East Asian

When the heat is on, there’s no better way to cool down than with a bowl of chilled noodles. To make this truly vegetarian and vegan friendly, seek out a ponzu sauce without dashi, an ingredient made with dried fish. Two brands worth considering are Marukan and Wan Ja Shan. For die-hard meat eaters, add some thin slices of cold beef.

Epicurious member Neel N. Patel of Chicago was inspired to make this when a friend asked for lettuce wraps for a party. The resulting marriage of cuisines incorporates Asian aromatics and Indian spices and a Mexican staple in a fragrant dish with garam masala, cumin, coriander, garlic, and ginger. If spicy is how you like to roll, include some of the jalapeño seeds. And while romaine lettuce leaves are sturdy and flavorful, butterhead varieties such as Boston or Bibb are more pliable and lend a more tender bite.

This is the kind of over-the-top meal guests will talk about for days afterward, and it's actually much easier to prepare than it might seem. Lobster, ground pork, and a host of Asian condiments create a riot of complementary flavors.

This is a simple way to prepare whole fish, yet one that few Western cooks have mastered. In the Vietnamese culture, a properly steamed fish is a benchmark for chefs, and those who can't do it right are considered to be bad cooks. A perfectly steamed fish has flesh that is just cooked at the bone, never dry. Typically, whole fish are not served with the liquid in which it was steamed, which is too fishy tasting, and any sauce is added at the end, after the fish has been cooked. In this classic Chinese preparation, the fish is topped with scallions, cilantro and ginger, then doused with hot oil, which releases the flavor of the aromatics into the flesh of the fish.

This is our version of shichimi togarashi, the spicy Japanese condiment.

この味は驚くばかりである! We make White Miso ice cream in the summer with peaches, in the fall with apples, and in the winter with pears. Alice Waters would be so proud of us . . . you know, if she knew who we were. Doing a flavor with miso was a natural and logical extension of our love for savory elements in our ice creams. Miso is a thick traditional Japanese soy paste that's often used as a condiment or a flavor ingredient in cooking, and it's been growing in popularity as an ingredient in desserts. Since miso is so salty, this is one of the few recipes in the book that doesn't call for added salt or vinegar. In his search to get the flavors right, Jake went to a Japanese supermarket and bought pretty much every kind of miso in the joint: red miso, mixed miso, rice miso, purple miso, soy-only miso, miso-horny, and so on. He eventually settled on a white style. White miso is much more delicate than its counterparts. It's mellow. He still doesn't know what the label says, but boy, it sure gets the job done. White Miso is another "Wow" flavor, with distinct umami undertones that pair well with the seasonal tree fruits. It also goes secretly well with a scoop of Guinness Gingerbread, or simply a little splash of olive oil on top. Inspiration: Jake used to serve miso apple butter with crepes and olive oil ice cream.

This dish conveys the grandeur of formal Chinese dinners, but there's nothing intimidating about its preparation. The balance of flavors is sublime, and the presentation is striking — ruffled Napa cabbage is arranged around large pork meatballs to create the appearance of the lionlike Tibetan dog.

Korean pickled cabbage, a.k.a. kimchi, provides the spice in these savory fritters, while soaked raw mung beans hold the flourless pancakes together. They're great with or without the dipping sauce and pickled pears.

Save time by purchasing sliced stemmed shiitake mushrooms and wasabi paste in a tube. If the paste isn't available, mix 2 teaspoons wasabi powder with 1 tablespoon water.

Blanching is a good way to cook vegetables so they retain most of their nutrients. In this Japanese preparation, spinach is quickly wilted in boiling water, then plunged into an ice-water bath to stop the cooking.

In these vegetarian rolls, shredded cabbage adds cancer-fighting betacarotene; nori—sheets of dried seaweed—supplies calcium, magnesium, and iron; and shiitakes boost the immune system, thanks to the active compound lentinan. Look for soba noodles and nori in the Asian foods section of your grocery store.

Traditional Japanese soba noodles can be made of wheat or buckwheat, a fruit seed related to rhubarb that’s loaded with manganese and the antioxidants quercetin and kaempferol. Because the seed is also gluten free, buckwheat noodles are a good choice for those with gluten sensitivities.

Here’s a spicy noodle dish that’s packed with vegetables; covering the pan during cooking helps trap the steam so the vegetables soften more quickly (and retain their nutrients). Look for soba noodles made entirely of buckwheat flour; besides being gluten-free, they are more nutritious than soba made from whole-wheat flour.

Be sure to purchase firm or extra-firm tofu for this soup, as it will hold up better in hot liquid than softer varieties. Miso should be added only at the end of cooking because its flavor and healthful qualities are affected when it’s boiled or exposed to prolonged high temperatures. Whisk it with a bit of liquid first so that it is quickly and evenly distributed.

When prepared properly, Japanese-style deep-fried vegetables are light and crisp and not at all greasy. Baking powder in the batter helps it to puff up in the hot oil, while cornstarch keeps it from being too dense (as it can be when made with all flour). Ice-cold batter is the secret to successful tempura, so be sure to use ice water (drained of ice). You can use any type of vegetable in this recipe, as long as you slice the vegetables thinly and uniformly so they cook evenly. Root vegetables should be sliced a bit thinner since they take longer to cook.

The simplicity of miso soup belies its significance to Japanese cuisine, where it is a common course for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is ubiquitous on Japanese restaurant menus here in the United States, but miso soup is so uncomplicated to prepare that any home cook can make it. Variations are numerous, from the type of miso to the addition of vegetables, such as mushrooms or spinach, or other ingredients, such as tofu. Miso, or fermented soybean paste, is a staple of Japanese cooking. Depending on the amount of salt and koji (the mold used in the fermentation process) used, miso varies in color, flavor, and texture. Lighter versions, such as the white miso called for here, have a mild flavor and lower salt content; they are best reserved for delicate soups and sauces. The pronounced flavor of darker varieties (which include reddish-brown and dark-brown pastes) is better for more robust dishes. Shinshu miso, an all-purpose paste with a golden color and salty but mellow taste, would be a fine substitute for the white miso in this recipe. Wakame is another type of seaweed widely used in Japanese cookery, most often in soups and simmered dishes. It is available fresh or dried; to rehydrate dried wakame, soak in warm water for 20 minutes and drain before using.

This quick and easy stock has many uses in Japanese cooking, including dipping sauces (such as the one on page 336), noodle dishes, and, most commonly, as the base for miso soup. It calls for just two ingredients—kombu and bonito flakes—and water.

Though available prepackaged, homemade five-spice powder is far more pungent and flavorful than store-bought. Rub it on fowl, fish, and meat.