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Ikan goreng kunyit (turmeric fried fish)

Ikan goreng kunyit is cooked in Malay kampung kitchens and city flats alike for a simple lunch or dinner with rice, sambal and vegetables: small whole fish or thick steaks rubbed with turmeric, salt and a little chilli, then fried until golden and crisp at the edges. The mistake is moving the fish too soon; leave it until it releases from the pan on its own, or the crust tears and sticks. Chef's tip: score the fish to the bone so the turmeric seasons the flesh and it cooks evenly.

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Fideos con mantecaButtered noodles with cheese

Ask anyone from Buenos Aires to Córdoba what they ate when they came home late or felt poorly as a child, and the answer is often fideos con manteca: short pasta tossed with butter and a snowfall of grated queso rallado. It is the plainest dish in the Argentine home kitchen and the one people cook for themselves on a tired weeknight. The mistake that ruins it is draining the pasta bone-dry and adding cold cheese to a hot empty pan, which leaves greasy strands and clumps; a splash of cooking water makes a light, creamy coating instead. Argentine reggianito and Parmesan are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese if needed. Chef's tip: grate the cheese very finely, like dust, so it melts on contact.

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Biskut dahliaPiped flower butter cookies

In the last days of Ramadan, Malaysian kitchens from Johor to Kedah turn into small factories of kuih raya, and biskut dahlia is one of the easiest and prettiest: soft buttery dough piped through a star nozzle into ruffled flowers, each with a bit of glacé cherry or a chocolate chip in the centre. They are crisp at the edges and tender inside, with a vanilla-milky flavour from custard powder and milk powder, and they fill the jars set out for open-house visitors at Hari Raya Aidilfitri. This version uses one egg yolk; for an eggless batch, replace it with 2 tablespoons of milk. Dough that is too stiff is the usual problem, as it will not go through the nozzle; beat the butter well and keep the kitchen warm. Chef's tip: chill the piped trays for 15 minutes before baking so the petals hold their sharp ridges.

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Tau sar piahMung bean pastries

Old biscuit shops in George Town, Penang, still bake tau sar piah in big trays every morning, and tourists leave with stacks of plastic tubs. The pastries are only a couple of bites each: a tender, flaky shell, glazed golden, around a fluffy mung bean filling. Penang bakers sell two kinds, sweet, and a savoury-sweet one with fried shallots and white pepper, which is what many locals prefer; this recipe gives the sweet filling with the savoury twist as an option. The pastry is traditionally made with lard; this version uses vegetable shortening and keeps them vegetarian. Chef's tip: leave a small, unfloured patch at the seam when wrapping, because floury edges won't stick together and the pastries split open as they bake.

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Telur dadar (Malaysian fluffy omelette)

Telur dadar turns up on Malaysian tables from Penang to Johor at almost any meal: next to nasi lemak for breakfast, in a nasi campur spread at lunch, or with plain rice, soy sauce and sambal on a night when there is no time to cook. It is thicker and puffier than a French omelette, with crisp brown edges and pockets of soft onion and chilli. The common mistake is pouring the eggs into oil that isn't hot enough, so they spread thin and turn rubbery instead of puffing up. Chef's tip: beat the eggs hard with a fork until frothy just before they go in, and use a small pan so the omelette stays thick.

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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.

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Heong pengSesame maltose biscuits

Ipoh, the old tin-mining city in Perak, is famous for heong peng ('fragrant biscuits'), and visitors buy them by the bag along with white coffee. They are flat, round pastries with a crisp, flaky shell coated in sesame seeds, filled with a sticky, chewy layer of maltose mixed with shallot oil and fried shallots: sweet, savoury and deeply aromatic at once. Locals eat them with a cup of kopi in the morning or as a snack on the road. The pastry is traditionally made with lard; this recipe uses vegetable shortening and keeps the shallot oil, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: warm the maltose jar in hot water before measuring, then chill the finished filling until firm, because maltose softens fast and a runny filling leaks out and burns on the tray.

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Tarta de coco y dulce de lecheCoconut and dulce de leche tart

Ask Argentinians for their favourite tart at a family birthday and this one often wins: a crisp shortcrust spread thickly with dulce de leche, then covered with a coconut, sugar and egg topping that bakes into a golden, chewy crust. Bakeries from Córdoba to Mar del Plata sell it by the slice for the merienda with mate or a café con leche. It is very sweet, so the slices are thin, and it is a good keeper for a few days. Ordinary spreading dulce de leche is the mistake: it runs and bubbles out at the edges. Use the thicker pastry-style kind, sold in Argentina as 'repostero'. Chef's tip: chill the case with the dulce de leche spread on it for 15 minutes before adding the coconut, so the two layers stay distinct.

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Torta de ricotaLemon ricotta tart

Italian families brought ricotta tarts to Buenos Aires and Rosario, and torta de ricota is now as Argentinian as mate: every panadería has one in the window, with a lattice of sweet, crumbly masa frola over a pale, lemon-scented ricotta filling. It is cut into wedges for the merienda, the late-afternoon snack, or for a birthday where nobody wants a heavy cake. The texture is light and slightly grainy rather than silky, and the pastry tastes of butter and vanilla. Wet ricotta is the biggest risk, giving a weeping, soggy tart. Chef's tip: drain the ricotta overnight in the fridge in a sieve lined with a cloth, and add a few raisins only if they have been soaked, or they draw moisture from the filling.

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Kaya puffsCoconut jam puff pastries

Malaysian kopitiams spread kaya, a silky jam of coconut milk, eggs, sugar and pandan, on toast for breakfast; bakeries in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka fold the same jam into crisp puff pastry half-moons sold warm from the oven, often alongside curry puffs. They are a school-holiday treat and a favourite at tea time with teh tarik. This recipe makes a small batch of pandan kaya on the stove and uses ready-made all-butter puff pastry, so it fits into an afternoon. Overfilling is the trap, as the kaya bubbles out and burns on the tray. Chef's tip: chill the kaya until firm and keep the pastry cold; cold pastry puffs into crisp layers, while warm pastry stays flat and greasy.

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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.

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Sambal udang (prawns in chilli sambal)

Sambal udang is a Malay home dish cooked for everyday rice meals and dished up at nasi lemak stalls from Kuala Lumpur to Penang: prawns cooked in a deep red paste of dried chilli, shallot and garlic, soured with tamarind and sweetened with a little sugar. This version leaves out belacan (shrimp paste) as optional. The mistake is not frying the chilli paste for long enough; it needs to cook until the oil separates and turns red, or it tastes raw and harsh. Chef's tip: soak the dried chillies in just-boiled water while you peel the prawns and the paste blends silky smooth.

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Telur masak kicap (Malaysian eggs in sweet soy sauce)

Telur masak kicap is the kind of dish Malaysian mothers make on a busy school night, and children across Selangor and beyond grow up loving it: fried eggs with crisp, frilly edges, bathed in a sweet-salty soy sauce with soft onions, spooned over hot rice. The sauce soaks into the browned whites while the yolks stay creamy. The mistake to avoid is boiling the sauce hard after the eggs go back in, which makes the whites tough and the sauce bitter. Leave out the chilli for small children. For pregnant people, young children, older or vulnerable people, fry the yolks until fully set. Chef's tip: fry the eggs in plenty of hot oil and baste the tops, so the edges go brown and lacy; that crisp skin is what holds the sauce.

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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.

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Salpicón de aveCold chicken salad

Salpicón de ave is the cold supper of Argentine summers, made in Buenos Aires flats and on estancias alike when it is too hot to cook much, and a favourite way to use the chicken from a puchero or Sunday roast. Shredded chicken is mixed with diced pepper, tomato, spring onion, sweetcorn and boiled egg, bound with mayonnaise sharpened with lemon and mustard, and served chilled with crusty bread or on lettuce. The common mistake is dressing it while the chicken is still hot, which melts the mayonnaise into an oily puddle; let everything cool first. Chef's tip: dress the chicken with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt before the mayonnaise goes in, so the meat itself is seasoned, not just its coating.

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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.

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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.

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Kärntner ReindlingCinnamon raisin yeast cake

Carinthia's Easter loaf takes its name from the Reindl, the round, deep pan it is baked in, and in southern Austria no Easter basket goes to church without one. Inside the golden yeast crust is a spiral of butter, cinnamon sugar and plump raisins, so every slice shows a dark swirl. Locals eat it two ways: sweet with coffee on Easter morning, or alongside the savoury Easter platter with horseradish. Many bakers soak the raisins in rum overnight; warm water or tea works just as well and keeps it alcohol-free. A dry, crumbly Reindling usually means too much flour went in during kneading, so keep the dough soft and only lightly floured. Chef's tip: butter the pan well and dust it with sugar, which caramelises into a thin crunchy shell.

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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.

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BizcochueloPlain whisked sponge cake

Nearly every Argentine birthday torta starts life as a bizcochuelo: a tall, plain sponge of eggs, sugar, flour and cornflour, with no butter and no baking powder, lifted only by long whisking. Grandmothers bake it on Sunday to split into three and fill with dulce de leche and whipped cream, or eat it plain in the afternoon with mate. The crumb is fine, dry-ish and airy, made to soak up syrup. Opening the oven in the first 20 minutes is the classic way to flatten it, so leave the door shut. Chef's tip: whisk until the mixture reaches 'punto letra', thick enough that a ribbon drawn on the surface holds its shape for a few seconds; that takes a good 8–10 minutes with an electric mixer, and warm eggs get there faster.

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ErdäpfelstrudelSavoury potato strudel

Austrians, especially in the Mühlviertel of Upper Austria and the Waldviertel, make savoury strudels as often as sweet ones, and Erdäpfelstrudel is a farmhouse favourite for a meatless Friday or a cold evening. Thin pastry wraps a filling of potatoes, fried onion, sour cream, marjoram and parsley, baked until crisp and golden and sliced with a green salad or a dill and sour-cream dip. Bought filo makes it easy at home. The mistake to avoid is a wet filling, which turns the pastry soggy underneath. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before rolling; warm filling makes the layers stick and tear.

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Air jagungSweet corn drink

Night markets in Selangor and Perak sell air jagung in tall cups, a pale-yellow, lightly sweet drink made from fresh corn cooked with pandan and blended smooth; some stalls stir in evaporated milk, but the plain version is vegan and very refreshing. It tastes like the milk from the bottom of a bowl of sweetcorn, with a grassy pandan note. Chef's tip: skipping the sieve is a common short cut that leaves the drink gritty with husk; strain it well, pressing on the pulp.

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Kuih talamPandan coconut layer cake

Trays of kuih talam sit on almost every kuih stall from Johor Bahru to Alor Setar, cut into neat green-and-white squares that office workers pick up with their morning kopi. The bottom layer is a springy pandan jelly of rice flour and tapioca; the top is a soft, slightly salty coconut layer that melts against it. It needs a 20 cm square tin and a wok or steamer with a lid, and it slices best the next morning. Chef's tip: wrap the steamer lid in a cloth; condensation dripping onto the white layer leaves pockmarks and a watery top.

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Kuih cara manisMini pandan pancakes

Kuih cara manis are cooked in a cast-iron pan of shallow flower-shaped cups, the same pan used for the savoury kuih cara berlauk, and Malay families make both for breakfast or teatime, especially on weekend mornings in Pahang and Negeri Sembilan. A thin pandan coconut batter sets into soft little flowers, and a pinch of sugar dropped into each centre melts into a glossy pool. They take minutes and are best eaten warm. An aebleskiver or takoyaki pan works if you have no kuih cara mould. Chef's tip: adding the sugar too soon makes it sink and burn; wait until the batter edges have set but the middle is still wet.

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