Round the World the Long Way, One Meal at a Time Quiz

Answer: Chili Crab

Singapore is a mere one degree north of the equator. Along with Dubai it is one of the major global airline hubs and that global access is reflected in its cuisine which is a fusion of many styles.

Chili crab had its origins in Malaysia but it became hugely popular as a street food in Singapore and has become the unofficial national dish. It is a simple recipe of freshly-cooked crab immersed into a tomato-based sauce laced with condiments and spices. Chilies and shrimp paste provide the plentiful heat.

Spring rolls have their origin in China; Pho is a Vietnamese Beef noodle soup and Murtabak has its pancake origins in India.

Answer: Fish and rice

Variety of food in this nation is limited. Most food is imported and it is snapped up quickly but a lack of fruit is a growing concern. Landing in the main centre of Tarawa, I head for the local restaurant and ask the friendly waitperson to "feed us locally". We are given three dishes.

The first is te inai, a fried local parrotfish, served whole and marinated in garlic, lemon juice, and some hot spices, then fried to a crisp. The second is a vegetable dish, batata mash which is batata (sweet potato not found outside Melanesia) mashed with butter and coconut.

The third dish is unexpected: te bua toro ni baukin which is canned meat, shredded cabbage, and grated pumpkin. The canned meat, like the cuisine of Hawaii years ago, is prominent due to the lack of access to fresh beef, pork or ham.

Answer: Thin strips of fried green plantains

Cerviche is a traditional dish of Ecuador (and neighbouring Peru). The dish is not cooked by heat but the acidic nature of the soak in lime or lemon juice 'cooks' the fish as if heat were applied. Ceviche de camarón (prawn or shrimp) is delicious. The waiter explained that the chifles are usually served on the side if a customer is not deemed to be a native, as the taste of them are somewhat acquired (They are normally served to locals as a garnish).

The plantain is closely related to the banana but more savoury in taste.

The waiter brings us a small plate of patacones. These too are a fried plantain dish but of slices and are plainer in taste.

Answer: Buñuelos

These little gems called Buñuelos are fried dough fritters that originated in Spain and Portugal but there are many regional versions and regional differences in Latin American countries. What make them distinctly Colombian? You need to use Costeño cheese (Queso Costeño), a local saltier, harder cheese than the usual Mexican Queso Fresco.

In Bolivia, tamales are somewhat different to what we know as tamales from Mexico. Chopped pork and maize are prominent with added vegetables and eggs. All steamed in a banana leaf.

Arepas are thick corn tortillas, made often with added cheese and served with butter and if it's breakfast - scrambled eggs are frequently added.

Emapanadas are also different to their Mexican counterparts. In Colombia, the empanada is a small cocoon of crispy, cresent-shaped fried dough containing a mixture of meat (ground beef, often chicken,) potatoes and onions. You take a bite then add hot-spiced sauce called aji containing chili, tomato, coriander (cilantro), onions, and vinegar, plus or minus guacamole.

Answer: Fish stew

Calling moqueca a fish stew belies the richness of this dish. If served correctly, it must be served in a very hot clay pot where the lid is removed by the waiter at the table. Baianos (residents of Bahia, the state where Salvador is the largest city) claim this dish but so do Capixabas (from the neighbouring state of Espírito Santo). Fish and other seafood are stewed in diced tomatoes, onions and coriander. In Bahia, sardines are often used but usually not as the main seafood component. The Bahia version contains coconut milk, green peppers and palm oil. The Capixabas version is lighter with added annatto seeds to give a natural red food colouring it is served with rice, farofa, toasted manioc for mopping up juices, and pirão which is a spicy fish porridge.

Next stop is the island country of São Tomé and Príncipe which is on the equator off the West African coast.

Answer: Seafood paella (with mussels and shellfish)

Food and crop production cannot meet this country's own needs Less than 10% of its tiny land mass is arable. Primary food crops include bananas, breadfruit, taro, corn, beans, papaya, palm oil, and sugar. Agriculture centres on crops for export including cocoa, copra and coffee. Fish is plentiful though, and its export accounts for a quarter of its GDP The nation's cuisine has been influenced African and Portuguese settlers but also shaped by available foodstuffs: Staple foods include fish, other seafood, beans, and corn. Tropical fruits such as pineapple, avocado and bananas (often cooked) are significant in consumption. The use of hot spices is featured in São Tomése cuisine, Coffee, always available. is used as a spice or seasoning.

Paella is a Spanish dish and does not feature on local menus. The other listed options, listed in Portuguese, the national language, are common dishes. However Estufa de morcego is considered a delicacy and is reserved for special occasions.

Answer: Break off some fufu, make a dent in it and scoop up the chicken and sauce

Fufu is a popular staple in Central Africa. It is essentially a thick almost solid porridge made of boiled and pounded starchy root crops. In Gabon this is made with cassava root. It is made in a similar manner in other nearby countries: In Kenya and Tanzania, it is called ugali; in Zambia, it is nshima. It is called pap in South Africa and sadza in Zimbabwe.

Nyembwe chicken is a stew of chicken meat, tomatoes, garlic, onions, chili black pepper, okra, and nyembwe which is palm butter, made from the red pericarp (outer covering) of the African oil palm tree. This can be bought canned to simplify preparation.

Chicken is not the only meat used. Other meats can also be used, including fish, beef, mutton, but never lamb, and even bush meat when preferred meats are not available. Fish is often used in coastal areas.

Tropical fruits and peanuts are used extensively in the Gabonese diet. Tomatoes corn and eggplant also feature in this country's cuisine.

With a full stomach, I head out to the airport , to skip over other equator-straddling African mainland countries such as the Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia to land at Africa's most easterly and smallest country, 1,500 km east of the mainland.

Answer: Beef

The Seychelles's cuisine has been influenced by African and the European colonising countries' cuisines such as British, French, Spanish, Indian and to a lesser extent Chinese cuisines.

Fish is plentiful and usually features in every meal, commonly served with rice (which like most other foods needs to be imported).

Fish and fresh fruit are sold everywhere by street vendors. Spices are highly sought, especially ginger, lemongrass, coriander and tamarind. Lac of variety of protein is offset by many different cooking methods including steamed, grilled, wrapped in banana leaves, baked, salted and smoked.

Red snapper is considered a delicacy; shark is the main fish. A common dish is shark chutney which is boiled skinned shark, mashed, and cooked with lime juice then mixed with fried onion and a spice battery.

Curries are popular, nearly always made on coconut milk, with dahl or lentil curry particularly popular.

Coconut water is the main drink served with meals. Alcoholic drinks include palm wine calou, bakka rum and Seybrew or Eku beer all brewed (or distilled locally).

Alas Sri Lanka lies 6-10 degrees north of the equator so I will not be visiting but I really want to taste a sour Sri Lankan curry so I am off to fly to the Maldives which is only 3 degrees north of the equator and off the south western coastline of Sri Lanka.

Answer: Coconut, fish and starches

Most cuisines around the world comprise a protein source, a carbohydrate source and available fruit and vegetables. Maldivian cuisine is no different.
Coconut is usually featured somewhere in any Maldives meal: It can be grated, squeezed to obtain milk, or the oil is extracted for frying.

Fish is skipjack tuna most of the time, with yellowfin tuna a distant second. Shellfish, whilst available is not a major part of the Maldivian diet. A staple breakfast is mas huni which consists of chopped or grated tuna, onion, coconut, and chili served with flatbread.

The Maldives' diet is unusual as it does not have a predominance of a single starch. Rice, as in either flour or boiled is common but so is taro, sweet potato and cassava.

Curry is a particular favourite - there are two main types: Mas riha is diced tuna and a particular specific blend of spices. Chicken curry is popular but uses a different but specific blend of spices. Curries are usually served with steamed rice or flatbread.

Local fruits are limited to the breadfruit and jackfruit staples. Other fruits, with the exception of coconut, tend to be imported.

Now for my last day, its off to Medan, a large city on Sumatra, Indonesia, just across the Malacca Strait from the Selangor-Kuala Lumpur region of Malaysia, three degrees north of the equator.

Answer: Kung Pao Chicken

Indonesia consists of 1,300 ethnic groups spread across 6,000 islands (The rest of the 17,506 islands are uninhabited). All through its written history, Indonesia has traded with many nations due to its location and natural resources especially food. Long before the Europeans came, trade with India, the Middle East, and China had been longstanding with a corresponding influence on cuisine. Trade with the Spanish and Portuguese occurred before the Dutch arrived and colonised the archipelago. The Indonesian islands contain the Moluccas which were known as "the Spice Islands".

Whilst Indonesian cuisine is enormously diverse, use of spices are prevalent and feature in nearly every dish. Bumbu is a spice mixture and various versions are used depending on the dish being cooked. Most spice mixtures are savoury hot and spicy, all containing tastes such as sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Sambal, effectively Indonesian hot and spicy chili sauce based on shrimp paste, is a staple condiment served with all Indonesian meals. The staples are rice, wheat (as noodles, Indian roti and Dutch bread - this is an introduced food by the Dutch and Chinese) and starchy tubers such as yam, sweet potato, potato, taro and cassava.

The Indonesian government have chosen five national dishes for Indonesia; they are soto (meat and vegetable soup), rendang (slow cooked beef and braised in a coconut milk); satay (seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a peanut sauce); nasi goreng (fried rice), and gado-gado (salad of boiled, or steamed vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, boiled potato and fried tofu).

With a full belly, I head for the airport for my short flight back to Singapore where it all started one week ago.