Asian

Serve with: Sesame noodle salad with chopped fresh cilantro, and cucumber slices tossed in rice wine vinaigrette.

Hor Neung Pla Duk Active time: 2 hr Start to finish: 21/4 hr

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 4 hr

The leftover syrup from the lychees makes a delicious sweetener for iced tea. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

"I'm hoping to get the recipe for a terrific appetizer I tried at Hamiltons' at First & Main in Charlottesville, Virginia," says Sue Carter of Murieta, California. "The seafood fritters came with lettuce leaves (to wrap around the fritters) and a spicy sauce."

Gaeng Pah Muu Most curries from southern Thailand use coconut milk. This one, from the mountainous north, doesn't, because the climate is too temperate for coconut palms to survive. Don't be intimidated by the start-to-finish time; the curry paste and chicken stock can be made days ahead. Once you have those components at hand, the recipe only takes about 1 hour to put together. If you prefer your food less spicy, use the smaller amounts of curry paste and vegetable oil. Active time: 3 1/4 hr Start to finish: 7 1/4 hr (includes making curry paste and stock)

A mildly sweet and pungent dish. No soy sauce is used in the sauce, so it is lighter in color than other sweet and pungent dishes.

Kao Kua Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 25 min

This recipe was created to accompany Cold Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Oil .

You can add some diced red bell pepper to give this full-flavored dish a splash of color.

Serve this Thai-style dressing over chilled pasta or mixed raw vegetables.

Sweet, salty, and spicy, nuoc cham is the indispensable sauce of Vietnam's cuisine. It's a favorite dipping sauce for spring rolls and for fresh rice-paper rolls such as these.

The cilantro lime topping in this recipe is a Southeast Asian variation on the classic Italian gremolata, which is made with parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 20 min

Indigo's chef and owner is Glenn Chu, who was born in Hawaii and learned to cook from his Chinese grandmother — and by watching Julia Child on television. The result: Eurasian cuisine, which Chu showcases in selections as eclectic as goat cheese wontons with four-fruit sauce, and grilled shrimp with Thai macadamia-nut pesto. The romantic dining room has a tropical-island motif, with ceiling fans, bamboo, and bird-of-paradise.

The following recipe is our version of gai yang, the grilled or roasted marinated chicken for which there are many variations in Thailand. Although gai yang is traditionally served with only a sweet chili garlic sauce for dipping, we were so taken with the complex flavor of the marinade that we decided to make extra and turn it into a second dipping sauce. Both sauces offered here are simple and delicious, but the Cornish hens can easily stand on their own.

Using shrimp instead of chicken in this recipe makes for an equally delicious soup.