Find your next favourite — by meal, mood, diet, cuisine or how much time you’ve got.
15 minDay-old bread soaked in vanilla and cinnamon custard, then fried in butter until crisp outside and soft in the middle. Brioche or challah make it extra rich. Adapted from “French Toast” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Scaled to 2 servings (2 eggs for 4 slices) and gave set amounts for the vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and butter; the pepper is left out. Photo: Ralph Daily, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“French Toast (16251867289)”).
25 minThick, fluffy griddle pancakes made light with a whipped egg white folded into the batter. Stack them up with butter, maple syrup and fresh berries. Adapted from “Pancakes (North American)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Added butter for the pan, the heat level and cooking times. Photo: Herson Rodriguez, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Pancakes with Berries (Unsplash)”).
13 minThe village salad of Greece: ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, green pepper and olives in olive oil, crowned with a whole slab of feta and a pinch of oregano. No lettuce needed. Adapted from “Greek Salad” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Gave amounts for every ingredient (the source lists none) for 4 servings, and dried oregano over the feta instead of an optional fresh sprig. Photo: Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Greece Food Horiatiki”).
27 min 16 minThin slices of beef and onion simmered in a sweet soy and dashi sauce and spooned over rice, with a soft egg, pickled ginger and spring onions on top. Japan's favourite fast weeknight bowl. Adapted from “Gyudon (Japanese Beef and Rice Bowl)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Scaled to two full bowls (300 g beef, a whole onion) with the sauce raised to match; rice amount and cooking times added. Photo: Calgary Reviews, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Beef Bowl, Gyūdon”).
25 minSoft egg noodles tossed in a hot pan with chicken, shrimp and crisp vegetables and coated in soy sauce. A flexible stir-fry that takes whatever meat and vegetables you have. Adapted from “Lo Mein” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Fixed amounts for 4 in place of equal "parts" and "enough" soy sauce; picked chicken, shrimp, broccoli, carrot and asparagus from the suggested options and added spring onions to finish. Photo: jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Lo mein (13878821955)”).
23 minIndonesia's everyday fried rice: shallots, garlic and chile fried with chicken, then cold rice glazed with sweet soy sauce. Serve it with cucumber slices and, if you like, a fried egg on top. Adapted from “Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Gave amounts for the rice, oil and soy sauces; chose chicken and green beans from the optional list and read "fish oil" as fish sauce. The fried egg on top comes from the source's variations. Photo: Midori, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Nasi goreng di Rantepao”).
23 minThe Cantonese fried rice found in every Hong Kong café: day-old jasmine rice tossed with prawns, char siu, bacon, peas and egg. A great home for leftover rice. Adapted from “Yeung Chow Fried Rice” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Salt and pepper cut from 1 tbsp each to 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp white pepper; serves 3 rather than 7 for the same amount of rice. Photo: Ceeseven, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Yeung Chow Fried Rice in Hong Kong Fast Food Shop”).
23 min 16 minSoft, turmeric-yellow potatoes with mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies: the filling for masala dosa, and great with roti or rice. Adapted from “Potato Curry (Aloo Masala)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Added the par-boiling step and used 3 chillies instead of 4–5. Photo: Maddyatpondy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Poori masala - tamilnadu -IMG 20190924 090232”).
28 min 23 minFresh, no-cook rolls of prawns, pork, rice noodles and herbs wrapped in rice paper. Fun to roll at the table. Adapted from “Summer Rolls” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Doubled to 8 rolls for 4 people, started from dried vermicelli, made the prawns and meat amounts specific. Photo: pelican, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Vietnamese spring rolls (23691938909)”).
14 minThe tapas-bar favourite from southern Spain: shrimp sizzled in olive oil with lots of garlic, paprika and a splash of sherry. Bring bread for the oil. Adapted from “Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Converted to metric with single amounts. Photo: Missvain (Sarah Stierch), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Layla at MacArthur Place - 2021-05-20 - Sarah Stierch 03”).
30 minA Palestinian staple that costs very little: lentils and rice cooked with warm spices and topped with deeply browned onions. Filling, vegan and better the next day. Adapted from “Rice and Lentils (Mejadra)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Corrected the lentil and rice weights to match 1 cup each and gave amounts for the oil, salt and spices. Photo: Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Mujaddara - My own style”).
28 min 21 minA family recipe for Thailand's best-known noodle dish: rice noodles tossed in a sweet, sour and salty tamarind sauce with egg, bean sprouts and peanuts. Adapted from “Pad Thai” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chili flakes cut from 2 tbsp to 1–2 tsp, fewer bean sprouts, the "assorted vegetables" made specific. Photo: Index Librorum Permissorum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Pad Thai 2018-12-26 (1)”).
19 min 9 minSichuan's famous numbing, spicy tofu: soft cubes simmered with minced meat and chili bean paste, finished with roasted Sichuan pepper. Serve over rice. Adapted from “Mapo Tofu” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Added the frying oil and a little water to simmer in; less Sichuan pepper (2 tsp instead of 1 tbsp). Photo: Guilhem Vellut, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Mapo Tofu @ Saturne @ Paris (33518107254)”).
25 min 13 minThe Roman classic with no cream: crisp guanciale, egg yolks, pecorino and plenty of black pepper, turned silky by the heat of the pasta. Adapted from “Spaghetti alla Carbonara” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Pork, cheese and oil set to single amounts; steps reordered to run in parallel. Photo: Luca Nebuloni, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Spaghetti alla carbonara (32998643591)”).