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Ginisang repolyoSautéed cabbage and carrot

Ginisang repolyo is the budget-friendly side every Filipino family seems to know, cooked on a weekday evening in Manila or Davao to stretch a meal with plenty of rice. Shredded cabbage and carrot are sautéed with garlic and onion and seasoned with soy until just wilted, sweet and still crunchy. Cooks often add pork, shrimp or sliced hot dog; add fried tofu instead if you want it more filling and vegetarian. The common mistake is cooking the cabbage until it sags and smells sulphurous; stop while the shreds are still bright and springy. Chef's tip: give the carrot a minute alone in the pan first, because it takes longer than the cabbage to soften.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Corned beef guisadoSautéed corned beef and potato

In Manila and all over the Philippines, a tin of corned beef in the cupboard means dinner is never more than 15 minutes away. Corned beef guisado is the beef fried with lots of garlic, onion and small cubes of potato until the edges crisp, and it's eaten with garlic rice and a fried egg for breakfast or with plain rice for a fast weeknight supper. The common mistake is cutting the potato too big, so it's still hard when the beef is ready; keep the cubes to 1 cm. Chef's tip: once the beef is in, leave it alone for a minute or two so it catches and crisps on the bottom before you stir.

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Ginisang pechaySautéed bok choy

Ginisang pechay is a no-fuss Filipino weeknight vegetable, cooked in homes from Manila to Cebu to go with rice and a piece of fried fish or tofu. Bok choy (pechay) is sautéed in the classic Filipino base of garlic, onion and tomato, then seasoned with a dash of soy so the leaves turn glossy and the stems stay juicy. Many cooks add ground pork, shrimp or a splash of fish sauce; this version is vegan. The common mistake is covering the pan, which steams the pechay olive-grey; keep the lid off and cook fast. Chef's tip: cook the tomato until it slumps into a jammy sauce before the greens go in; that's where the flavour comes from.

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Ginisang upoSautéed bottle gourd

Ginisang upo is humble everyday food in Filipino homes, especially in the provinces where upo (bottle gourd) climbs over backyard trellises: the pale gourd is sautéed with garlic, onion and tomato until just tender and juicy, then eaten with rice for lunch or a light supper. Families often add ground pork, shrimp or fish sauce; this vegan version leans on tomato and a little salt and pepper. The common mistake is cutting the gourd into thick chunks, which take too long and go watery; thin half-moons cook in minutes. Chef's tip: don't add water at the start, because the upo releases plenty of its own juice once salted.

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GrießbreiSemolina porridge

Grießbrei is the soft, sweet semolina pudding that German and Austrian families from Bavaria to Vienna eat warm as a light supper on cold evenings, especially when children are tired or someone is under the weather. Semolina is rained into hot milk and stirred until thick and velvety, then topped with cinnamon sugar, a knob of butter or stewed fruit. The classic mistake is tipping the semolina in all at once, which makes lumps that never smooth out. Chef's tip: take it off the heat while it still looks a little runny, because it keeps thickening on the plate.

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Ginisang sardinasSautéed sardines with egg

Ginisang sardinas is everyday Filipino home cooking, especially in the rainy season and towards the end of the month when the budget is tight: a tin or two of sardines in tomato sauce sautéed with garlic, onion and fresh tomato, then stretched with egg. It's eaten for dinner with plenty of hot rice; some families add misua noodles to make it a soup. The common mistake is stirring too much once the sardines are in, which breaks them into mush. Chef's tip: fry the garlic until just golden before anything else goes in; that toasty garlic is what makes the tin taste homemade.

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GurkensalatCucumber and dill salad

Gurkensalat is on German tables from Bavaria to Berlin all summer, served alongside potato pancakes, egg dishes or the Sunday roast, and it is just as common at a garden barbecue. Cucumber is sliced almost paper-thin, salted briefly, then dressed with a little vinegar, sugar, onion and lots of fresh dill, so it is cool, sharp and soft-crunchy. Some households stir in soured cream; this vinaigrette version is vegan. It is very light, with about 1 g of protein a portion, so it is purely a side. The most common mistake is skipping the salting: unsalted slices weep water into the bowl and dilute the dressing within minutes. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted slices gently in your hands before dressing; they bend like ribbons and take up the dill dressing much better.

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Pad thua ngok tao hoo (Thai bean sprouts and tofu stir-fry)

This plain, fast stir-fry is a fixture of home kitchens and made-to-order rice stalls across central Thailand, where it is eaten as one of two or three dishes shared over jasmine rice at dinner. Firm tofu is browned first, then the sprouts go in for barely a minute so they stay juicy and snap when you bite them. Thai cooks often season it with oyster sauce and fish sauce; this version uses soy and a mushroom-based sauce so it is vegan. The mistake almost everyone makes is cooking the sprouts too long, which turns them limp and watery. Chef's tip: pick off the stringy tails of the sprouts if you have five spare minutes; it makes the dish noticeably crisper.

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Rote-Bete-SalatBeetroot salad

Rote-Bete-Salat is on the table in German homes through autumn and winter, beside potato pancakes, fried eggs or simply bread and butter. Cooked beetroot is cut into slices or batons and dressed with onion, vinegar, oil and a little caraway or grated horseradish, so it is sweet, earthy and sharp at once. It is vegan, gluten free and keeps for days in the fridge. The most common mistake is serving it straight after dressing: give it at least 10 minutes, or better an hour, so the beetroot soaks up the flavour. Chef's tip: wear gloves or rub your hands with lemon juice afterwards, as beetroot stains everything it touches.

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Toast HawaiiHam, pineapple and cheese toast

Toast Hawaii arrived in West German kitchens in the 1950s and never left: a slice of buttered toast layered with cooked ham (pork), a ring of pineapple and a slice of cheese, baked until the cheese melts down over the sides. It is still a nostalgic Saturday supper or party snack from Hamburg to Munich, often crowned with a cocktail cherry in the pineapple's hole. The mistake that ruins it is using pineapple straight from the tin, whose juice soaks the bread; drain the rings well and pat them dry. Chef's tip: toast the bread lightly before topping it, so the base stays crisp under the juicy layers.

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Mashed nam wa banana (kluay nam wa bod)

Ask a Thai grandmother about first foods and she will talk about kluay nam wa, the short, plump banana that grows in nearly every garden in Thailand. Ripe ones are steamed, which softens the slightly astringent edge, then scraped and mashed for a baby's first taste, often in the afternoon. It is sweet, creamy and needs nothing added. There are no common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish). If you can't find nam wa, use a small, very ripe ordinary banana. Chef's tip: steam the banana in its skin; it keeps the flesh moist and stops it browning.

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Strammer MaxHam and fried egg on bread

Strammer Max is the Kneipe snack of Saxony and Berlin: a slice of buttered bread, cooked ham and a fried egg with a runny yolk, served with a gherkin at pubs in Leipzig and Dresden and made at home as a fast weeknight supper. The ham is pork. Hot egg on cold ham and soft butter is the whole point, so cook the egg last. For a vegetarian version, swap the ham for thick slices of tomato. A common mistake is frying the egg too hot until the edges go hard and brown. Chef's tip: toast the bread lightly in the same pan first, so it holds the yolk without going soggy.

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Bayerischer WurstsalatBavarian sausage salad

Bavarian Wurstsalat is the Brotzeit plate of the beer garden: thin strips of Regensburger or Lyoner, mild cooked pork sausages, tossed with onion rings and gherkins in a sharp, slightly sweet vinegar dressing, and eaten with a pretzel in the shade of chestnut trees. At home it is a fast summer supper on a warm evening. Swabians add cheese and call it Schweizer Wurstsalat. A common mistake is drowning it in oil; the dressing should be mostly vinegar and gherkin brine. Chef's tip: leave the dressed salad for 30 minutes in the fridge so the onion softens and the sausage picks up the vinegar.

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KäsesalatCheese salad

In Bavarian beer gardens and Swabian Vesper stubes, Käsesalat is the cheese lover's answer to sausage salad: matchsticks of Emmental tossed with red onion, gherkins and a sharp vinegar dressing, eaten with a crusty roll or a Breze. It turns up on Saturday evenings at home too, made in ten minutes from what is in the fridge. The cheese soaks up the dressing and goes tender and tangy, while the onion and gherkins keep it crunchy. Traditional Emmental is made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Emmental-style cheese if that matters to you. A common mistake is serving it straight away; the flavours need a short rest. Chef's tip: cut the cheese into thin strips rather than cubes, so the dressing coats every piece.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SchnittlauchbrotChive bread

Order a Schnittlauchbrot in a Munich beer garden and you get the simplest Brotzeit there is: a thick slice of sourdough rye, buttered right to the edges and buried under so many chopped chives that the bread disappears. A pinch of coarse salt on top is all it needs. Bavarians eat it with a radish or two in the afternoon, and at home it is a classic Abendbrot when the chives in the garden are growing fast in May and June. The mistake is using fridge-cold butter, which tears the bread and will not hold the chives. Chef's tip: press the bread butter-side down into a plate of chives instead of sprinkling, and every bit gets covered.

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ApfelschorleApple juice spritzer

At any German beer garden, from Munich's Chinese Tower to the cider taverns of Frankfurt, the drink for children, drivers and anyone on a hot afternoon is Apfelschorle: cloudy apple juice topped up with sparkling mineral water. Germans drink it at family lunches, after sport and at school summer parties, and it is far less sweet than juice alone. The usual mix is half and half, but many people go lighter on the juice. The common mistake is pouring the water first, which knocks out the bubbles. Chef's tip: use naturally cloudy apple juice and very cold, strongly sparkling water, and pour the water in slowly down the side of the glass.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

FleischsalatSausage salad

Every German butcher sells Fleischsalat in tubs, and it is spread thickly on bread rolls for Abendbrot or a workday second breakfast from Cologne to Leipzig. It is made from Lyoner or Fleischwurst, a mild cooked pork sausage, cut into fine strips and folded into mayonnaise with gherkins and a little of their brine. Making it at home lets you use less mayonnaise and add yoghurt for freshness. A common mistake is cutting the sausage into thick chunks, which makes it heavy; thin matchsticks are what you want. Chef's tip: chill it for an hour before serving so the gherkin brine flavours the sausage.

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KräuterquarkHerb quark

On summer evenings across Germany, from Hamburg allotments to Swabian farmhouse kitchens, a bowl of herb quark sits in the middle of the Abendbrot table with rye bread, radishes and boiled new potatoes. Fresh low-fat quark is loosened with a little milk and linseed or sunflower oil, then packed with chopped chives, parsley and dill and a hint of garlic, so it tastes cool, tangy and green. It also goes on jacket potatoes at the fair and next to grilled vegetables at a barbecue. The usual mistake is chopping the herbs ahead and letting them sit, which turns them dark and bruised. Chef's tip: let the finished quark rest in the fridge for 20 minutes so the garlic mellows and the herbs flavour the whole bowl.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mais con yeloSweet corn shaved ice

The simplest of the Filipino ice desserts, mais con yelo turns up at carinderias and beach stalls from Batangas to Davao in the dry months of March to May. A tall glass is layered with sweet corn kernels and sugar, buried in finely shaved ice and drowned in evaporated milk, and you stir it all into a cold, milky slush with a long spoon. Some add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or crisp rice cereal on top. Chef's tip: shave or crush the ice as finely as you can; chunky ice cubes leave the milk and corn sitting apart instead of blending into a soft slush.

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Filipino fruit salad

Ask any Filipino family what Christmas tastes like and fruit salad will be near the top of the list: tinned fruit cocktail, chewy nata de coco, sugar-palm kaong and sometimes cubes of cheese, all folded into sweetened cream and chilled until icy. It is made a day ahead for Noche Buena and New Year's Eve and served straight from the coldest corner of the fridge. Chef's tip: drain the fruit really well, even overnight in a sieve; leftover syrup thins the cream into a watery puddle.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nom yen (pink milk)Pink iced milk

Thai drink stalls outside schools and markets keep a bottle of red sala syrup next to the condensed milk for this sweet, bubblegum-pink milk, a favourite of children from Bangkok to Hat Yai. Sala is a tangy palm fruit, and the syrup tastes of it lightly, almost like cream soda; any red sala-flavoured syrup from an Asian shop works. Shake it with ice until frothy. Chef's tip: the mistake is too much syrup, which turns it lurid and cloying; start with a tablespoon per glass and add more to taste.

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Oliang (Thai black iced coffee)

Old Bangkok coffee shops in Chinatown and Bang Rak still brew oliang through a long cotton sock, using a dark blend of coffee roasted with corn, soybeans, rice and sesame that gives it a toasty, almost cocoa-like flavour. It is served black, heavily sweetened and poured over crushed ice in tall glasses, a mid-morning pick-me-up for market traders. Look for any Thai 'oliang powder' blend in Asian shops, or mix dark coffee with roasted grains as below. It contains caffeine, so it is not one for children. Chef's tip: adding sugar after chilling is the mistake; dissolve it while the coffee is hot, or it stays gritty.

15 minThaiDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nam dok anchan (butterfly pea lemonade)

Vines of butterfly pea climb fences in gardens all over Thailand, and cafés from Bangkok to Krabi serve the flowers as an iced drink that changes colour at the table. The tea itself is mild and earthy, blue as ink; stirring in lime juice turns it violet and makes it tangy, which children love to watch. Chef's tip: the common mistake is mixing the lime in beforehand; serve the blue tea and lime separately so the colour change happens in the glass.

15 minThaiDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nam bai toey (pandan drink)

Every Thai garden seems to have a clump of pandan by the tap, and on hot days cooks across the country blitz a handful of leaves into this bright green drink sold at temple fairs and noodle shops. It tastes sweet, grassy and faintly of vanilla and basmati, and is said to cool the body. Fresh leaves give the best colour; frozen ones from Asian shops work well too. Chef's tip: the mistake is serving it unstrained or leaving it for hours; strain it twice through cloth and drink it the same day, as it fades and turns grey.

15 minThaiDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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