Asian

This is the South Indian equivalent of cake: essential at every wedding, birthday, and holiday. Indians like to serve it warm and soupy. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

Erisheris are thick curries traditionally made with yams or pumpkin, toasted coconut, and whole kidney beans. They are hearty and earthy, with a tropical twist of coconut and curry leaves. My variation, made with sweet potatoes, crosses over beautifully to a fall or winter menu; I've even served it for Thanksgiving. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

This quintessential Kerala vegetable curry marries many of the best ingredients of the region: coconut, curry leaves, green chiles, and a host of tropical vegetables. All the vegetables are cut into batons and poached in a spiced yogurt-coconut sauce. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

This aromatic mixture of split peas and vegetables is a staple in the South Indian diet. It always accompanies favorite snacks such as dosas (lentil crêpes) and idlis (lentil dumplings). A traditional Sadhya feast wouldn't be complete without this flavorful source of protein. Asafetida (a garlicky resin from the sap of a fennel-like plant; it's often used in lentil dishes) and fenugreek provide its pleasantly pungent aroma. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

I grew up on green beans thoren, and while I'll never tire of its crunchy deliciousness, I think adding corn makes it even better. And even though people don't often associate stir-fries with Indian cooking, this dish is a favorite in Kerala. It's a combination of diced vegetables and coconut, but the key is moistening the coconut so it can soak up the ground spices first. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

Save time by purchasing sliced stemmed shiitake mushrooms and wasabi paste in a tube. If the paste isn't available, mix 2 teaspoons wasabi powder with 1 tablespoon water.

We love the way these quickly pickled, supercrisp pears play off the briny and intense kimchi.

In North India these legume wafers are called papad and are dry-roasted over a flame, but in the South they are deep-fried until they form lots of air bubbles and become light and puffy. They are sold in many flavors, but plain is preferred in Kerala. Pappadams are always part of a Sadhya: You crush one up and mix it together with rice, dhal, and ghee. The pappadam helps to bind all the ingredients together so you can form balls when eating with your hand. Store-bought wafers are used almost exclusively by Indian cooks because the traditional recipes are labor-intensive and require days of drying in the hot sun. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

Mixing up a batch of anko is simplicity itself. This is slightly less sweet than most Japanese versions. Feel free to add more sugar if you like, though this is plenty for me. Although most Chinese sweet bean pastes are sieved for extreme smoothness and incorporate oil or lard for a richer mouthfeel, I prefer this method, which is lighter.

A lot of commercial red bean ice creams are just your basic, junky, mass-produced ice creams made with inferior ingredients like gums and thickeners, with a little of the red-bean paste called anko stirred in. Not so the following: a custard-based, from-scratch ice cream, enriched with enough anko so that you really get both its flavor and the extra creaminess contributed by its starch. The vanilla is optional; some feel it detracts from the red- beaniness, but I think it enhances it. If you want to go to town with this one, serve it in scoops sprinkled with a little matcha (brightly colored powdered green tea), and offer matcha-flavored meringues alongside; you can make them from the egg whites you'll have left over from the ice cream. Those who are allergic to dairy products can make this using canned full-fat unsweetened coconut milk: substitute 4 cups for the milk and cream.

Blanching is a good way to cook vegetables so they retain most of their nutrients. In this Japanese preparation, spinach is quickly wilted in boiling water, then plunged into an ice-water bath to stop the cooking.

In these vegetarian rolls, shredded cabbage adds cancer-fighting betacarotene; nori—sheets of dried seaweed—supplies calcium, magnesium, and iron; and shiitakes boost the immune system, thanks to the active compound lentinan. Look for soba noodles and nori in the Asian foods section of your grocery store.

Traditional Japanese soba noodles can be made of wheat or buckwheat, a fruit seed related to rhubarb that’s loaded with manganese and the antioxidants quercetin and kaempferol. Because the seed is also gluten free, buckwheat noodles are a good choice for those with gluten sensitivities.

Here’s a spicy noodle dish that’s packed with vegetables; covering the pan during cooking helps trap the steam so the vegetables soften more quickly (and retain their nutrients). Look for soba noodles made entirely of buckwheat flour; besides being gluten-free, they are more nutritious than soba made from whole-wheat flour.

The toasted turmeric, coriander, and cumin in this Indian-influenced soup have soothing, anti-inflammatory benefits, and add so much flavor, there’s little need for salt. With only one tablespoon of oil in the whole pot, the soup is also low in fat.

An outstanding member of the Brassica family, broccoli aids in detoxification, and steaming is the best cooking method for retaining the vegetable’s potent nutrients. Miso, or fermented soybean paste, contains B vitamins, protein, and probiotics, which strengthen immunity.

Think of these roasted sweet potato wedges as a heart-healthy variation on French fries—without the frying. A sprinkling of sesame seeds and a tangy dipping sauce lend Asian flavors.

Be sure to purchase firm or extra-firm tofu for this soup, as it will hold up better in hot liquid than softer varieties. Miso should be added only at the end of cooking because its flavor and healthful qualities are affected when it’s boiled or exposed to prolonged high temperatures. Whisk it with a bit of liquid first so that it is quickly and evenly distributed.

Think of this recipe as a basic formula for making rice bowls, and then vary the beans (use canned ones to save time), squash, and greens, as desired.

One of the preparations that make Thai cuisine so fresh and refreshing in the tropical heat is its raw vegetable salads that serve as backdrops to fish or meat. The sauce used on these salads is typically a blend of chiles, fish sauce, fresh lime juice, and herbs, with fresh cabbage as one of the side dishes. This Thai slaw is inspired by those classic recipes. Use it as a base for Thai Shrimp tacos (page 59) or for other shrimp or seafood fillings.