Plates from everywhere

Smoky, tomato-red rice cooked until the bottom just catches. West Africa’s most argued-over, most loved pot.

Carrots, chickpeas, and squash slow-cooked with cumin, ginger, and preserved lemon under a conical lid.

Skirt steak on a hot grill, chopped, and piled on warm corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, and lime.

Coconut milk split with green curry paste, Thai basil, and lime leaves. Hot, sweet, herbal — Bangkok in a bowl.

Rice in a scorching stone bowl, a ring of seasoned vegetables, a fried egg, and a lake of gochujang.

A clear soy-scented broth, springy noodles, and the classic toppings: chashu, egg, nori, scallion.

Chickpeas in a dark, tangy tomato-onion gravy. The north-Indian dhaba classic that turns a tin of beans into dinner.

Saffron rice and spiced chicken steamed together until every grain is perfumed. The celebration dish of the Deccan.

Chicken and potatoes roasted in lemon, garlic, and oregano until the pan juices are a sauce. Greek Sunday.

A sharp salad of tomatoes, cucumber, herbs, and fried pita, dressed with lemon and a dusting of sumac.

Summer vegetables cooked until they taste of olive oil, garlic, and themselves. Eat it warm or cold, like a Provençal would.

Saffron rice cooked wide and thin in a pan, socarrat on the bottom, seafood on top. Sunday on the Mediterranean.

Firm white fish cured in lime, onion, and chili — leche de tigre — with sweet potato and crunchy corn.

A clear, star-anise beef broth poured over rice noodles and rare steak, with a forest of herbs at the table.

Silken tofu in a chili-bean sauce that numbs, heats, and comforts at once. Weeknight fire from Chengdu.