Where on earth do you find the best food? Difficult that one, because you often find the best in the most unlikely places, and alongside the worst. Simplicity is usually the key. The most romantic and beautiful places to eat are not only in the far-flung corners of the planet, but can also be found, say, at a hawker's stall on a busy street corner in Bangkok or in the incense-spun calm of one of the city's Chinese temples.
The humble evokes memories: fat barbecued prawns off a meagre fire on a beach in India; a snack of sliced boiled potato, bhel puri off an old knocked-about tin plate amid the evening magic of Bombay's Juhu beach. You won't find them in a swanky hotel, no matter how much it has 'taken its inspiration from the natives'. They're there to take your dosh. Nothing wrong in that, but money never buys it for me. The best places take you by surprise, and simplicity is usually the key. Asia has really taken off - ingredients and dishes from the Far East have crept into our lives and many of us have sampled a week or two in India or Thailand. If you can't go, I want to take you there through these recipes and pictures.
India
Prawn and mango curry
Some grated coconut (packet desiccated is fine, too), fresh coriander leaves and little chunks of ripe mango can be served alongside. Poppadums wouldn't go amiss either.
Look out for Alphonso mangoes, available from April to June. Slice into one of these blondes and you'll find thick, ochre-orange flesh that'll slip down with a nectar and flavour as heady as it is bright.
serves 4
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped 3 onions, roughly chopped 4 hot green or red chillies, left whole 6 cardamom pods, bruised 4 tbs vegetable oil 2 sprigs curry leaves (optional) 3 tsp ground garam masala 2 tbs Patak's Kashmiri Masala Paste 1 x 400g can chopped tinned plum tomatoes 1 x 400ml can coconut milk 2 large ripe mangoes (about 400g), peeled and cut into chunks 300g shelled raw tiger or other largish prawns salt
Put the garlic, ginger and onions in a processor and mix to a paste, adding a drop of water if necessary. Fry the chillies and cardamom pods in the oil in a frying pan until the chillies blister, then throw in the curry leaves (if using) and fry for a further 20 seconds or so. Add the onion paste and 2 teaspoons of the garam masala and fry until the paste darkens in colour. Then stir through the Kashmiri Masala Paste - keep stirring to avoid burning. Add the plum tomatoes and 100ml of water, and let everything bubble together for about 10 minutes. Stir through the coconut milk and the mangoes and bubble up for a further 10 minutes, adding an extra dash of water if it thickens too much. Stir in the prawns and cook for a further 3 minutes, or until the prawns are just cooked, stirring through the remaining garam masala and salt to taste just before serving. Serve in bowls, with rice, and shower with any bits and pieces you have.
Malabar fish pilaff with raisins, cardamom, pepper and mace
This will put the Cardamom Hills and Kerala's fishing nets on your plate.
serves 4
6 tbs sunflower oil
100g shelled cashew nuts 2 onions, 1 finely sliced, 1 finely chopped 1 tsp each cumin seeds and roughly crushed black peppercorns 3 pieces cassia bark or 1 cinnamon stick 8 cardamom pods, bruised 3 pieces whole mace 2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated 3 cloves garlic, crushed 500g basmati rice, rinsed and drained salt and pepper 600g fish fillets, such as snapper, sea bream or red mullet 2 tbs fat raisins 100ml coconut milk
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole and lightly brown the nuts on all sides. Drain on kitchen roll. Fry the sliced onion in the same oil until dark brown and caramelised, then drain and reserve. Add the cumin, peppercorns, cassia, cardamom and mace to the oil (adding a drop more if needed) and gently fry for 30 seconds, or until you can smell the aroma - don't burn them. Stir in the chopped onion, ginger and garlic and gently fry until the onion has softened. Tip the rice into the pan and turn through with the spiced onion to coat. Add enough water to cover the rice by 2cm, salt it, then cover and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to very low and simmer for 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 more tablespoons of oil in a non-stick frying pan. Rub the fish with salt and a few grinds of pepper and fry skin-side down for 1 minute, then remove and drain. They won't be cooked, just crisped. Bed down the fillets in the rice pan so they're layered into the rice and covered up, interspersing the layers with the raisins, nuts and caramelised sliced onion. Make holes in the rice with the handle of a wooden spoon, then pour over the coconut milk. Cover and put in a 180 C/350 F/gas 4 oven for 30 minutes.
Burma
Railway station chicken
Eaten in, and therefore christened after, Yangon railway station.
serves 4
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely shredded 2 red bird's-eye chillies, finely sliced 2 tbs caster sugar 5 tbs lime juice 3 tbs fish sauce 2 large free-range chicken breasts, skinned salt and pepper ground nut or vegetable oil small bunch of fresh coriander to garnish
For the dipping sauce, mix together the first six ingredients and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved. Cut the chicken breasts into small chunks, then tumble with a little salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of the dipping sauce. Cover and leave to bathe for 30 minutes. Heat a shallow pool of oil in a wok, then fry the chicken nuggets in two batches for 3-4 minutes, or until cooked through, draining each lot on kitchen roll. Serve with the bowl of dipping sauce.
Ngapali beach chilli crab
White-fleshed crab is wanted here, but if you're in the wrong place for such tropical water delicacies (blue swimmer crabs or mud crabs, say), use nice fat whole claws instead. I scoffed this nightly on Ngapali Beach, far away in time. Gorgeous.
serves 4
4 uncooked tropical water crabs, or 8 big cooked crab claws
3cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped 3 cloves garlic 6 small shallots, chopped 2 tsp each dried chilli flakes and paprika 1 tsp dried shrimp or 1 tbs fish sauce 3-4 tbs peanut oil tsp shrimp paste tsp ground turmeric salt 4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped 8 small green or red chillies, left whole 4 kaffir lime leaves
Ask your fishmonger to split the crabs into quarters, and to lightly bash the claws to crack their shells, yet leave the shell intact around the meat (easily done with a rolling pin at home). In a processor, blast the ginger, garlic and shallots to make a coarse paste. Gently fry the dried chilli flakes, paprika and dried shrimp in the oil until the oil reddens a little. Stir-fry the crabs in two batches in the flavoured oil until seared and reddened all over. Scoop them out, leaving the oil behind, then slip in the pulverised onion paste with the shrimp paste, turmeric and a sprinkling of salt, and fry until it looks reddened.
Stir in the tomatoes, chillies, lime leaves and a touch more salt (if needed) and bubble up, adding a dash of water. Rapidly cook for 10 minutes, adding more water if necessary. It should end up paste-like, rich and unctuous. Slip the crab back in and cook in the paste, stir-frying, for 5 minutes or so, until the crab is cooked. Eat with rice, finger bowls ready.
Thailand
Chang pier noodle salad
Pork and squid in a salad - who'd have thought it? It's glorious. Crumbled puffed rice cake adds the crunch factor here. However, the devils are tricky to find, so I suggest sprinkling with some bought crispy shallot instead - prawn cracker is good, too.
serves 4
200g bean thread/glass noodles
3cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped 4 cloves garlic 2 small shallots, chopped 2 bird's-eye chillies, deseeded and sliced salt and pepper vegetable oil 200g pork mince or sliced pork fillet fish sauce 3 tsp caster sugar 200g cleaned and prepared squid, sliced tsp chilli flakes 3 tbs lime juice 2 heads dried white fungus, soaked in cold water until soft and drained (optional) 6 garlic chives, or 2 spring onions, chopped handful of Thai basil leaves crispy shallots or crumbled rice cracker lettuce leaves and lime wedges, to serve
Soak the noodles in warm water until soft - about 30 minutes - then drain. Pound together the ginger, garlic, shallots and chillies with a touch of salt to make a coarse paste. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok, toss in the pounded paste and stir-fry a little, then tip in the pork, season with a tablespoon of fish sauce, pepper, salt and the sugar and stir-fry until the pork is cooked. Scoop out. Add a dash more oil to the wok, then tumble in the squid and stir-fry until it turns opaque - about 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons of water towards the end of the frying time.
Remove the wok from the heat and tip in the noodles, cooked pork and all the remaining ingredients except the lettuce leaves and lime wedges. Tumble together and taste, adding more fish sauce, sugar or lime if necessary. It should taste explosive. Serve with lettuce leaves and lime.
Broken fish trap soup
Think rock pool/shrimper's net here: basically you can use almost any seafood in this dish. Try clams, mussels, a prawn or crab claw, and chunks of fish with the prawns. You may need to cook for a little longer depending on what you decide to put in the pot. The Thais I met sometimes used smoked fish or mackerel to make a richer soup. It's a great dish for anyone on a diet.
serves 4
1 small sea bream or other white fish, filleted, boned (keep the bones) and broken into pieces
2 sticks lemongrass, trimmed and smashed open 4cm piece fresh galangal or root ginger, peeled and thickly sliced 8 kaffir lime leaves 3 tbs fish sauce juice of 2 limes 1 tbs palm sugar or caster sugar 4 bird's-eye chillies, split 300g raw shell-on prawns handful of basil, coriander or chopped garlic chives
Simmer the fish bones in 1.5 litres of water, along with the smashed lemongrass, galangal and half the lime leaves for about 20 minutes, then sieve into a clean pan, discarding all the bits. Stir in half the fish sauce, half the lime juice, half the sugar and half the chillies, and leave to bubble for a couple of minutes. Add the prawns and the fish pieces and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes or so, until the fish is cooked. Give it a taste and add more flavourings until it's blended in heat and sourness to your liking. Remove and discard the lemongrass and spent lime leaves. Stir in the remaining fresh kaffir lime leaves, remove from the heat and add the remaining lime juice.Divide between bowls and top with the leaves. Again, toasted shrimp paste mashed with chilli can be added at the table.
· Food and Travels: Asia by Alastair Hendy (Mitchell Beazley) costs £25.
