East Asian

Edamame are fun to eat, the slightly fuzzy bright-green pods tickle your lips as you gently suck the beans into your mouth. Provide bowls for the empty pods.

Wuxi, just two hours outside of Shanghai and often referred to as Little Shanghai, is a bustling city known for its silk. It was once called Youxi, meaning "has tin," but the tin reserves were depleted during the Han dynasty, and so Wuxi, which translates as "without tin," became its new name. These spareribs are one of the city's signature dishes.

Leftover roasted chicken or turkey makes this rendition of a popular salad a snap to prepare. It's made spicy by combining chilies with linguine, green onions, snow peas, cilantro and a peanut dressing.

Serve over freshly steamed rice and garnish with chopped green onions.

Here we've adapted the classic Chinese dish "squab in jade," in which the meat is minced, stir-fried, and served in "cups" of lettuce.

This is a coleslaw-style salad — its sweet, spicy, and crunchy elements make it a terrific accompaniment to anything fried. Sichuan peppercorns, sometimes called fagara, can be found at many Asian markets (though they're technically banned from import because they come from a plant that is susceptible to citrus canker, a disease that devastates citrus orchards). There's no substitute for their flavor, but if you can't find them, the recipe works perfectly well without them.

Try packaged Asian rice mix (or steamed white rice), and tomato and cucumber salad sprinkled with seasoned rice vinegar. To end, spoon sliced fruits over mango sorbet. Look for the horseradish paste in the Asian foods section or next to the packaged sushi.

In Chinese culture, noodles symbolize longevity and are often served at New Year celebrations and traditionally left very long.

The secret of making fried rice lies in the use of cold, cooked rice. Freshly cooked rice will only produce a sticky mess.

You can also "grill" the steak in a ridged heavy-duty skillet set on the stove top.

These custards are inspired by the Japanese egg custard chawan mushi, made with dashi broth (a stock of dried kelp and dried bonito flakes). We've used chicken broth for simplicity, but any broth or stock that you have on hand will work fine. Steaming the custards gives them a delicate texture, which is enhanced by the spare use of solid ingredients (the shrimp, scallion, and mushrooms).

Walnut Soup (Hup Tul Woo) is a favorite snack soup, often eaten in place of dessert. The Chinese believe that walnuts resemble the shape of the brain and, thus, are good for nourishing the brain. Any foods that resemble the shape of a body organ are said to be god for that organ. Walnuts are also associated with longevity, since walnut trees live for hundreds of years. Regardless, this is a delicious soup. The oven-roasting brings out the fragrance of the walnuts, and it is rich and creamy despite the fact that there is no dairy added. I think Walnut Soup is a wonder because it tastes so good while also being good for you. Be sure to use rice flour and not glutinous rice flour.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.