The Midnight Wok
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Five clues. One dish.
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Interactive culinary puzzles from around the world. Guess the dish, then get the full recipe and backstory.

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How it works
1
Read the clues
Five sensory hints about a mystery dish from somewhere in the world
2
Guess the dish
Type your answer and see if your food knowledge holds up
3
Reveal the recipe
Get the backstory, key ingredients, and step-by-step method
Past mysteries
The Teardrop
#040 Hard
The Teardrop
In a bakery display case that glows like a jeweler’s window, golden teardrops stand upright in rows. Each one…
The Golden Crunch
Photo by Xavier Chng on Unsplash
#039 Easy
The Golden Crunch
In a Tokyo lunch spot where salarymen eat in focused silence, a golden-crusted cutlet arrives on a bed of whit…
The Crimson Bowl
#038 Medium
The Crimson Bowl
In a farmhouse kitchen where the cold outside could crack stone, a pot of something impossibly red simmers on…
The Ridged Gold
Photo by Jimmy Woo on Unsplash
#037 Easy
The Ridged Gold
At three in the morning, outside a nightclub in a city that never sleeps before dawn, a line forms at a window…
The Sponge and the Stew
Photo by Anuja Tilj on Unsplash
#036 Hard
The Sponge and the Stew
On a large round platter, a spongy, sour flatbread covers the entire surface like a tablecloth. Dollops of dar…
The Three Ingredient Trap
#035 Medium
The Three Ingredient Trap
In a Roman kitchen no bigger than a closet, a cook drains pasta one minute early and saves a cup of the starch…
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