Wok

I stepped up on a cinder block to enter the open kitchen and realized then just how short the cook was; he flicked on the burner and the flame shot up as high as his chin. His broom closet-size kitchen swelled with heat and even with my average height, I towered over him awkwardly as he wielded the wok with beef and soy sauce. "You must play basketball!" he suggested. On his kitchen wall and out of reach of the blazing flame, plastic bags of spices hung from low-set rusty hooks, and his windowsill nearby lay scattered with tangerine peels set out to dry in the sun. Cooks in China are in the habit of keeping the peels of the tangerines they eat and spreading them out to dry in the sun for later use. Then they just rehydrate a few pieces whenever they want to add a nutty, slightly bitter note to a stir-fry or stew. Tangerine Beef is a Sichuan specialty and tall on flavor.

This streamlined version of a favorite Malaysian street food noodle dish, char kway teow, substitutes Spanish chorizo for the Chinese sausage sometimes used. The smoked paprika that flavors the chorizo may be far from traditional, but it adds another layer of depth to this seductive stir-fry of rice noodles with shrimp, egg, and jicama. There's just enough chile paste for a mild buzz of heat, but not so much that your mouth is on fire. If the jicama seems like a weird Mexican-Malaysian fusion idea, then you probably don't know that jicama is used in Asia, where it's known as Chinese turnip or potato. Its sweet crunch is reminiscent of fresh water chestnuts. Don't expect a supersaucy dish, but rest assured there's enough sauce to coat everything.

Frying avocadoes may seem as strange to you as they did to me until I tasted them at Puntarena in Mexico City. They are a delight, so give them a try!

Sugar snap peas and pea tendrils (the young leaves and shoots of the snow pea plant) give this dish a double hit of spring flavor.

This traditional sweet is believed to have originated in Sichuan, where walnut trees from Persia were first planted in China. As with many Chinese foods, the walnut is imbued with symbolic meaning: it is believed to benefit the mind because the shelled nut looks like a brain lobe. Brain food or not, the walnut was a deliciously significant sweet long ago in Sichuan and western China. Reminiscent of halvah, mashed walnuts encased in a thin, flaky dough and covered with sugar syrup is a famed tea-time dish and just one of many Sichuan creations based on walnuts. In this recipe, walnuts go through four distinct cooking processes: they are boiled, reboiled, glazed, and finally deep-fried. Once a provincial sweet, they emanated outward from Sichuan many years ago, turning up in restaurants in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, usually as appetite-whetting, pre-meal snacks and just as often as snacks to conclude a meal along with fresh fruit. They were quickly dubbed "honey walnuts," though they are glazed with sugar syrup. They began to appear in the West about forty years ago, with the onset of the popularity of Sichuan and Hunan restaurants. These days, they are a standard offering. One particularly attractive aspect of these crisp, sweet walnuts is that they do not become soft if stored properly. Packed into an airtight container and left at room temperature, they will keep for at least 1 week. They will keep for at least 6 months in the freezer, and when served directly from freezer to table, they will still be crisp. Although I do recommend freezing them for an inordinate time, I did once leave them in the freezer for a year as an experiment. They were perfectly crisp and not at all stale. If you decide to make walnuts for storage, do not double the recipe, as the walnuts won't cook properly. Instead, make individual batches. Pecans can be prepared the same way.

Sea bass are generally found swimming in the tanks of Chinatown fish markets. They are usually small because the fishmongers also sell to restaurants, which typically like to steam the larger fish. Steaming, as I have noted, is the preferred way for cooking whole live fish. But if you are unable to find a live fish, fresh flounder, sole, or red snapper will do nicely for this recipe.

This refreshing yet rich northern Thai soup is called tom kha gai. It is quite easy to prepare, and much of the flavor comes from the garnishes stirred with the soup after it is cooked: the fresh lime juice, the chiles, the cilantro leaves, and the nam prik pao, a roasted chile curry paste that can be bought in most supermarkets. The Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, and canned coconut milk called for in the ingredient list are all sold in the international aisle of the local supermarket, or you can try to get all the Thai ingredients called for through the fun, online Thai supermarkets at www.importfood.com and www.templeofthai.com.

Look for Asian noodles in natural foods stores as well as in the Asian foods section of well-stocked supermarkets.

If you are looking for something a little different to accompany a stir-fry, try panfried Chinese noodles as crisp vehicles for umami-loaded Asian sauces.

Pumpkin is a member of the gourd family. Its flesh is fibrous and firm, and has an earthy, sometimes sweet, taste. It is used in Asian cooking in a number of ways, both savory and sweet. When buying pumpkin check that the skin is not pitted and that the stem is still intact. Rich in beta-carotene, pumpkins can help protect the body against heart disease.

Why get takeout when you can make orange chicken so quickly at home?

This stir-fry is staggeringly simple. A drizzle of sesame oil gives a nutty-toasty boost to thinly sliced bok choy and cabbage.

Beef with broccoli, the popular Chinese restaurant dish, is even better with the addition of sweet yam.

Jasmin is a piece of work. Her single-word name only enhances her celebrity status. She's the chef/proprietor of her eponymous quintessential beach hut restaurant on the northern tip of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand. A tall, sexy native with long jet black hair and flowing silk dresses, she's as sharp as a razor blade and intimidating as hell. If you ask her a question, she stops, squints her eyes dubiously, and raises an eyebrow. She's the Queen Bee here. Her worker bees are the little barefoot gypsy kids who live on the beach, the happiest kids I've ever seen. They take her orders, serve her food, and assist her in effortlessly knocking out the freshest and most delicious Thai dishes around—her clientele buzzes in from every surrounding island. "Just bring us whatever you'd like" (I try to skip the questions). I'll kick back with a Singha and watch those iconic longtail boats pull up with ice crates of screamingly fresh local fish, and I'm eating perfectly executed delicacies fifteen minutes later. Here's a woman who is truly about abundance, joie de vivre, and a spirit so vibrant that it inspires everyone. A true domestic goddess. She graciously taught me this classic in her (outdoor) kitchen on the beach.

This dish can pack a lot of heat—or not. If you like a lot of spice, feel free to up the amount of fiery bird's-eye chiles. If you prefer a slightly milder dish, you can remove the seeds from the chiles.

Sizzling with fresh ingredients, this lively Asian stir-fry keeps prep time to a bare minimum without sacrificing flavor.

Ji Geung Lo Mein Editor's note: This recipe is reprinted from My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen: 100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons, by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. At the New Year, noodles represent longevity. Because of this they were never cut when preparing them, and to serve them was to wish those who ate them a long life. In Sah Gau there were many varieties and shapes of noodles, and for vegetarians there were noodles made without eggs. These are what were served to the nuns, along with that special food that came usually with the onset of the New Year, young ginger, more subtle, less hot than the customary kind. These days this young, often pinkish gingerroot is available year-round. This dish illustrates what a "lo mein" is — that is, a dish tossed together, not precisely stir-fried.

Dau Hu Rang Muoi Luke Nguyen: I enjoy the simplicity and texture of this dish—it's like a vegetarian's version of salt and pepper squid.

Cumin makes this easy stir-fry exceptionally fragrant, while the last-minute addition of celery leaves creates a counterpoint of aromatic freshness.