Global Recipes Straight From Your Pantry

Glass noodles simmered in a spicy pork sauce until they drink up every drop. Twenty minutes, one wok.

Fried rice built on sambal and kecap manis, topped with a crispy-edged fried egg. Fifteen minutes.

Seared chicken over rice with cucumber, herbs and a puddle of nuoc cham poured over everything.

Egg noodles tossed in garlic butter, oyster sauce and fish sauce, with parmesan over the top. Fifteen minutes.

Sharp, sour kimchi cutting through a molten cheese toastie. Fifteen minutes and one frying pan.

Jammy soft-boiled eggs sitting in sweet soy with garlic, chilli and sesame. Ten minutes of work, then patience.

A rice sandwich: nori wrapped around rice and tuna kewpie, then cut straight through the middle.

Mushrooms fried hard and finished with miso butter, piled onto sourdough. Fifteen minutes, deeply savoury.

Rice triangles pressed by hand and griddled until the outside goes crunchy and soy-lacquered.

Salmon roasted in soy and mirin, flaked over hot rice with furikake and kewpie. One tray, under twenty minutes.

A slab of soy-glazed Spam on pressed rice, wrapped in nori. Cheap, salty and completely addictive.

Cubes of raw salmon in soy and sesame over warm rice, with cucumber, avocado and plenty of kewpie.

A panko pork cutlet with tonkatsu sauce and shredded cabbage, pressed between soft white bread.

The convenience-store egg sandwich: pillowy crustless white bread packed with kewpie egg salad.

A thin, lacy-edged smash patty with kewpie, sriracha and shredded iceberg. Fifteen minutes, one pan.

Hot rice, a runny fried egg, soy and sesame oil, stirred together. Korea's answer to two-minute noodles.

Chilled silken tofu under chilli crisp, soy and spring onion. No cooking at all, five minutes flat.

Bruised cucumber that drinks up black vinegar, garlic and chilli crisp. Ten minutes, and most of it is waiting.

Hot rice, a runny fried egg and a heaped spoon of chilli crisp. The lowest-effort good dinner there is.

Two crispy-edged fried eggs on buttered toast, drowned in chilli crisp and spring onion. Eight minutes, no thinking.

Whole fried fish under a sweet, sour and fiery tamarind chilli sauce — the centrepiece of any Thai table.

Little fried parcels of minced chicken, corn and curry powder, tied at the neck — the Thai starter worth the fiddle.

A thick, glossy red curry poured over prawns — rich, lime-leaf fragrant, and nothing like a soupy curry.

Charred rare steak sliced through a sharp lime, chilli and fish sauce dressing with mint and cucumber.

The Thai restaurant vegetable dish done properly — everything crunchy, everything glossy, nothing overcooked.

Thailand's take on sweet and sour — lighter, sharper and full of crunchy vegetables rather than heavy batter.

Chicken stir-fried with a mountain of fresh ginger, wood ear mushrooms and spring onion — clean, warming and fast.

A dry, punchy stir fry of red curry paste, pork and green beans — all the flavour of a curry with none of the sauce.

Crisp fried wontons filled with sweet crab and cream cheese — the most unashamedly American thing on the menu.

Crisp fried chicken in a bright, sticky orange sauce — the American-Chinese takeaway dish everyone recognises.

Crisp battered chicken in a glossy, toasty sesame sauce — the American-Chinese favourite worth making at home.

Silky, thickened chicken soup ribboned with egg and sweetcorn — fifteen minutes from pantry to bowl.

Crisp chips tossed through garlic, chilli and onion with a hit of five spice salt — the great takeaway side dish.

Sticky, lacquered ribs in a sweet char siu glaze — the deep red starter everyone reaches for first.

The takeaway starter that isn't seaweed at all — shredded cabbage fried until it shatters, dusted with sweet salt.

That unmistakable glossy yellow curry sauce from the local Chinese — mild, sweet and thick enough to coat chips.

A fast, brothy stir fry of chicken and crunchy vegetables in a light savoury sauce — the original takeaway dish.

Fluffy Chinese-style omelette patties under a glossy brown gravy — old-school takeaway comfort food.

Golden, sesame-crusted prawn toast — the starter that disappears before the mains arrive.

Crispy fried chicken tossed with chilli, garlic and five spice — the takeaway counter classic, done properly at home.

Crunchy double-fried cauliflower tossed in sticky yangnyeom sauce - Korean fried chicken without the chicken.

Silky wakame soup with beef, sesame and soup soy sauce - the birthday soup eaten in every Korean home.

A crisp, lacy pancake of sour kimchi and rice flour batter, fried golden and cut into wedges.

Icy somyeon noodles tossed in tangy cho gochujang with cucumber, kimchi and a jammy egg.

Chicken thighs marinated in sweet soy bulgogi sauce with pear and plum syrup, seared until caramelised.

Hot green tea and kombu broth poured over rice with flaked salmon, umeboshi and nori - Japan's five-minute comfort bowl.

Chicken thighs marinated in fermented shio koji until meltingly tender, then grilled until golden and served with hot karashi mustard.

Pan-grilled salmon lacquered in sweet kabayaki glaze over steamed rice, finished with sansho pepper.

Twice-fried chicken wings tossed in a sweet soy glaze and finished with sesame and peppery sansho.

Chilled ramen noodles topped with ham, egg and crisp vegetables, dressed in a creamy sesame goma dare.

Steamed rice cooked with soy bean sprouts, stirred through a sharp sesame and soy dressing.

Gochujang and gochugaru braised chicken with potato and carrot, slow cooked and served over rice.

Slow cooked beef, potato and carrot finished with Japanese curry roux and served over steamed rice.

Clear chicken broth poured over egg noodles with poached chicken, bean sprouts and fresh herbs.

A fast Indonesian stir fry of snappy green beans, chilli and crispy dried anchovies in a sweet, savoury sauce.

Caramelised lemongrass chicken thigh sliced over jasmine rice with quick pickles and nuoc cham.

Silky Indonesian chicken rice porridge topped with crispy ikan bilis, spring onion and fried shallots.

Crispy fried dried anchovies and peanuts tossed through a sweet, spicy sambal, the classic side for coconut rice.

Coconut jasmine rice served with sambal, crispy fried ikan bilis and peanuts, boiled egg and cool cucumber.

Chicken stir fried hard and fast with a mountain of garlic and white pepper, served over steamed jasmine rice.

A clear, gently sweet Chinese-style chicken soup with goji berries, red dates and ginger, made in the slow cooker.

A twenty minute Thai fried rice with day-old jasmine rice, chicken, egg, fish sauce and lime.

Jasmine rice simmered into a silky savoury porridge with poached chicken, ginger and dried goji berries.

Ten-minute pantry noodles with sizzled garlic, soy, spring onion and chilli oil.

A fast Thai stir fry of chicken, toasted cashews and dried chilli in a glossy oyster sauce glaze.

Cantonese soy braised chicken cooked low and slow with ginger and star anise, served over jasmine rice.

A golden pan-fried egg noodle cake topped with saucy chicken and crisp vegetables, ready in 35 minutes.

Soft egg noodles tossed with tender chicken, crisp vegetables and a glossy savoury sauce in 25 minutes.

A light Chinese tong sui dessert soup of snow fungus, jujubes, rock sugar and dried goji berries.

A gentle Cantonese slow cooker soup of pork bones, sweetcorn, carrot and dried goji berries.

Chicken and potato braised in a sweet soy broth with glass noodles and dried chilli.

Ketchup-seasoned chicken fried rice wrapped in a soft, just-set omelette.

Turmeric-marinated fish sizzled at the table with mountains of dill and spring onion, served over rice vermicelli.

Wide rice noodles charred in the wok then smothered in a silky pork and gai lan gravy.

A whole fish steamed with ginger and spring onion, finished with hot oil and a light soy dressing.

Chicken slow-cooked in spiced coconut milk until the sauce reduces right down, splits and caramelises into a deeply fragrant, almost dry curry.

A bubbling, fiery seafood stew loaded with prawns, mussels and squid in a gochujang-spiked broth — the ultimate warm-you-up Korean dinner.

Vinegared sushi rice topped with an arrangement of fresh sashimi — the simplest, most beautiful way to serve sushi-grade fish at home.

Springy wheat noodles stir-fried with pork, cabbage and a sweet-savoury sauce — Japan's favourite festival food, ready in 20 minutes at home.

A clear, delicately sweet pork and prawn broth over silky rice noodles — Southern Vietnam's answer to pho, loaded with fresh herbs and crispy garlic.

Crispy fried pork and prawn spring rolls with a shatteringly crunchy shell — the perfect starter wrapped in lettuce and herbs with nuoc cham for dipping.

A vibrant, tangy prawn curry with sweet pineapple, built on properly split coconut cream for a rich, fragrant base without needing a long ingredient list.

Roast duck simmered in a rich red curry with pineapple, cherry tomatoes and lychees — built the traditional way by cracking the coconut cream until it splits and turns fragrant.

Silky, golden ribbons of egg in a light chicken broth — ready in 15 minutes and the ultimate quick fix when you want restaurant-style comfort food fast.

Crispy-skinned duck breast served with warm pancakes, hoisin sauce and crunchy spring onion and cucumber — all the flavour of the classic without the whole-bird fuss.

Golden Indonesian potato fritters, fluffy inside and crisp outside, spiced with garlic, shallots and fried onion.

A deep, earthy Javanese beef soup coloured jet-black with keluak nuts, rich, smoky and utterly distinctive.

Fragrant Jakarta-style coconut rice, simmered with pandan and lemongrass, the perfect base for any Indonesian feast.

A rich, creamy Jakarta-style beef soup simmered in coconut milk and warm spices, hearty and deeply comforting.

A rich, sweet soy-braised Indonesian beef stew, slow-cooked with cloves, nutmeg and caramelised shallots.

Chewy Indonesian fish cakes from Palembang, fried until golden and served with a tangy-sweet vinegar sauce.

A gently spiced Indonesian coconut vegetable curry, comforting, colourful and ready in under an hour.

Crispy fried chicken simmered in spices, smashed flat and smothered in a fiery, tangy sambal.

A silky, delicately savoury Korean steamed egg custard that puffs up light and fluffy straight from the stove.

A gooey, bubbling skillet of sweet corn and melted mozzarella, the ultimate Korean bar-food side dish.

A light, clean-tasting Korean soybean sprout soup, simple, soothing and ready in under half an hour.

A fiery, hearty Korean shredded beef soup loaded with fernbrake, bean sprouts and leek in a deep red chilli broth.

Melt-in-the-mouth boiled pork belly sliced thin and wrapped in lettuce with tangy radish salad and salty ssamjang.

A deeply savoury, spicy pork bone soup slow-simmered with potato and perilla leaf until the meat falls off the bone.

A hearty, rustic Korean soybean paste stew bubbling with tofu, vegetables and a deeply savoury umami broth.