Thai Chile

This Szechwan specialty gets its heat from fresh chiles and its flowery, smoky aroma from Szechwan peppercorns. Since the beef is cut into such thin shreds, it takes little time to cook. Serve this with rice or noodles, along with stir-fried greens (page 463). Other cuts of meat you can use here: pork, preferably from the shoulder or leg (fresh ham); lamb, preferably from the shoulder or leg; boneless chicken.

The first time I was served this I found it completely bizarre, as you may. But I loved it instantly. It’s from Szechwan but is equally at home with Asian and European dishes, as long as they have some guts. The quality of this dish is maintained for only a few minutes; as it gets cold, it becomes far less appealing. So—really—prepare it at the last minute and serve it immediately.

This is a warm salad, combining a wide range of textures and flavors, great as a light lunch or a starter for any Asian meal. Although you can buy packaged fried tofu at many Asian markets—and that is undeniably convenient—it is much better homemade. Just be sure to remove as much of the water as you can, by firmly pressing the tofu between paper towels as detailed on page 491. For information on shrimp paste, see page 9; for information on nam pla, see page 500.

This fiery, strong northern Thai specialty (if it’s made correctly, you will really reek after eating it, but it’s worth it) has become one of the most popular dishes in Thailand and at Thai restaurants in the States. When I was in Bangkok, I could not walk down the streets or through the markets without at least a dozen offers of Som Tum from the vendors, and it was hard not to stop for a little dish with some grilled meat and sticky rice. You can usually find green, or unripe, papayas and yard-long beans (and the Thai fish sauce called nam pla) at Asian or Latin groceries, but you can also substitute Granny Smith apples for the papaya and Napa cabbage for the beans.

An unusual tomato salad, exceptionally fresh tasting it contains no oil—and terrific with any grilled food. You certainly don’t need to be making an Indian meal to serve it.

I first had this appetizer as street food, near a market in Bangkok. The combination of raw ingredients normally used as flavoring agents for cooked dishes was intriguing and refreshing. The betel leaf used to hold everything together gave an additional bite to the dish. Betel leaves are impossible to find here, but the dish remains delicious with spinach leaves or even lettuce. If you’re not familiar with Thai fish sauce (nam pla), see page 500. You put it all together at the table, so it’s kind of fun. Serve this as the start to any meal featuring other food from Southeast Asia.

Every Vietnamese cook makes this dipping sauce, with the differences among them reflecting personal preferences and regional variations. In general, as you move south the sauce gets sweeter, hotter, and more garlicky. Yet no matter exactly how it is made, its role is always the same: to enhance and unify all the elements of a dish. As with much of Viet cooking, parameters apply more than rules. This recipe will help you develop your own version. Sensing subtle distinctions between sour, sweet, salty, and spicy requires practice. Plus, fish sauces differ, and even lime juice can be inconsistent. To deal with these variables, I don’t mix everything together at once, but rather break up the process to simplify matters for the taste buds. This allows for adjustments along the way. While you may omit the rice vinegar, it actually brightens the flavors and softens any harsh or bitter edges contributed by the lime juice. The garlic is optional; some recipes will suggest including or excluding it.

Remember the peanut butter cup commercials? Man and woman, so happy in their busy day, walking around with snacks in their hands, the sky above the color of a blue slushie the houses plastered in marzipan pastels, a happy-sounding tune of endless comic surprise piped through the air, the world a perfect place. Then—whoopsie, so clumsy of me—they smack into each other, exchanging flavors, and a wonderful new treat is born. Introducing nuts to chocolate is all well and fine and, sure, millions have been made on the combination. But if only the candymakers had the temerity to take the next step, something truly delicious could have come of it: chocolate, nuts, and a faint wave of chile heat all strummed like harp strings by the dexterous fingers of a luscious salt. Use this recipe to explore new dimensions of your favorite chocolate by trying it with a variety of salts. Choose the type and quantity of chile depending on your desire for heat.

A simple, everyday relish from India, this condiment adds a wallop of fresh spiciness to food. Each cook has a different take on green chutney, and many add chopped onion and grated coconut. The straightforward approach here keeps the flavors bright. Green chutney is purposely hot, but feel free to seed the chiles or use a less-alarming chile, such as jalapeño, for less dramatic results.

While this relish boldly says, “I am mint!,” it also has a bite from chile, ginger, and raw onion. Lime juice and sugar tame and unite the ingredients. This, along with the Tamarind and Date Chutney (page 220), provides just the right bright accents to Indian Samosas (page 115).

I recommend steaming the green beans separately, and adding them once the asparagus is tender-crisp. The result is a satisfying Asian-flavored stew with the green vegetables all done just right.

Use small organic pumpkins or squashes. Before peeling, taste their skins. If they are very tender, they can be left on. Pickled pumpkin is good served with crispy roast pork seasoned with five-spice or on its own as part of a pickle plate.

This delightful chutney is served with all manner of savory steamed rice cakes and pancakes. I love it with the Semolina Pilaf on page 222, but it may be served with most Indian meals. Store in the refrigerator 2–3 days or freeze leftovers.

This traditional Thai-style soup is my personal favorite. I love coconuts, and this soup is all about the coco. I like to use different ages of coconut meat to get varied textures. A more mature nut makes a chunky soup, while a younger one makes a creamy soup. I also like to use a variety of hot peppers: jalapeño, serrano, and even the super-spicy Thai chile, just to get a wide range of spiciness. Some peppers are hot as you eat them, others after you eat them; my favorites are hot only when you stop eating them.

Thailand has been heavily influenced by Indian culture. India's religion, music, and especially their food have all become part of Thailand's heritage. Curries are often thought of as an Indian thing, but Thai versions of curry are just divine. Serve this dish with Tom Yum , if desired.

Guam has a hyperactive barbecue scene, with an annual festival that gives away tens of thousands of dollars in prize money. No family or social event is complete without the firing up of a grill (often half of a 55-gallon drum). Given Guam's proximity to the Philippines and Japan, it comes as no surprise that soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi should figure prominently in the local grilling. Here's the Pacific Island version of a grilled blackened tuna from my Guamanian barbecue buddy, Steven Cruz. The tuna is crusted with Old Bay seasoning. (OK, it's a long way from Baltimore to Guam, but apparently this Maryland seafood seasoning enjoys great popularity on the island.) Ginger, wasabi, and chiles give the dipping sauce a triple blast of heat.

Lamb khorma is sensuous curry made by simmering lamb with yogurt and cream and thickening the sauce with a cashew paste. If you can find goat's milk yogurt or sheep's milk yogurt, it will make a discernable difference in this dish.

This refreshing yet rich northern Thai soup is called tom kha gai. It is quite easy to prepare, and much of the flavor comes from the garnishes stirred with the soup after it is cooked: the fresh lime juice, the chiles, the cilantro leaves, and the nam prik pao, a roasted chile curry paste that can be bought in most supermarkets. The Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, and canned coconut milk called for in the ingredient list are all sold in the international aisle of the local supermarket, or you can try to get all the Thai ingredients called for through the fun, online Thai supermarkets at www.importfood.com and www.templeofthai.com.

Feniger first encountered this fragrant pilaf while visiting her friend Alan Wagner, who cooks at an ashram in India. The pilaf has since become a popular addition to Street's menu. The first thing you'll notice is the tapioca pearls’ gratifyingly chewy, almost slippery texture. Then you'll take in the pop of the mustard seeds, the denseness of the taro, the fresh coolness of the cilantro, and the savor of the peanuts and cumin. The most elusive flavor is that of the dried neem leaves. They’re an optional ingredient—you can leave them out and the pilaf will still be delicious—but they have an interesting astringency.

Pumpkin is a member of the gourd family. Its flesh is fibrous and firm, and has an earthy, sometimes sweet, taste. It is used in Asian cooking in a number of ways, both savory and sweet. When buying pumpkin check that the skin is not pitted and that the stem is still intact. Rich in beta-carotene, pumpkins can help protect the body against heart disease.

This dish can pack a lot of heat—or not. If you like a lot of spice, feel free to up the amount of fiery bird's-eye chiles. If you prefer a slightly milder dish, you can remove the seeds from the chiles.

Since emigrating from Vietnam in the 1970s, Kia Dickinson has been generously sharing her incredible recipes with everyone she meets, including food editor Ian Knauer. This colorful mix of moist poached chicken, cabbage, carrots, and fresh herbs tossed with a wild, tongue-searing dressing is the quintessential summer salad—cool, colorful, and very fresh. When preparing this recipe, Dickinson uses the leftover poaching liquid to make rice.