East Asian

Steve Katz of Potomac, Maryland, writes: "I would like to share a recipe for the most finger-licking baby back ribs you'll ever cook on your stovetop. The secret ingredient is Lapsang souchong tea, used in the braising liquid to give the ribs a smoky flavor. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

The combination of salty, sweet, crunchy, and smooth gives these confections a special place in my heart. That, added to the fact that they made an appearance at every bridge and mahjongg game my mother ever hosted, elevates their status to serious nostalgia food. You can find cans of Chinese chow-mein noodles in the Asian food section of the supermarket. The ones you want are cooked and ready to eat like crackers.

This three-in-one dish (chicken, rice, and soup) originated in Hainan, a tropical island off China's southern coast, and has become a culinary staple in Malaysian culture.

Kombu comes packaged in dried lengths that are most easily cut with scissors.

The term tataki refers to beef or fish that is seared, then chilled, marinated and thinly sliced. This ginger beef version is served with traditional tataki accompaniments—grated daikon (white radish) and ginger, chopped green onions, and a great dipping sauce.

An easy dish that uses some traditional Japanese ingredients, including miso. Made from fermented soybeans, miso paste comes in various shades, with the darker ones being stronger in flavor. This recipe calls for white miso (also called shiro-miso), which is sweeter and more delicate.

You might want to begin by baking one cookie to get the hang of folding before trying two at a time. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

When fresh wide rice noodles are stir-fried, they are called fun. Fresh rice noodles have to be pulled apart and fluffed before cooking.

Horenso No Goma Miso Ae Some miso varieties are quite salty, but the Saikyo shiro miso called for in this sauce has a sweet, caramel-like taste.

We topped these rolls with a combination of plain tobiko (flying-fish roe) as well as seasoned and wasabi-flavored tobiko and golden whitefish caviar. The specialty tobiko and caviar are available from the mail-order source given below.

This variation on the Chinese classic incorporates jícama, which retains the crisp texture of water chestnuts even when cooked.

The two-pronged cooking method used for these wings —incorporating both braising and deep-frying — is a takeoff on the Chinese technique of steaming, then frying. We think it keeps the meat unbelievably tender while getting the skin supercrispy. Be sure to allow 2 hours for the wings to marinate.

Chinese chestnuts are quite common in the cuisine of northern China; they also appear in the food of Shanghai. These sweet meats, which are smaller than their European cousins, are used in many braised dishes and casseroles. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 1 hr

In classic Chinese cooking, noodles destined for soup are cooked separately and added at the last minute so that the starch from the pasta doesn't cloud the broth. Because we were aiming for a rib-sticking dish, we broke with tradition and cooked the noodles right in the stock, allowing the starch to thicken the soup slightly.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr