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Sorullitos de maíz
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Sorullitos de maíz

Cheese-filled cornmeal sticks

Order a round of frituras at a beach kiosk in Luquillo or a family party in Ponce and these golden cornmeal fingers arrive in a paper boat with a pot of pink mayo-ketchup. Fine cornmeal is cooked with water and a little sugar into a stiff mush, mixed with grated cheese, rolled into cigars and fried until the shell is crisp and the inside soft and slightly sweet. Edam or gouda is usual; these are made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Edam-style or mild cheddar if you need to. The common mistake is shaping the dough while it is still too hot and wet, which makes the sticks split in the oil. Chef's tip: oil your palms lightly and roll each stick on the worktop, not between your hands, for a smooth, even finger.

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Moi moi (also written moin moin) is the soft, savoury bean pudding of Yorubaland that turns up at every Lagos party beside jollof, and in lunchboxes and on Sunday breakfast plates with ogi or custard. Peeled black-eyed beans are blended with red pepper, onion and oil, then steamed until set and sliceable, like a light, spicy terrine. Traditionally it is wrapped in broad uma (thaumatococcus) leaves; ramekins or foil cups work at home. Party versions often hide boiled egg or fish inside; this one is fully plant-based. Chef's tip: the batter should drop thickly from a spoon, like a cake batter; too runny and the moi moi never firms up.

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Dak galbiSpicy stir-fried chicken

Chuncheon, a lakeside city in Gangwon province, is so proud of dak galbi that it has a whole lane of restaurants and a yearly festival for it. There, a waiter stir-fries the marinated chicken, cabbage, sweet potato and rice cakes on a huge round iron pan in the middle of your table. When the pan is nearly empty, rice is fried in the leftover sauce to finish the meal. This version is made in a large frying pan or wok at home. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of curry powder in the marinade is a Chuncheon trick; you won't taste curry, but the sauce tastes deeper.

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Zupa ogórkowaSour pickled cucumber soup

Zupa ogórkowa is the soup Polish families make when the crock of brine-fermented cucumbers from summer starts to run low in late autumn: grated sour pickles and their cloudy brine simmered with potatoes, carrot and root vegetables, then softened with soured cream and a fistful of dill. It is a staple of canteen lunches and Sunday-in-the-country cooking, from Mazovia to Silesia, and it tastes tangy, garlicky and comforting all at once. Traditionally it is made on meat stock; here a good vegetable stock does the job. Use real ogórki kiszone (fermented in salt water), not sweet vinegar gherkins. Chef's tip: stir the cucumbers in only after the potatoes are soft; acid stops potatoes from softening, so if they go in together the potatoes stay hard.

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Mojo criolloSour orange and garlic sauce

Mojo criollo is the raw sauce Cuban cooks keep in a jar by the stove: sour orange juice from the naranja agria tree, pounded garlic, cumin, oregano and olive oil. On the island it marinates whatever goes on the grill and is spooned over tostones, boiled malanga and roast vegetables; vegetarians use it to marinate tofu, mushrooms or thick slices of squash. It is sharp, garlicky and bright. Chef's tip: pound the garlic to a paste with the salt rather than chopping it; the salt helps it break down so the sauce tastes round, not harsh.

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Zeytinyağlı enginarArtichokes braised with peas

In spring, when globe artichokes pile up on stalls in İzmir and Urla, market sellers trim them on the spot into pale hearts kept in lemon water, and families take them home to make zeytinyağlı enginar. The hearts are braised cup-side up with small onions, carrots, potato and peas in olive oil and lemon, then served cold with a shower of dill, often as the first course of a spring dinner. The classic mistake is leaving trimmed artichokes in the air: they turn grey within minutes. Chef's tip: rub every cut surface with lemon as you go and drop the hearts straight into water with lemon juice and a spoonful of flour, which keeps them pale and cream-coloured.

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KulwaPan-fried beef with berbere butter

Kulwa (also called tibsi in parts of the Horn) is the fast, sizzling beef dish that Eritrean restaurants in Asmara and Massawa bring to the table in a hot clay dish: small strips of beef fried hard with onion, green chilli, a sprig of rosemary and a spoon of spiced butter, with a dusting of berbere. It is eaten with injera or bread as a weekend treat. The mistake is overcooking the beef until dry: it needs only a few minutes over high heat. Chef's tip: let the pan get really hot before adding the meat, and serve it still sizzling.

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Mok paHerb fish steamed in banana leaf

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 minLaoFishGluten free
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Moksi alesiMixed rice with salted meat

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Dak bokkeumtangSpicy chicken and potato stew

Chicken on the bone braised with big chunks of potato in a thick red sauce is a weeknight staple in Daejeon, the central city where many Korean rail lines meet, and in homes right across the country. Some people still call it dakdoritang. Unlike Andong's soy-based jjimdak, it gets its colour and heat from chilli flakes and gochujang, and the potatoes slowly thicken the sauce as they soften. It's usually brought to the table in the pot and shared, with rice and kimchi, and the last of the sauce is spooned over rice. Chef's tip: blanch the chicken for 3 minutes and rinse it first; this takes away scum and excess fat, so the sauce stays bright and clean-tasting.

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Mole poblano with chickenChicken in chocolate chilli sauce

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Mole verde with vegetablesGreen mole with vegetables

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Kuku sabzi is a deep green, herb-packed egg cake that Iranian families make for Nowruz, the New Year on the first day of spring, often alongside sabzi polo. It is more herb than egg: just enough egg binds a heap of parsley, coriander, dill and chives, with crunchy walnuts and little sour barberries. It is eaten warm or cold, cut into wedges, tucked into lavash with yogurt and radishes, and it travels well to the Sizdah Bedar picnic thirteen days later. Chef's tip: cook it slowly with the lid on; high heat browns the base before the middle sets.

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Uzbek chuchvaraTiny dumplings in dill broth

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105 minUzbekSoups
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MolletesOpen bean and cheese rolls

Molletes are a favourite cheap breakfast and after-school snack across Mexico, especially in Mexico City cafés: a bolillo (a crusty, oval white roll) split, buttered and toasted, spread with refried beans, covered with cheese and grilled until bubbling, then topped with fresh pico de gallo. They are crunchy, creamy and gooey, and children love them. Use crusty white rolls or short pieces of baguette if you can't get bolillos, and a mild melting cheese made with vegetarian rennet, such as mild cheddar, mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese. Chef's tip: toast the buttered rolls before adding the beans, so the bread stays crisp underneath instead of going soggy.

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UzvarDried fruit drink

Uzvar is the dark, smoky-sweet drink brewed from dried apples, pears and plums that closes the Holy Supper on Ukrainian Christmas Eve, Sviat Vechir, where it is one of the twelve meatless dishes alongside kutia. In villages across Podillia and the Carpathians the fruit is dried in the oven or over smoke in autumn, which gives uzvar its distinctive campfire note; market stalls sell ready-mixed bags in December. It is drunk warm in winter and chilled in summer, and is naturally vegan when sweetened with sugar instead of honey. Chef's tip: simmer gently, then let it steep for several hours; common mistake is boiling it hard, which turns the fruit to mush and the drink cloudy.

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MolokhiaJute leaf soup

Molokhia is one of the oldest dishes on the Egyptian table, eaten across the country from Alexandria to Upper Egypt, usually at a family lunch with white rice and torn baladi bread. The finely minced leaves of the jute plant cook in stock in minutes into a bright green, gently slippery soup; at the end a ta'leya of garlic and ground coriander fried in oil is poured in with a loud hiss. Most families cook it with chicken or rabbit broth, but a well-flavoured vegetable stock makes a lovely, light vegan version. Frozen minced molokhia from Middle Eastern grocers is what most Cairo cooks use too. Chef's tip: some cooks take a sharp breath (the shahqa) as the ta'leya goes in; joke or not, the point is to pour it in while the garlic is still sizzling hot.

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Kuku pakaGrilled chicken in coconut curry

Kuku paka is a Mombasa and Lamu speciality with Indian roots, cooked for weddings and Eid along the Kenyan coast: chicken is marinated in ginger, garlic and chilli, charred over charcoal or under a grill, then simmered in a smooth coconut sauce with turmeric and lime. The grilling gives the sauce its smoky note. The mistake is adding thick coconut milk too early and boiling it hard, so it splits; simmer gently. Chef's tip: add halved boiled potatoes or boiled eggs to the sauce, as many coast families do, to stretch it for more people.

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Kuih seri mukaSticky rice and pandan custard cake

Seri muka is one of the most loved kuih in Melaka and all over Malaysia, sold in neat diamonds at morning markets and Ramadan bazaars. The base is glutinous rice steamed in coconut milk and pressed firm; the top is a silky, green custard of pandan juice, eggs and coconut milk, steamed until it just sets. Each bite is salty-sweet, chewy then smooth. Chef's tip: rough up the top of the hot rice with a fork before pouring on the custard, so the two layers stick together instead of sliding apart.

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Kuih lapisSteamed layered coconut cake

Kuih lapis is the striped, bouncy cake piled on trays at Malaysian pasar malam (night markets) and laid out for guests at Hari Raya, Deepavali and Chinese New Year open houses. It's built from a thin coconut-milk batter of rice flour and tapioca starch, steamed one layer at a time, so each slice shows nine neat stripes, and children everywhere peel them off one by one. The texture is soft, springy and slightly chewy; the flavour is gentle coconut and pandan. It takes patience rather than skill. Chef's tip: steam the empty tin for 5 minutes before the first layer, so it sets evenly from the bottom.

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Kueh pie teeCrisp pastry cups with jicama

Pie tee are thin, crunchy fried cups shaped like little top hats, made with a brass mould dipped in batter and plunged into hot oil. Peranakan cooks in Melaka and Penang fill them with finely shredded jicama and carrot braised in garlic, then top them with egg, coriander and a dot of sweet chilli sauce. They are a festive starter for Chinese New Year and weddings. Prawns usually crown each cup; this version uses fine strips of omelette. If you have no mould, shop-bought cups are fine. Chef's tip: heat the mould in the oil before each dip; a cold mould won't hold the batter.

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Kuchen de murtaBerry custard tart

Around Lake Llanquihue, in Frutillar and Puerto Varas, German settlers of the 1850s left Chile a love of kuchen, now served with coffee in every café of the south. The Chilean twist is the fruit: murta (Chilean guava), a small, red, perfumed berry that grows wild there in autumn. A buttery base holds the berries in a light custard under a crumble of butter and sugar. Outside Chile, cranberries with a few blueberries give a similar sharp-sweet balance. Chef's tip: blind-bake the base for 10 minutes first; a pre-set base stays crisp under the wet custard.

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Momiji manjuMaple leaf sponge cakes

Momiji manju are the souvenir of Miyajima, the sacred island off Hiroshima famous for its floating red torii gate and its maple trees, which turn scarlet each November. A confectioner there first baked them around 1906, and today shops along the island's main street still turn them out of iron moulds while visitors watch. The cake is a soft, honey-scented sponge, the filling smooth red bean paste. Tokyo's Asakusa sells a near twin, ningyo-yaki, baked in the shapes of dolls and temple lanterns; this recipe makes both, depending on your mould. Serve with green tea. Chef's tip: rest the batter for 30 minutes before baking. The flour hydrates, the bubbles settle and the cakes come out smooth and evenly brown.

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Zupa pomidorowaCreamy tomato soup with rice

In Poland, zupa pomidorowa is famously Monday's soup: on Sunday the family drinks rosół, and the next day the leftover broth becomes tomato soup with rice or thin noodles and a swirl of soured cream. Children across the country rank it as their favourite school-canteen dish. It is creamy, mild and a little sweet, nothing like a spicy Mediterranean tomato soup. This version starts from vegetable stock (the traditional base is chicken broth) and builds the flavour with carrot, celery root and tomato paste fried in butter. Serve it with rice cooked in the pot or with makaron (fine noodles). Chef's tip: fry the tomato paste in butter until it darkens one shade; raw paste tastes tinny and that one minute makes the soup taste like it simmered for hours.

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KrupnikBarley soup with smoked pork

Krupnik is a thrifty, warming soup from every Polish grandmother's kitchen, from the villages of Podlasie to city milk bars, and it is the soup people make when someone in the house has a cold. Pearl barley (kasza jęczmienna), carrot, celeriac, parsley root and potato simmer in a broth of smoked pork ribs, which gives it a gentle smoky depth; this version contains pork. Dried mushrooms add an earthy note. Chef's tip: rinse the barley well and add it early; it releases starch that gives krupnik its slightly creamy body.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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