Making excellent tomato soup from scratch at home is almost as easy as opening a can, and the return on your minor time investment is significant. This version is sort of like a hot gazpacho, in that it's emulsified with bread and olive oil.

One of the problems with ordering dan dan noodles at a Chinese restaurant is that you never know exactly what you'll get. Are they gonna deliver the hardcore Sichuan version swimming in red-hot chile oil and laced with pickled zha cai (mustard root) and mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns? Or can you expect the equally delicious but totally different Chinese-American version with more pork, a vinegary soy-based sauce, perhaps some greens, and a sprinkling of peanuts?

To Finish : Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain. While noodles are cooking, heat oil in a wok or a small skillet over high heat until smoking. Add pork and preserved vegetable and cook, stirring and shaking constantly, using a spatula or a spoon to break up pork until cooked through, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Return pot of water to a hard boil and add noodles. Cook, stirring regularly to prevent noodles from sticking to each other or the bottom, until barely cooked through with a springy bite, about 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of cooking liquid. Add cooking liquid to bowl with sauce and stir to combine.

Leafy greens like bok choy, gai lan, and Chinese spinach have a fresh, vegetal flavor that can easily be overshadowed. Cooking them quickly and simply is the best way to preserve that flavor—here, we use a handful of aromatics and subtle seasonings to highlight the bok choy.

Traditionally served for Lunar New Year, Buddha's Delight is a vegetarian stir-fry packed with flavorful, filling ingredients. It contains plenty of veggies, but also soy- and wheat-based components that give it extra heft: tofu puffs, bean curd sticks, and Chinese braised gluten. If you don't live near a good Asian grocery, some of those might be less accessible, but you can find them all online.

Making the sauce for dan dan noodles is exceedingly simple once you've got the basic ingredients in your pantry. It's just a matter of mixing them in the right proportions. Soy sauce forms the base, while Chinkiang black vinegar lends its characteristic acidity—it has a sweet, almost balsamic vinegar-esque aroma to it, though not quite as syrupy as that. Fermented broad bean chili paste comes in many forms throughout China or can be purchased online. Chili oil is a given, and while it's best (and remarkably easy!) to make at home, there are a number of good options available at any decent Chinese market. Look for the kind which has actual chile, garlic, and ginger debris in the bottom of the jar, not the completely clear kind you see in easy-pour bottles. That debris is where the magic is at.

Once grilled, hearts of palm take on a deeply nutty, sweet flavor that's almost like charred corn; marinate them beforehand and you add an herbaceous flavor note to the filling. Alongside a crunchy, spicy cabbage slaw and salsa verde , this is a dish that will satisfy whenever the taco craving strikes.

Transfer noodles to serving bowl and Highly recommended Reading top with pork mixture. Stir vinaigrette and spoon over and around the noodles (you may not want to use all of it). Sprinkle with roasted peanuts, Sichuan peppercorn, grated garlic, and scallion greens. Serve immediately.

The problem with so many steam-table iterations of this dish lies in the broccoli: It's too often mushy and bland. To keep it crisp and flavorful here, and get a good sear on the strips of beef without overcooking them, we stir-fry the ingredients over very high heat, using a wok or a wok insert over a grill.

Heat reserved 1 tablespoon of mushroom oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add chopped Sichuan vegetables, fried mushrooms, and garlic. Cook, stirring and tossing constantly until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add Shaoxing wine and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to bowl with sauce.

The key to the garlicky flavor in this fried rice is infusing the oil used to fry the rice with garlic beforehand, then straining out the garlic bits and adding them to the rice at the end. This prevents the garlic from burning and leaving behind a bitter taste. The intense garlic flavor of this fried rice makes it the perfect accompaniment to savory and saucy dishes like Filipino-style chicken adobo .

Chinkiang vinegar is a black vinegar that can be found in most Chinese grocers or online. When shopping for chili oil, look for a brand that contains chile sediment in the bottle, such as the Chiu Chow Chili Oil from Lee Kum Kee, or make your own. Fermented chili broad bean paste can be found in most Chinese grocers or online. Either preserved Sichuan mustard root (zhacai) or stems (yacai) can be used for this recipe. They are available in many Asian grocers in either bulk sections or canned, or online. Shaoxing wine can be found in most supermarkets. If unavailable, use dry sherry in its place.