas polo

Lentil rice with dates

Adas polo is a homely Tehran weekday rice, also served at the Yalda winter-solstice gathering in December, when tables fill with dried fruit. Brown lentils and long-grain rice are layered and steamed together, then topped with dates and raisins warmed in butter with cinnamon, so every spoonful is savoury, earthy and lightly sweet. Unlike Levantine lentil-and-rice dishes, the rice keeps its long separate grains and gets a saffron crust underneath. Serve it with yogurt, a herb plate and salad shirazi for a complete meal. Chef's tip: cook the lentils separately until just tender but whole; they finish softening during the steam.

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35 min

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80 min

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Shanghai stir-fried rice cakes

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22 min

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40 min

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70 min

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Dai pineapple sticky rice

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65 min

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22 min

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65 min

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Xiamen sweet peanut soup

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135 min

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Hakka stuffed tofu with mushroom filling

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50 min

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90 min

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Hunan scrambled eggs with chopped chillies

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10 min

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20 min

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Sichuan vegetable hot pot

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70 min

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10 min

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20 min

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Fukagawa-meshi (Tokyo clam and miso rice)

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25 min

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Mok pa is cooked all over Laos, from Vientiane's riverside markets to village kitchens near the Mekong, where freshwater fish is the everyday protein. Chunks of white fish are mixed with a paste of lemongrass, shallot, garlic and chilli, a handful of dill and lime leaves and a spoon of sticky rice flour, then wrapped in banana leaf parcels and steamed until set and fragrant. Eat it with sticky rice and raw vegetables. Chef's tip: soften the banana leaves by passing them briefly over a flame or into hot water; they fold without cracking.

55 min

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