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Mứt sen (candied lotus seeds)

No Tết candy tray in Hanoi or Huế looks complete without a mound of mứt sen, the ivory lotus seeds that stand for purity and, because a lotus pod holds so many seeds, for a family blessed with many descendants. Done well, each seed is soft and floury inside, almost like chestnut, under a dry, sparkling shell of sugar. Guests nibble them with a pot of hot green or lotus tea while they swap New Year wishes. Fresh seeds are best; dried ones from Asian grocers work if soaked overnight first. Chef's tip: pull out every green germ in the centre, because a single bitter heart spoils the sweet mouthful.

90 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Thịt đông (pork in aspic)

Thịt đông is a dish of the cold northern Tết, when families once left bowls of simmered pork outside overnight to set; today the fridge does the job. Pork hock and pork skin are cooked gently with shallots, fish sauce and black pepper until the meat is tender and the broth is rich in natural gelatine, then wood ear mushrooms are added for crunch and everything sets into a clear, wobbly jelly. It is eaten cold, cut into wedges, with hot rice, bánh chưng and a bowl of pickled shallots to cut the richness. No gelatine powder is needed. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a bare simmer and skim often; a rolling boil clouds the jelly.

240 min

Vietnamese Meat

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Bánh in (pressed rice-flour cakes)

Bánh in, literally 'printed cakes', come from Huế and central Vietnam, where they are stacked on the Tết altar for the ancestors and later shared with guests; the moulds stamp flowers or the characters for luck and longevity into each cake. The dough is just toasted glutinous rice flour bound with fragrant syrup, so the cakes are crumbly-soft, melt in the mouth and taste nutty, with a smooth mung bean heart. Serve them with jasmine or artichoke tea. Any wooden or plastic mooncake mould of about 40 g works. Chef's tip: let the pressed cakes rest overnight in a closed tin; they firm up and the flavour of the toasted flour deepens.

60 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Kẹo cu đơ (Hà Tĩnh peanut and ginger candy)

Kẹo cu đơ belongs to Hà Tĩnh province in north-central Vietnam, where it is chewed slowly with a cup of strong green tea, especially on cold mornings and during Tết visits. Roasted peanuts are folded into a dark, sticky toffee of sugarcane molasses and malt syrup, sharpened with fresh ginger, and the hot mass is sandwiched between two crisp, toasted sesame rice papers. Every bite gives a crackle of rice paper, then a chewy, slightly smoky sweetness and a warm ginger finish. Cut it into wedges and serve it with tea rather than as a pudding. It is naturally egg-free: the molasses and malt syrup are cooked to the hard-ball stage, which is what sets the candy and binds the nuts. Chef's tip: toast the rice papers until they are completely puffed and blistered; the common mistake is under-toasting them, which leaves them leathery once the hot toffee goes on.

45 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Bánh tổ (Hội An New Year cake)

In Hội An and the rest of Quảng Nam, families steam bánh tổ for Tết and place it on the ancestors' altar; its name echoes 'tổ', the ancestors, and its slow-cooked sweetness is a wish for a smooth, sweet year. The cake is like a darker, ginger-scented cousin of Chinese nian gao: dense, chewy and glossy, with toasted sesame on top. Eat it in thin slices at room temperature, or fry slices until crisp outside and molten within, and serve with tea or sandwiched in rice crackers as locals do. Chef's tip: keep the water at a steady simmer and top it up with boiling water; a steamer that boils dry is the only real way to ruin this cake.

300 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Nộm su hào (kohlrabi and carrot salad)

When the Tết table in northern Vietnam fills with sticky rice cakes, pork in aspic and boiled chicken, a plate of nộm su hào brings freshness and balance, and its bright colours are a cheerful sign for the new year. Kohlrabi is at its sweetest in the northern winter, so it is shredded with carrot, salted to draw out water and dressed with fish sauce, lime, sugar, garlic and chilli, then finished with roasted peanuts and Vietnamese herbs. It is crisp, juicy and tangy; serve it beside rich meats or bánh chưng. For a vegetarian version, a soy dressing is given in the last step. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted vegetables really dry, or the dressing turns watery and dull.

30 min

Vietnamese Salads

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Mứt bí (candied winter melon)

Pale as rice paper and crunchy at the edge, mứt bí is one of the cheapest and best-loved sweets on the Tết candy tray all over Vietnam; its white colour stands for a clean, bright start to the year. The melon is first firmed in clear lime water made with food-grade slaked lime (vôi ăn, calcium hydroxide, sold for pickling), which sets the outside so the batons stay crisp while the sugar soaks in. If you would rather not use lime, a quick blanch and longer drying gives a softer but still delicious result. Serve with green tea, or with candied ginger and coconut. Chef's tip: choose an old, heavy winter melon with a dusty white skin; young ones are watery and collapse in the syrup.

240 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Dưa hành (pickled shallots)

In northern Vietnam the saying goes that fatty pork, pickled shallots and red couplets make Tết, and dưa hành is that pickled shallot. It is not the same thing as southern củ kiệu: kiệu are slim scallion bulbs pickled sweet and mild, while dưa hành uses round purple shallots (hành tím) that sit in a salty brine for a few days, turning faintly sour, crunchy and pleasantly pungent. Their bite cuts through sticky bánh chưng, pork in aspic and pressed pork rolls, which is exactly why every northern family makes a jar. Chef's tip: soak the unpeeled shallots in warm water first; the skins then slip off in seconds and your eyes stay dry.

30 min

Vietnamese Sides

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Kẹo dừa (Bến Tre coconut candy)

Bến Tre, in the Mekong Delta, is coconut country, and its workshops turn out mountains of kẹo dừa, the chewy coconut candy that Vietnamese families put on the Tết tray and bring home as a souvenir from the south. Thick coconut milk is boiled with sugar and rice malt syrup until it becomes a soft, pale caramel that tastes of toasted coconut and a little salt. Each piece is cut into a small bar and wrapped in a sheet of paper-thin edible rice paper, which melts on the tongue. Offer them with green tea, or at the end of a family meal. The candy is naturally egg-free: the long boil reduces the coconut milk until its own fat and solids, with the malt syrup, set it to a chew. Chef's tip: use a wide heavy pan and stir right across the base without stopping; the common mistake is walking away, which scorches the coconut solids and leaves brown specks and a bitter edge.

60 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Xôi vò (mung bean coated sticky rice)

Xôi vò is a Hanoi sticky rice offered at the altar for Vu Lan, the Buddhist full moon of the seventh lunar month when people honour their parents and ancestors, and again on the first days of Tết. Unlike most xôi, it is not a sticky mass: 'vò' means rubbed, and the soaked rice is rubbed with crumbled mung bean so each grain steams up separate, glossy and pale gold. It tastes mild, nutty and lightly salty, and is eaten with chè (sweet soup), a little sugar, or toasted sesame salt. Chef's tip: crumble the warm mung bean paste through a coarse sieve; fine, dry crumbs are what keep the grains apart.

90 min

Vietnamese Rice & Grains

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Giò thủ (pressed pork roll)

Giò thủ is a northern Tết classic, a mosaic roll made from pork ear, pork tongue and boneless pork cheek meat with crunchy wood ear mushrooms and plenty of black pepper. Using these cuts is an old way of honouring the whole animal at the year's biggest feast, and the roll's neat round slices are a wish for a complete, well-ordered year. The pieces are boiled, sliced, stir-fried with fish sauce and packed hot into banana leaf, where their natural gelatine binds them as they cool. Every slice is crunchy, chewy and peppery; serve with pickled shallots, fish sauce with lime and chilli, and bánh chưng. Chef's tip: pack and press the filling while it is still very hot; once it cools the gelatine sets and the roll will not hold together.

240 min

Vietnamese Meat

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Mứt tắc (candied kumquats)

In the south, potted kumquat trees heavy with fruit stand at the door for Tết, because their round gold fruit promises plenty; mứt tắc brings that same luck to the candy tray. Each fruit is slit, gently pressed to push out the seeds and juice, firmed briefly in clear water made with food-grade slaked lime (vôi ăn), then candied until glossy and amber, with a chewy skin and a pleasant bitter-sweet edge. A no-lime method is given too. Serve with strong tea, or drop a fruit into hot water with honey for a soothing drink. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit twice in fresh water before candying; it tames the bitterness without losing the perfume.

240 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Chè kho (mung bean fudge pudding)

On New Year's Eve and the last days of Tết, Hanoi families place a plate of chè kho on the ancestors' altar: a smooth, golden mung bean fudge whose sweetness asks for a gentle, prosperous year. 'Kho' means cooked down dry, and that is the whole technique, stirring the bean purée with sugar until it becomes a thick, glossy paste that can be cut. It tastes nutty and delicately floral from grapefruit-blossom water, with a crunch of sesame on top. Serve small slices with lotus or green tea. Chef's tip: use a heavy non-stick pan and a wooden spoon, and never leave it; the paste catches in seconds once it thickens.

75 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Tmar mehchi (Moroccan almond-stuffed dates)

Tmar mehchi is the stuffed date of Fez and Marrakech, piled high on silver trays at weddings, engagements and Eid, and offered to guests with mint tea. Soft dates are filled with a homemade almond paste perfumed with orange-blossom water, often tinted pale green or pink to match the celebration, then scored with a knife so the filling shows. They are soft, rich and caramel-sweet, with a floral, nutty middle. The paste here is mixed from ground almonds and icing sugar, so there is no shop marzipan, which can contain egg white. It is naturally egg-free: the dates' sticky flesh and a few spoonfuls of orange-blossom water bind the almond filling. Chef's tip: add the orange-blossom water a little at a time and stop when the paste is firm like play dough. The common mistake is a wet paste, which oozes out and makes the dates slippery.

30 min

Moroccan Desserts

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Bánh thuẫn (Tết sponge cakes)

In Huế and across the south, bánh thuẫn are baked in small flower-shaped moulds for the Tết table and ancestor offerings; the top splits open like a blossom as it bakes, and a well-cracked cake is said to bring a year that blooms. They are dairy-free, made only of eggs, sugar and flour, so the texture is springy inside with a golden, crisp rim, a little like a madeleine but airier. Children love them, and they keep in a tin for days, ready for visitors with tea. Chef's tip: heat the oiled moulds in the oven before filling; the batter hitting hot metal is what makes the tops crack into petals.

45 min

Vietnamese Baking

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Kẹo mè xửng (Huế sesame peanut chews)

No one leaves the old imperial city of Huế without a box of kẹo mè xửng, the soft sesame chew sold on Đông Ba market stalls and handed out at Tết and on family visits. Rice malt syrup and sugar are cooked with a little tapioca starch into a glossy, stretchy mass, chopped peanuts are folded in, and the slab is pressed between layers of toasted sesame. It chews like a soft toffee, nutty and gently sweet, and the sesame gives every square a roasted fragrance. Serve squares with hot lotus or green tea after dinner. The candy is naturally egg-free: tapioca starch gives it its springy chew and the malt syrup binds it, so nothing else is needed. Chef's tip: oil your knife and cut while the slab is just warm. The common mistake is adding the starch slurry without stirring hard, which leaves white lumps through the candy.

75 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Bánh phồng tôm (prawn crackers)

In the Mekong Delta, and above all in Sa Đéc, whole streets lay out trays of prawn crackers to dry in the sun before Tết; a cracker that puffs big in the hot oil is a cheerful sign that the family's fortunes will grow too. Home-made ones taste far more of prawn than packet crackers: light, airy, crisp and a little sweet, perfect for guests with drinks or beside a salad. The dough is steamed, chilled, sliced thin and dried for a day in the sun or a few hours in a very low oven, so plan ahead; if you buy dried crackers, just do the frying step. Chef's tip: slice the chilled logs as thin as a coin; thick slices stay hard in the middle instead of puffing.

90 min

Vietnamese Snacks & Starters

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Thịt heo ngâm mắm (fish-sauce cured pork)

In southern Vietnam a jar of thịt heo ngâm mắm is prepared a week before Tết so that hosts always have something ready when relatives drop by; the jar full of pork is a sign of a well-stocked home in the new year. Pork belly is boiled until fully cooked, then submerged in a boiled and cooled brine of fish sauce, sugar, garlic and chilli, where it turns amber, savoury-sweet and firm enough to slice paper thin. Serve it with steamed rice, pickled mustard greens or củ kiệu, and fresh herbs. Chef's tip: make sure the belly and the brine are both completely cold before they meet, and keep the jar in the fridge throughout.

65 min

Vietnamese Meat

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Canh bóng (Hanoi puffed pork skin soup)

Canh bóng is the showpiece soup of the Hanoi Tết feast tray: a clear pork bone broth full of colour, with carrot flowers, cauliflower, snow peas and mushrooms floating beside pork meatballs, prawns and bóng bì, the puffed dried pork skin that soaks up broth like a sponge. Its many ingredients stand for abundance, and its clarity for a clean start to the year. It is light yet deeply savoury, served with rice and the rest of the feast. Buy bóng bì ready-puffed in packets from Vietnamese grocers. Chef's tip: soak and squeeze the pork skin in warm ginger water twice; it removes the frying oil so the broth stays sparkling.

90 min

Vietnamese Soups

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Canh măng (dried bamboo shoot soup)

A deep bowl of canh măng sits at the centre of the northern Tết feast tray, where its long, chewy strands of bamboo stand for steady growth in the new year. The dried shoots are soaked and boiled several times until mild and tender, then simmered with pork hock until the broth is clear, sweet and lightly smoky. It is rich but clean-tasting, served with rice beside the boiled chicken, spring rolls and giò. If you prefer chicken, a variation is given in the steps. Chef's tip: tear the soaked shoots into thin strips along the grain rather than cutting across; they stay chewy and soak up more broth.

180 min

Vietnamese Soups

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Dau hu non hapSteamed silken tofu

Steamed silken tofu is a fast, gentle dish cooked in homes from Hanoi to Saigon, especially on vegetarian days at the start and middle of the lunar month, when many families eat chay. A whole block of silken tofu is steamed until wobbling and hot, then topped with sizzling spring onion oil, a light soy dressing, chilli and crisp fried shallots. It is soft and savoury, and goes with rice and a stir-fried green. Each portion has about 150 kcal and roughly 10 g of protein, from the silken tofu, so it is a light dish rather than a high-protein one. The common mistake is turning the block out roughly so it cracks; slide it gently onto the plate. Chef's tip: pour off the water that gathers on the plate after steaming, or it thins the sauce.

15 min

Vietnamese Vegetarian

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Canh rau ngot with tofuKatuk leaf and tofu soup

Canh rau ngot is one of the plainest and most loved soups on a Vietnamese family table, served at dinner in Hanoi and the Mekong Delta alike, in a shared bowl beside rice, a braised dish and a dipping sauce. The leaves of the katuk shrub are bruised and simmered briefly until soft and sweet. It is usually made with minced pork or dried shrimp; this vegetarian version uses cubes of tofu and a little fried shallot for savouriness. Each bowl has about 110 kcal and roughly 10 g of protein, from the tofu, so it is a light side soup. Katuk can be found frozen in Asian shops; young spinach is the nearest stand-in. The common mistake is overcooking the leaves, which turn khaki and slimy. Chef's tip: rub the leaves between your palms before cooking; bruising them lets them release their sweetness in just a few minutes.

20 min

Vietnamese Soups

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Chilcano de pescadoClear fish broth

In the fishermen's terminals of Chorrillos and Callao, chilcano is what you drink on a Sunday morning after a long night: a clear, gingery broth made from the heads and bones left over from cleaning fish for ceviche, with chunks of fish, red onion, chilli and a squeeze of lime in the bowl. It is light and warming, around 160 kcal a bowl, and still gives about 24 g of protein from the fish fillet and the broth. The common mistake is squeezing the lime into the pot while it boils, which turns it bitter; add it to each bowl at the table. Don't boil the bones for more than 30 minutes either, or the broth turns cloudy and harsh. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger for heads and frames from mild white fish like sea bass or cod, and leave out oily fish such as mackerel, which makes the broth strong and fishy.

55 min

Peruvian Soups

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Aguadito de polloCoriander chicken rice soup

Aguadito is the soup Lima serves in the small hours: at the end of a wedding, after New Year's Eve and at weekend family lunches, it is ladled out thick and steaming to revive everyone. Rice simmers in chicken broth coloured deep green with blended coriander and warmed with yellow ají amarillo, along with peas, carrot, pepper, sweetcorn and potato. A portion gives about 24 g of protein, from the chicken with a little from the rice and peas, for around 480 kcal. The common mistake is adding the coriander purée too early: cooked for long it turns khaki and loses its fresh taste, so stir it in for the last 10 minutes. The chicken must reach 74 °C at the bone. Chef's tip: blend a handful of spinach with the coriander; it keeps the colour vivid green without changing the flavour.

75 min

Peruvian Soups

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Cá hấp gừngGinger steamed whole fish

Cá hấp gừng is a family dish across Vietnam, from Hanoi to the Mekong Delta, put in the middle of the table for a weekend lunch or a Tết dinner and shared with rice and greens. A whole fish is steamed over ginger, then heaped with ginger and spring onion shreds and dressed with sizzling oil and a light soy and fish sauce. The flesh comes out silky and delicate. A portion has about 25 g of protein from the fish. The common mistake is oversteaming: thin parts go dry and woolly. Take it off as soon as the flesh at the thickest point pulls cleanly from the bone. Chef's tip: score the fish to the bone on both sides so it cooks evenly and the sauce gets in.

30 min

Vietnamese Fish

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Bánh tro (bánh gio, amber glutinous rice cakes in leaves)Lye water glutinous rice cakes

On Tết Đoan Ngọ, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, families in northern and central Vietnam eat bánh tro first thing in the morning, believing it cools the body as summer heat arrives. Glutinous rice is soaked in alkaline water, which was once made by steeping plant ash, then wrapped in leaves and boiled for hours. It turns amber, translucent and jelly-soft with a clean, faintly mineral flavour, and is eaten cold, dipped in sugarcane molasses or palm-sugar syrup. Bánh tro is naturally egg-free: the alkali softens the rice grains so their own starch melts together into a firm, sliceable cake. We use food-grade lye water (an alkaline solution of potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate sold in Asian shops for noodles and mooncakes). Handle it with care: wear gloves, keep it away from children, never use drain cleaner or caustic soda, and always dilute it as written. Chef's tip: the common mistake is skipping the rinse; wash the soaked rice twice so the cakes taste clean, not soapy.

600 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Bông bí xào tỏiGarlic stir-fried pumpkin flowers

From the Mekong Delta to the market gardens outside Hanoi, pumpkin vines are picked for their flowers and tender shoots, and bông bí xào tỏi is the everyday way to cook them: a few minutes in a hot wok with lots of garlic, served beside rice and a bowl of soup at family dinners. The flowers are soft and sweet and the shoots slightly crunchy. Some cooks add a splash of fish sauce; this version is seasoned with salt and a little soy, so it is vegan. It is a light side with about 3 g of protein per portion. The common mistake is leaving the stamens and the stringy skin on the shoots: both make the dish bitter and tough. Courgette flowers work well instead. Chef's tip: put the shoots in first and the flowers only for the last 30 seconds, so the delicate petals don't collapse into mush.

20 min

Vietnamese Sides

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ParihuelaSpicy seafood soup

Parihuela is the big weekend seafood soup of Callao and the Peruvian coast, eaten at long Sunday lunches in cevicherías and praised as a cure for tiredness and late nights. A deep red broth of ají panca, ají amarillo, tomato and fish stock is loaded with chunks of fish, prawns, squid and mussels. A portion gives about 30 g of protein, from the fish and shellfish, for roughly 300 kcal. Some cooks add chicha de jora or beer; this version has none. The common mistake is adding all the seafood at once: squid and prawns turn rubbery while the fish cooks, so they go in last. Before cooking, discard any mussels that stay open when tapped, and after cooking discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: fry the chilli pastes in the oil until they darken and smell sweet; that toasted ají is what gives parihuela its depth.

70 min

Peruvian Fish

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Kem xôi (Hanoi coconut ice cream on sticky rice)

In the Old Quarter of Hanoi, kem xôi shops on Hàng Bài and around Hoàn Kiếm lake serve it from late morning to late at night through the hot season: a bed of warm, salty sticky rice, a scoop of coconut ice cream melting into it, then crisp toasted coconut and crushed peanuts. The contrast of warm and cold, chewy and creamy, is the whole point. This is a no-churn ice cream with no eggs and no custard. Sweetened condensed milk is the base: its sugar and milk solids lower the freezing point and keep crystals tiny, while whipped cream folded through traps air so it freezes soft without stirring, and coconut milk gives the flavour. Make the ice cream the day before and steam the rice just before serving. Chef's tip: whip the cream only to soft peaks; the common mistake is overwhipping it until stiff, which turns grainy and buttery once it freezes.

420 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Bánh cốm (Hanoi green rice-flake cake with mung bean filling)

When the new crop of young glutinous rice comes in, in early autumn, Hanoi smells of cốm: green, flattened rice flakes from the village of Vòng. The shops on Hàng Than street press them into bánh cốm, square cakes that are still carried as betrothal gifts in their paper wrappers. The outside is soft, chewy and jade green, tasting faintly of grass and pandan; the inside is a mellow paste of mung bean and coconut. Serve them at room temperature with green or lotus tea. Bánh cốm is naturally egg-free: a hot sugar syrup and a spoonful of tapioca starch turn the rice flakes into a sticky mass that binds itself, and the mung bean paste is bound by its own starch. Use frozen or dried cốm from an Asian grocer; soak dried flakes briefly first. Chef's tip: the common mistake is cooking the cốm too hard; stop as soon as it pulls together into a sticky ball, or the cakes go rubbery when cool.

120 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Hoa quả dầm (Hanoi fruit cup with yoghurt and condensed milk)

On sticky summer afternoons, Hanoi's young people pack the little stools along streets near Hoàn Kiếm Lake for hoa quả dầm, a cup of diced fruit buried in crushed ice, plain yoghurt and condensed milk. The fruit follows the season, usually mango, papaya, jackfruit, dragon fruit and avocado, and the whole thing is stirred together before eating, so it turns cold, creamy, tangy and sweet at once. Serve it immediately, with a long spoon and toasted coconut on top if you like. No cooking and no egg here: condensed milk and yoghurt dress and bind the fruit, and the crushed ice chills it, so there is nothing to set. Chef's tip: dice everything to the same small size, about 1.5 cm, so each spoonful gets a mix; the common mistake is adding the ice too early, which melts and floods the cup before it reaches the table.

15 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Bánh phu thê (Đình Bảng 'husband and wife' cakes)Mung bean tapioca cakes

Bánh phu thê, also called bánh xu xê, comes from Đình Bảng in Bắc Ninh, and it is still part of the gifts a groom's family brings to a Vietnamese wedding, with its paired leaf boxes standing for husband and wife. The dough is tapioca starch cooked with sugar and fresh coconut shreds and tinted golden with gardenia seeds; it steams clear and chewy, almost like amber jelly, around a soft ball of mung bean paste, and the top is scattered with toasted sesame. Eat them the day they are made, with green tea. The cake is naturally egg-free: tapioca starch thickens and turns elastic when heated, so it wraps and holds the filling on its own. Small ramekins lined with banana leaf can stand in for folded leaf boxes. Chef's tip: the common mistake is not part-cooking the dough; stir it on the hob until half of it turns clear, or it runs out of the boxes in the steamer.

120 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Kem chuối (Vietnamese frozen coconut banana)

Kem chuối is the frozen treat of Saigon's alleys and the Mekong towns, sold from home freezers and school gates through the long hot season. Small, very ripe bananas are pressed flat, coated in thick sweet coconut cream, rolled in roasted peanuts and frozen on a stick; you can also wrap them and slice them into coins. The banana freezes dense and chewy rather than icy, and the coconut coating stays soft and rich. It is naturally egg-free and dairy-free: the coconut cream is cooked with a spoonful of tapioca starch, which thickens it so it clings and holds a thin layer around the fruit, and the banana's own sugar keeps the middle from freezing rock-hard. Kids love making these. Chef's tip: use bananas with plenty of brown freckles; the common mistake is using firm yellow ones, which freeze bland and starchy.

260 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Chicharrón de pescadoCrisp fried fish chunks

Up and down the Peruvian coast, from Chorrillos in Lima to the beaches of Piura, chicharrón de pescado is the crunchy plate ordered alongside ceviche at a long seafood lunch: bite-size chunks of firm white fish marinated briefly in garlic and lime, dusted in flour and fried, then served with fried cassava, salsa criolla and tartar or rocoto sauce. Using frozen peeled cassava keeps it to half an hour. The common mistake is leaving the fish in the lime too long: after about ten minutes the acid starts to 'cook' the outside and the coating slips off. Chef's tip: toss the floured pieces in a sieve to shake off every bit of loose flour; a thin coat fries crisp, a thick one turns pasty.

30 min

Peruvian Fish

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Pejerrey arrebozadoBattered fish fillets with onion salsa

Pejerrey arrebozado is a Lima classic from the cevicherías and home kitchens of the coast, eaten at lunch on a plate with white rice, a heap of sharp salsa criolla and sometimes boiled potato. The pejerrey, a small silverside, is opened into butterflied fillets, dipped in a light egg-and-flour batter and fried golden. Outside Peru, use small fillets of whiting, sole, haddock or tilapia. The batter here uses sparkling water, not beer, so it is alcohol free. The common mistake is frying in oil that isn't hot enough: the batter drinks the oil and turns greasy, so test with a drop of batter first. Chef's tip: make the salsa criolla first and let the onion sit in lime for ten minutes; it softens its bite and turns a pretty pink.

25 min

Peruvian Fish

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Bò lúc lắc (Vietnamese shaking beef)

Bò lúc lắc, shaking beef, is a Saigon dish from the French-influenced south, ordered at family dinners and celebrations: cubes of tender steak seared in a smoking pan and shaken with garlic and onion, then tipped over peppery watercress and tomato with a lime, salt and pepper dip. The mistake almost everyone makes is crowding the pan, which boils the meat grey instead of searing it; cook in two batches. Chef's tip: let the cubes sit untouched for a full minute before the first shake to build a dark crust.

25 min

Vietnamese Meat

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Bánh mì ốp la (Vietnamese fried eggs with baguette)

All over Saigon and Hanoi, street stalls serve bánh mì ốp la for breakfast: two or three eggs fried in a little iron pan, brought to the table sizzling, with a split baguette for scooping and a splash of dark seasoning sauce on top. The whites go lacy and crisp at the edges while the yolks stay soft, and the cucumber and chilli on the side keep it fresh. The usual mistake is frying the eggs on a fierce heat until the bottoms burn before the whites on top have set; a medium heat and a lid fix that. For pregnant people, young children, older or vulnerable people, cook the yolks until fully set. Chef's tip: warm the baguette in a hot oven for 3 minutes first so the crust shatters the way it does at the stall.

10 min

Vietnamese Breakfast & Brunch

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Mì xào rau (Vietnamese stir-fried noodles with vegetables)

Mì xào rau is what Hanoi and Saigon households cook when there is a packet of egg noodles in the cupboard and a few greens in the fridge: a fast, smoky plate for a weeknight dinner or a late lunch. The noodles turn slightly crisp at the edges, the cabbage stays sweet and crunchy, and a light soy glaze holds it all together. The most common mistake is dumping everything into a lukewarm pan at once, which steams the vegetables and leaves the noodles soggy and clumped. Serve it with a dish of sliced chilli in soy sauce and a fried egg if you want more protein. Chef's tip: loosen the cooked noodles with a teaspoon of oil while they drain, so they hit the wok as separate strands instead of a block.

20 min

Vietnamese Pasta & Noodles

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Tallarines rojosSpaghetti in red sauce with chicken

Tallarines rojos is the Sunday-lunch and weeknight pasta of homes all over Peru, from Lima to Arequipa: spaghetti in a sweet, deep-red sauce of blended tomato, onion and garlic with a little ají panca and oregano, often with pieces of chicken cooked right in it. Children love it, and it is served with a sprinkle of grated cheese and sometimes a spoon of huancaína on the side. The usual mistake is cooking the sauce too briefly, so it tastes of raw onion; let the blended tomato fry until it darkens and the oil shows at the edges. Chef's tip: a bay leaf and a spoon of ají panca paste give the sauce its Peruvian character; paprika will do if you can't find the paste.

30 min

Peruvian Pasta & Noodles

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Moroccan bachkoutouOrange and sesame dunking biscuits

Moroccan grandmothers bake bachkoutou by the trayful and keep them in big tins for the afternoon glass of sweet mint tea, and neighbourhood ovens in Fes and Casablanca bake them for families who bring their dough. These are dry, crunchy little biscuits, not rich at all, made with eggs, sugar and oil rather than butter, with orange zest and a coating of toasted sesame; they are meant to be dunked until they soften slightly. Shapes vary from town to town: fingers, rings and rope twists are all common, and some cooks add aniseed. Too much flour is the easy mistake: the dough should stay soft and slightly sticky, or the biscuits bake heavy and hard rather than crisp and light. Chef's tip: once they are cold, put them back in a warm, switched-off oven for 20 minutes; that extra drying is what makes them keep their snap for weeks.

38 min

Moroccan Baking

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Tôm rim (caramelised prawns)

Tôm rim is a homely dish cooked in kitchens from Hanoi to the Mekong Delta and eaten at the family rice tray with boiled greens and a clear soup: prawns simmered down in fish sauce, sugar and shallot until the liquid turns to a sticky, salty-sweet glaze. The mistake is walking away in the last few minutes, when the sauce goes from glaze to burnt very quickly. Chef's tip: leave the shells on if your prawns are small, as many Vietnamese cooks do; they turn crisp and caramelised and add flavour.

20 min

Vietnamese Fish

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Bánh patê sôPork puff pastries

Bánh patê sô (from the French pâté chaud) are what Hanoi and Saigon bakeries pull out of the oven at dawn: round, flaky puff pastries with a juicy filling of seasoned pork mince, shallot, garlic, wood ear mushroom and plenty of black pepper. People eat them warm on the way to work with a glass of iced coffee, and boxes of them go to the family at Tết. The pastry shatters, the pork inside is savoury, slightly sweet and peppery. For a vegetarian version, swap the pork for crumbled firm tofu and chopped shiitake, seasoned with soy sauce instead of fish sauce. Warm pastry is the common mistake: it won't rise into layers, so keep the circles cold until they go in. Chef's tip: shape the filling into flattened balls a little smaller than you think, leaving a clear 1.5 cm rim to seal.

80 min

Vietnamese Snacks & Starters

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TopfengolatschenSweet quark puff pastry squares

A Topfengolatsche is what Viennese office workers grab from the bakery on the way in, and what grandparents order with a Melange in a coffee house on a Sunday afternoon. The corners of a puff pastry square are folded over a lemony, vanilla-scented filling of Topfen (Austrian quark) with plump raisins, and the top gets a thin white glaze. It is flaky, light and not too sweet. Raisins are sometimes soaked in rum; warm water or orange juice works just as well, and the recipe below is alcohol-free. Wet quark is the classic problem, because it turns the filling runny and it leaks out in the oven. Chef's tip: hang the quark in a sieve lined with a clean cloth for an hour, or squeeze it, until it is as thick as soft cream cheese.

57 min

Austrian Baking

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Bò xào cần tây (beef and celery stir-fry)

Bò xào cần tây is a weeknight stir-fry found on family tables all over Vietnam: thin slices of beef, seasoned with fish sauce and pepper, flashed in a hot wok with crunchy celery, onion and plenty of garlic, then eaten with rice. The usual mistake is cooking the beef and celery together from the start, so the beef stews while the celery softens; sear the beef first, take it out, and add it back at the end. Chef's tip: slice the beef across the grain and as thin as you can, so it is tender after only a minute in the pan.

18 min

Vietnamese Meat

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ChaplasHollow puffed Andean bread

Walk through Ayacucho's central market at seven in the morning and you will see women selling stacks of chaplas from cloth-lined baskets, still warm from the wood-fired ovens of the Andes. These round wheat breads puff up like pita in the fierce heat, leaving a hollow pocket inside a thin, soft, lightly floury crust. In Ayacucho and Huancavelica they are eaten with sweet coffee or hot emoliente for breakfast, or split and filled with queso fresco, avocado or a spoonful of rocoto sauce. Highland bakers traditionally work in a little lard; vegetable shortening gives the same tenderness and keeps the bread vegan. A cool baking tray is the reason chaplas stay flat, so preheat it thoroughly. Chef's tip: let the rolled rounds rest before baking and flip them upside down onto the tray, so the smooth, dry side meets the heat first and the pocket opens evenly.

149 min

Peruvian Breads & Parathas

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Pan chutaAniseed round bread

The small town of Oropesa, half an hour from Cusco, calls itself Peru's bread capital, and its wood-fired bakeries are famous for chuta: big, flat, round loaves as wide as a dinner plate, glossy on top, with a faint sweetness and the warmth of aniseed. Travellers on the road to Puno and Bolivia stop to buy them by the bagful, and families bring them home for All Saints' Day and for sharing with hot coca tea or coffee, fresh cheese and butter. The bakeries traditionally use lard; this version uses vegetable shortening and butter, so it is vegetarian. The make-or-break moment is the proof: chuta is large and flat, and if it goes in under-risen it bakes dense and splits at the rim. Chef's tip: toast the aniseed for a minute in a dry pan and crush it lightly before adding, for a rounder, sweeter perfume.

240 min

Peruvian Breads & Parathas

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Cháo thịt bằm cà rốt (pork and carrot congee)

Cháo thịt bằm, rice congee with minced pork, is the dish Vietnamese grandmothers cook when a baby starts on 'real' food, and carrot is the most common vegetable added, for colour and sweetness. For babies from about nine months it is cooked thick and mashed to soft lumps, without the fish sauce and pepper the rest of the family would stir in. It contains none of the common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish). Chef's tip: toast the dry rice in the pan for a minute before adding water; Vietnamese cooks swear it gives a fragrant, creamier congee.

50 min

Vietnamese Rice & Grains

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Sữa chua (Vietnamese set yogurt)

In Vietnamese homes, sữa chua is made in a row of small jars and kept in the fridge or freezer, and children in Hanoi and Saigon eat it after school straight from the cup, sometimes frozen hard like ice cream. The condensed milk gives it a mild caramel sweetness and a smooth, firm set that is less sharp than plain yogurt. It is sweetened, so this version uses less condensed milk than the street-stall kind. It contains milk. Chef's tip: keep the milk at blood heat, about 43 °C; hotter kills the yogurt culture and cooler sets slowly and sour.

25 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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