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Recipes with shallot

384 recipes that use shallot, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Sambal kecap, takes 5 minutes. It is most often cooked with garlic, sugar and turmeric.

Run out of shallot? Half an onion per 2 shallots.

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Quenelles lyonnaises natureBaked quenelles in mushroom sauce

Every charcuterie and traiteur in Lyon sells quenelles, the soft oval dumplings that the city's bouchons bake until they swell to twice their size in a bubbling dish. The famous version contains pike, but Lyonnais families also buy quenelles nature, plain ones made from a flour, milk, butter and egg panade, and bake them for a weeknight supper with a mushroom or tomato cream sauce and a green salad. Made at home they are light and wobbly, with a hint of nutmeg. Gruyère for the top is usually made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian alternative if you prefer. Chef's tip: chill the dough well and shape it with two wet spoons; cold dough holds a neat shape and puffs evenly.

200 minFrenchPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sauce chienHerb, lime and chilli sauce

No grill in Martinique or Guadeloupe is complete without a bowl of sauce chien: shallot, garlic, spring onion, parsley and Scotch bonnet chopped very fine, then 'cooked' with a splash of boiling water, lime juice and oil. Islanders spoon it over grilled vegetables, plantain, rice and beans, and accras, at beach picnics and family barbecues on Sunday afternoons. One story says it is named after the knife used to chop the herbs, whose handle bore a dog. Chef's tip: pour the water on just off the boil; it softens the raw onion and garlic and brightens the green of the herbs.

27 minFrenchChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Escargots de BourgogneSnails in garlic parsley butter

Burgundy snails in green garlic butter are the festive starter of the Côte-d'Or, eaten at Christmas and New Year all over France and in Paris brasseries year round, served by the dozen in dimpled dishes. The snails themselves taste mild and earthy and have a pleasantly firm bite; the real attraction is the sizzling butter packed with garlic, shallot and parsley, mopped up with bread. Live snails need days of preparation, so this recipe uses ready-prepared tinned or jarred snails, with clean shells or snail dishes bought separately. Chef's tip: make the butter a day ahead so the garlic flavour deepens, and pack the shells well so the butter seals the snail in.

35 minFrenchSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Steak frites

Steak frites is the backbone of the Parisian bistro and brasserie menu, ordered at a zinc-topped table at lunchtime with a green salad and a dab of Dijon. A thick entrecôte or bavette is seared hard in a very hot pan, rested, then topped with a melting coin of shallot and parsley butter, while chips cooked twice come out crisp outside and fluffy within. In France the steak is usually served rare (saignant) or medium-rare (à point); because this is a whole-muscle cut, the inside can safely be pink as long as the outside is well seared, but cook it to your taste using the guide in the steps. Chef's tip: take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and salt it just before it goes in the pan, for an even, crusty sear.

65 minFrenchMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LiptauerPaprika curd cheese spread

No Heuriger, the wine tavern on the vineyard slopes at the edge of Vienna, is complete without a bowl of rust-red Liptauer next to the bread basket. Quark and soft butter are beaten with sweet paprika, ground caraway, mustard, onion and capers into a spread that is creamy, tangy and gently warm. Spread it thick on dark rye bread with radishes and chives, or pipe it onto halved peppers for a snack board. A common mistake is using wet quark straight from the tub, which makes the spread runny; drain it in a sieve first. Most quark is set without rennet, but some brands use a little animal rennet, so pick one labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: make it a few hours ahead; the paprika colour deepens and the caraway softens as it sits.

15 minAustrianChutneys & DipsGluten free
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Lamproie à la bordelaise (with eel)Eel and leek red wine stew

In the Gironde, the spring run of lampreys up the Garonne and Dordogne is celebrated in Sainte-Terre and the villages of the Entre-deux-Mers, where the fish is stewed slowly in red wine with masses of leeks. Lamprey is rare, seasonal and protected in many places, so this is a practical version made with eel (or firm monkfish), which gives the same rich, dark, glossy stew; traditionally the sauce is thickened with the lamprey's own blood, and here a little roux and a square of dark chocolate do that job. It tastes deep and winey, with sweet melting leeks. The dish uses red wine; the ingredient note gives an alcohol-free version. Serve with garlic croutons or boiled potatoes. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and keep it cold until the moment it goes into the sauce.

110 minFrenchFish
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Entrecôte bordelaiseRib steak in red wine sauce

Bordeaux's brasseries, from the quays of the Garonne to the old Chartrons wine-merchant quarter, still grill entrecôte over vine cuttings and serve it with sauce bordelaise: shallots, thyme and red wine reduced to a syrup, then enriched with stock and cold butter. Poached bone marrow, folded in at the end, is the old-school touch and well worth trying. The sauce is glossy, deep and a little sweet against the well-browned, juicy steak. The sauce uses red wine; the ingredient note gives an alcohol-free version. Serve with frites or sautéed potatoes and a crisp green salad. Chef's tip: let the steaks sit out of the fridge for 30 minutes before cooking so the centre cooks evenly.

50 minFrenchMeat
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Sandre au beurre blancPike-perch with butter sauce

Beurre blanc was first whisked up on the banks of the Loire near Nantes, and riverside restaurants from Anjou to the Muscadet vineyards still serve it with sandre, the firm, mild pike-perch of the river. The sauce is nothing but shallots reduced in white wine and vinegar, then mounted with cold butter into a pale, foamy emulsion that tastes sharp and creamy at once. The crisp-skinned fish sits on top, with steamed potatoes or leeks alongside. The reduction uses dry white wine; an alcohol-free option is in the notes. If you can't find pike-perch, sea bass or hake fillets are good substitutes. Chef's tip: keep the butter fridge-cold and add it a few cubes at a time, and the sauce will never split.

30 minFrenchFishGluten free
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Perdiz al modo de AlcántaraStuffed partridge braised in port

This is the famous dish of the monastery of San Benito at Alcántara, near the Portuguese border. The story goes that French troops looted the library in 1807, and its recipe for partridges stuffed with liver and truffle, marinated for days in port, ended up in French cookbooks, which is why Escoffier listed it. Today it is a dish for autumn hunting-season dinners in Extremadura. Our home version uses chicken livers, mushrooms and an overnight marinade. The dish uses port; for an alcohol-free version, use red grape juice with 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar. Chef's tip: a few slices of black truffle in the stuffing make it truly special, but well-browned mushrooms are a fine everyday substitute.

110 minSpanishMeatGluten free
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CotriadeFish and potato soup

Cotriade is the Breton answer to bouillabaisse, plainer and kinder on the purse, made in the ports of the south coast from Concarneau to Quiberon with whatever the boats could not sell. Chunks of several fish, both firm and oily, are poached with potatoes and onions in a thyme-scented broth, then served in two parts: the broth poured over toasted bread, and the fish and potatoes moistened with a sharp mustardy vinaigrette. The contrast of the soft, buttery broth and the bright dressing is the whole point. Serve it with good bread and salted butter. Chef's tip: add the firm fish first and the delicate ones last, so nothing falls to pieces in the pot.

60 minFrenchSoupsGluten free
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Kig ha farzBeef and pork with buckwheat pudding

Kig ha farz, "meat and stuffing" in Breton, belongs to the Léon country of north Finistère, where it is still the big shared dish of village fêtes, rugby-club dinners and family gatherings. Beef shin and salt pork belly simmer for hours with cabbage, carrots, leeks and turnips, and in the same pot sits a cotton bag of buckwheat batter that cooks into a dense, nutty pudding. The pudding is crumbled and served with the meats and vegetables, often with lipig, a sauce of shallots melted in butter. Chef's tip: tie the cloth bag loosely, leaving room for the batter to double, or the pudding turns heavy and rubbery.

250 minFrenchMeat
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Sole normandeSole with mussels in cider cream

Sole normande was born in the fish restaurants of the Normandy coast, from Dieppe to Honfleur, where the catch, the local cream and cider met on one plate; Paris chefs later made it a grand-restaurant classic. Folded sole fillets are gently poached in cider and fish stock, then served under a silky, ivory cream sauce made from the poaching liquid and mussel juices, with mussels, pink prawns and button mushrooms around them. It is delicate and rich, best with plain boiled potatoes or rice to soak up the sauce. It uses dry cider or white wine; the notes give an alcohol-free option. Chef's tip: plaice or lemon sole fillets work perfectly well and cost far less than Dover sole.

55 minFrenchFishGluten free
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Poulet vallée d'AugeChicken in cider and cream sauce

The Pays d'Auge, the green orchard country around Lisieux and Pont-l'Évêque, puts its three great products into one pan here: apples, cider and thick Normandy cream. Chicken pieces are browned in butter, flamed with a splash of Calvados if you like, braised in dry cider with mushrooms and finished with crème fraîche, so the sauce is tangy, gently sweet and pale gold. It is a Sunday lunch dish, served with rice or steamed potatoes and wedges of apple caramelised in butter. The recipe uses cider and optional Calvados; alcohol-free swaps are in the ingredient notes. Chef's tip: choose a dry cider, because a sweet one makes the sauce cloying once it reduces.

70 minFrenchChickenGluten free
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Cèpes à la bordelaisePorcini with garlic and parsley

In autumn, when cèpes push up through the pine forests of the Landes and the oak woods of the Gironde, Bordeaux families fry them the local way: thick slices browned hard in a hot pan, then tossed with shallot, garlic and plenty of parsley. They come to the table as a side for Sunday lunch, piled on toast for a starter, or beside an omelette for supper. Many cooks use duck fat; this version uses olive oil, so it is vegan. Out of season, use chestnut mushrooms with a few soaked dried porcini for flavour. Chef's tip: wipe the cèpes with a damp cloth instead of washing them; wet mushrooms steam instead of browning.

22 minFrenchSidesVeganGluten free
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Oeufs en meurettePoached eggs in red wine sauce

In Burgundy, between Dijon and Beaune, a meurette is any dish cooked in red wine sauce, and oeufs en meurette is the one served as a starter in village restaurants and at weekend lunches. Eggs are poached in a reduced, glossy sauce of red wine, shallots and stock, then served with crisp smoked pork lardons, button mushrooms and garlic-rubbed croutons to dip into the yolks. The sauce is deep, winey and savoury; the eggs make it rich. The dish uses red wine, and an alcohol-free version is in the notes. The yolks stay runny, so use pasteurised eggs for pregnant women, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, or poach the eggs until the yolks are set. Chef's tip: poach the eggs in water with a dash of vinegar rather than in the wine itself, so the whites stay white.

55 minFrenchSnacks & Starters
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Espárragos de Navarra con vinagretaWhite asparagus with vinaigrette

White asparagus grows under mounded earth in the sandy fields along the Ebro and its tributaries, and the Espárrago de Navarra label covers the spears picked there from April to June. In spring, restaurants from Pamplona to Tudela serve them freshly boiled, still warm or just cool, as a starter on their own or with a sharp vinaigrette full of finely diced peppers and egg. The rest of the year the jarred ones are a pantry staple. Chef's tip: add a teaspoon of sugar to the cooking water; it softens the faint bitterness of the stems.

45 minSpanishSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Salade lyonnaiseFrisée, bacon and poached egg salad

Every bouchon in Lyon, the small checked-tablecloth restaurants of the old town and the Presqu'île, puts salade lyonnaise on its menu as a starter or light lunch. Bitter, crunchy frisée is tossed with a sharp mustard vinaigrette, then topped with hot smoked pork lardons, garlicky croutons and a poached egg whose yolk spills into the leaves and turns the dressing creamy. It's the meeting of hot and cold, soft and crisp that makes it work. The egg is served runny, so use pasteurised eggs for pregnant women, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, or cook the egg until set. Chef's tip: deglaze the lardon pan with the vinegar and pour it warm over the leaves so they wilt very slightly.

30 minFrenchSalads
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Centolla gratinadaBaked king crab with cheese

Centolla, the southern king crab hauled from the cold waters of the Beagle Channel, is Ushuaia's pride, and seafood restaurants along the harbour serve it gratinada: sweet chunks of leg meat in a light white sauce, crowned with cheese and browned under a fierce grill. It is rich, so serve it in small dishes as a starter with lemon and a green salad, plus crusty bread for anyone who can eat gluten. Buy cooked, frozen king crab legs or meat and thaw them in the fridge overnight; if you ever cook crab yourself, it must be alive when it goes into the pot. A frequent mistake is a sauce so thick and cheesy that the delicate crab disappears; keep it pourable and the cheese thin. Chef's tip: fold the crab in gently at the end, in big pieces, and let the oven only heat it; it is already cooked and turns stringy if it boils.

45 minArgentinianFishGluten free
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Garganelli con piselli e pannaEgg pasta with peas and cream

Garganelli come from the farmhouses between Imola and Lugo in Romagna, where egg-pasta squares are rolled around a thin stick on a little comb called a pettine, leaving ridged quills with a seam down one side. Their ridges grip sauce well, and the classic spring dressing is sweet peas in cream; the trattoria version adds prosciutto, which this one leaves out, with a little shallot and Parmigiano instead. The dish is silky and mild, a Sunday-lunch first course. Chef's tip: a clean gnocchi board and a pencil-thin wooden dowel make perfectly good garganelli if you don't own a pettine.

60 minItalianPasta & Noodles
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Risotto al radicchio di TrevisoRed chicory risotto

From December to February the farms around Treviso, in the Veneto, harvest radicchio tardivo, the late red chicory with long, curled, wine-coloured leaves, and towns across the province hold festivals in its honour. Cooked into a risotto, it softens and turns from crimson to a deep purple-brown, and its bitterness mellows into something sweet and nutty against the creamy rice. Local cooks splash in red wine, which adds depth and colour; for an alcohol-free risotto use an extra ladle of stock and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar. Chef's tip: keep back a handful of raw strips to scatter on top for crunch and colour.

40 minItalianRice & GrainsGluten free
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SchlutzkrapfenSpinach and quark half-moon pasta

Schlutzkrapfen come from the farmhouse kitchens of South Tyrol, around Bressanone and the Val Pusteria, and are a fixture of autumn menus once the first snow dusts the Dolomites. A firm dough of rye and wheat flour wraps a soft filling of spinach and fresh quark, folded into half-moons and served in foaming brown butter with chives and cheese. The rye gives them an earthy, slightly sour bite that sets them apart from Italian ravioli further south. Chef's tip: roll the dough thinner than you think and keep the unused part covered, as rye dough dries out quickly.

90 minItalianPasta & Noodles
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Nam prik ongTomato and pork chilli dip

Every khantoke dinner in Chiang Mai sets out a bowl of this brick-red relish beside the sticky rice baskets, and morning markets sell it by the scoop in little plastic bags. It sits somewhere between a chunky meat sauce and a dip: sweet-sour from slow-cooked cherry tomatoes, savoury from shrimp paste and pork, with a gentle chilli warmth rather than a blast. Scoop it up with cucumber, blanched long beans, cabbage wedges and crisp pork crackling, or press a ball of sticky rice into it. Chef's tip: fry the pounded paste in the oil until it darkens and smells toasty before the pork goes in; that is where the deep, roasted flavour comes from.

30 minThaiChutneys & DipsGluten freeSpicy
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Gai tod Hat YaiSouthern fried chicken

Hat Yai, the busy trading city in Songkhla province near the Malaysian border, gave its name to Thailand's best-loved fried chicken: pieces marinated with coriander root, garlic and white pepper, fried in a thin rice-flour coat until deep bronze, then buried under a drift of crisp fried shallots. Stalls there sell it from early morning with sticky rice and sweet chilli sauce, and Bangkok vendors copy it on every soi. The skin is light and crackly rather than bready, the meat aromatic and well seasoned, and the shallots add sweetness and crunch. Children love it with the sauce on the side. Chef's tip: marinate overnight in the fridge so the coriander root and pepper reach right to the bone.

60 minThaiChicken
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Thai fish cakes

Bouncy, not fluffy, is how a good tod man pla should feel between the teeth: the fish is worked with red curry paste into a sticky, elastic paste, studded with slices of long bean and shredded lime leaf, then fried in small discs that puff and ruffle at the edges. Markets all over Thailand, from Chiang Mai to Hat Yai, sell them by the bagful, and at home they are a starter or part of a shared meal with a sweet-sour cucumber dip scattered with crushed peanuts. Featherback fish (pla grai) is the classic choice, but any firm white fish works. Chef's tip: rub your hands with a little oil before shaping and the sticky paste won't cling to your fingers.

40 minThaiSnacks & Starters
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Thai chicken satay

Satay came to Thailand with Muslim cooks from the south and the Malay peninsula, and now its smoke drifts from Bangkok market lanes to the night stalls of Hua Hin: thin strips of chicken stained yellow with turmeric and coconut, grilled over charcoal until the edges char. Every order comes with two partners, a thick, gently spiced peanut sauce and ajad, a sweet-sour relish of cucumber, shallot and chilli that cuts the richness. Grilled bread or sticky rice turns it into a meal; on its own it is a party snack. Chef's tip: thread the meat in a flat, tight ribbon rather than bunched up, so it cooks evenly and quickly without drying out.

50 minThaiSnacks & Starters
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Pla rad prikFried fish with chilli sauce

A whole fried fish blanketed in glossy red chilli sauce is the centrepiece of many family celebrations and riverside restaurant meals in central Thailand. The sauce is known as sam rot, 'three flavours', because palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce are balanced against pounded chillies and garlic; spooned over a fish fried until its skin crackles and the fins crunch like crisps, it turns sticky and shiny. Sea bass (pla kapong) is the usual choice, though snapper or tilapia work well too. Bring it to the table with jasmine rice, a stir-fried green vegetable and a clear soup to share. Chef's tip: score the fish down to the bone on both sides and pat it bone-dry, so the heat reaches the thickest part and the oil doesn't spit.

45 minThaiFishSpicy
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Pad thai with prawns

On Mahachai Road near Bangkok's Golden Mount, pad thai cooks work charcoal-fired woks late into the night, and their style is the model here: chewy rice sticks tossed with a dark, sweet-sour tamarind sauce, scrambled egg, cubes of firm tofu, sweet preserved radish, garlic chives and plump fresh prawns. It should taste tangy first, then sweet and salty, never like ketchup. Everyone finishes their own plate at the table with crushed peanuts, chilli flakes, a squeeze of lime and a handful of raw bean sprouts and chives for crunch, and children usually love it with the chilli left off. Chef's tip: make the tamarind sauce a day ahead; it keeps for a week in the fridge and the noodles then take ten minutes.

30 minThaiPasta & Noodles
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Tom yum goongHot and sour prawn soup

Steaming bowls of this prawn soup land on almost every table in central Thailand, from riverside shophouses in Ayutthaya to family dinners in Bangkok, where it sits in the middle to be shared with rice and two or three other dishes. The broth is thin but loud: sour from lime, salty from fish sauce, hot from crushed bird's eye chillies, and perfumed by bruised lemongrass, galangal and torn makrut lime leaf, which flavour the soup but are left in the bowl. This is the clear style (nam sai) with a spoonful of roasted chilli paste for colour and a gentle sweetness; the creamy nam khon style adds evaporated milk, which we leave out to keep it dairy free. Serve it piping hot with plain jasmine rice. Chef's tip: simmer the prawn heads and shells for five minutes before anything else goes in, and the soup tastes of the sea rather than of water.

25 minThaiSoupsGluten freeSpicy
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Chaozhou braised goose

Walk past a lou mei counter in Chaozhou or Shantou and the glossy brown geese hanging there are the first thing you notice; braised goose is offered at ancestral rites, weddings and New Year, then sliced for everyone at the table. The bird simmers slowly in a master stock of soy, rock sugar, galangal and whole spices until the meat is tender and deeply savoury with a gentle sweetness, while the skin stays smooth and the fat soft. Goose can be hard to find, so goose legs or plump duck legs work well at home. Slice it thinly and serve with plain rice or rice porridge, braised tofu and eggs from the same pot, and the sharp garlic vinegar Teochew people always put alongside. Chef's tip: strain and freeze the stock after use; each time you braise in it again the flavour gets deeper, which is how Chaozhou shops keep a 'master' stock for years.

150 minChineseMeat
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Kolo meeDry egg noodles with pork

Ask anyone from Kuching what they miss most and the answer is usually kolo mee, a bowl that looks almost too simple: curly, springy egg noodles tossed in fragrant shallot oil, a little soy and white pepper, then crowned with savoury minced pork and slices of char siu. There is no thick gravy and no chilli on top; the flavour is clean, porky and aromatic, and the texture is the whole point, each strand bouncy and separate. Stalls often add a dash of red char siu oil for the 'red' version. It is eaten at any hour with a small bowl of clear soup and pickled green chilli on the side. Chef's tip: cook the noodles in small portions in a big pot of fiercely boiling water and shake them really dry; any leftover water dilutes the shallot oil.

40 minMalaysianPasta & Noodles
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Sarawak laksaSpicy coconut noodle soup

Kuching wakes up to laksa Sarawak, ordered at coffee shops before work and reaching its peak on a lazy Sunday morning. It looks nothing like curry laksa: the broth is a russet, gently creamy soup built on a complex paste of chillies, shallots, galangal, toasted sesame, peanuts and warm whole spices, cooked into a chicken and prawn-shell stock with tamarind and a little coconut milk. Thin rice vermicelli is topped with shredded chicken, whole prawns, ribbons of omelette and bean sprouts, and every bowl comes with lime and a dab of sambal belacan. The work is in the paste, which keeps well and makes several batches. Chef's tip: toast the spices, sesame seeds and peanuts separately in a dry pan before grinding; it gives the broth its deep, roasted aroma.

90 minMalaysianSoups
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HinavaRaw fish salad with lime

Hinava is the dish Kadazandusun families set out at Kaamatan, Sabah's harvest festival in May, and on weekend tables in Kota Kinabalu and Penampang. Strips of raw mackerel are soaked in sour lime juice, then tossed with sliced shallots, ginger, red chilli and grated seed of bambangan, a wild mango, which adds a musky tang. The result is sharp, clean and crunchy, with firm, pearly fish. Eat it as a starter or alongside rice and grilled meat. Chef's tip: slice the fish very thinly and evenly so the lime firms each strip the same way, and season with salt only at the end.

20 minMalaysianSaladsGluten free
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Manok pansohBamboo-cooked chicken

Iban longhouses in Sarawak cook manok pansoh for Gawai, the harvest festival at the start of June: chicken pieces packed into lengths of fresh bamboo with lemongrass, ginger, shallots and tapioca leaves, plugged with leaves and leaned over an open fire. No stock or water goes in; the chicken steams in its own juices, which turn into a clear, herby broth that tastes faintly of green bamboo. At home a lidded casserole wrapped in banana leaf gets you very close. Serve it with plain rice, and with the broth spooned over. Chef's tip: bruise the lemongrass and ginger hard with a pestle before packing; with no added liquid, crushed aromatics are what flavour the juices.

90 minMalaysianChickenGluten free
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Solok ladaFish-stuffed green chillies

Bulky green chillies are the cases for this Kelantan festive dish, cooked for weddings and Raya tables in Kota Bharu. Each one is slit, scraped out and packed with a pale filling of fish, freshly grated coconut, shallots, ginger and black pepper, then simmered gently in coconut milk until the chillies slump and the gravy turns rich and faintly smoky. The filling is soft and sweet; the skins bring gentle heat and a green, grassy bite. Serve two or three per person with rice and a sambal, or with nasi kerabu. Chef's tip: choose large, mild chillies (or long sweet peppers for a gentler version) and tie each with a strip of pandan or a toothpick so the filling stays inside.

60 minMalaysianSnacks & StartersGluten freeSpicy
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Nasi dagangCoconut rice with tuna curry

Breakfast on the east coast, in Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu, very often means nasi dagang: soft, slightly sticky rice steamed twice with coconut milk, ginger and fenugreek seeds, wrapped in paper with a ladle of gulai ikan tongkol, a gentle tuna curry. The rice is fragrant and a little chewy from the glutinous grains mixed in, while the curry is mellow, coconutty and sour from dried tamarind slices. Stalls sell it from dawn, with hard-boiled eggs and cucumber pickle on the side. It also makes a fine weekend brunch at home. Chef's tip: soak the two kinds of rice overnight so the grains steam evenly and turn plump rather than chalky.

90 minMalaysianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Otak-otakGrilled spiced fish mousse

Drive through Muar in Johor and you will see roadside grills stacked with slim green parcels, sold by the dozen in paper bags for the journey home. Inside each is a soft, bright-orange custard of pounded mackerel, coconut milk and egg, flavoured with a chilli-lemongrass rempah and kaffir lime leaf, which turns smoky and slightly charred at the edges from the grill. Melaka's Nyonya cooks make a fatter, steamed version, but this one is grilled in banana leaf. Eat it warm, peeled straight out of the leaf, with white bread, rice or nasi lemak. Chef's tip: chill the fish mixture for 15 minutes before wrapping; it firms up and is far easier to spoon onto the leaves.

50 minMalaysianFishGluten free
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Ayam pongtehChicken and potato braise

Melaka's Peranakan (Nyonya) kitchens cook ayam pongteh for family dinners and for the Chinese New Year reunion table: a dark, gentle braise of chicken and potatoes that has no chilli at all. Its savour comes from taucheo, salted fermented soybeans, fried with a lot of shallots and garlic, sweetened with palm sugar and coloured with dark soy. The gravy is thin, glossy and moreish, and the potatoes drink it up until they are soft enough to crush with a spoon. Spoon it over plain rice with sambal belacan on the side for anyone who wants heat. Chef's tip: pound the shallots rather than blending them to a purée; slightly coarse shallots melt into the gravy and give it body.

60 minMalaysianChicken
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Penang asam laksaSour fish noodle soup

Forget coconut and cream: Penang's asam laksa is all sour, hot and herbal, a dark tamarind broth thickened with flaked mackerel and poured over thick, slippery rice noodles. Hawkers at Air Itam market and along Gurney Drive pile the bowl with shredded pineapple, cucumber, red onion, lettuce, torn mint and a spoon of sticky, sweet prawn paste (hae ko) that you stir in as you eat. Torch ginger flower and Vietnamese mint (daun kesum) give it a smell that is wholly its own. It is a hot-afternoon dish, eaten fast while the herbs are still crisp. Chef's tip: poach the mackerel in the broth whole, then flake it back in; the bones and skin give the soup much of its body.

75 minMalaysianSoupsSpicy
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Satay (Kajang)Chicken satay

The town of Kajang, just south of Kuala Lumpur, built its name on satay, and evenings there still smell of lemongrass smoke drifting from long charcoal troughs. Kajang skewers are cut in larger chunks than most, soaked in a yellow marinade of turmeric, lemongrass, cumin and fennel, and grilled while being basted with oil brushed on through a lemongrass stalk. They come with a chunky, sweet-spicy peanut sauce, cubes of compressed rice (nasi impit), raw onion and cucumber. Order them by the dozen with friends as a starter or a whole supper. Chef's tip: thread a small piece of chicken skin or fat between the meat on each skewer; it melts over the coals and keeps the satay juicy.

60 minMalaysianSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Ikan bakarGrilled fish with sambal

Night markets and seaside stalls from Port Dickson to Kuantan announce ikan bakar by smell long before you see the charcoal: whole fish or stingray wings smeared with red sambal, laid on banana leaf and grilled until the leaf blackens and the paste caramelises onto the flesh. The leaf keeps the fish moist and lends a faint tea-like smokiness, while the sambal brings shrimp-paste depth, tamarind sourness and steady heat. It is eaten with the fingers, with plain rice, cucumber and a sharp dip called air asam made from tamarind, chillies and shallots. Chef's tip: score the fish right down to the bone so the sambal seeps into the cuts and the thickest part cooks at the same pace as the tail.

45 minMalaysianFishGluten freeSpicy
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Ayam masak merahChicken in tomato chilli sauce

Red-cooked chicken turns up at almost every Malay kenduri (wedding feast) and Hari Raya open house across Malaysia, ladled out of huge pots beside nasi minyak or plain rice. The chicken pieces are fried first so the skin firms up, then simmered in a brick-red sauce of blended dried chillies, tomato and onion that tastes sweet first, then hot, then tangy. Cinnamon, star anise and cloves give it a warm, almost festive smell, and a splash of coconut milk at the end rounds off the edges. Serve it with steamed rice, cucumber slices and a spoon of acar (pickled vegetables). Chef's tip: fry the chilli paste until it darkens and the oil seeps out (pecah minyak) before any tomato goes in; raw paste makes the sauce taste harsh and bitter.

50 minMalaysianChickenGluten freeSpicy
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Kohu-kohuSmoked tuna salad

Ambon's fish markets sell ikan asar, tuna smoked over coconut husks, and one of the best things to do with it is kohu-kohu. Flakes of the smoky fish are tossed with crisp shredded long beans, bean sprouts, lightly toasted coconut, raw shallot, chilli and plenty of lime, making a salad that is crunchy, smoky, sour and hot all at once. It's a staple at Maluku family meals, often served next to papeda and fish soup or simply with rice. Chef's tip: mix it no more than an hour before eating; fresh coconut goes limp and sour if it sits around, and the salad loses its crunch.

20 minIndonesianSaladsGluten free
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Papeda with ikan kuah kuningSago porridge with fish soup

In Ambon, Jayapura and the islands between, the everyday staple isn't rice but papeda: sago starch stirred with boiling water into a translucent, glue-like porridge. It has almost no taste of its own, which is the point; it's eaten with ikan kuah kuning, a sharp, yellow fish soup bright with turmeric, lime and lemon basil. Families twirl the papeda out of the pot on two sticks, drop it into a bowl and ladle the soup over, then slurp it down without chewing. The texture is surprising the first time: slippery, soft and soothing next to the hot, sour broth. Chef's tip: the water must be at a full rolling boil when it hits the sago, or the papeda stays white and lumpy instead of turning clear.

60 minIndonesianFishGluten free
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Soto BetawiBeef and coconut milk soup

Jakarta's original Betawi community gave the capital this rich, pale-gold soup, and on a Sunday the soto Betawi stalls along the city's side streets are packed with families. Beef brisket (and, for many, tripe) simmers until tender, then goes into a gently spiced broth made creamy with coconut milk and a splash of fresh milk, scented with lemongrass, cinnamon and cloves. Each bowl is loaded with fried potato, raw tomato and spring onion and comes with rice, lime, sambal and bitter-crisp emping crackers. It's comforting and mellow rather than fiery. Chef's tip: for a dairy-free bowl, swap the milk for more coconut milk; the soup will be a little heavier but just as good.

90 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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PallubasaBeef and coconut soup

Makassar's other great beef soup is darker, richer and more coconutty than coto, and locals argue about which is better over late lunches at pallubasa houses near the port. The secret is kelapa sangrai: grated coconut toasted slowly to a deep brown and pounded, which gives the broth a roasted, almost nutty sweetness and a slightly gritty, full body. It's eaten with a mound of plain rice rather than rice cakes, and for the full version you ask for 'alas', a raw egg yolk dropped in the bowl that you stir into the boiling soup until it turns silky. Offal is traditional but optional; tender beef alone is delicious. Chef's tip: the coconut must reach the colour of milk chocolate, not black, because burnt coconut makes the whole pot bitter.

120 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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Ayam rica-ricaChicken in fresh chilli paste

Rica means chilli in the Manado dialect, and North Sulawesi cooks are not shy with it. Ayam rica-rica turns up at Minahasa family parties and church gatherings, a heap of chicken pieces coated in a coarse, scarlet paste of fresh chillies, shallots and ginger, finished with tomato, spring onion and a fistful of lemon basil. It's hot, bright and fresh rather than deep and stewed, with a sticky sauce that clings to the meat. Serve it with lots of steamed rice and a cooling cucumber salad. Chef's tip: blend the paste coarse, with as little water as possible; a wet, smooth paste steams instead of frying and never gets that glossy, toasty edge.

50 minIndonesianChickenGluten freeSpicy
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Bebek betutuSpiced slow-roasted duck

For ceremonies in the villages around Gianyar in central Bali, a whole duck is stuffed and smothered with base genep, wrapped in banana leaves and areca-palm sheath, and buried overnight in smouldering rice husks. By morning the meat has turned meltingly soft, the fat has rendered into the spices and the parcel smells of turmeric, smoke and lime leaf. This home version keeps the stuffing and the leaf parcel but uses a low oven for three hours, then opens the parcel for a short blast to colour the skin. Serve it in its juices with rice, a sharp sambal matah and long beans or water spinach. Chef's tip: marinate the duck overnight in the fridge if you can; the paste needs time to get past the fat and into the meat.

240 minIndonesianMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Sate PadangBeef skewers in spiced sauce

Night-time in Padang and Bukittinggi brings out the sate carts, fanning charcoal under skewers of beef that were already simmered tender in spices before they ever met the grill. That two-stage cooking is what sets West Sumatra's satay apart, and so is the sauce: no peanuts at all, but the spiced cooking broth thickened with rice flour into a smooth, glossy, turmeric-yellow gravy with plenty of chilli and ginger. It is ladled generously over the skewers and over slices of ketupat rice cake on a banana leaf, then finished with fried shallots and a crisp cracker. Chef's tip: keep the cooking broth; it's the base of the sauce, and the deeper it tastes, the better your sate.

90 minIndonesianMeatSpicy
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Goes well with shallot