Bok Choy

This spicy soup from Shawn McClain, chef at Green Zebra in Chicago, is rich in immunity-enhancing vitamin A.

Making a fresh-tasting Asian-American meal at home is easier than you think. If you don't have Sherry in the house, you can substitute Scotch.

Tumis Sayur There are, I think, few things more purely satisfying than quickly stir-fried Asian greens. Indonesian cooks agree: Meals in the country are unthinkable without greens on the table. They're so popular that market vendors often sell as many as 15 different kinds, from the tender mustard shoots known as sayur sawi, similar to bok choi, to bitter young papaya leaves (daun papaya), which are stir-fried along with their small white flowers. On our shores, young, tender Asian greens with slender stems — such as water spinach, bok choi, baby bok choi, choi sum, and baby kai lan — work best for stir-frying. Chinese and Southeast Asian markets will likely carry at least two of these varieties at any given time; farmers' markets will have them stocked in the summer months (and year-round in places with temperate climates such as Southern California and Florida). Always buy unblemished greens that have no signs of yellowing, and cook them as soon as possible — they don't store well.

What to drink: D'Arenberg 2004 The Footbolt Shiraz from South Australia ($19), with lovely cocoa and blackberry notes that go well with Chinese flavors.

The stacking and Asian fusion of this dish is very 1990s. But don't worry about its trendiness: Heady wallops of curry and ginger make this beautiful preparation timeless.

Meat and veg all in one recipe —and all from the grill.

"What really makes this Korean- inspired dish delightful is the contrast between the crisp vegetables and the soft, chewy sweet potato noodles," says Mai Pham. Look for the noodles at Asian markets; cellophane noodles (sold in the Asian foods section of many supermarkets) also work here. For best results, choose a thicker noodle, about the size of spaghettini. Serve this dish at room temperature as a side or main.

Inspired by Eat Drink Man Woman A retired master chef in contemporary Taiwan makes elaborate Sunday dinners for his three increasingly uninterested daughters in this 1994 film. While the women carry on their busy lives, the chef discovers he is losing his sense of taste and finds solace in a new love.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Editors' note: The original recipe calls for Chinese wheat noodles, but we also like this soup made with somen (Japanese thin wheat noodles) or soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles).