Saute

Cantonese deep-fried sticky rice dumplings can be filled many ways, but there is usually chopped rehydrated shiitake mushroom and a little chopped dried shrimp for savory oomph. With those two ingredients in this vegetable-laden alternative, you won’t miss the meat.

One of the most common curry puff fillings features well-seasoned potatoes and a little meat. I like to use ground lamb because it pairs terrifically with the bold spice blend that Malay cooks often identify as meat curry powder. I’ve broken it down for you here, but feel free to substitute 2 1/4 teaspoons of your favorite curry powder (if salt is already in the powder, add salt to taste only after the filling is done). For a vegetarian rendition, omit the meat and increase the potato to 3/4 cup, adding extra water as needed during cooking.

Whether steamed or baked, buns stuffed with Cantonese char siu pork are among my favorite dim sum. I rarely pass up the opportunity to savor how the spongy, slightly sweet dough complements the savory-sweet, rich meat. For spectacular buns, make this filling with homemade roast pork (page 224); in fact you can prepare a triple batch of filling from a single recipe of roast pork. If you elect to use store-bought pork, wait to salt the filling until after it is done and you can taste it to see what it needs; the meat is often well seasoned already.

When you buy stuffed buns in Asia, there is usually a vegetarian option that features vegetables and pressed tofu. The fragrant, tasty filling is delightful and satisfying enough to please meat lovers. While you can feature just one vegetable, such as a leafy green, I like to create a varied filling that’s full of surprising textures and flavors. It’s important to cut the vegetables and pressed tofu into small, thin pieces so that the cooked filling is easy to measure and wrap up in the dough.

Cantonese cooks have been creating curried bāo fillings for years, but for buns with both a Southeast Asian and an Indian edge, stuff them with this curried chicken filling that contains plenty of spice and a touch of coconut-milk richness. The ingredient list looks daunting only because of the number of spices, a combination that yields aromatic, flavorful results. If you have a good curry powder, such as Sun Brand, feel free to substitute 1 tablespoon for the spices below; decrease the amount of salt if the curry powder contains salt already. Or skip the toasting and grinding and substitute equal amounts of ground spices for the whole ones, using two pinches of black pepper for the peppercorns. The flavors will still be good.

Countries all around the world make use of dried beans, and cook them, of necessity, in an oven or on a stove top for a long time, often dressing them in the simplest of ways. The Greeks, who serve them both as a meze (appetizer) and as a main dish, are no exception. For this dish, I’ve recommended fava beans, commonly used in Mediterranean countries, but Greeks often use a large, white bean called gigandas that can sometimes be found in Middle Eastern markets. Note: If you are using favas, be sure to buy blanched, skinless beans, as favas come encased in a tough, brownish shell and are sometimes sold that way. This dish makes a nice meal with a green salad and a crusty country loaf.

This is one of my all-time favorites in my repertoire of Indian dishes. The addition of coconut milk identifies it as a typical southern Indian dish, where coconut milk is a common ingredient. (Coconut milk is rarely found in the cooking of the colder, mountainous climate of northern India, where coconuts don’t grow.) It can be made in about 5 hours and served hot, warm, or at room temperature, like a traditional potato salad. Cooking times will vary according to the type and size of potatoes you use.

Fried rice was a breakfast staple at my friend Phi Nguyen’s house, one that I gladly devoured every chance I had. His mom is an amazing cook, and it was in her kitchen that I first discovered the joy of Sriracha. Though cleverly disguised as nothing more than a simple serving of fried rice with a few red dots flecking the surface, this dish is a feat of culinary mastery that opened my eyes to a bold new world of flavor.

The flavors in this wonderful chutney make it a good choice for brightening just about any dish.

I love Asian fare, but I can also see why people stay away from it in their own kitchens. It can be a bit daunting, especially all of those veggies with exotic names that most of us didn’t grow up with and don’t have the faintest idea how to prepare. That’s a shame, because most of them have a load of body-supporting phytochemicals. Here I’ve combined two powerhouses, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. I prefer baby bok choy, as bok choy gets more bitter as it matures.

Toasting cumin releases its aromatic, flavorful, and incredibly healthy oils. As the seeds heat up, they begin popping like popcorn, which is how you know they’re done.

When I was growing up, coleslaw was pretty one-dimensional. It didn’t matter where you went, German deli, Greek diner, it was all pretty much the same: cold cabbage drowned in mayo with a few slivers of carrot for coloring and maybe a few celery seeds. These days, slaw has gotten an extreme makeover, and there are now more versions to choose from. This concoction is both warm and sweet and serves as a great base for salmon, chicken, tofu, or tempeh. Sautéing the onions, red cabbage, and carrots in a little brown rice vinegar, tamari, and ginger makes it easy to eat and mighty flavorful.

If there’s a safe haven in the vegetable kingdom, it’s sweet potatoes. In fact, I bet that if every kid’s introduction to veggies were a sweet potato, it would knock down parental stress over healthy eating by at least 50 percent. I mean, what’s not to love? Sweet taste, beautiful color, and fantastic nutrition, not to mention a creamy texture that allows you to introduce chopped greens in a nonthreatening manner. Here, I’ve added kale, which has some outstanding anticancer properties, and ginger, which aids digestion, for a little zip.

As much as I love to cook, I also really enjoy watching other cooks go through their creative process. Recently I was at a conference at the Commonweal Retreat Center, where I was able to observe one of my favorite cooks, Claire Heart. She brought out this dish, and the first thing I noticed was that it had bok choy. Now that’s a great vegetable, but it tends to be bitter. She completely solved that problem by pairing it with yams to create a dish that tasted like a vegetarian Chinese Thanksgiving. It was a completely unique and delicious pairing. The colors blew me away as well. I went home and decided to play around with her concept, adding a little ginger for zing and digestion and a few more Asian-style flavors. Thank you, Claire!

I like the way nature balances her books. In summertime, everyone gets hot and loses water. So what does Mother Nature do? She produces an abundance of summer squash, which happens to be full of water, making it an ideal vegetable to combat dehydration. I think of zucchini as the perfect party guest. It’s mild and mixes well with a crowd. The key with zucchini is good prep, so that the flesh stays somewhat firm and tasty.

As in many Asian-style soups, this ingredient list may look long, but it’s a snap to prepare. Adding any of the optional ingredients gives this soup a deeper and more authentic flavor.

With Thai ingredients available at most natural food stores and well-stocked supermarkets, it has become easy to enjoy the delightful flavors of this cuisine at home. Use your discretion with the red or green curry paste; a little will give a hint of heat, but if you want a spicier stew, you can step it up from there.

A satisfying meatless take on the classic Hungarian goulash, this makes good use of seitan, a high-protein, low-fat meat substitute.