Root Vegetable

Ca ri ga Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham and are part of our story on Lunar New Year. True to the Vietnamese style of curry-making, this recipe is milder and lighter than Indian or Thai curries. You can make this with chicken stock, but the coconut milk adds body and enhances the overall flavor. Depending on my mood and the time of year, I sometimes serve this with a warmed baguette (a French influence) instead of steamed rice. Other times, I just make the curry with more broth and serve it with rice noodles. Like other curries, it's delicious the next day.

Baechu Kimchi _ Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Eating Korean by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee and are part of our story on Lunar New Year. This is the mother of all kimchi. When Koreans say "kimchi," this is the kind that comes to everyone's minds. Good either fresh or fermented, it goes with everything from meats to noodles. You will need a one-gallon glass jar or four 1-quart jars. _

Kohng Namool Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Eating Korean by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee and are part of our story on Lunar New Year. "Namool" is a word used to describe a certain group of greens, herbs, sprouts, and vegetables. It is also used to describe banchan made from these plants. Usually the vegetables are sautéed or steamed and mixed with a sesame oil and garlic-based seasoning. Salt is often used in place of soy sauce to preserve the natural color of the vegetable. Makes a pound of sprouts, enough for several meals.

Editor's Note: This recipe was originally part of a menu by Bobby Flay for a backyard barbecue. For the complete menu and Flay's tips on throwing a party, click here. I'm always on the lookout for food that can satisfy my need for CRUNCH! Jicama (pronounced HEE-kah-mah), a root vegetable, was one of my favorite discoveries on my first trip to the American Southwest; it arrived there via Mexico. Now you can buy it in many supermarkets across the country; a jicama is about the size of a grapefruit and has a thin brown skin. Crisp as a Granny Smith apple, freshly cut jicama makes perfect slaw.

There's no need to set up a deep fryer to make great potato chips—the oven is just fine.

Fish stews abound throughout the Mediterranean and most evolved from the fishing boats themselves, as fishermen reserved the worst of their catch for themselves and cooked it on-board.

Editor's note: The recipe below is excerpted from Katie Brown's Weekends. To read more about Katie Brown and to get her tips on throwing a headache-free cocktail party, click here.

Cumin lends a unique flavor and aroma to this popular Ramadan soup. Sometimes, for a heartier version, I add Kafta balls just after I purée the lentils and let them cook together. Lemon juice is thought to aid the body in absorbing the iron in the lentils, so I always squeeze some into each serving—it brightens the flavor, too. Shorabat Adas is delicious the next day; just add a little water to the cold lentils, which will be very thick, before reheating it. You can freeze it, too, in a tightly covered rigid container for up to 6 months.

China The most challenging part of this recipe is cutting the pork into thin shreds; freeze the meat for 30 or even 60 minutes first, which will make it easier.... (If you want to serve rice with this, which you should, cook it beforehand and keep it warm.) Don't mince the garlic; you want its flavor to be strong in this dish. Serve this with white rice.

(Feijão Verde com Coentro e Alho) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Jean Anderson's book The Food of Portugal. Anderson also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Anderson and Portuguese cuisine, click here. There's a reason for adding the lemon juice and vinegar to the green beans after they've marinated. If you mix these acids in too soon, the beans will turn an unappetizing shade of brown.

Skirt steak is great on the grill. You can do just about anything to it, and it will not fail you. This preparation sparkles with the addition of the roasted lime juice.

(Chenjeh kabab) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Najmieh Batmanglij's book A Taste of Persia. Batmanglij also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Batmanglij and Persian cuisine, click here. Traditionally, pieces of sheep tail-fat are threaded between the pieces of the meat to add flavor and keep the meat moist. You can substitute pieces of smoked bacon cut into 2-inch pieces for a similar effect.

(Bacalhau com Nata Feito à Moda da Enca Mello) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Jean Anderson's book The Food of Portugal. Anderson also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Anderson and Portuguese cuisine, click here. Enca Mello (called "Pequenina" by friends because she's so pretty and petite) is a Lisboeta (Lisbonite) based at the Portuguese National Tourist Office in New York. She's an outstanding Portuguese cook and this recipe of hers is to my mind one of the best of all ways to prepare bacalhau.

The way most people make Italian sausage and peppers is to smother the sausage in lots of sautéed peppers. It's good, but I expand on the theme with plump, juicy tomatoes and a big handful of basil. And turkey sausage adds a healthy twist to this traditional dish. Try it spooned over pasta for a truly Italian experience.

(Purée de Papas) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. When I visited the Isthmus of Tehuantepec at the season of spring parties accompanying the local velas (saints' day festivals), I found this vividly seasoned dish being served everywhere. It also turned out to be one of the regular Sunday offerings at Venancia Toledo Hernández's food stand in the Isthmian town of Ixtepec. She gave me her recipe and now everyone I've served it to in New York is in love with the brassy, sensuous flavors.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's book The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking. Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Pham and Vietnamese cuisine, click here. If you get invited to a traditional Vietnamese dinner, chances are you will probably be treated to this ca kho to. It is so basic and popular that in many homes (mine included) it is served almost every other day.

(Chileajo) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. Despite the name, this is unrelated to chileajo con puerco except for the presence of the chile and garlic that give it its name. It is one of the classic Oaxacan street snacks, especially at fiesta time, when food stands are crowded all around the beautiful Oaxaca City Zócalo (town square). Here you find women selling this wonderful specialty — a garlicky, spicy vegetable melange on a crisp fried corn tortilla, topped with a delicious combination of crumbled cheese, thinly sliced onion, and oregano. It's inspired. If you can find amarillo chiles, use a combination of them and the less characteristic, more available guajillos. Do not griddle-dry the amarillos, as they scorch easily. The tortillas used for chileajo are very small, about 3 inches in diameter. If you cannot find such a thing, cut out 3-inch rounds from larger commercial corn tortillas.

Talk about convenient! Baking a whole sweet potato takes about an hour, but sautéing the grated potato takes only fifteen minutes from start to finish — and you end up concentrating the flavor to boot. This recipe dresses up your potato with Southwestern ingredients, but there's no reason not to go Asian (add ginger and soy) or Italian (add sage, brown butter, and pine nuts) as the mood strikes you. For that matter, you could swap out the sweet potato and use butternut squash instead.

Shlata Chizo Carrot salads are a relatively new dish, especially raw ones. Until well into the twentieth century, most Europeans ate only cooked carrots, primarily in stews and soups. In the Middle East, people also used them as a component of cooked dishes, but sometimes added grated or minced raw carrots as a minor ingredient to various salads. It was in northwestern Africa that carrots, both cooked and raw, became the featured component of salads — typically an accompaniment to couscous or part of an assortment of salads. Moroccans brought carrot salads to Israel in the 1940s, and they quickly became ubiquitous. These salads are a traditional Rosh Hashanah dish in Israel, a symbol of a sweet and fruitful year to come. At many Israeli restaurants, cooked carrot salad automatically appears on the table with the bread, pickles, and hummus. The carrots are usually flavored with charmoula, a characteristic Moroccan marinade of oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Most cooks add heat with chilies, sometimes in dangerous proportions. I have tasted some that left me gasping and other that proved a lively appetizer, so adjust the amount of chilies to your own preference and that of your guests. For fancy presentation, Israelis serve raw carrot salad, commonly called gezer chai ("live carrots"), in quartered avocados or on a bed of lettuce leaves, garnished with a sprig of mint.