Meat remains the staple of most dishes, cooked in various ways including deep-fat frying, roasting, instant-boiling, stir-frying, steaming and stewing.

BBC: The melting pot of Chinese cuisine

She spent all day making jams and cheeses, stewing batches of rich frijoles, killing chickens to put into her vats of tender arroz con pollo and frying long strips of plantains into crispy submission.

WSJ: Jessica Soffer on a Costa Rican Empanada Recipe