This technique exemplifies my favorite way to prepare for a dinner party. I call it You-Can’t-Prove-That-I-Made-This-Pantsless Cooking. There is minimal prep work required. The Dutch oven and the heat do all of the hard stuff. You don’t even have to hover over the pan; cabbage is forgiving and difficult to destroy. The planks of ginger, paired with tomato paste, produce a flavor profile similar to the stuffed cabbage I grew up requesting for my birthday (many of my friends were stuffed animals), and you could totally lean into that, serving this with rice and meatballs or short ribs. For the record, my great-grandmother made her stuffed cabbage with crumbled gingersnap cookies in the bottom, and would look at my fresh ginger planks with more than a bit of suspicion. – Ella Quittner
Ras el Hanout
Ras el hanout blends change from kitchen to kitchen, cook to cook, product to product, town to town. The idea is to create a flavorful, savory, complex blend that brings warmth, energy, and color. Use this home version as a baseline, then tinker to your taste. Store in a cool, dark place to help it maintain its pungency for a few months.
Braised Drumsticks in North African Spices
Inspired by traditional tagines, but with a little input from other points along the Mediterranean. Feel free to substitute chicken thighs here; choose small-to-medium thighs, about 4 to 6 ounces each, and trim away excess far and skin. And if cilantro is not your thing, substitute parsley.
Smoked Fish and Scrambled Egg
This is a scrambled egg, so the whole process takes about 10 minutes (five if you like your eggs chunky), and despite being healthy, this is a very decadent-feeling, and filling, dish to sit down to.
Kai Jeaow (Thai Omelet)
If you’re searching for a recipe with the best ratio of ease of preparation to delicious payoff, you’ve found it. The Thai omelet is a kid-friendly classic, a midnight meal, and a welcome side dish all in one. Yes, you can eat this at breakfast, but it’s also the perfect accompaniment to a midnight bowl of jhok or a fiery plate of stir-fried morning glory. In almost every family sit-down meal in Thailand, you’ll find kai jeaow. The key here is hot oil, which sounds scary but is pretty easy as long as you’re careful. You want to lower the beaten eggs gently into the hot oil, which causes the eggs to puff up. You are looking for crunchy edges and a fluffy center. The fun part about this recipe is that it’s incredible as written, but you can also add ground pork with white pepper, crab meat, and/or Thai chiles. – Arnold Myint
Nam Prik Klang Dong (Caramelized Dried Shrimp and Anchovy Crumble)
Nam prik klang dong is one of many versions of nam prik in Thailand (and also in this book, as you may have noticed). The term nam prik is a catchall phrase for chile paste, but the consistency varies across different styles. Some are chunkier, like a pico de gallo, while others are sticky and jammy. This particular version translates to “chile dip in the middle of the jungle,” and is special because it’s not pasty or wet but rather dry and crispy, almost like Chex or trail mix or even a Thai version of Japanese togarashi (a spice blend of ground dried chiles, citrus, sesame seeds, and other seasonings). I love to enjoy it simply in the same way togarashi is typically used—to season a piping hot bowl of steamed rice. You can also sprinkle this over salads and fried eggs. When my family would travel on long trips back in the day, nothing beat a ball of sticky rice to dip into this savory flavor explosion. – Arnold Myint
Cucumber Achaar
This isn’t the type of salad you would eat as an entree, but rather an accompaniment or dip to balance out other dishes. Everyone goes crazy for the peanut sauce that comes with satay, the skewered meat street food icon. It is undeniably delicious. But the cucumber relish that also comes with satay is an underrated gem. It provides ample tang from vinegar, bite from red onion, and freshness from the cucumbers to cut through the creamy sweetness of the peanut sauce. This is like peanut butter and jelly to me—you can’t have one without the other—and fortunately it’s super simple to prepare. – Arnold Myint
International Market OG Sweet and Sour Sauce
Growing up, I was confused why this wasn’t the sticky red stuff we typically got whenever we picked up Chinese takeout. To me, that was the definition of a sweet and sour sauce. My mom’s riff, however, uses black soy sauce, so it was brown instead of bright red and had added umami. It was inspired by the Chinese sauce, especially because people expected every Asian restaurant to have a sweet and sour sauce, but it was made my mom’s way. Despite being confused by the color, I never questioned my mom—customers seemed to love it, and I was always proud when people would ask for an additional side of this sauce. It’s sweet and sour, as the name suggests, and it’s incredibly easy to make, too. I love that a sauce with only four ingredients can come together into such a developed flavor. – Arnold Myint
Khanom Pang Tod (Shrimp Toast)
It’s impossible to deny the appeal of fried bread, especially when the bread has a generous smear of shrimp on it. My mom introduced this dish to International Market back in the eighties, mixing pork with imitation crab before battering the entire thing in egg and deep-frying it. The dish is inspired by the Chinese takeout classic and also references the popular Thai snack khanom pang na moo, a similar fried bread appetizer that uses ground pork instead of imitation crab. I’ve since made my own adaptations to my mom’s earlier version by swapping the imitation crab for shrimp and including water chestnuts for added crunch. – Arnold Myint
Crispy Pork Noodle Broth
Curling up on the sofa for a good old slurp from a bowl of spicy noodle broth is a real joy. – Jamie Oliver
Narkol Cholar Daal: Split and Hulled Chickpeas with Coconut
Channa daal is the split and hulled version of Bengal gram, the smaller, darker cousin of the familiar garbanzo bean. It should be
available at any Indian grocery. This preparation, which features coconut, is from my husband’s home state of Bengal. It is often served at festive gatherings. – Jyoti Mukharji
Masala Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts were unfamiliar to me until I moved to the United States in the 1970s. When I finally got my hands on some, I had a lot of fun experimenting with different Indian-style preparations. This version emerged as one of my favorites, and it has since become a sought-after recipe among my students as well. The sour tang of the dried mango and the creaminess of the potatoes complement the nutty, spice-darkened sprouts marvelously. – Jyoti Mukharji
Citrus Pound Cake with Kefir
If citrus flavors aren’t your thing, leave out the zests and just call it a pound cake. If you love almond flavor, substitute almond extract for the vanilla. This cake is delicious still warm from the oven, but even more flavorful the next day. It will keep, tightly wrapped at room temperature, for about three days. You can also freeze it for longer storage, up to a month or two. Consider slicing it first, and slipping a piece of parchment between each slice before tightly wrapping and freezing. That way, you can easily pop off a slice at a time. This recipe makes one pound cake.
Chicken Liver Mousse
My first run-in with chicken liver was at my bris, but I had more important things to worry about that day. When I was growing up, there was always the looming presence of chopped chicken livers in a crystal boat, surrounded by Carr’s table water crackers and a bottle of Manischewitz wine, on Nana Arlene’s table. Most of my early memories are of Papa Howie, Nana Arlene’s husband, talking with liver breath, chewing loudly, and getting it all over his mouth. So understandably, I was terrified of liver well into my teens. But in adulthood, it’s become sort of an obsession, and it’s a centerpiece of the menu at Agi’s Counter. My trick is adding cream cheese, an easy hack for more flavor and to boost the texture. Instead of mealy chopped liver, everything is pureed into one even, creamy mousse, and the tang of the cream cheese offsets the iron taste of the liver, while caramelized onions and port bring plenty of sweetness forward. It’s so deliciously spreadable, it’ll convert even the most fearful. – Jeremy Salamon
Mark’s Sambar Oats
I have played with oatmeal forever. I am sure I wasn’t the first person to combine it with cherry tomatoes and soy sauce, but I am equally sure I was the first to write about that, and it’s as winning a ‘recipe’ as I know.
This is just as good, and even better in the winter, when there are no (real) cherry tomatoes. Oats (I’m using Bob’s Red Mill ‘high protein’ oats, which are good), a dropped egg, some sambar spice mix. (This Sourcery sambar is beautiful.)
Rumble-Tumble Crumble Cake
You can use a stand mixer or hand mixer if you like, but this batter comes together pretty easily with a minimum of elbow grease. This recipe was developed with a gold-tone metal pan; for glass or ceramic, you may need to increase cooking time by a few minutes. Be sure to let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before removing, or you might break the cake as you lift it out of the pan. (If this happens, simply serve crumbled crumble cake over ice cream and call it “deconstructed.”)
Grilled Cauliflower and Eggplant with Labneh and Green Chili Oil
This recipe is not only delicious, but it will set your kitchen up for excellent future meals—think green chili oil with breakfast eggs, labneh spread onto lunch wraps, and leftover cauliflower and eggplant with rice or pasta for dinner. The labneh and chili oil can be made and refrigerated up to one week in advance. Keep lemons on hand, which make this dish (and its leftovers) especially delicious when cut into wedges for squeezing on top.
Mushroom Patties with Cilantro-Serrano Sauce and Sauteed Cabbage
These mushroom patties are surprisingly reminiscent of both hamburgers and latkes, only without the meat or potatoes. Fry them a little longer than you think you should for extra crispiness, and, optionally (and highly recommended), follow a tip I learned from a good friend: sear a few extra quartered mushrooms and add as garnish—the additional texture is worth it. Served with a creamy, herby, spicy sauce alongside simply sauteed vegetables topped with toasted sesame seeds, mushroom patties will become everyone’s favorite meal of the week.
Charred Winter Squash with Walnut Pesto and Radicchio Salad
If health is wealth, this dish is rich. Beyond that, it’s also quite beautiful—barely burnt orange squash, earthy green pesto, and a punchy purple-pink salad? Art on a plate. Savory, smoky, sweet, and brightly balanced, this is a recipe you’ll want to return to. You could peel the squash if you so desire, but I personally prefer to just wash it well before cooking. If you don’t have toasted breadcrumbs on hand for the pesto, use a little more toasted walnuts to give it body, and vice versa. Taste things as you go and make minor adjustments as needed. Serve everything with warm bread for wiping plates clean, or alongside a simple pasta for bigger dinner parties.
Braised Beef with Red Wine
French style. Be patient: The meat isn’t done until it’s almost falling apart.
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