28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (2024)

Southeast Asia is a tropical region of the continent encompassing 11 countries with rich culinary traditions. That diversity fosters varied cuisine (and co*cktails) with craveable specialties. With recipes from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and beyond, here are some of our favorite Southeast Asian dishes and drinks, from a tofu pad Thai recipe to beef and chicken Vietnamese pho recipes to vegan Filipino sisig and a tangy Burmese soup.

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Vegan Mushroom and Fried Tofu Sisig

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (1)

Classic Filipino sisig is made with pork belly and chicken liver cooked with onions, chiles, and calamansi. Chef Kristine Subido offers a vegan option to this traditionally meat-heavy dish, with fried tofu and king trumpet mushrooms at the center.

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Gang Gai Khao Mun (Thai Chicken Curry)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (2)

Sweet, sticky coconut rice colored and flavored with green herbs pairs with this creamy Thai chicken curry from chef Nok Suntaranon. The foundation of the curry is a vibrant from-scratch curry paste. Making your own curry paste requires a little sourcing, but the resulting flavor is well worth the effort. The curry paste freezes well for future batches.

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Tofu Pad Thai

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (3)

Pad Thai, also called kway teow pad Thai (meaning "Thai-style stir-fried rice noodles"), is customized in endless ways by street food vendors, restaurateurs, and home cooks all over the world. But at the heart of this beloved Thai noodle dish is a delectably sweet, salty, and sour sauce that's seasoned with fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, and lime juice.

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Sinigang Na Hipon

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (4)

Sinigang is a soup from the Philippines with a tangy broth, often made using sour fruit like tamarind or unripe guava.Sinigang Na Hipon simply means sinigang with prawn. 2022 F&W Best New Chef Melissa Miranda uses fresh grapefruit and lemon juice for the sour notes.

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Thai Red Curry

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (5)

Known as one of the most popular curry styles in Thailand, red curry is made with red chiles that give it its iconic heat and bright scarlet color, blended with aromatic spices and ingredients including cilantro, lemongrass, (kapi) shrimp paste, and ginger.

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Cambodian Black Pepper Beef (Lok Lak)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (6)

Wok cooking happens quickly, so prepare each ingredient beforehand. 2019 F&W Best New Chef Nite Yun not only tenderizes the flank steak with an intensely flavorful marinade but also adds punchy flavor in just a few minutes of cooking.

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Pancit Miki Bihon

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (7)

"Pancit is a catch-all term for noodle dishes in the Philippines — and there are so many variations of pancit" says Carlo Lamagna, the chef and owner of Magna Kusina in Portland, Oregon. This particular pancit by Lamagna combines two types of noodles: bihon (long, thin noodles usually made from rice flour or cornstarch) and miki (egg noodles).

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Khao Soi

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (8)

An aromatic mixture made of shallot, garlic, and radish is the base of this riff on the Northern Thai classic from chef Donny Sirisavath. He amps up the flavor with soybean paste, cherry tomatoes, and ground pork to create a deeply savory pork sauce.

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Thit Kho (Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (9)

This savory pork braise is beloved across Vietnam. The blanched cabbage is a good accompaniment for the fall and winter months; during spring, blanched snap peas and green beans are great options; in the summer, pair this kho with fresh slices of Persian cucumbers.

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Ginataang Gulay (Filipino Stew)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (10)

Ginataang refers to a wide array of Filipino comfort foods cooked with coconut milk. The rich, fragrant canned good brings big flavor in a short amount of time. Lawrence Letrero of Bayan Ko in Chicago uses vegetables like hearty sweet potato, colorful Japanese eggplant, and snappy haricots verts here.

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Whole Fried Snapper with Cashew Nuoc Cham

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (11)

This whole fried snapper is a dramatic main course. Crispy and delicious, this dish is paired with a roasted cashew nuoc cham dipping sauce and served with rice paper wrappers, cucumbers, and herbs in this centerpiece-worthy dish.

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Vietnamese Iced Coconut Coffee

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (12)

Combining coconut milk, whole milk, and sweetened condensed milk, this refresher by Sahra Nguyen, founder of Nguyen Coffee Supply, shows off the bold flavor of Vietnamese coffee beans.

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Som Tam (Thai-Style Green Papaya Salad)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (13)

The Thai salad Som Tam demonstrates the mortar and pestle’s power. The Thai word som means “sour,” and tam means “to pound,” the action that sets the foundation for the distinct aromatic, tangy flavors in chef Nooror Somany Steppe’s recipe.

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Krapow Khai Yat Sai

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (14)

In this eye-catching omelet from Jazz Singsanong, owner of Jitlada in Los Angeles, a thin blanket of folded egg is cut open to reveal a filling of ground chicken and Thai basil that’s been lightly caramelized and flavored with oyster sauce.

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Lemongrass Skirt Steak Skewers

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Using flat skewers helps the meat char and cook evenly by curbing any rolling around the grill. Be sure to preheat the grill; high, even heat will help guarantee strong grill marks and will caramelize the sugars in the marinade.

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Cà Phê Sữa Chua (Vietnamese Yogurt Coffee)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (16)

Stir Vietnamese-Style Homemade Yogurt with coffee and sweetened condensed milk to make a drink that's creamy, tangy, and bittersweet with a caffeinated boost.

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Balinese Grilled Chicken

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (17)

On a surfing trip to Indonesia, Pete Evans tried a version of this chicken roasted over an open fire. The turmeric, chiles, and ginger in the marinade are popular flavors in Indonesian cooking.

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Chicken Pho

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (18)

Charles Phan and his children adore this soup, called pho, which has an intense chicken flavor accented by aromatic roasted onion and ginger.

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Singapore Sling

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (19)

A bartender named Ngiam Tong Boon is said to have mixed the first Sling around 1915 at the Long Bar inside Singapore's Raffles Hotel. Julie Reiner's take doesn’t stray far from the original, mixing gin, pineapple juice, and bitters, along with a blend of liqueurs she calls Sling Business.

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Yusheng

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (20)

Yusheng is a traditional raw fish salad served in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a communal ceremonial New Years dish but delicious all year round. The ingredients are placed individually on a serving platter, the salad is dressed and then all the guests toss the salad up in the air with chopsticks. The higher the toss, the more prosperity in the New Year.

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Burmese Samusa Soup

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (21)

This vegan soup from Desmond Tan’s Burma Superstar in San Francisco features a broth that’s seasoned with black mustard seeds, cumin, and turmeric. Fresh cabbage, herbs, and chiles top each ample bowl, contrasting tender lentils and potatoes with a pleasing crunch. It’s substantial enough to be a meal by itself, but try it topped with wedges of leftover samosas (or samusas, as they’re called in Burma) and falafel, as they do at the restaurant.

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Kuy Teav (Cambodian Rice Noodle Soup)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (22)

Kuy teav, a rice noodle soup traditionally served for breakfast in Cambodia, takes on layers of flavor from shrimp, pork, and vegetables. In Deana Saukam's version, you ladle the rich stock over crisp lettuce leaves and rice noodles then top to your liking with herbs, sliced chiles, soy sauce, and lime.

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Perkedel Jagung (Indonesian Corn Fritters)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (23)

Chef Lara Lee's Perkedel Jagung are all about the sweet, tender corn. Packed with fresh or frozen kernels and layers of flavor from fresh ginger and shallots, fragrant makrut lime leaves, and floral ground coriander and cumin, these fried treats are delicious served with a balancing spicy tomato sambal.

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Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangoes and Sesame Seeds

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (24)

Most Thai dishes are best served at room temperature, including this creamy dessert: "If you chill it, it becomes rock-hard, but if you heat it up, it turns to mush," Andy Ricker explains. Many traditional recipes for sticky rice require steaming the grains for up to an hour, but for the supereasy adaptation here, Ricker cleverly suggests microwaving the rice for only about 15 minutes instead.

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Sambal Terung (Malaysian Roasted Eggplant with Chile Sauce)

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (25)

Sambal is a chilli sauce that is generally made from a mixture of chilli peppers, shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice.Roasted eggplant dish is covered in sambal for this spicy, savory dish.

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Cambodian Chicken-and-Rice Soup with Shrimp

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (26)

For this spicy, soothing, and restorative chicken-and-rice soup, Ratha Chau prepares his own delectable chicken stock and roasts a chicken, which is then cut into large pieces and added to it. Using prepared stock and preroasted chicken significantly cuts back on prep time.

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Spiced Beef Pho with Sesame-Chile Oil

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (27)

The rice vermicelli soup pho is a staple all over Vietnam and this spicy beef version is the specialty of Hanoi. At home in Connecticut, Marcia Kiesel often eats it for breakfast, as the Vietnamese do. "It's a perfect meal and an invigorating way to start the day," she says. She's tried innumerable phos but considers the recipe from Binh Duong, her co-author on Simple Art of Vietnamese Cooking, to be the best. Inspired by the pho served at Ana Mandara and the Hideaway, she tweaks Duong's recipe by adding an escarole garnish.

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Vermicelli with Chicken Skewers and Nuoc Cham

28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (28)

In this version of a Vietnamese dish, individual piles of cucumber, fresh herbs, and grilled chicken are arranged on a platter of vermicelli and bean sprouts. Tangy nuoc cham sauce is poured over all. As each diner takes a portion, the components intermingle.

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28 Sensational Southeast Asian Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 traditional foods or dishes you would find in southwest Asia? ›

Foods in Southwest Asia BY Zach&Gatlin

these are the top 5 foods in the east Hummus, Manakeesh, Grilled halloumi, Foul meddamas, Falefel. The eggplat is the most common vegetable in the middle. Flat bread is the most common. Pita Bread is the one of the oldest bread.

What type of food is a major staple in many meals eaten in Southeast Asia? ›

The staple food throughout the region is rice, which has been cultivated for thousands of years.

What makes Southeast Asian food unique? ›

Perhaps the most profound impact on the region's cooking was made in the 16th century, when Portuguese traders brought the chili pepper from their colonies in the Americas. Today, the fiery chili imparts the signature heat and spice well-known by foreigners to be the defining characteristic of any Southeast Asian dish.

What is the most eaten food in South Asia? ›

Rice. Rice is the basic staple food in southern and eastern regions of South Asia. Rice flour is used to make the savoury pancakes called dosas and utthapams that are so characteristic of South Indian food.

What is the most common food in the Southwest? ›

Characteristics. The staple ingredients of Southwestern cuisine are corn, squash and beans. Called the "three sisters", they have been staples of North-American agriculture since ancient times. Beans are served whole or refried, and both styles can be used as filling for tostadas, tacos, burritos and similar dishes.

What are Southeast Asia natural foods? ›

Nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables are eaten across Southeast Asia, along with red meat, chicken, and fish. Due to global trade, this region enjoys similar herbs and spices to the rest of the world, with favourites including turmeric, coriander, mint, cumin, and cardamom.

What is the most expensive food in the world? ›

Caviar is the most expensive food in the world — a 1kg tin of beluga on King's website retails for nearly £5,000 — as the roe can only come from a sturgeon, which takes between eight and 18 years to produce eggs large enough for harvesting.

What is the flavor of Southeast Asia? ›

Influenced by Chinese cuisine and Indian spices, Southeast Asian cuisine has a complex flavour profile that can be sweet, sour, salty, spicy, and bitter at the same time.

Do Southeast Asians eat pork? ›

Pork is by far the most widely eaten meat in Southeast Asia, and if you own a pig, you're considered wealthy. Pigs are fed kitchen scraps, keeping the cost of maintaining the animal relatively low.

Why do Southeast Asians love spicy food? ›

But yet another study, from 1998, found that when it gets warmer or in countries that are especially hot, spice use rises. That's because they provide macronutrients, can disguise the taste and smell of spoiled foods, and can lead to more perspiration, which can cool the body down when it's hot.

What is the main religion in Southeast Asia? ›

Buddhism, particularly the more orthodox Theravada form, dominates the religious pattern of most of the mainland; only in northern Vietnam is the more liberal Mahayana Buddhism more common. Islam is predominant in the southern half of the Malay Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago, and the southern Philippines.

What is one of the most interesting things about Southeast Asia? ›

One of the most diverse regions in the world

ASEAN is home to hundreds of different ethnic groups, each with their own distinct culture and traditions. Southeast Asia is a region of enormous linguistic diversity where thousands of languages are spoken.

What is the most famous in Southeast Asia? ›

Top five countries in South East Asia you can visit
  • Photo: Courtesy.
  • The ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. ...
  • The Komodo National Park in Indonesia. ...
  • The Ko Phi Phi islands in Thailand. ...
  • Spanish influenced Vigan city in the Philippines.

What are the most popular foods in the Southeast? ›

A traditional Southern meal may include pan-fried chicken, field peas (such as black-eyed peas), greens (such as collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, or poke sallet), mashed potatoes, cornbread or corn pone, sweet tea, and dessert—typically a pie (sweet potato, chess, shoofly, pecan, and peach are the most ...

What is Southeast Asia famous for? ›

Southeast Asia has long been a favourite corner of the world for globe-tramping backpackers, known for its perfect beaches, tasty cuisine, low prices, and good flight connections.

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