While Fernando Rivarola regularly breaks down culinary frontiers by inviting Latin American chefs to participate in his Cocina Sin Fronteras (Cooking without borders) project, his latest trip saw him venture far further afield – to Asia.

The chef-patron of Buenos Aires restaurant El Baqueano, No.18 in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, traversed Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Here, he tells Sorrel Moseley-Williams about the star dishes that tempted and surprised him along the way.

Sai Ua – Shang Mai, Thailand
Thailand is one of South East Asia’s most gastronomically developed countries. Bangkok’s markets are amazing and chaotic, a place to while away a day choosing and sampling emblematic dishes.

The most delicious and surprising dish I tried was Sai Ua, a grilled sausage made from minced pork that’s marinated in lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal and red curry paste and is sometimes fermented. Your mouth is inundated with spices from the first bite, and it finishes with a nice heat and natural acidity that invites you to keep on eating with every mouthful. It’s a snack or can be served with sticky rice.

If I could make this type of sausage in Argentina, it would be the most delicious and spiced Argentine-Asian choripán (sausage sandwich) in existence.

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