My ongoing travel cooking wishlist
A list of recipes I want to try Published on thought
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)
China
- La mian (拉面): hand-pulled noodles because yum
- Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐): super spicy silk tofu from the Sichuan region
- 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)
- Xôi: sticky rice served with sides, perfect for breakfast (love it with mung beans and peanuts)
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
- Tom kha gai: spicy, sour, coconuty hot soup (and so easy to make if you get the ingredients!)
To be continued...
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