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Lempeng kelapa
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Lempeng kelapa

Thin coconut pancakes

On Malaysia's east coast, in Terengganu and Kelantan, lempeng is the morning flatbread nobody buys because every home can make it in minutes: flour, freshly grated coconut, salt and water, spread thin on a griddle. It is eaten warm, torn and dipped into sambal tumis or last night's fish or vegetable curry. The mistake is a thick batter; it should spread on its own into a thin round, or the middle stays doughy. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the coconut softens and the flour hydrates, which gives lempeng that bend without tearing.

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Khorovats is the centre of every Armenian summer weekend, whether at a family dacha near Yerevan or a picnic by Lake Sevan: big chunks of meat on long flat skewers, grilled over vine or apricot wood. This version uses pork (it contains pork) from the neck or shoulder, which stays juicy over fire; boneless lamb leg works the same way with 2–3 minutes less cooking. The marinade is just onion, black pepper, a little paprika and herbs, and the meat is served with raw onion, flat lavash and a plate of grilled vegetables. A frequent mistake is cutting the pieces small; at under 4 cm they dry out before the outside browns. Chef's tip: lay a sheet of lavash over the finished skewers for a minute so it soaks up the juices, then eat the bread too.

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Gravlax with mustard-dill sauce

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Griot is Haiti's party food: it is piled on platters at weddings, first communions and Saturday-night fritay stalls in Port-au-Prince, always with pikliz, a crunchy, very hot pickle of cabbage, carrot and Scotch bonnet. Chunks of pork shoulder soak up a green epis marinade of sour orange, herbs and garlic, simmer until tender and then fry until the outside turns dark and crisp. This is a pork dish. Serve it with fried plantain (bannann peze) and rice with beans. The mistake that ruins the crust is frying the pork straight from the pot while still wet; it spits and steams instead of browning, so drain and dry the pieces first. Chef's tip: make the pikliz at least a day ahead; after a night in the fridge the heat softens and spreads through the vinegar.

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Tunisian fish couscous

On Tunisia's coast, especially in Sfax, Mahdia and the fishing towns of Cap Bon, couscous for Friday lunch is made with fish instead of meat: a red, peppery broth of tomato, harissa and caraway in which the vegetables cook first and the fish is poached at the end, while the couscous steams on top. The broth is ladled over the grains at the table until they glisten. The mistake is boiling the fish too long, so it breaks into the broth; poach it gently for the last 10 minutes only. Chef's tip: oil and rub the couscous between your palms before and after the first steaming so every grain stays separate.

105 minTunisianFishSpicy
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Zanzibar fish curry

Mchuzi wa samaki is cooked in homes all along the Swahili coast, from Mombasa and Lamu to Stone Town in Zanzibar, where the spice trade left cumin, cardamom and turmeric in every kitchen. Firm fish simmers briefly in a sauce of tomato, onion and coconut milk soured with tamarind, and it is eaten with plain rice or chapati. The mistake is stirring once the fish is in, which breaks it up; shake the pan gently instead. Chef's tip: rub the fish with turmeric, lime and salt for 15 minutes first, which firms it and seasons it all the way through.

45 minEast AfricanFishGluten free
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Mozambique peri-peri prawns

Maputo's waterfront restaurants and the beach shacks of Inhambane and Vilanculos are famous for their prawns: big shell-on prawns split down the back, painted with a sauce of piri-piri chilli, garlic, lime and butter and grilled over coals until the shells blister. You eat them with your fingers, sucking the sauce off the shells, with bread or chips. The mistake is overcooking, which turns them rubbery; they need only 2–3 minutes a side. Chef's tip: split the prawns through the shell and remove the dark vein, so the sauce gets right into the flesh.

25 minSouthern AfricanFishGluten freeSpicy
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Kisumu fried tilapia

On the shores of Lake Victoria at Kisumu's Dunga beach and in the fish kiosks of Kampala and Mwanza, tilapia comes straight from the boats, is scored, rubbed with salt, garlic and lemon and deep-fried whole until the skin is crackling. It is served with a block of ugali, sukuma wiki (braised kale) and kachumbari, and eaten with your hands, pulling the sweet flesh off the bone. The mistake is frying a wet fish in oil that isn't hot enough, which makes it greasy and stick; dry it well and wait for 180 °C. Chef's tip: dust the fish lightly with cornflour just before frying for an extra-crisp skin.

45 minEast AfricanFishGluten free
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Mauritian fish curry

Cari poisson is cooked in Mauritian homes from Port Louis to the fishing villages of Mahébourg, a curry where Indian spice meets Creole herbs: pieces of firm fish are first fried, then simmered in a sauce of tomato, onion, curry powder, curry leaves and thyme. It is eaten with rice, lentils (dholl) and a spoon of chilli pickle. The mistake is putting raw fish into the sauce, which makes it fall apart; frying it first keeps it firm. Chef's tip: toast the curry powder in oil until it smells nutty before the tomatoes go in.

50 minMauritianFishGluten freeSpicy
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Ecuadorian shrimp ceviche

Unlike Peru's raw-fish ceviche, the ceviche of Ecuador's coast, from Manta to Esmeraldas, is usually made with prawns that are briefly cooked first, then soaked in a juicy, soupy mix of lime, orange, tomato, red onion and coriander. It is served in a glass bowl with its juice, alongside popcorn, plantain chips and sometimes a dash of ketchup and mustard, as people do at Guayaquil's cevicherías. Because the prawns are cooked, it is a safer choice than raw-fish ceviche, but keep it cold and eat it the same day. The mistake is overcooking the prawns so they turn rubbery: one minute in the boiling water is enough. Chef's tip: save the prawn cooking water and add a few spoonfuls to the juice; it gives the ceviche its sweetness.

30 minAndeanFishGluten free
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Guyanese chicken curry

In Guyana, Sunday is curry day in Indo-Guyanese homes from Berbice to the East Coast Demerara, and chicken curry with roti or rice is the classic. Its flavour comes from a green seasoning of herbs, garlic and wiri wiri pepper, and from geera (roasted cumin), with the curry powder fried until almost dry before the chicken goes in. The mistake is adding the chicken before the curry paste is properly cooked ("bunjayed"), which leaves a raw, dusty taste. Chef's tip: finish with a sprinkle of toasted geera and let the curry rest for 10 minutes before serving.

80 minGuyaneseChickenGluten free
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Loco moco

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.

40 minPacific IslanderMeat
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Kalua pork

Kalua pig is the heart of a Hawaiian lū'au: a whole pig wrapped in ti and banana leaves and cooked all day in an imu, an underground oven, until it falls apart, smoky and salty. This dish contains pork. Families across O'ahu and the other islands make this simpler version at home with pork shoulder, coarse sea salt and a little liquid smoke, wrapped and slow-roasted. It is served with rice, poi or cabbage, or in sliders. The mistake is using fine table salt in the same amount; it makes the pork far too salty, so use coarse sea salt. Chef's tip: stir a little of the cooking juice back into the shredded pork so it stays moist.

375 minPacific IslanderMeatGluten free
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Maple-glazed salmon

On Canada's Pacific coast, from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii, wild salmon is the fish of summer and autumn, and a glaze of maple syrup from the east brings two Canadian staples together on one plate. The fillets are brushed with maple syrup, mustard, soy and garlic and roasted until just cooked, with a sticky, glossy top; serve them with rice, new potatoes or a green salad. Many British Columbians cook it on a soaked cedar plank on the barbecue for a smoky flavour. The mistake is overcooking salmon until it is dry and chalky; take it out when it just flakes. Chef's tip: line the tray with baking paper, as the maple glaze burns onto a bare tin.

25 minCanadianFishGluten free
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Budaatai khuurgaFried rice with beef

Budaatai khuurga is the fried rice of Ulaanbaatar's guanz, the small canteens where office workers and students eat lunch: day-old rice tossed in a hot pan with strips of beef or mutton, carrot, onion, peppers and a splash of soy. It is quick, filling and often served with a fried egg and pickled cabbage salad. The mistake is using freshly cooked warm rice, which clumps; cold, cooked rice fries into separate grains. Chef's tip: cook rice the day before and keep it covered in the fridge, which is also the safe way to store it.

30 minMongolianRice & Grains
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Sándwich cubanoPressed pork and ham sandwich

This is a pork sandwich. The Cubano was the lunch of cigar workers going between Havana and Tampa, and Miami's Little Havana cafés still press it to order on a hot plancha. Soft Cuban bread is layered with mojo roast pork, boiled ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles and yellow mustard, then flattened and toasted until the cheese melts and the crust shatters. It is the best use of leftover lechón asado. Drink it with a café cubano. The usual mistake is pressing on too high a heat, which burns the bread before the middle is hot. Chef's tip: butter the outside of the bread, not the inside, and weigh it down with a heavy pan so it crisps evenly.

20 minCubanFast Food
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Corn & cassava in coconut milk

A simple Swahili dish of tender cassava and sweetcorn simmered in thick coconut milk with green chillies, a little raw mango and lemon. It's creamy, mild and filling. Serve hot as a side or a light meal.

25 minAfricanSidesVeganGluten free
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Zanzibar coffee (kahawa)

Kahawa is the strong, spiced black coffee poured from brass pots on the streets of Stone Town: freshly ground coffee boiled with cardamom pods and finished with ginger and ground cardamom. It's bitter-sweet and aromatic. Serve hot in small kahawa cups.

22 minAfricanDrinksVeganGluten free
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Salade de niébéBlack-eyed bean salad

Niébé is the Wolof and French name for black-eyed beans, and this bright salad turns up at Senegalese family lunches, baptism feasts and Ramadan break-fast tables next to grilled dishes and rice. The beans are dressed while warm with lime, mustard and onion, then mixed with crunchy raw vegetables and a little hot pepper. It travels well and tastes better after an hour. Chef's tip: dress the beans while they are still warm so they drink in the lime; cold beans stay bland however much dressing you pour over.

60 minSenegaleseSaladsVeganGluten free
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Zanzibar pillau

Zanzibar's spiced pilau: rice cooked with onions, garlic, whole cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, cumin and nutmeg and plenty of vegetables, then finished with coconut milk and baked until fluffy. It's fragrant rather than hot. Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot with kachumbari or a curry.

75 minAfricanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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ChurchkhelaWalnuts in grape juice coating

Churchkhela are the candle-shaped sweets you see hanging in bunches at every Georgian market, but they are made at home during rtveli, the grape harvest in Kakheti in September and October. Walnuts are threaded on a string and dipped again and again in tatara, fresh grape must thickened with flour, then hung up to dry for a week, until firm and chewy outside and tender within. They are eaten at New Year and kept for months. A common mistake is a tatara that is too thin, which slides off the nuts; it should coat the back of a spoon thickly and fall in ribbons. Chef's tip: let each coat set for 10–15 minutes before the next dip; three or four thin coats look and keep better than one thick one.

120 minGeorgianDessertsVegan
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Zanzibar spiced tea (chai ya viungo)

Zanzibar is the spice island, and chai ya viungo is its everyday tea: black tea boiled with a home-roasted masala of cardamom, dry ginger, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. The masala keeps for months in an airtight jar. Milk is optional; serve the tea hot.

35 minAfricanDrinksGluten free
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Rice pancakes (mukari)

Mukari are soft, lightly sweet Zanzibari pancakes made from a yeasted rice flour and coconut milk batter scented with cardamom. They're cooked covered over a low heat so they puff up and stay spongy. Serve warm with tea.

155 minAfricanBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Baked bananas (ndizi ya kuoka)

Ndizi ya kuoka: small bananas halved and baked with lemon juice, brown sugar and cinnamon until soft and syrupy, then served with lightly sweetened cream and a grating of nutmeg. It's a quick, warm pudding. The book's Handy Hints say bananas are good for the heart.

20 minAfricanDessertsGluten free
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Ginger drink (tangawizi)

Tangawizi is a warming Swahili drink of ginger boiled with cinnamon, clove and black pepper and sweetened to taste. It's hot, peppery and soothing on a cool evening or when you have a cold. Serve hot in small kahawa cups.

24 minAfricanDrinksVeganGluten free
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Coconut sweet (kashata ya nazi)

Kashata ya nazi is a simple Swahili sweet of desiccated coconut cooked with milk, sugar, evaporated milk and cardamom until thick, then pressed into a dish and cut into diamonds. It's chewy and sweet, and it keeps well. Store in an airtight container.

35 minAfricanDessertsGluten free
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Churpi ningroFiddlehead fern curry

In the monsoon, ningro (fiddlehead fern) shoots appear in the hill markets of Gangtok, Namchi and Darjeeling, curled like violin scrolls. Sikkimese homes cook them quickly with onion, tomato and green chilli, then stir in crumbled soft churpi, a fresh, tangy cheese made from yak or cow's milk, which melts into a creamy, slightly sour sauce. It is a side dish for rice and dal, and tastes green and grassy, a little like asparagus. Chef's tip: always boil ferns for a few minutes and drain before cooking; it removes bitterness. Ricotta or crumbled feta is a fair stand-in for churpi.

25 minIndianSidesGluten free
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Chushki byurekFried cheese-stuffed peppers

Chushki byurek are one of the great autumn dishes of Bulgaria: in September, when the long red peppers ripen around Plovdiv and Pazardzhik, they are roasted, peeled, filled with sirene and egg, then dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fried. The outside crunches, the pepper is silky and sweet, and the salty cheese melts inside. They are served hot as a main course with a tomato salad, or cold the next day. Chef's tip: dry the peeled peppers well before filling; a wet pepper is the usual mistake, and the batter slides off and the oil spits.

60 minBulgarianVegetarian
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Vermicelli in coconut (tambi ya nazi)

Tambi ya nazi: soft vermicelli stirred into sweetened coconut milk with crushed cardamom, then baked briefly so it sets lightly. It's creamy, gently sweet and fragrant, and is often made for Eid. Serve hot, sprinkled with more cardamom.

30 minAfricanDessertsVegan
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Mombasa kachri batetaPotatoes in garlic tomato sauce

A Mombasa street favourite: potatoes cooked in a thin, garlicky tomato and raw mango sauce, ladled into bowls and piled with crushed potato crisps, crunchy sev and a fresh coconut and mango chutney. Everyone builds their own bowl to taste. Serve straight away so the crisps stay crunchy.

60 minAfricanSnacks & StartersVeganSpicy
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HalászléSpicy carp soup

Halászlé is the fiery fisherman's soup of the rivers Tisza and Danube, and on Christmas Eve it is on almost every Hungarian table; the towns of Szeged and Baja each claim the best version. A rich stock is made from fish heads and bones with onions and lots of paprika, sieved until smooth and red, and then thick slices of carp (or catfish) are poached in it at the last moment. Serve with white bread and fresh hot peppers. Chef's tip: poach the fish fillets without stirring; just swirl the pot so the pieces stay whole.

105 minHungarianSoupsGluten freeSpicy
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ChampurradoThick masa hot chocolate

Champurrado is a chocolate atole, the thick, hot corn drink Mexicans have drunk since before the Spanish arrived. Masa harina is whisked into water and milk with Mexican chocolate (stone-ground with sugar and cinnamon) and piloncillo, a dark unrefined cane sugar, and cooked until velvety and spoon-coating. It is drunk on cold mornings with tamales or conchas, and above all during Día de Muertos and Christmas posadas. Chef's tip: always dissolve the masa harina in cold liquid before it meets the hot pot, and whisk constantly once it's in; dumped into hot milk it seizes into lumps.

20 minMexicanDrinksGluten free
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Champaran muttonSlow-cooked mutton curry

In the Champaran district of north-west Bihar, near the Nepal border, mutton is cooked in an ahuna or handi: a clay pot packed with raw meat, whole bulbs of garlic, onions, mustard oil and spices, sealed shut with dough and left for hours on a slow charcoal fire. Nobody adds water and nobody stirs; the meat cooks in its own juices and the garlic turns soft and sweet. Roadside dhabas on the highways out of Motihari made it famous, and it is now cooked at family picnics and parties right across Bihar, eaten with rice or rotis. This home version uses a heavy pot sealed with foil and a lid. Chef's tip: shake the pot instead of opening it; every time the lid comes off, steam escapes and the meat dries out.

135 minIndianMeatGluten freeSpicy
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AzifaMasoor lentil salad

A thick, tangy Ethiopian sauce of soft masoor lentils blended with onion, garlic, green capsicum, chilli and mustard. It's eaten cool or warm as part of a spread of injera and stews. Serve hot azifa with injera.

40 minAfricanChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Ethiopian injeraFermented rice flour flatbread

Injera is the soft, spongy, slightly sour flatbread eaten with Ethiopian stews: you tear it and scoop the food up with it. This home version uses rice and plain flour fermented with a home-made starter over a few days, then cooked on one side until covered in tiny holes. Serve rolled and sliced with missir wat, azifa and atter kik. Any fermented batter left over keeps in the fridge for the next batch.

70 minAfricanBreads & ParathasVegan
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BraaibroodjieGrilled cheese and tomato sandwiches

No South African braai is finished without braaibroodjies, the sandwiches that go onto the grid once the coals have died down, from Cape Town to the Highveld. White bread is buttered on the outside and filled with cheddar, tomato, onion and a thin smear of apricot jam, a sweet-and-savoury combination every South African swears by. They come off the fire smoky, crisp and oozing. A frying pan or griddle works when there's no braai. Chef's tip: toast them over gentle, ashen coals and turn often; fierce heat burns the bread before the cheese inside has melted.

20 minSouth AfricanFast Food
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GyeongdanGlutinous rice balls

Gyeongdan (경단) are small balls of boiled glutinous rice dough, filled or plain, and rolled in coloured coatings: golden roasted soybean powder, black sesame, green or toasted coconut. In Seoul they are made for a baby's 100th day and first birthday, and sold in rice-cake shops all year in mixed boxes. They are only lightly sweet, soft and stretchy, best eaten the day they are made with a cup of barley tea. Children love rolling them. Chef's tip: mix the dough with very hot water a spoonful at a time; it should feel like soft play-dough, and if it cracks when you roll a ball it needs a little more.

40 minKoreanDessertsVeganGluten free
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ThalipeethMultigrain flatbread

Thalipeeth is a rustic Maharashtrian flatbread made from bhajani, a flour of roasted grains and lentils. The dough is soft and sticky with onion, green chilli and coriander, and is patted out by hand straight onto the pan, with holes poked in it so the oil can crisp it from both sides. It comes off the tawa crunchy at the edges and soft in the middle, smoky with cumin and coriander seed. Eat it hot for breakfast with thick yogurt, white butter or a garlic and peanut chutney, or with lemon pickle. Chef's tip: pat the dough out on a damp cloth or wet baking paper and flip it straight onto the pan; it's too soft to roll, and wet hands keep it from sticking.

35 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Thayir sadamCurd rice

No Tamil meal is really finished without thayir sadam. It's the last course on a banana-leaf lunch, the comfort food packed for train journeys and school tiffins, and the prasadam handed out in some Tamil Nadu temples. Soft, mashed rice is mixed with cool yogurt and a splash of milk, seasoned with ginger, green chilli and curry leaves popped in hot oil, then dotted with pomegranate, grated carrot or green grapes. It's eaten slightly cool with a spoonful of pickle or a fried vathal on the side. Chef's tip: mix a little milk in with the yogurt; it keeps the rice creamy and stops it turning sour if you pack it for lunch several hours ahead.

25 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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ThekuaWheat and jaggery cookies

During Chhath Puja, when families across Bihar stand in rivers and ponds to make offerings to the setting and rising sun, thekua fill the bamboo baskets carried to the ghats. Women make them at home in the days before, pressing jaggery-sweetened wheat dough into carved wooden moulds (sancha) and frying them in ghee until dark and crunchy. Outside the festival they are the snack Bihari students take back to hostels in the city, because they keep for weeks. Chef's tip: the dough must be stiff, and the frying slow; soft dough loses the pattern and hot oil leaves them pale and soft inside.

50 minIndianIndian Sweets
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ThethriGram flour twists

No Teeja in Chhattisgarh passes without a tin of thethri: knotted and twisted pieces of gram-flour dough, seasoned with ajwain and chilli and fried slowly until they shatter when you bite. Married daughters coming home for the festival are sent back with them, alongside the sweet khurmi, and they keep for weeks. Each family has its favourite shape, from simple knots to little spirals and braided rings. Chef's tip: fry on a medium-low flame and be patient; thethri fried hot puff up and brown outside but stay soft and chewy inside.

55 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Taiwanese dan bingEgg crepe rolls

Every morning, breakfast shops on almost every block in Taiwan (zǎocān diàn) pour thin, chewy crêpes onto a flat griddle, crack an egg over them and roll them up into a soft log in under a minute. Customers order them plain, with corn, with cheese, or with basil, alongside a cup of soy milk or milk tea. The batter uses some tapioca starch, which gives that bouncy, slightly stretchy bite. Chef's tip: spread the egg over the crêpe while the top of the batter is still a little tacky; they bond into one layer and don't split apart when you roll.

20 minTaiwaneseBreakfast & Brunch
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ThieboudienneFish and rice in tomato broth

Ceebu jën, "rice and fish" in Wolof, is the dish Saint-Louis claims as its own and the whole of Senegal cooks for the big Friday or Sunday lunch, served on one wide platter that the family eats from together. Thick fish steaks are stuffed with a green paste of parsley, garlic and chilli, browned, then simmered in a deep tomato broth with whole cassava, carrot, cabbage and aubergine; the broken rice then soaks up that same broth until it turns orange and fragrant. The prized part is the xoon, the crust that forms at the bottom of the pot, which is shared out at the end. The usual mistake is leaving the fish in the pot while the rice cooks, so it falls apart; lift it out with the vegetables and keep it warm. Chef's tip: rinse the broken rice three times and steam it briefly before it goes into the broth, so the grains stay separate instead of turning to porridge.

135 minSenegaleseFishGluten free
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ThukpaHimalayan noodle soup

Thukpa is the warming noodle soup of the Himalayas, eaten in Sikkim, Ladakh and the Tibetan settlements of the hills on cold evenings. A gingery, garlicky broth is cooked with carrot, cabbage and tomato, then wheat noodles and spinach go straight into the pot. It's light yet filling, savoury with soy and pepper and as spicy as you like with chilli on the side. Serve in deep bowls with a squeeze of lemon. Chef's tip: cook the noodles in the soup only just before serving; left standing, they keep drinking up the broth and turn soft.

30 minIndianSoupsVegan
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Timatim salataTomato and onion salad

Timatim salata is the cool, crunchy salad served alongside the stews of an Ethiopian meal, from roadside restaurants in Tigray to home tables in Addis Ababa. Ripe tomatoes, red onion and green chilli are dressed with lemon juice and oil, and the salad is left to stand so the juices mingle; mixed with torn injera it becomes timatim fitfit. Chef's tip: salt the tomatoes only a few minutes before serving, or they release so much liquid the salad turns soupy.

10 minEthiopianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Tian provençalBaked layered summer vegetables

A tian is named after the shallow earthenware dish Provençal cooks use to bake vegetables, and the most famous version lines up thin slices of courgette, aubergine, tomato and onion in tight rows like roof tiles. In Provence it's a Sunday side for the whole family and a light supper with a green salad in summer. The vegetables roast in their own juices with olive oil, garlic and thyme until soft, sweet and lightly browned on top. Unlike ratatouille, nothing is fried first, so it is lighter and more delicate. Chef's tip: choose vegetables of the same width and slice them all 3–4 mm thick; uneven slices are the common mistake and cook unevenly, some raw, some collapsed.

70 minFrenchVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Tahu telurTofu and egg omelette

Tahu telur is a night-market favourite in Surabaya, East Java: cubes of tofu are stirred into beaten egg and fried in a small wok so the omelette rises into a thick, crisp-edged tower. It is topped with bean sprouts, cucumber and a dark sauce of peanuts and sweet soy. Sellers in Surabaya stir shrimp paste (petis) into the sauce; this vegetarian version uses a little extra garlic and kecap manis instead. Eat with rice or lontong for a filling supper. Chef's tip: use a small, deep pan so the egg piles up around the tofu instead of spreading thin.

25 minIndonesianVegetarian
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Tahu gejrotFried tofu in sweet-sour sauce

Tahu gejrot is street food from Cirebon on the north coast of West Java, where vendors carry their kit on a shoulder pole and serve it in little clay plates called cobek. Hollow fried tofu puffs are snipped into pieces and drenched in a runny palm sugar and tamarind sauce, poured over freshly crushed garlic, shallot and bird's eye chilli. It's a mid-afternoon snack: sweet, sour, garlicky and as hot as you can take it, with the puffy tofu soaking up every drop. Chef's tip: crush the garlic, shallot and chilli raw in the serving bowl and pour the sauce over while it's still warm, so the aromatics bloom without losing their bite.

20 minIndonesianSnacks & StartersVeganSpicy
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ShabhaleyFried beef pastries

Tibetan families in Lhasa and across the plateau make these crisp, half-moon or disc-shaped pies for Losar, the Tibetan New Year, and for gatherings with friends; Tibetan cafés in exile communities sell them by the plate too. The name means meat bread, and the filling of minced beef with onion, ginger, coriander and a pinch of Sichuan pepper stays juicy inside a thin, crackly crust. They are hearty, savoury and lightly numbing, never fiery. Serve them hot with a tomato chilli sauce (sepen) and a cup of butter tea or black tea. Chef's tip: keep the oil at 170 °C; hotter and the pastry browns before the meat inside is cooked.

60 minChineseSnacks & Starters
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