Lunar New Year

This is a simple smoking technique that doesn’t take long, though if your aluminum foil seal is not tight, you run the risk of really smoking up your kitchen. So the first time you try it, pick a day that’s warm enough to open the windows and have a fan handy. (I don’t say this to dissuade you, but from very real experience. I do love this recipe, and it works well; but sometimes unfortunate events occur!) The duck is best cut up and served as part of a larger meal of Chinese food or as part of a multinational buffet or used in stir-fries. Chicken is even easier; you can skip the initial steaming if you like.

This popular winter stew is often served on special occasions, but I think its very nature makes an occasion special. Chestnuts, so rarely used in cooking here, add a rich and subtle sweetness to the dish. Fresh chestnuts are best, but frozen chestnuts are almost as good, and Asian markets carry dried chestnuts that are suitable as well. Forget canned chestnuts, though—they’re too soft to hold up to the long cooking. Like most braises, this is even better the second day, so feel free to make it in advance.

A Chinese dish that is also seen in parts of Southeast Asia. Serve with Ginger-Chile Sauce. Even more than usual, be sure to use a good-quality chicken here; its flavor is what makes the rice special.

Served throughout China to celebrate the New Year, birthdays, and anniversaries, this simple poached chicken is often accompanied by no more than soy sauce for dipping, though the equally appropriate Ginger-Scallion Dipping Sauce (page 583) is my favorite. Since this is served at room temperature or cold, you can easily make it ahead of time.

This dish is popular throughout Southeast Asia (I had it in Vietnam), where firm-fleshed river fish are plentiful. Carp is an excellent choice for freshwater fish, as is wild catfish (I’m not a fan of farmed catfish), but red snapper or sea bass is also good. Lime leaves are not always available; substitute grated lime zest if necessary. See page 500 for information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla). This would be great with Green Papaya Salad (without the shrimp, page 198).

The highlight of many meals in Chinese restaurants, yet few dishes are easier to prepare at home. Start with a medium-sized firm-fleshed fish—black bass and red snapper are ideal, but grouper or, if you can find it, small striped bass, are also good—preferably with its head on (if the head won’t fit in your steamer, cut it off, along with the tail). Scales must be removed and the fish must be thoroughly cleaned; any fishmonger can do this for you. Serve the fish with white rice and, preferably, a few other Chinese dishes.

It doesn’t take long, but this dish requires a fairly large pan. A long, narrow roasting pan will do in a pinch, especially if it’s nonstick. If you have trouble getting the fish to fit into your pan, by all means cut off its head and tail. Or try making this with smaller fish, in the 2- to 3-pound range. Then, when you feel you’ve gotten the hang of browning a whole fish, move on to larger specimens. This is a blast to eat—and should have enough sauce to make plain white rice a terrific accompaniment. A simple Chinese-style vegetable like Snow Peas with Ginger (page 470) would make the meal even better.

This traditional Cantonese dish can be eaten with rice or noodles, tossed into a fried rice or noodle dish, or used to stuff into a sweet bun. It’s beloved by all meat eaters and a great dish for parties.

Not far from the cooking traditions of American freshwater fishermen, this is simple panfried fish with a separately made sauce. If you’re shopping, look for small specimens of black sea bass or red snapper; if you’re fishing, large mouth bass, croaker, spot, and porgies are all good. In any case, you need the fish to fit in your pan. In fact, two small fish are better than one large one in this instance. Use the best soy sauce you can find for this dish. There’s not much sauce here, so unless you’re from a rice-eating culture, you might find rice a bit dry. Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce (page 532) would make a great starter, or you could serve this with Egg Noodles with Spring Onions (page 536). For vegetables, try Quick-Braised Root Vegetables with Hoisin (page 499) or Snow Peas with Ginger (page 470).

The name of this dish may be cute, but it also reflects its simplicity; it is an honest sweet-and-sour pork dish. While the ribs need to braise for at least 40 minutes, the preparation time is just 10 minutes or so. Ask your butcher to cut across the ribs to form 1-inch strips (a supermarket butcher can do this), then have him separate the ribs, or you can do that part yourself. This dish reheats perfectly. Serve the ribs with white rice.

The bright green stir-fry of Chinese restaurants. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: if you can’t find gai lan, use broccoli raab or even collards or kale; broccoli or cauliflower will work too.

A small and perfectly easy dish. The finishing touch of hot sesame oil is a common garnish in Hong Kong and a nice one.

Because this dish has only two ingredients, finding the best shrimp is of utmost importance. In Hong Kong, where only live fish is considered fresh, live shrimp are common. Here you may find them at some fishmongers (especially in Chinese neighborhoods) and even in some Western supermarkets. The wine traditionally used for this dish in the south of China is Mei Kuei Lu Chiew and is quite strong and a little sweet; you can find it at many Chinese markets. Shopping hassles aside, this dish is worth trying. Serve it with an assortment of other Chinese dishes or as a starter.

Simple and incredibly delicious. If you prefer a thick sauce, like that served at many Chinese restaurants, add cornstarch (as directed) at the end of cooking; it’s by no means necessary, however. Use the smallest clams you can find, preferably just an inch or so in diameter. Cockles, which are even smaller, are often the best choice; manila clams (which are brown) are also good. Serve this dish with Basic Long-Grain Rice (page 506).

There are two keys to this salad. The first is buying dry, pressed tofu (bean curd), which is sold at most Asian food markets and some natural food stores. It’s much firmer than regular tofu and has a dense, chewy texture and a brown skin. (If you can’t find it, use extra-firm tofu and press it yourself; see page 491.) The second key is allowing the salad to marinate long enough for the tofu to absorb the dressing. That part’s easy, but it does require advance planning.

A popular accompaniment for White Cut Chicken (page 273), this is also good stirred into soups.

A prime example of the simplicity with which you can successfully treat fresh Chinese egg noodles, which are available at many supermarkets.

A perfect start to a Chinese meal, this can be prepared almost entirely in advance, varied in a number of ways, and even served as a main course if you like. Though it can be made with peanut butter (the natural kind, please, with no added sugar or fat), it’s easy enough to buy sesame paste (tahini) at health food stores, stores specializing in Middle Eastern or Asian ingredients, and even supermarkets. Sesame oil, which contributes mightily to the flavor of the finished dish, is a staple sold at Asian food stores (and, increasingly, supermarkets) and belongs in every refrigerator. Chinese egg noodles are sold fresh at almost every Chinese market, most Asian supermarkets, and even many ordinary supermarkets. Regular dried pasta makes a good substitute here.

Mandoo are Korean dumplings almost identical to gyoza, though they are more often steamed than panfried. If you don’t feel like making dumplings, you can use this broth to make soup with duk, Korean rice cakes; these are sold fresh or frozen at most Korean markets. Sometimes noodles are added to this soup as well, a nice but unnecessary touch.

Much northern Chinese food is spicy, and this well known soup follows that pattern, deriving its heat from freshly ground pepper (use a lot of it) and its sourness from rice vinegar. Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list: this doesn’t take much time to prepare and is guaranteed to be better than the version served at most Chinese restaurants. Normally, I think thickening with cornstarch is unnecessary, but here it feels appropriate to give the soup its signature thickness; you can eliminate it if you like. Any of the dried ingredients that you can’t get at your supermarket can be found at almost any Chinese market.