My ongoing travel cooking wishlist

I love cooking. Or at least, I love experimenting with new things in the kitchen. As we have been traveling since December 2023, I miss my kitchen lab even more. (So many delicious discoveries that I would like to reproduce!)

I am reigning in my impatience and postponing these experiments to later. In the meantime, here is my ongoing travel cooking wishlist — updated as we go.

Türkiye

• Ayran: cold savory yogurt-based beverage
• Kuru fasulye: beans in tomato sauce (love the version with a lot of tomato paste for a richer result)
• Çig köfte: fresh bulgur-based wrap, great for summer

Georgia

• Yakhni: beef stew with walnuts (the sauce!)
• Badrijani nigzvit: baked eggplants filled with walnuts and spices
• Pkhali: chopped and minced vegetables and combined with ground walnuts, vinegar, onions, garlic, and herbs
• Lobio: hearty red bean stew with walnuts, herbs and spices
• Chirbuli: similar to shakshuka but with walnuts
• Tkemali: sour plum sauce (great for grilled meat)

Armenia

• Aveluk: wild sorrel salad
• Kharcho: beef, tomato and rice soup

Azerbaijan

• Plov: one-pot saffron-flavored rice with dried fruits (made it in Baku and it came out amazing)
• Shirin chörek: sweet turmeric milk bread, crumbly biscuity texture
• Dovga: yoghurt soup with rice, chickpeas and herbs

Central Asia

• Solyanka: thick and sour soup, with cured meats and pickles, originally Russian
• Kuksi: koryo-saram noodle soup that can be eaten hot or cold (super refreshing)
• Qurt: dried goat or sheep cheese balls, hard, salty and long-lasting
• Sesame honey bars: crunchy, nutty (perfect snack for long train rides)

West China

• La mian (拉面): hand-pulled noodles because yum
• Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐): super spicy silk tofu from the Sichuan region
• Tofu: not sure why I never made my own
• Laocang vinegar rice noodle (老仓米线): noodle soup with ground sesame and vinegar
• Tea: small tea pot that you refill with hot water and pour into another recipient to avoid steeping the leaves for too long (love the mindful process, perfect for conversation)

Vietnam

• Chanh tuyết: ice blended lemonade with milk (add lemon zest for extra deliciousness)
• Cà phê muối: bitter black coffee topped with a thick layer of salted whipped cream
• Bánh cuốn: rice steamed rolls filled with meat and mushrooms (fav breakfast)
• Hủ tiếu: noodle soup with a sweet broth made from pork bones, onion, daikon, and dried shrimp
• Bún thịt nướng: refreshing bowl of rice noodle, grilled meat, sweet and sour carrots, cucumber, herbs (so easy to prep-ahead)
• Bún riêu: sour noodle soup, best with mắm for more funkiness
• Xôi: sticky rice served with sides, perfect for breakfast (love it with mung beans and peanuts)
• Muối ớt xanh: spicy, sour, sweet dip (incredible with seafood)
• Canh chua: sour soup made with pineapple and tomato (love it)
• Thịt kho: braised pork and hard-boiled eggs in a savory sauce
• Cá kho: caramelized braised fish, sweet and salty
• Chè bắp: chè dessert that is sweet and creamy, made with glutinous rice, corn and coconut milk
• Chè bột lọc bọc dừa: another chè, crunchy coconut bits wrapepd inside of chewy tapioca flour
• Chè trôi nước: very similar to the previous chè, the filling is mung beans, and the water part is very gingerish
• Coconut ice cream: because it seems too easy (and delicious) not to make my own

Malaysia

• Sambal: a chili-based sauce that can be more or less hot/sour/sweet (great to accompany rice or meat)
• Laksa: sour noodle soup with curry and fish, never have I tasted a soup that is as bold as laksa
• Tea-based gelato: not my first tea-based ice cream, but they take it here to another level (Matcha, Hojicha, Earl Grey, and many more!)
• Ayam masak merah: "red-cooked chicken", chicken braised in a sweet and spicy tomato sauce (amazing with cheese naan)
• Roti canai: this might be one of my favorite breakfasts in Malaysia, I love the chewiness of the bread and how it perfectly combines with a dal soup
• Kuih bingka ubi: I love these small bite-sized desserts, the bingka ubi version (baked tapioca with coconut milk) is by far my favorite, perfect with tea

Thailand

• Pad thai: already tried making this Thai classic dish, but need to perfect the recipe
• Kaeng hang le (แกงฮังเล): rich Northern Thai pork curry, used dried spices and tamarind
• Khao soi (ข้าวซอย): Northern Thai curry noodle soup, served with tender chicken and crispy noodles on top
• Khao niao mamuang (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง): the popular mango sticky rice, could maybe make it at home with peaches instead of mangoes?
• Tom kha gai (ต้มข่าไก่): spicy, sour, coconuty hot soup (and so easy to make if you get the ingredients!)
• Bua loi (บัวลอย): dessert of rice flour rolled into chewy small balls and cooked in sweet coconut milk, add some coconut ice cream for a great cold/hot contrast
• Perfect sunny-side-up egg: separate the white from the yolk, cook the white first and add the yolk close to the end (greatest egg ever)
• Laab (ลาบ): minced meat salad, love the Isan version that is more sour

Cambodia

• Num banhchok (ំបញ្ចុក): lightly fermented rice noodles served in fish curry, better when topped with tons of fresh herbs (perfect summer noodle-dish)
• Amok trei (អាម៉ុកត្រី): steamed fish curry that has a mousse-like consistency
• Num kochay: savory pancake made with glutinous rice and filled with chives, pan-fried to be crispy, and served in a delicious fish sauce dip
• Chha trob (ឆាត្រប់): chargrilled eggplants mixed with minced pork, deliciously charred flavor
• Coconut fish-sauce: a regular dip made with fish-sauce, but with an extra splash of coconut milk
• Peanut snack: delicious when served with beer, roasted peanuts with garlic, kefir leaves, ginger and chili
• Fried banana fritter (នំចេកចៀន): also very popular elsewhere, but Cambodians make the best ones (crunchy, caramelized, with sesame seeds)

East and South China

• Soy milk: I grew up with the unreplicable taste of sweet soy milk, I should definitely learn to reproduce it
• Egg tart: a custardy delight, best when the dough is crunchy and flaky
• Chāshāo bāozǐ (叉烧包子): a soft bao, with a juicy meat filling that is both sweet and savory
• Chǎo guǒ (炒粿): these stir-fried "radish" cakes are just the perfect comfort food

Still ongoing... ⊙