Asian

In Indian restaurants, lassi is served with the meal, but we frequently find this exotic "smoothie" too filling to accompany a main course and prefer it in place of dessert. Look for the smaller, yellow-skinned mangoes, which have a more pronounced flavor than the larger, red and green ones.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

New York Filipinos are sentimental about adobo — meat or fish with lots of garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar. We used cider vinegar to good effect, but authentic Filipino cuisine calls for coconut, palm, or sugarcane vinegar. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 40 min

The consistency and flavor of bottled Asian chile sauces can vary, as can the heat of fresh chiles, so make adjustments to taste. For these tropical rolls, we found the thinner Wei-Chuan brand spring roll wrappers worked best. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

On the eastern side of the Indian peninsula, fronting the Bay of Bengal, is Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. This recipe from that cosmopolitan city is typically made with sardines, mackerel, and crab, but we have substituted orange roughy for a more delicately flavored dish.

Soybeans in the Pod Sweet, delicious young soybeans, which appear fresh in markets in Japan throughout the summer (they are available frozen in the U.S.), make great hors d'oeuvres. They are packed with protein and fun to eat-the slightly fuzzy green pods tickle your lips as you gently suck the beans into your mouth. Provide bowls for the empty pods. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Top toast points with this for an appetizer, or serve it as an accompaniment to grilled lamb, fish or chicken.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

At Aqua, the sea bass is presented with shrimp tortellini in lobster consommé.

Serve this salad with grilled meats; it's especially great with spare ribs.

Chef-owner Neath Pal is known for his fusion of French-Asian and New England cooking. So serve this dish with slender noodles tossed in a purchased peanut sauce. Finish with coconut ice cream.

Nearly everyone has tasted a Spring Roll, as they are served in dim sum houses and Chinese restaurants all over America: But a homemade Spring Roll is a rare treat. The roll should have a crackling crisp skin with a filling of fine shreds of mushroom, barbecued pork, celery, cabbage, and just a touch of bean sprouts. Most restaurant spring rolls are full of bamboo shoots, celery, and bean sprouts; have a chewy or soggy wrapper; and are seldom fried in fresh oil. The wrapping dough is available in most Chinese markets, sold as spring roll wrappers, and should be as thin as possible. There are about ten wrappers per package, although most packages do not indicated how many they contain. Keep the dough covered with a slightly damp cloth as you work with it, to prevent it from drying out.