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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

Bouillabaisse

A fish stock built from heads and bones is enriched with tomato, fennel, leek, saffron and orange peel. Firm fish go in first, delicate fish later. Rouille (a saffron-garlic mayonnaise) gets spread on toasted baguette and floated on top.

French 1 hour 20 minutes Serves6

Garlic Prawn Pad See Ew

"Pad see ew" translates literally as "stir-fried with soy sauce", and that soy is the heart of the dish: dark, sweet and clinging to wide rice noodles charred at the edges in a hot wok. Broccolini stands in for traditional Chinese broccoli (kai lan), the prawns are given a brief garlic-soy marinade, and an egg is folded through right at the end. A sharp homemade chilli vinegar at the table is the traditional Thai counterweight to all that sweet soy.

Thai 15 minutes Serves2

Indonesian Mee Goreng

Fresh egg noodles tossed in a glossy, sweet-savoury sauce of kecap manis, soy, ketchup, sesame oil and shrimp paste, with pork, prawns, cabbage and bean sprouts. The dish is finished with thin egg ribbons and a scatter of spring onion. Quick to cook once the components are prepped, but rewards a properly hot wok and a sauce mixed in advance.

Indonesian 20 minutes Serves2

Nasi Lemak

A platter built around fragrant coconut and lemongrass rice, served with a fiery sambal of dried anchovies and rehydrated chillies, then ringed with hard-boiled egg, sliced cucumber and fried peanuts. The sambal does most of the heavy lifting, sweet, sour, smoky and hot. The rice itself is gentle, designed to be a calming counterpoint to everything else on the plate.

Malaysian 1 hour 10 minutes Serves4

Pancit Canton

Aromatics fry, then chicken and prawns sauté fast. Vegetables and Chinese sausage join. The noodles soak briefly to soften, then go in the wok with sauce and stock to absorb everything in 5 minutes. Lemon or kalamansi at the table.

Filipino 35 minutes Serves4-6

Tagliatelle with Prawns and Brandy Cream Sauce

This is Italian elegance designed for romantic dinners. Fresh prawns, cooked at precisely the right moment to preserve their tender sweetness, meet a luxurious brandy-cream sauce enriched with toasted walnuts and brightened by balsamic vinegar and cherry tomatoes. The sauce is silky, the flavor sophisticated, the preparation surprisingly quick. Restaurant quality achieved at home.

Italian 18 minutes Serves4

Traditional Pad Thai

Pad thai began as a 1930s government-promoted national dish during a campaign to reduce rice consumption, and has since become Thailand's best-known noodle export. The success of any version comes down to the sauce: equal parts fish sauce, tamarind and palm sugar, with a spoonful of finely chopped pickled radish for backbone. Once the sauce is mixed the wok work is fast, with soft rice noodles, chicken, tofu, dried shrimp and egg joining in quick succession before the dish is finished with peanuts, chives, lime and chilli at the table.

Thai 40 minutes Serves4

Vegetable and Prawn Tempura

Ice-cold sparkling water meets soft flour in a barely-stirred batter; the batter goes onto sliced vegetables and prawns and into 180°C oil for 90 seconds. The lumps and dry patches in the batter are the goal; smooth batter gives a heavy crust.

Japanese 35 minutes Serves4

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