East Asian

Steve Katz of Potomac, Maryland, writes: "I would like to share a recipe for the most finger-licking baby back ribs you'll ever cook on your stovetop. The secret ingredient is Lapsang souchong tea, used in the braising liquid to give the ribs a smoky flavor. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

The combination of salty, sweet, crunchy, and smooth gives these confections a special place in my heart. That, added to the fact that they made an appearance at every bridge and mahjongg game my mother ever hosted, elevates their status to serious nostalgia food. You can find cans of Chinese chow-mein noodles in the Asian food section of the supermarket. The ones you want are cooked and ready to eat like crackers.

This three-in-one dish (chicken, rice, and soup) originated in Hainan, a tropical island off China's southern coast, and has become a culinary staple in Malaysian culture.

Kombu comes packaged in dried lengths that are most easily cut with scissors.

The term tataki refers to beef or fish that is seared, then chilled, marinated and thinly sliced. This ginger beef version is served with traditional tataki accompaniments—grated daikon (white radish) and ginger, chopped green onions, and a great dipping sauce.

An easy dish that uses some traditional Japanese ingredients, including miso. Made from fermented soybeans, miso paste comes in various shades, with the darker ones being stronger in flavor. This recipe calls for white miso (also called shiro-miso), which is sweeter and more delicate.

You might want to begin by baking one cookie to get the hang of folding before trying two at a time. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

When fresh wide rice noodles are stir-fried, they are called fun. Fresh rice noodles have to be pulled apart and fluffed before cooking.

Horenso No Goma Miso Ae Some miso varieties are quite salty, but the Saikyo shiro miso called for in this sauce has a sweet, caramel-like taste.

We topped these rolls with a combination of plain tobiko (flying-fish roe) as well as seasoned and wasabi-flavored tobiko and golden whitefish caviar. The specialty tobiko and caviar are available from the mail-order source given below.

This variation on the Chinese classic incorporates jícama, which retains the crisp texture of water chestnuts even when cooked.

The two-pronged cooking method used for these wings —incorporating both braising and deep-frying — is a takeoff on the Chinese technique of steaming, then frying. We think it keeps the meat unbelievably tender while getting the skin supercrispy. Be sure to allow 2 hours for the wings to marinate.

A vegetarian takeoff on the classic Chinese minced squab dish. Chopped raw vegetables, not fried noodles, add crunch.

A little pork goes a long way in this Chinese dinner. Chicken breast can be used as a substitute for the pork. Chinese crepes are available frozen in most Asian markets, but easy-to-find tortillas work, too.

"Recently, I had dinner at the super-romantic Shadowbrook Restaurant in nearby Capitola," writes Holly M. Sharps of Menlo Park, California. "To get to Shadowbrook, you have to take a cable car down a hill. The restaurant is on several levels and has spectacular views of the ocean — not to mention great food. The salmon was absolutely delicious." The sake- and soy-based ponzu sauce is traditionally a Japanese dipping sauce. Here, it’s used to baste the fish as it cooks.

Brewed green tea is a delicious, aromatic broth for scallops in this refined rendition of Japan's ochazuke, or "tea rice." The comforting soup-like dish evolved from using hot tea to rinse out rice bowls at the end of meals. Serve this as a light lunch or as an appetizer, followed by teriyaki-marinated chicken or salmon and some steamed Asian greens.