Rice

P> The secret to properly cooked Chinese-style rice, whether white or brown, is to first rinse the rice and then to avoid cooking it in too much water. For fried rice, the rice should be cooked until just tender to the bite.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

Chai tea spices — ginger, cinnamon, cardamom — flavor this delicious pudding.

Remember, you absolutely cannot make delicious fried rice using freshly cooked rice! If you cook the rice yourself (a day to a week ahead), buy long-grain (Carolina) rice and follow the package directions for making drier rice. Otherwise, use leftover Chinese take-out rice.

This variation on the southern staple can be prepared easily with ingredients one usually has on hand. It's hearty, flavorful, and foolproof — a good choice when you come home from work and need supper in a hurry.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

Marjorie Farr, Silver Spring, Md.
Use fresh spinach in this dish — frozen will not do. A sprinkle of parsley before serving adds a fresh touch.

It's common in Oaxaca to add mint to rice, adding a subtle herbal dimension.

Accompany the risotto with a lettuce and radicchio salad, and pass a basket of poppy-seed breadsticks. A strawberry tart would be a nice way to end the meal. See how to finely chop herbs.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min

Matt McMillan, Big Bowl's executive chef, threw together these items for his lunch one day. We ran it as a special the next week. It's simple and delicious.

We couldn't have an American potluck dinner that didn't include at least one thoroughly native dish. The wild rice, hickory nuts, and dried cranberries in this salad are a nod to the potluck's origins.

This very typical Lao dish may also be made with fish, pork, beef, or, in Southeast Asian tradition, water buffalo meat. While laap is often made with raw meat or fish, our chicken-based rendition is stir-fried, as it was when Lao cooks served it to us. A powder made from toasted glutinous rice subtly flavors the dish.