1 h 15 min 35 minA much-loved Chinese home dish: cubes of pork belly browned in caramel, then braised with soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and star anise until meltingly tender in a glossy dark sauce. Adapted from “Hongshao Rou (Red Braised Pork Belly)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Added a cube size and a time for reducing the sauce. Photo: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Red braised pork (20141106191221)”).
45 min 41 minSmall, tender beef and pork meatballs browned in butter, with a quick cream gravy from the pan. Serve with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam, the Swedish way. Adapted from “Swedish Meatballs I” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Liquid set to 150 ml (the source gives 200–300 ml), salt and pepper given amounts, and a simple cream gravy added from the source's serving note. Photo: dronepicr, retouched by MagentaGreen, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Köttbullar mit Kartoffelpüree (31488444044 retuschiert)”).
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)”).
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”).
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)”).