East Asian

I‘m a big fan of vegetable sushi, so I thought it would be fun to concoct a soup that featured all of its flavors and textures, without all the work of rolling and cutting. The result is an offbeat, rice- and nori-filled broth topped with colorful raw veggies.

Serve this soup Asian-style. Slurp the noodles from the broth with chopsticks, then use an Asian soup spoon to scoop up what’s left. This simple soup comes together in less than 30 minutes.

Once you’ve got the squash baked, this Japanese-style soup comes together quickly, and is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. Use chopsticks for “slurping” the noodles.

Like miso broth, dashi is another traditional Japanese stock that may be embellished in a number of ways, or eaten as is. It also makes a good base for certain Asian vegetable soups. Look for the sea vegetable kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms in Asian groceries or in natural food stores.

Here’s a simple Japanese way with cooked rice that Hiroko Shimbo showed me when I asked her one day what she would do with leftover rice. It’s called sushi salad because it’s made with sushi rice. As Hiroko points out so persuasively in her book The Sushi Experience, it’s the rice that makes it sushi, not all the various garnishes or tasty bits that are wrapped—or, in this case, tossed—in the seasoned rice. This is one of those dishes that are subject to variations depending on the season, but it’s hard to improve on the following intoxicatingly delicious summer version.

A staple on the Korean table, kimchi is a pickled cabbage (and sometimes radish) side dish that is pungent and spicy. Traditionally, it has lots of spices and takes months to make, carefully buried in the ground to ferment. Forget all about that . . . this is a kinder, gentler version. The first thing you need to do is buy a bottle of Momoya Kimchi Base, a sweet and slightly spicy red sauce that has everything in it already. Look for it at your local Asian grocer or online. Once you have it in the fridge, you’re set for a while—a little goes a long way. This recipe couldn’t be easier to make but the kimchi needs at least a couple of hours to do its work, so plan ahead. I use the kimchi in practically everything from a topping on burgers to a filling for quesadillas (page 23). Spoon the kimchi into butter lettuce leaves and sprinkle with chopped peanuts for an incredibly tasty and healthy snack.

Leftover dashi freezes well and can become a fast miso soup or used instead of water to poach vegetables or cook grains.

Leftover spice powder can be stored in an airtight container for a few weeks and makes a surprising addition to noodles, soups, and sashimi.

Steaming eggplant gives it a suave, custardy texture that helps it resist soaking up too much oil, setting it up for this rich dressing. I like Anaheim chile flakes here, which are milder than the standard-issue chile flakes. They provide sweet pepper flavor without too much heat.

This way of cooking eggplant makes the flesh soft and creamy. The miso glaze sweetens it with a Japanese flair.

One of our favorite home-style dishes at Hong Kong Restaurant in Ithaca’s Collegetown, this is the Chinese version of scrambled eggs and ketchup!

Why order takeout when you can create classic Chinese flavors so easily at home?

Here’s a meatless variation of a classic northern Chinese noodle dish. We love the contrast between the hot, saucy noodles and the cold, crunchy raw vegetable toppings. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days, so you can make the sauce and prepare the toppings ahead of time and then cook the noodles when you’re ready to eat.

Mochi are sweet, filled Japanese dumplings that are served chilled. I’ve been fascinated by them from the first time I had one, but I’d always been told that they could be made only in factories. And since the commercial ones are artificially flavored and colored and filled with ice-hard ice cream, that didn’t surprise me. One day, I promised my friend David Chang of Momofuku that I’ d make fresh mochi for him. It became a mission. Once I learned how to do it, I found that it really wasn’t difficult at all to make the tender, sweet rice dough and flavor it naturally. And since I fill mochi with a compote, they’re fork-tender. The basil fluid gel is an ideal herbal foil to the compote. I use 2-inch demisphere molds when I make mochi, but I’ve found that an egg carton works fine. The secret to the dough is working quickly. This recipe makes twice as much as you need for the fourplay, but I hardly consider leftover mochi a problem. The mochi will keep for 1 day in the refrigerator.

This recipe boasts a Japanese marinade and a slightly sweet glaze. Like many other Asian stir-fries, it goes well over steamed brown rice.

The Japanese spin buckwheat flour into culinary gold with their rich, flavorful soba noodles. Buckwheat flour has many health benefits, including being much richer in antioxidants than wheat pasta. If you have a choice, buy inaka or “country” soba, because it’s made entirely from whole, unrefined buckwheat—which means more fiber. Traditionally, soba is served hot in a broth or cold with a sweetened soy dipping sauce called tsuyu. This simplified version is flavored with sesame, an American favorite.

This is called a “stew-fry” because both cooking techniques are employed. There’s a little bit of stir-frying, and the flavor profile is decidedly Asian, but enough liquid is added in the form of low-fat chicken broth that not a lot of oil is required, keeping things nice and light.

Chinese food has always been a favorite of mine—and apparently of just about everyone else in America. Even in the smallest towns, there is almost always a Chinese restaurant. The balance of sweet/sour/spicy flavors—and the fact that it’s already cut up into easy-to-eat bite-size pieces—might be part of it. Making restaurant-style Chinese food healthy means getting rid of the sugar first, and then the fat. Using a large nonstick pan over high heat reduces the fat. A good low-fat, sugar-free Asian stir-fry sauce does the rest.

Sweet and spicy General Tso’s Chicken was likely invented in the kitchens of Chinese restaurants in New York City (its first known mention was in the New York Times in 1977). Some say it’s similar to a classic Hunanese dish the general is said to have loved—a dish that is more sour than sweet. It’s usually made with battered and deep-fried chicken thighs bathed in a glossy sauce flavored with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, chiles—and lots of sugar. This chicken breast version is breaded and baked until crisp, then tossed with a reasonable version of Tso’s sauce that is low in fat and contains no sugar but is still sweet.

Make your own take-out. When you MYOTO, you control the salt, fat, and quality of ingredients. This dish is not only healthful, but you also don’t have to make any decisions like whether you want chicken or pork. This recipe has got everything in it but the kitchen sink.