Pan-Fried Tofu Simmered in Sweet Miso Sauce (Tofu no Misoni) Tofu is the perfect canvas to absorb the layered flavors of an accompanying sweet and salty miso sauce. Be sure to spoon the thickened sauce over freshly steamed rice as you eat. Try the recipe with eggplant (see variation) or feel free to substitute other … Read more
Deep-Fried Tofu Simmered with Tomatoes At Lan Tran’s family restaurant, Minh’s Restaurant, beef noodle soup (bun bo hue) and grilled catfish (ca nuong) are specialties on the menu. But at home, Lan prefers simpler fare like this super-easy dish concocted by her mother. It’s basic enough to complicate—you can improvise by adding meat or other … Read more
Deep-Fried Tofu Many recipes, including this one, call for drained (or pressed) tofu. This simple process removes excess moisture, allowing more flavor to be absorbed in cooking. Deep-frying can be a messy job but nothing compares to just-fried tofu. One bite and you can tell the difference. Buy firm (also called regular) or extra-firm tofu … Read more
Wok-Fried Pea Shoots A brief fling in the wok is the perfect technique for cooking delicate pea shoots (sometimes called pea vines). Available at farmers markets and Asian markets (under the name dou miao), they should include a top pair of small leaves (the tip), delicate tendrils attached to the young stem, and a few … Read more
Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste and Chilies (Kangkung Belacan) Water spinach (also called morning glory or hollow spinach) is a long tubular leafy green. Easily found at Asian markets, it is called kangkung (also kangkong) in Malay, rau muong in Vietnamese, and ong choy in Cantonese. This tasty dish recalls the earthy and aromatic flavors … Read more
Spiced Chayote and Peas (Safed Kaddu aur Matar ki Sabzi) The original version of this Bengali recipe uses white pumpkin (Benincasa hispida) cultivated extensively in India. Since it’s hard to find in the United States, Grandma Niloufer Gupta (see page 140) uses chayote, a gourd-like fruit, instead. Niloufer insists that ground spices cannot replace whole … Read more
Mixed Medley Stir-Fry A stir-fry is one of the simplest and most versatile dishes you can cook. Once you’ve cut up all the ingredients, the actual cooking is a breeze. Mix and match the meat and vegetables—just make sure all the ingredients are cut to similar size. The meat is cooked separately and then the … Read more
Layered Vegetable Stew (Pinakbet) A popular Filipino dish, the basic components of pinakbet (also called pakbet) are tomatoes, squash, long beans, bitter melon, okra, eggplant, and fish sauce (patis) or fermented shrimp paste (bagoong). A version from California food blogger Marvin Gapultos uses only fish sauce. Don’t pay too much attention to evenly chopping and … Read more
Eggy Stir-Fried Cabbage Easy-to-make and very tasty, this is a busy weeknight go-to side dish, or pile it on freshly steamed rice for a simple one-dish meal. The sweet and crunchy cabbage ribbons are wonderfully paired with the briny shrimp and soft, custardy egg. The dish, probably Chinese-influenced, is common in Vietnamese and Indonesian households. … Read more
Eggplant Curry (Bagaara Baingan) In India, this dish is made in large quantities and served as a pickle accompanying Yellow Split Pea Curry and rice. It’s also good with Amma’s Rice . It doesn’t have to be refrigerated and is usually kept in an earthenware dish or jam jar and will last for a week … Read more