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Agedashi tofu
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Agedashi tofu

Fried tofu in warm broth

Agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐) is a classic izakaya dish eaten all over Japan: cubes of soft tofu dusted in potato starch, fried until they form a thin, crisp shell, then bathed in a hot, savoury broth. The coating turns silky as it soaks up the sauce while the tofu inside stays creamy. Usually topped with bonito flakes; here it's grated daikon, ginger and spring onion with a kombu-shiitake broth instead. Chef's tip: coat the tofu in starch right before it goes into the oil, not ahead of time; if it sits, the starch turns damp and the coating fries up gummy instead of crisp.

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XalwoCardamom halwa

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Telur baladoFried eggs in chilli sambal

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TemblequeCoconut milk pudding

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Curanto en ollaShellfish and meat pot

On the island of Chiloé in southern Chile, curanto is cooked in a pit lined with hot stones and covered with huge nalca leaves; in town kitchens and in Puerto Montt's market it is made in a big pot instead, curanto en olla. Mussels and clams, smoked pork, chicken and sausage steam together over potatoes and milcao (potato dumplings) until the juices make a rich broth, served in cups on the side. This dish contains pork and shellfish. Some cooks add white wine; this version uses water. The mistake is adding the shellfish too early; they go in at the end and must open, and any that stay closed are thrown away. Chef's tip: make the milcao a little ahead and keep it in the fridge so it holds its shape.

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TequeñosFried cheese sticks

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Terong baladoFried aubergine in chilli sambal

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Gotu kola sambolPennywort and coconut salad

Gotu kola (Asiatic pennywort) grows wild along the paddy edges in the south and centre of Sri Lanka, and a raw sambol of its leaves is the green, slightly bitter bite that balances a rice-and-curry lunch. Families in Galle and Matara will tell you it is good for the memory, and it is often served at the start of a meal or with kola kenda, the herbal porridge. The leaves are shredded as finely as possible, then tossed with shallot, tomato, green chilli, a little fresh coconut and plenty of lime, so it's crunchy, peppery and bright. Look for pennywort bunches in Sri Lankan, Thai and Vietnamese shops. The mistake to avoid is dressing it too early: the salt and lime wilt the leaves within half an hour. Chef's tip: roll a stack of leaves into a tight cigar and slice it hair-thin with a sharp knife; the finer the shreds, the better it tastes.

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Göyərti qutabıHerb-filled flatbreads

Qutab are the thin half-moon flatbreads that Baku eats at any hour, folded around a filling and cooked in seconds on a domed iron saj, then stacked and brushed with butter. Göyərti qutabı, the green version, is the spring favourite: a handful of chopped spinach, sorrel, dill, coriander and spring onion sealed inside dough rolled so thin the greens show through. They are eaten hot, three or four at a time, sprinkled with sumac and dipped in garlicky yogurt, and appear on every table at Novruz in March. In autumn the same dough wraps pumpkin; that variation is in the steps. Chef's tip: season the greens only just before filling; salt draws out water, and wet greens tear the paper-thin dough.

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XawaashSomali spice blend

Xawaash (pronounced 'ha-wash') is the spice mix every Somali kitchen keeps in a jar, used in rice, soups, stews, sambuusa fillings and even tea. Families toast and grind their own, often in quantity before Ramadan, and the balance of warm cumin, earthy coriander and sweet cardamom and cinnamon varies from house to house. It is different from Yemeni hawaij and Ethiopian berbere: there is no chilli in it. Chef's tip: toast each spice only until it darkens a shade and smells warm; burnt cumin turns the whole jar bitter.

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Granita al limoneLemon ice

On summer mornings in Sicily, especially around Catania and Messina, breakfast is granita: a cup of soft, spoonable lemon ice with a warm brioche on the side for dipping. Sicilian granita is finer and creamier than a slushy, because it is stirred as it freezes. All you need is lemons, sugar and water, plus a fork and a freezer. It takes about four hours of occasional scraping. Chef's tip: steep the zest in the warm syrup for 20 minutes; the oils in the peel give a much fuller lemon flavour than juice alone.

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Gratin dauphinoisPotato and cream gratin

Gratin dauphinois comes from the Dauphiné, the mountain region around Grenoble, where it has been made since at least the 1700s. Thinly sliced potatoes are simmered in milk and cream with garlic and nutmeg, then baked slowly until the top is golden and blistered and the inside is soft and creamy enough to cut with a spoon. Purists in the Dauphiné insist there is no cheese; the crust comes from the cream itself. It is a side for Sunday lunch and festive meals, especially good with a green salad or roasted mushrooms. Chef's tip: don't rinse the potato slices; washing off the starch is the common mistake that leaves the cream thin and watery.

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CsirkepaprikásPaprika chicken in sour cream sauce

Csirkepaprikás is the Sunday chicken of Hungarian homes, cooked by grandmothers in villages and in Budapest flats alike and always served with nokedli, the little egg dumplings. Chicken thighs braise gently with onion, plenty of sweet paprika, tomato and pepper, then soured cream is stirred in to make a velvety, brick-orange sauce. Chef's tip: mix the soured cream with a spoonful of flour and some hot sauce before adding it; this stops it from splitting.

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Green borschtSorrel soup with egg

When the first sorrel comes up in village gardens around Chernihiv and Sumy in May, Ukrainian grandmothers stop making red borshch and switch to green: a light, lemony soup of sorrel, potato and herbs, served with halved boiled eggs. It is the soup of early summer and of Trinity Sunday, eaten hot with sour cream or chilled on a warm day. Sorrel gives it a clean sourness, so no vinegar is needed. This version uses vegetable stock instead of the chicken or pork stock some families use. Chef's tip: add the sorrel only in the last two minutes; it turns olive green the moment it hits the heat, but if it boils longer it collapses into stringy khaki threads.

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Green fig and saltfishGreen bananas with salt cod

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GorditasStuffed masa pockets

Gorditas, 'little fat ones', are thick corn masa cakes cooked on a comal until they puff, then split open like a pitta and stuffed. They are eaten from the north of Mexico down to the central states, at street stalls and at home, with fillings that change from town to town. This vegetarian version is filled with rajas con crema: strips of roasted poblano pepper, onion and sweetcorn in a creamy sauce with melting cheese, smoky and mild. Use masa harina for tortillas, made from nixtamalised corn, not cornmeal or polenta. Poblanos can be hard to find: green bell peppers with a jalapeño give a similar effect. Choose a cheese made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: shape the gorditas no thicker than 1 cm; any thicker and the outside burns before the inside cooks and puffs.

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