A tasty and easy New York Times recipe using pantry staples. Serve with Hawaiian-style macaroni salad.

½ cup ketchup
½ cup soy sauce
½cup packed light or dark brown sugar
¼cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (substitute 3 cubes frozen crushed ginger)
2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated (substitute 2-3 cubes frozen crushed garlic)

Fast and easy weeknight meal from New York Times.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on or off
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 packed cups baby spinach
1 lime, halved
1 fresno, jalapeño or serrano chile, thinly sliced

I was intrigued by New York Times recipe, and honestly wasn't sure we were going to like it. But it turned out well, and we would make it again.

FOR THE TEMPEH:
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
16 ounces/455 grams tempeh, cut into ¼-inch-by-2½-inch slices
¼ cup canola oil, plus more as needed

FOR THE SAMBAL:
¼ cup canola oil
4 medium tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced
7 medium shallots, peeled and sliced

The free-wheeling cousin of sushi, a good poke bowl can be a make-your-own adventure meal with whatever you have on-hand. The fish can be sauced or un-sauced, depending on your preference. Here are some ideas:

To season your fish, mix together the following to taste:
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Rice vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Green onion
Sriracha

To make your poke bowl, compose many or few of the following together in a bowl:
Sushi rice flavored with rice vinegar and sugar and/or mirin
Tuna or salmon, seasoned (or not) as above

This New York Times recipe uses a really interesting and tasty way to marinade chicken. The original also included a pineapple salsa recipe to accompany the chicken, but I think our pineapple chow recipe is better.

Also, the first time we made this we tripled the recipe. That created challenges in ensuring the chicken didn't marinate for more than 15 minutes, but I didn't think it was a problem.

Who knew we'd been eating sushi wrong all this time? Apparently Filipinos and Hawaiians.

I used this website for guidance and accompanied it with this cucumber salad.

Jon was very skeptical due to lingering dislike of salmon patties from his youth, but he admitted these were actually quite good. Courtesy of Bon Appetit. Serves 4.

1½ pounds boneless, skinless center-cut salmon, patted dry
5 scallions, green parts finely chopped, white parts thinly sliced
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 tablespoons plus ⅔ cup mayonnaise
Kosher salt

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Although not strictly necessary, the smashing of the cucumbers in this Bon Appetit recipe does yield a nice texture and, as Bon Appetit says, creates nooks and crannies for the marinade.

1 pound Persian or English hothouse cucumbers
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
3 scallions, sliced
4 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Red chili flakes

This Bon Appetit recipe was good, but I've posted it here with a few tweaks we'd recommend for next time.

Billed as Caribbean by Bon Appetit, this mango chow could go equally well with Indian, Thai, or other South/Southeast Asian cuisines. Sweet, spicy, salty, and sour -- delicious!

INGREDIENTS
1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
½ Scotch bonnet chile or habanero chile, thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed if less heat is desired
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ripe but firm mango, peeled, cut into ½-inch-thick spears
½ English hothouse cucumber

1 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
1 small onion, chopped
2 serrano chile, seeds removed if desired, chopped
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 can chickpeas, rinsed, patted dry
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chaat masala
2 tablespoons prepared tamarind chutney, divided
pinch of sugar

1 cup raita yogurt

¼ cup sev or similar/fried noodles

• 2 lbs pumpkin
• 14oz (1 package) Firm tofu, optional
• 4 cups (2 cans) coconut milk (can use light milk, and/or sub in a cup of water)
• 3-5 tablespoons Vegetarian Red Curry Paste
• 8 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 chili peppers (fresh red thai, or 1 jalapeno)
• 2" fresh galangal (peeled and thinly sliced), or 2 T galangal powder (or ½ equivalent ginger)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 sprigs Thai basil

We used a marina de chiogga pumpkin, but any firm, yellow-flesh, slightly sweet/nutty pumpkin will do.

So, I'm mildly obsessed with TaKorean's spicy kale slaw with hoisin tofu. The combination of flavors is so delicious that I forego the taco entirely to get a big bowl of this combination instead. When Bon Appetit posted a recipe that seemed similar in flavor profile to the kale slaw half of the TaKorean dish, I decided to try and recreate this treat at home. This is by no means the actual recipe that TaKorean uses, but I think it's a pretty damned good replica.

Based on this Bon Appetit recipe and a modified recipe we had at the 2014 Literary Feast.

4 cups broccoli florets
Kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic
1/4 cup oyster sauce (substitute soy sauce with a dash of Worcestershire)
4 teaspoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon (or more) 1/8'-thick slices of red Thai chiles
Pinch of ground white pepper
1/2 sake

We first had this salad at a Thai/Lao restaurant in Virginia. It was freakin' awesome, and so we set making it at home. We combined three recipes and the result was quite good.

3 chiles (Thai, serrano, or jalapeño), thinly sliced into rounds
¼ cup tamarind concentrate
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus 4 tsp more for cooking
1½ pound hanger steak, de-membraned and cut into 4 pieces

Whisk chiles, tamarind, brown sugar, salt, and 1 Tbsp. oil in a shallow baking dish until sugar is dissolved. Add steak and turn to coat. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, or up to a day.

From Bon Appetit 2014 Food Lover's Cleanse

Serves 4, or 2 + 2 leftover portions to use in a salad (see below).

While a perfectly ripe mango is delicious on its own, coconut sticky rice makes a marvelous pairing. The coconut sticky rice can also mask a less-than-perfect mango to make a delightful treat. Adapted from my favorite Thai food blog, She Simmers.

Serves 2-4

1/2 cup uncooked sticky rice, cooked
1/2 cup coconut milk, or whatever you have leftover in your can from whatever you made earlier
1/4 cup or less sugar, to taste

Courtesy of Cook's Illustrated.

1.5 lbs flap meat (skirt steak or hangar steak can be used as substitutes)
3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
6 tbsp cornstarch
2 oranges
3 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1.5 tsp sesame oil
1 jalapeño, inner seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 habañero, inner seeds and ribs removed, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
3 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Cut beef along grain into 3" lengths.

This recipe came from a cooking class my mom took many years ago (possibly before I was born). For several years, I've had a scanned copy of the photocopied recipe with her notes from the cooking class. We finally replicated the Mongolian Beef recipe. While we intend to play around with the sauce in future iterations, the "velveting" method of cooking the beef was a big success and will definitely be repeated.

Ingredients

Velveting:
1.5 lbs flank steak
3 egg whites
2 tsp white wine or sherry
Black pepper
1/3 cup cornstarch
Vegetable oil

Sauce:
3/4 cup soy sauce

If you've ever been to Thailand (or really, ever eaten in a Thai restaurant), you've had Thai iced tea. And you know it is delicious. And you know it's great with spicy foods... or other foods... or as dessert... or just because.

Bon Appetit now tells us how to make it. I repeat the recipe twice in two different proportions because, frankly, it's dangerous to have 8 servings of Thai iced tea around the house.

For 8 servings:
10 star anise pods
2 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean
15 tea bags

SUSHI!

More to follow. Maybe.

Every week, we include a "big salad night" on our menu. Depending on the cuisine we've selected, that can be easy or hard. For example, Asian week? That's easy - chinese chicken salad. Italian week? Try a caesar salad or (my personal favorite) panzanella salad.

Last summer, we made this delightful Bon Appetit recipe. I forgot to record it at the time and kept trying to find the recipe online. I remembered that it was a Malaysian-style dish, but because Bon Appetit didn't have "Malaysian" in the title, my half-hearted attempts to find it bore no fruit. Finally, I used the power of Google and, somewhat embarrassingly, found the recipe in 5 seconds.

On our vacation to Thailand a few years ago, we spent one of our days in Chiang Mai at the Thai Farm Cooking School. Some of the dishes we made were really delicious and frankly quite easy (if somewhat challenging to find all of the ingredients in the DC metro area).

These three sauces go great with naan, chana chat, and ragda patties.

Mint Chutney

A great side dish that could, with the addition of a protein, take center stage. Goes great as a side to Japanese grilling.

1/2 packet (~4.5 oz) soba noodles
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon wasabi paste

1/4 cup minced green onions

In a large bowl, mix rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and wasabi. Pour about half the dressing into a small bowl and reserve, keeping the rest in the bowl.

A great recipe for glazed ribs, perfect for the summer or winter with citrus. Adapted from Bon Appetit.

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When we were in India, we visited MV Spices and bought a lot of Indian spices (probably at tourist prices), including a spice mix for Indian Chai (tea). The ingredients listed on the tea bag are:

Cardamom
Cinnamon
Ginger
Nutmeg
Black Pepper
Clove

The recipe, copied from the back of the bag, is as follows:

2 cups water
1 spoon tea (black tea)
Little tea spice
2 spoons sugar

Boil 5 minutes
Add hot milk (or dry milk)
Boil 3 minutes
Filter and serve.

This recipe was awesome. Delicious and super easy. Made by simplifying a slightly (but not much) more complex recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cooking.

Serves 6.

Ingredients
Vegetable oil
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into thin half-rings
1-inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small, whole head of garlic, with all the cloves separated and peeled
5 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp ground coriander

I had a hankering for Thai food since we're currently planning a trip to Thailand. I did a quick search, and voila! I modified the curry recipe from here. I have to admit this isn't the most authentic or even delicious green curry recipe, but frankly it's pretty easy to make and can be made mostly without often hard to find ingredients.

I personally prefer this recipe with extra firm tofu, but it could theoretically go with any protein. Fish or seafood would be best, followed by chicken.

Serves 4.

From http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Thai-Spiced-Waterme...

For soup
5 cups coarsely chopped seeded watermelon (from a 4-lb piece, rind discarded)
1 fresh lemongrass stalk*
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons mild olive oil
1 small hot green chile such as Thai or serrano, finely chopped (including seeds), or to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For crab

This is a basic recipe for dashi, or seaweed stock (as I would describe it). It is the basis for many Japanese soup recipes. I consider the American equivalent (not in flavor, but in use) to be chicken stock.

• 4 large strips of Dried Kombu (dried kelp), cut into roughly 4x4 inch squares
• 1 Tbsp mushroom buillon base
• 6 cups of cold water
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms

This recipe is meant to mimic the fried rice of my favorite LA Chinese restaurant - Yang Chow (or Hunan, as it was called in my youth). The key feature is that it isn't loaded down with soy sauce. Your diners can always add it post-cooking.

Serves 4 as a side dish:

Ingredients
1 cup chinese/short-grain rice, cooked (Put 1 cup rice, 1.5 cups water in pot. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.) and fluffed with spoon or fork
2 eggs, lightly beaten

I made this salad with miscellaneous asian ingredients we had lying around, and it turned out great! There's no need to follow the exact amounts here - first wash as many greens as you want to use, and adjust the quantities of everything else to taste.

Salad:

4 cups washed and torn greens - combination of whatever lettuce, spinach, etc. you have + sliced cabbage
5-10 snow peas, washed and sliced into 1/2" wide pieces
5-10 thin strips red pepper
10-20 thin slices carrot (made on grater/peeler)
10ish thin slices cucumber
2 green onions, sliced

I never met a yogurt dip I didn't like. Seriously. If there's ever one on a menu, I order it. I will slather it on everything, especially middle eastern and mediterranean foods.

Instead of proliferating pages and pages of yogurt dip recipes, I've decided to collect them all here. In most cases, the dips will be better on the second day once the flavors have had a chance to marry.

IndianFoodForever provides a good basic chaat recipe for ragda patties. I'd add more tomato and make them very finely diced.

For the Patties (can be done ahead):
3 large Potatoes
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
1/2 tbsp Garam Masala
1/4 tbsp Turmeric
2 Tbsp Bread crumbs
Oil

Peel, quarter, and boil the potatoes until soft, then mash them or pass them through a ricer.
Add spices, mix and knead well into a dough.
Add the bread crumbs and knead well.

Great on the first try. Serve with rice and mango salsa.

From http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Shrimp-Tikka-with-F...

1 1/2 lb Chinese long beans*
1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts (2 1/2 oz; not cocktail peanuts)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 to 3 small fresh Thai chiles** (to taste), finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Add shrimp to make a full meal