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16 recipes

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Amok Trey

Amok Trey

Cambodia's national dish, the centrepiece of any Khmer feast and the proper-occasion food across the country. You start by pounding kroeung fresh in a mortar (the paste of lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime zest and coriander root that defines Khmer cooking, and that no shop-bought paste comes close to matching). The kroeung fries briefly to bloom its aromatics, coconut cream and stock loosen it, and eggs whisk in to set the eventual custard. Chunks of firm white fish fold through with chopped greens (traditionally noni leaves, with spinach or chard standing in), and the whole mix spoons into banana-leaf cups (or small ramekins). Twenty minutes in a steamer turns the custard just-set around the soft fish, and the banana leaves perfume everything. Served from the parcels with steamed rice and a wedge of lime.

Cambodian 55 minutes Serves4
Asun (Spicy Smoky Goat Meat)

Asun (Spicy Smoky Goat Meat)

Goat meat (bone-in pieces, ideally) simmers in water with onion, garlic, bay, salt and bouillon till tender (45 min). Lifts out; pats dry; grills over high heat (or under a hot grill / on a griddle pan) till charred (8-10 min). Pepper base: scotch bonnet, red pepper, onion, garlic blitz to paste; sautés in oil with curry powder, thyme, ginger till fragrant. Charred meat tosses in the pepper paste; cooks for 5 minutes more; tops with fresh chopped onion. Eats hot.

Snacks 1 hour 35 minutes Serves4
Chingri Malai Curry

Chingri Malai Curry

Chingri malai curry is one of those rare Bengali dishes that crosses the river: equally beloved in Kolkata's bonedi households and in the coastal kitchens of Khulna and Chittagong. The name is often misread as a reference to Malaysia (Malay), and there is a folk tradition that the dish came back with Bengali traders from the Malay Peninsula, but in practice malai here simply means cream, in this case the rich first-pressed coconut milk that gives the gravy its body. The prawns must be large, ideally tiger prawns or the freshwater bagda chingri, kept whole with heads and tails on for maximum flavour. The cooking is short and the spice profile delicate: a tempering of whole garam masala in ghee and a little mustard oil, a base of finely ground onion paste rather than chopped onion, a gentle bloom of ginger and turmeric, and then the prawns barely poached in coconut milk so they remain juicy. Sugar plays a quiet but important role, just enough to round the salt and amplify the coconut's sweetness. The result is a curry that is luxurious without being heavy, fragrant without being sharp. It is rich enough to be served with plain basmati or gobindobhog rice and nothing else, though a small wedge of lime on the side is welcome. Overcooked prawns are the only real danger; once you have mastered the timing, this is one of the easier showstoppers in the Bengali repertoire.

Bengali 50 minutes Serves4
Curry Smelts

Curry Smelts

Trinidadian comfort food that brings together the East Indian and Afro-Caribbean strands of Trini cookery in one pan: small whole fried fish (a West African and Caribbean coastal habit) drowned in a Trinidadian East Indian curry sauce. The fish are smelts, sardines or whitebait, whole, head-on, eaten with a small bite to remove the spine. Once fried they sit crisp; when the curry sauce hits, the outer crust softens slightly and absorbs the gravy while the centre stays meaty. The sauce is the dish's signature: roasted geera (dry-toasted cumin) gives a smoky, nutty depth that pre-ground supermarket cumin can't touch, anchar masala adds a fermented-tangy edge (it's the Trinidadian pickled-mango spice mix), and Caribbean curry powder rounds the warmth. Whole pierced Scotch bonnet scents without flooring. Smell when the spices bloom in hot oil is heavy and pungent in the best possible way. Not difficult but it's a two-pan dance, so timing matters. A daily-cookery dish across Trinidad and Tobago and the Indo-Trinidadian diaspora, eaten with steamed rice or with sada roti torn and used as a scoop.

Trinidadian 50 minutes Serves5
Nga Hpe (Burmese Fish Cakes)

Nga Hpe (Burmese Fish Cakes)

The Burmese fish cakes that arrive at lahpet-thoke salad tables and street snack stalls alike, bright with lime and curry leaf. You cube skinless firm fish fillets and pulse them in a food processor with shallot, garlic, ginger, lime, fish sauce and a small egg into a sticky paste. A spoon of beaten cornflour binds it. Curry leaves, sliced spring onion, chopped cilantro and a fresh chilli go in for fragrance and bite. Patties form by hand (keep your hands slightly damp so the mixture doesn't stick), then shallow-fry in batches at 170°C for two or three minutes per side until they're deep gold and crisp at the edges. Eaten warm with a sour-sweet tamarind dipping sauce.

Sides 45 minutes Serves6
Octopus Curry (Cari Ourite)

Octopus Curry (Cari Ourite)

Cari ourite is the dish that turns up at every Mauritian fisherman's Sunday lunch, and at every Creole restaurant on the south coast. The technique is to braise octopus low and slow in a tomato-and-onion masala that leans on fresh thyme and a finishing pinch of garam masala instead of the heavier dried-spice masalas you find in cari boeuf or cari poulet. Octopus has a sweet, slightly mineral flavour that needs space, so the seasoning is restrained: thyme for aroma, tomato for body, ginger and garlic for the base, mild curry powder for depth, garam masala right at the end for top-note warmth. The tentacles cook for around 45 minutes (small octopus) to an hour (larger). The biggest variable is the octopus itself; small frozen octopus, sold cleaned at most fishmongers and many supermarkets, is reliable and the freezing actually helps tenderise the flesh. Difficulty is moderate; the cook is mostly passive once the masala is built. Serve with plain steamed rice and a satini cotomili (coriander chutney) or a spoon of pickled chilli. A simple green salad with vinaigrette on the side keeps it honest.

Mauritian 1 hour 25 minutes Serves4
Thai Red Curry

Thai Red Curry

Gaeng phed gai, this classic Thai red curry features tender chicken simmered in a rich, aromatic coconut sauce infused with homemade red curry paste. The chilli paste that forms the basis of this dish has superb flavour and is worth making in quantity, as it's useful in all sorts of spicy dishes. Taking the extra time to pound herbs and spices using a mortar and pestle releases their fragrances perfectly, creating an authentic, restaurant-quality curry.

Thai 45 minutes Serves4-6
Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

A fragrant Vietnamese curry that blends French colonial influences with traditional Southeast Asian spicing. This dish showcases the Vietnamese love of balance, aromatic spices like star anise, cardamom, and cinnamon partner with earthy lemongrass and fresh chillies. The result is a warm, comforting curry with subtle sweetness and complex layered flavours. Even though Vietnam was colonized by the French, the traditional cuisine has more in common with their Chinese neighbours.

Vietnamese 45 minutes Serves4