Dinner Ideas • Recipes from 193 Countries

Dinner Ideas from 193 Countries — What to Cook Tonight

Stuck on what to cook for dinner? Dinner Ideas brings easy dinner recipes from 193 countries — signature dishes with ingredients, steps, nutrition and pairings.

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Breakfast to Snack

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 313–324 of 2290 dinner recipes

Nasi katok — steamed rice, crispy fried chicken, a bowl of sambal and a bowl of soup with cucumber on brown paper

Brunei 1h

Lunch •Brunei Heritage

Nasi Katok

This nasi katok recipe recreates Brunei's beloved one-dollar street-food plate at home: golden, turmeric-spiced fried chicken, fluffy steamed rice and a fiery chilli sambal, with cool cucumber on the side. One serving is about 415 g.

Quick & Satisfying

A simple plate of steamed rice, crispy fried chicken and fiery sambal — Brunei's everyday lunch, ready in about an hour.

Pairs Well With
A spoonful of fiery sambal and cool cucumber slices, with iced lime tea.

Daging masak lada hitam — beef in a glossy black pepper sauce with carrots, peppers and onion in a white dish

Brunei 40m

Dinner •Brunei Heritage

Daging Masak Lada Hitam

This daging masak lada hitam recipe turns thin slices of beef into a glossy black pepper stir-fry, with sweet soy, oyster sauce and crisp peppers and onion. One serving is about 220 g, best spooned over steamed rice.

High-Protein Dinner

Tender beef slices in a glossy black pepper sauce with peppers and onion — a rich, savory main for dinner.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and a cool cucumber salad.

High Protein

Kelupis — four glutinous rice parcels wrapped in leaves and tied together, served on a plate

Brunei 1h 45m

Snack & Tea •Brunei Heritage

Bruneian Kelupis

This bruneian kelupis recipe turns glutinous rice, coconut milk and a pinch of salt into soft, fragrant parcels wrapped in leaves and steamed until tender. Unwrap one and the rice is pearly white, lightly salty and rich with coconut — a classic Bruneian kuih for celebrations and afternoon tea. One serving is about 183 g (two parcels), not counting sambal or rendang served alongside.

Soft, Fragrant & Festive

Glutinous rice simmered in coconut milk, wrapped in leaves and steamed until tender — a traditional Bruneian kuih for sharing.

Pairs Well With
Sambal & beef rendang

Cambodian fish amok, a yellow steamed fish mousse in a folded banana leaf cup on a white plate

Cambodia 1h

Dinner •Cambodian Heritage

Cambodian Fish Amok

This cambodian fish amok recipe turns fresh white fish, yellow kroeung paste and coconut milk into a silky steamed mousse, set in a banana leaf cup and finished with coconut cream, lime leaf and chilli. It is Cambodia's most loved celebration dish, gentle rather than fiery, and it eats like a savoury custard with rice. One serving is about 240 g, without the rice.

Comfort & Warmth

A steamed fish mousse in a banana leaf cup, fragrant with lemongrass and coconut, served hot with rice.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and a crisp green papaya salad.

High Protein

Cambodian lok lak: stir-fried beef cubes on lettuce with rice and a small bowl of lime-pepper dipping sauce

Cambodia 35m

Dinner •Cambodian Heritage

Cambodian Lok Lak

This cambodian lok lak recipe shakes cubes of marinated beef in a very hot wok until browned at the edges, then piles them over crisp lettuce, tomato, onion and cucumber with a fried egg and a bowl of lime-pepper dipping sauce. The dip is the soul of the dish: sharp lime, salt and cracked Kampot pepper cut straight through the rich beef. One serving is about 535 g, with rice.

Hearty & Satisfying

Stir-fried beef cubes over lettuce, tomato and onion, with the sharp lime-and-Kampot-pepper dip that defines the dish.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and the lime-pepper dip.

High Protein

Khmer kuy teav: a street-stall bowl of Cambodian pork noodle soup with meatballs, bean sprouts, herbs and chilli

Cambodia 3h

Breakfast •Cambodian Heritage

Khmer Kuy Teav

This kuy teav recipe simmers pork bones with dried shrimp and squid into a clear, gently sweet broth, then ladles it over rice noodles with seasoned minced pork, sliced liver, shrimp and a soft egg. Bean sprouts, herbs, fried garlic, lime and chilli go on at the table, so every bowl is seasoned to taste. One serving is about 850 g, broth and toppings together.

Warm & Nourishing

A clear pork-bone broth with rice noodles, minced pork, liver, shrimp and a tangle of fresh herbs — Cambodia's classic breakfast bowl.

Pairs Well With
Fried garlic, fresh herbs, lime wedges and chilli sauce at the table.

Soups & Broths • Pasta & Noodles

A close-up of classic poutine: golden french fries topped with white cheese curds and glossy brown gravy

Canada 55m

Lunch •Quebec Classic

Poutine

Poutine is Quebec's most famous dish: hot, crispy french fries topped with fresh cheese curds and a ladle of steaming beef gravy, served the moment the curds start to soften. This poutine recipe uses real cheese curds — never shredded cheese — and fries the potatoes twice so they stay crisp under the gravy. One serving is about 348 g.

Hearty Comfort Food

Crispy double-fried potatoes, squeaky fresh cheese curds and hot beef gravy — Quebec's most famous comfort dish.

Pairs Well With
Green salad & pickles

Golden butter tarts with glossy brown-sugar filling arranged on a wooden board

Canada 1h 5m

Snack & Tea •Ontario Classic

Butter Tarts

Butter tarts are Canada's most loved small pastry: flaky pastry cups filled with a gooey mixture of butter, brown sugar and egg, sometimes with raisins, baked until the filling bubbles and just sets. This butter tarts recipe makes 12 golden tarts with crisp shells and a soft, caramel centre — the classic Ontario version, firm enough to hold and soft enough to run. One tart is about 75 g.

Sweet & Comforting

Flaky pastry cups filled with a gooey butter, brown sugar and egg filling — Canada's most loved small pastry.

Pairs Well With
Tea & coffee

A deep-dish tourtière with a slice cut, showing the spiced ground-meat filling in golden pastry

Canada 2h

Dinner •Quebec Christmas Classic

Tourtière

Tourtière is the French-Canadian spiced pork pie: a deep-dish pie with a buttery double crust and a filling of ground pork, a little beef, mashed potato and onion, scented with cinnamon, cloves and savoury. It is the centrepiece of Quebec's Christmas Eve réveillon, served after midnight Mass. Unlike the Australian meat pie, which is a hand-held beef pie with tomato sauce, tourtière is a large, sliceable pie built for sharing, and its warm spices — not gravy — are what make it. This tourtiere recipe makes one deep-dish pie for eight. One slice is about 255 g.

Hearty & Festive

A deep-dish pie of spiced ground pork and potato in buttery pastry — the centrepiece of Quebec's Christmas Eve réveillon.

Pairs Well With
Green salad & pickles

Machas a la parmesana — razor clams in their shells topped with melted golden Parmesan, garnished with greens and a cherry tomato

Chile 35m

Lunch •Valparaíso Coast Heritage

Machas a la Parmesana

This machas a la parmesana recipe bakes sweet Chilean razor clams in their own shells with garlic butter, a splash of dry white wine and a blanket of grated Parmesan that turns golden under the grill. It is the classic starter of the Valparaíso coast: briny, buttery and ready in minutes. One serving is about 200 g, six shells per person.

Coastal & Savory

Sweet razor clams baked in their shells with garlic butter, white wine and a golden Parmesan crust.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread and lemon wedges, with a glass of dry white wine.

Pastel de choclo in a black clay dish, golden corn topping with a fork lifting a bite of the meat filling

Chile 1h 25m

Dinner •Chilean Countryside Heritage

Pastel de Choclo

This pastel de choclo recipe is Chile's beloved baked corn pie: a savoury filling of seasoned ground beef, chicken, hard-boiled egg, black olives and raisins, covered with a sweet, basil-flecked corn topping and baked until golden. Sweet meets savoury in every spoonful, and the clay dish it bakes in keeps it hot to the table. One serving is about 340 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

Sweet corn and basil topping over a savoury beef and chicken filling with egg, olives and raisins.

Pairs Well With
A fresh tomato salad and a glass of Chilean red wine.

Cazuela chilena — a bowl of chicken soup with a whole potato, a piece of pumpkin, corn on the cob and rice in a golden broth

Chile 1h 20m

Lunch •Chilean Home Kitchen Heritage

Cazuela Chilena

This cazuela chilena recipe is Chile's home-cooked comfort soup, and its identity is unmistakable: a big piece of orange pumpkin, a chunk of corn on the cob, a potato and a scoop of rice, all simmered with chicken in a clear, savoury broth. The pumpkin sweetens the broth as it cooks, the corn stays sweet and firm, and the rice turns the soup into a full lunch. One serving is about 750 g, broth and all.

Comfort & Warmth

Chicken simmered with pumpkin, corn, potato and rice in a light, cilantro-scented broth.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread and pebre salsa, with the rice spooned into the bowl.

Soups & Broths

Find Dinner Ideas by Country

Every one of the world's 193 countries has a signature dish — browse the full directory to find tonight's dinner, or jump straight to a cuisine with recipes.

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Zimbabwe Browse all 193 countries →

Dinner Ideas by Category

Soups & Broths Pasta & Noodles High Protein Fermented / Gut Health Quick Prep (<30m)

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The Dinner GazetteFresh Dinner Ideas from the Journal

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A bowl of tagliatelle with rich ragù sauce

Ingredient Guides

The Pantry Staples Every World Kitchen Shares

From a market in Bangkok to a farmhouse in Tuscany, cooks reach for the same handful of staples: rice, dried beans, good oil, salt, garlic, chillies and something sour. Stock these, and dinner in any cuisine is suddenly within reach.

November 5, 2026 • 725 words

A hearty autumn stew served in a rustic bowl

Seasonal Cooking

Autumn’s Best: Cooking with Squash and Root Vegetables

When the air turns cool, the garden answers with squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and beets. Roasted low and slow, these autumn vegetables turn sweet, caramelised and deeply satisfying — here is how to cook them well.

November 5, 2026 • 597 words

Fresh herbs rolled into Vietnamese spring rolls

Kitchen Techniques

How to Store Fresh Herbs So They Last Two Weeks

Fresh herbs wilt in days when they are tossed loose into the fridge. The jar method — a little water, a loose bag, and the right shelf — keeps parsley, cilantro, mint and dill bright and fragrant for up to two weeks.

November 5, 2026 • 658 words

Food Pairing Guide

What to Eat With What

Some foods taste better — and do you more good — together. Here is what to serve with each dish, and what to skip, with the science in plain words.

Tested in the Dinner Ideas kitchen

Phở Bò (Vietnamese Beef Broth)

Iron & Collagen Dynamics

EAT TOGETHER: Fresh Lime & Sawtooth Coriander

The ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in freshly squeezed lime converts the non-heme and heme iron from thinly shaved beef into its bioavailable ferrous form (Fe²⁺), escalating iron assimilation by up to 300%. Fresh culantro supplies carotenes that ignite digestive bile acids.

AVOID IMMEDIATELY AFTER: Condensed Milk Iced Coffee

Drinking condensed milk coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá) directly following Phở binds active polyphenolic chlorogenic acids and milk casein directly to the beef iron molecules, forming unabsorbable insoluble complexes that severely stunt nutrient uptake. Wait at least 90 minutes.

Metabolic window: Breakfast (07:00 – 09:30) • Optimal Gut Transition: 3.5 Hours

Tomatoes & Wild Summer Greens

Carotenoid Unlocking

EAT TOGETHER: Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Aged Feta

Lycopene is an intrinsically lipophilic (fat-soluble) antioxidant compound bound tight inside tomato skin cells. Pairing ripe heirloom tomatoes with the monounsaturated fats of raw cold-pressed olive oil boosts vascular lycopene absorption by nearly 4.4-fold.

AVOID TOGETHER: Fat-Free Industrial Dressings

Consuming vine tomatoes with zero-fat or high-sugar artificial vinaigrettes prevents the body from emulsifying fat-soluble Vitamins A, E, and K, passing essential restorative nutrients unabsorbed through the gastrointestinal tract.

Metabolic window: Lunch or Aperitivo • Lycopene Uptake: +440%

Turmeric + Black Pepper

Piperine in coarse crushed pepper amplifies active curcumin bioavailability by 2000%.

Green Tea + Lemon Twist

Citric acid preserves delicate EGCG catechins through acidic stomach transit intact.

Calcium Rich + Iron Stews

Heavy dairy cheese interferes with non-heme iron absorption channels if consumed simultaneously.

Dinner Ideas from 193 Countries — What to Cook Tonight

What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Find Dinner Ideas by Country

Dinner Ideas by Category

Dinner Ideas by Meal

Dinner Ideas by Region

The Dinner GazetteFresh Dinner Ideas from the Journal

What to Eat With What

Iron & Collagen Dynamics

Carotenoid Unlocking

Never wonder what’s for dinner again