Laos

Every Lao meal begins with a lidded basket of khao niaow — sticky rice — which you pinch into a ball with your fingers and use to scoop up everything else. It is the thread through the whole table, and the most Lao thing you can do is eat with your hands and share.

The dish to chase is laap, the unofficial national plate: minced meat or fish tossed with lime, chilli, fish sauce, a fistful of herbs and toasted rice powder for crunch — bright, hot and alive. It comes with tam maak hung, green papaya pounded with chilli and fermented crab in a wooden mortar, and smoky sai oua, lemongrass sausage off the coals. France left its mark too: crusty khao chi baguettes with pâté, and thick sweet coffee from the Bolaven Plateau. Wash it all down with a cold Beerlao by the Mekong as the sun drops — this is food to slow you right down.