Asian

Edamame are fun to eat, the slightly fuzzy bright-green pods tickle your lips as you gently suck the beans into your mouth. Provide bowls for the empty pods.

Instead of ordering Thai takeout, whip up this easy classic. Serve with: Steamed jasmine rice and a cucumber and snow pea salad. Dessert: Sliced tropical fruits such as pineapple, kiwi, and mango.

Wuxi, just two hours outside of Shanghai and often referred to as Little Shanghai, is a bustling city known for its silk. It was once called Youxi, meaning "has tin," but the tin reserves were depleted during the Han dynasty, and so Wuxi, which translates as "without tin," became its new name. These spareribs are one of the city's signature dishes.

Here, sea scallops take an Asian turn when they are flavored with toasted coriander seeds, grilled, and teamed with a hoisin-orange sauce and vegetable salad.

This meatless dish can do double duty as a main course or a side dish.

Using a salad spinner makes short work of washing fresh spinach, which usually requires several changes of water. Start by filling the spinner bowl with water. Then fill the basket with spinach, submerge it in the water, and stir the spinach to release dirt. Lift the basket out and repeat with fresh water.

You can make the salad with roast chicken if you prefer. Offer purchased sesame noodles as an accompaniment. For dessert, serve sugared sliced plums, topped with vanilla ice cream and chopped crystallized ginger. Look for the Thai fish sauce in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Thai spicing brings new flavor to an avocado classic. Add more color by serving this in a large leaf of red cabbage.

Leftover roasted chicken or turkey makes this rendition of a popular salad a snap to prepare. It's made spicy by combining chilies with linguine, green onions, snow peas, cilantro and a peanut dressing.

Accompany the curry with rice, broccoli and a variety of condiments like peanuts, chopped green onions, chutney, raisins and chopped bell pepper.

The mild spice paste is also great used as a base for chicken and shrimp curries.

A combination of spicy, tangy and aromatic flavors, this light soup is also really satisfying.

Serve over freshly steamed rice and garnish with chopped green onions.