Glass Noodle

Presented on a platter just moments out of the steamer, a whole steamed fish reflects the cook’s care and attention to obtaining the freshest ingredients possible. Ideally, the fish was plucked live from a tank at the market. Barring that, it met its end shortly before the cook selected it from a bed of ice. This recipe, with its mixture of pork, ginger, onion, mushrooms, and cellophane noodles, is one of the classic Viet ways to steam fish, with the various flavors and textures melding beautifully during cooking. The flavorings are light, so select a mild-tasting white-fleshed fish to complement them. I like striped bass, which is readily available and has delicate flesh, as well as bones that aren’t troublesome; a whole trout weighing about 1 1/2 pounds is another good option. The dish is perfect for entertaining because most of the work may be done hours in advance. Add White Tree Fungus in Clear Broth (page 76), a simply seasoned stir-fried vegetable, and rice for an elegant meal.

When it is dungeness crab season (November through May on the West Coast), one of my favorite ways to capture the essence of Cancer magister is to make these golden noodles. Cellophane noodles absorb whatever flavors they are combined with, in this case the sweet brininess of crabmeat and tomalley. This dish is best when it is made with a live crab that you cook yourself. If you are too squeamish to cook crab at home, buy a precooked crab the day it is cooked. But don’t have the crab cracked, as you want all the delicious juices to stay inside. See page 322 for directions on cooking and cleaning the crab and picking the crabmeat.

For Vietnamese living abroad, a trip to Saigon would be incomplete without a visit to Ben Thanh Market, a huge maze of fresh food and sundries. Near the center is a food court where vendors hawk popular Viet treats. As you sample their wares, you are apt to strike up conversations with other gluttonous Viet kieu (Vietnamese expats). On one occasion, a man from Texas visiting his family for Tet told me part of his daily routine while in Vietnam included eating mien gà, which was so deliciously light that it allowed him to order more dishes from other vendors. This noodle soup is easy to prepare. Most versions contain shallot, garlic, and chicken giblets, but our family enjoys a simpler preparation that focuses on just a few ingredients, most of which go into the hot stock moments before serving and are then ladled directly into the waiting bowls, with no fancy assembly required. For a nice lunch, present large servings of this soup with a special-event salad (pages 46 to 55). Or, offer it in smaller portions for an elegant beginning to a celebratory meal. This recipe is easily halved.

A hybrid dish (cua means “crab” in Vietnamese, and farci means “stuffed” in French), this deviled crab is enriched by butter and employs fish sauce to amplify the brininess of the crustacean. Many cooks stuff the crab shells with the raw filling and then fry them. Because it is hard to tell when the filling is cooked, I was taught to sauté it first, which also yields a more flavorful result. I also forgo frying and instead bake the filling in ramekins, topping them with bread crumbs for a crispy finish. What makes this deviled crab special is fresh crabmeat and tomalley (liver) and fat, which you can only get if you start with a whole crab. (If you don’t like the tomalley and fat, omit them for a less rich dish.) Find the freshest, feistiest crab you can, even if it is not a Dungeness, my local species. Live crabs are available at Asian and other markets, but already cooked crabs will work, too—as long as you have a trustworthy fishmonger. Ask when the crab was cooked. And if it has an ammonia-like smell, it is over the hill, so pass it up. You will need about 1/2 pound of crabmeat.

These spring rolls are so fresh tasting that they’re addictive. The beet turns the noodles a pretty pink—way cool. Wear gloves when you cut up the beet so your hands don’t turn purple—not a festive look.

I had this dish in a noodle shop in Australia. When I asked the Thai owner for the recipe, he had an odd reaction; out of nowhere this little guy pulls out a karate move and takes a swing at me. In the end, he chased me out of the kitchen with a cleaver, but not before I swiped the recipe. It was worth it. If you are not able to get your hands on kaffir lime leaves, up the lemongrass to 4 stalks. But do make the effort to try to find them in your area or look for them on the Internet; there really is no substitute for their amazing flavor.

Head to a local Chinese supermarket for the ginger in syrup and, while you're there, pick up a package of glass or cellophane noodles to serve this with. Tangy ginger and flavorful hoisin work so well with duck. Make sure you render the duck breasts well when cooking to get that ultimate crispy skin.

Vietnamese-style rolls are a great addition to your summer repertoire: They require very little cooking and can be assembled at the kitchen table or out on the patio. Thanks to bean thread noodles and baked tofu, they make a substantial meal, but pickled vegetables and a trio of herbs keep each sauce-dipped bite light and cool.

Replacing full-fat coconut milk with a light version reduces fat, not flavor.

Sukiyaki The term comfort food might have been coined for this bowl of rich, home-style broth surrounding thinly cut beef and a selection of Asian vegetables. The traditional accompaniment of beaten egg makes a silky dipping sauce.

The light and clean Asian combination of shrimp and mango is treated to a touch of heat from a bit of fresh chile.

This noodle salad, studded with slices of sweet mango and crisp cucumber, is a cooling oasis in the midst of a meal packed with rich, spicy dishes. The glazed roast pork gives the salad added dimension, but could also be served on its own.

Cha gio are considered culinary treasures, delighting everyone who's tried them. Light and crispy, spring rolls are traditionally wrapped with rice paper. At Lemon Grass, however, we use a more durable type of spring roll wrapper made from wheat flour. Also used for Filipino-style lumpias, they are marketed under the Menlo brand and stocked in the frozen food department of Asian grocery stores. These 8 X 8-inch wrappers seal the filling so well that no oil can seep through during frying; this is not the case with rice paper.

When my grandmother, Noi, came to America in 1975, banh trang—Vietnamese rice flour wrappers—weren't available, so the use of wheat wrappers from Singapore and China became widespread throughout the immigrant community. While it's easier to get banh trang these days, Noi still uses the wheat wrappers for this recipe.

(Spicy Pork with Bean-Thread Noodles) In this classic Chinese preparation, delicate, clear bean-thread noodles are dressed with a spicy sauce and flecked with bits of pork — the "ants" of the dish's curious name. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Despite its name, this luau classic is actually a noodle dish (rice-free). At least there is chicken in it — stock as well as shredded chicken.

The follow recipe is an adoption of "chicken long rice," a frequent accompaniment to roast pig at a luau. Although Chinese in origin, this dish has been enthusiastically adopted by all Hawaiians. "Long rice" refers to bean-thread noodles that are cut into short lengths. We eliminated the chicken traditionally included in this recipe to make it a lighter side dish for our Grilled Teriyaki Pork Chops with Pineapple Papaya Relish . Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.