East Asian

The provenance of this southern dish is shared by the Hakka and the Cantonese. The historic popularity of salt-baked chicken over the years led to various foods being called "salt-baked" even though they were not. The process of water-blanching, coating, and oil-blanching approximates baking to the Hakka taste. To the Cantonese the dish is simply jiu yim, or "pepper salt" to demote its primary flavors.

The intense flavors come from the marinade, which caramelizes on the chicken as it is deep-fried in foil packets. Jee bow gai, the name of the dish in China, is a house specialty at Yank Sing in San Francisco. Have your butcher split the thighs in half for you.

Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills is as famous for its cooked Japanese fish dishes as it is for its stellar sushi. This scallop dish is a perfect example.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in less than 45 minutes.

Homemade taro root cake is unsurpassed if the home cook doesn't skimp on the ingredients. Thick slices of taro cake, richly flavored with scallops, mushrooms, shrimp, Chinese bacon, and creamy taro are pan-fried until golden brown and fragrant. My Auntie Ivy's mother, Che Chung Ng, makes such a recipe and is famous in the family for both her Turnip Cake and Taro Root Cake. Every New Year, she cooks several cakes and gives them away as gifts to close family members. Nothing is measured exactly, and it is impressive to see her produce cake after cake, especially because she is over eighty years old. Spry and agile, she cooks with full energy and total intuition, never missing a beat. She kindly taught me this recipe and the one for Turnip Cake. Wear rubber gloves when handling taro, as some people can have an allergic reaction to touching it. Also use rice flour, not glutinous flour! See the introduction to Turnip Cake for how to serve and store this New Year's cake.

Just add steamed rice for a complete family-style Chinese dinner.

Though egg drop soup is not traditionally made with noodles, we love the texture and substance they add.

This recipe incorporates two popular foods from the Toi San region of southern China: One is the Chinese boneless barbecued pork strips known as cha siu, and the other is fresh rice noodles. The latter are sold in 1-pound packages, either as rumpled sheets that must be cut into strips or as precut 1/2-inch-wide strips.

Chinese cooks call food braised in soy sauce and sugar "red-cooked" for the reddish-brown tint that can result. While the chicken is braising, steam some rice and broccoli rabe as accompaniments.

In a Korean home or restaurant, grilled ribs (kalbi kui) would be accompanied by the spicy pickled cabbage called kimchi. It's available in the refrigerated foods section of some supermarkets and at Korean and Asian markets. For the ribs, have the butcher cut the flanken across the bones into 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Begin marinating the ribs one day ahead. What to drink: Asian lager.

Wasabi powder is fiery-hot, so adjust the proportion in the butter according to your heat tolerance. An Asian noodle salad from the deli, blanched sugar snap peas sprinkled with sesame seeds, and a bakery lime tart would be cooling additions to the menu.

Mung bean sprouts, commonly known simply as bean sprouts, are available in the produce section of most supermarkets.

There are many different kinds of pork dumplings, and siu mai are one of the most popular, typically served in dim sum restaurants. When homemade, the dumplings are unsurpassed, if they are made with an equal amount of fresh water chestnuts to ground pork, Chinese mushrooms, cilantro, and scallions. Siu mai are distinctly different from other dumplings, because they are made with round won ton skins, not the typical square-shaped skins. Each brand has a different thickness of dough, but the thinner the better; the dumplings will be more delicate. If round won ton skins are not available, I cut square wrappers into 3-inch-wide circles. This recipe makes about 3 1/2 dozen siu mai. Steam as many as you need, or cover in plastic wrap, refrigerate, and steam within two to three hours.

I first tasted scallion cakes at Henry Chung's Hunan Restaurant on Kearny Street in San Francisco. I think I was about eleven years old as I sat on a stool at the counter and watched these curious rounds of dough being fried until golden brown and fragrant with scallion flavor. As I devoured the delicious, crisp cakes, Mama looked on, pleased that I loved them, for she had grown up eating them as a favorite street snack in China. This was the first Hunan restaurant I'd ever eaten in and, until then, our diet had been strictly Cantonese food. Be careful when frying these cakes, as the oil will splatter, especially when you press a cake in its center. Any uncooked dough can be placed in a plastic container, refrigerated, and cooked the following day. If you do make them ahead, redust the dough lightly with flour to absorb any moisture from refrigeration, and allow the dough to sit at room temperature briefly so that it is not ice-cold when fried.