Preserved mustard root like this (often labeled "Sichuan Preserved Vegetable") can be found in cans or jars in your Chinese market. Once opened, they'll last for months in a sealed container in the fridge. You don't need much to add big flavor to dishes.

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?

The second great thing about making dan dan noodles—it's an exceedingly simple dish to make. Once you've put together your roasted chile vinaigrette (which holds for months in the fridge, by the way), it's just a matter of cooking your noodles, frying your chopped pork, and throwing everything together.

Brush watermelon wedges with a mixture of honey, lime juice, and cayenne pepper, then grill quickly, just till the wedges show grill marks. It's so simple and such a creative way to enjoy the most summery of fruits, the juicy watermelon.

Remember that article Mark Bittman wrote for the New York Times a few years ago recommending that we flip the script on pasta, and serve it with a ton more sauce? I like to think of this dish in a similar way, though instead of extra sauce, it's extra veggies. While stir-fried lo mein is typically noodles with some vegetables for flavor and color, this version comes out with veggies and noodles in almost equal proportions. That means it's packed with more flavor, in this case cabbage charred until sweet, along with meaty shiitake mushrooms, and big stalks of chives.

Wipe out wok. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and heat over high heat until smoking. Add noodles and cook, tossing and stirring, until hot. Add cabbage, mushrooms, chives, and minced garlic. Cook, tossing, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Want to make your pasta and stir-fried healthier? Just reverse the ratios, packing in more vegetables and sauce, using noodles and grain-based foods as a garnish. This version uses bok choy and chives in a fermented black bean sauce with just a few chow fun noodles.

Like Shao's Lo Mein with Beef and Broccoli , the noodles here are first blanched in hot water. Even though lo mien typically comes pre-cooked, this step will help soften them back up and separate the noodles so they don't clump or break when you stir-fry them.

The first great thing about making dan dan noodles at home is that you can customize it however you'd like. Personally, I like the chile oil of the Sichuan version, but I also love adding crushed roasted peanuts to the top. Who's to stop me? Some hardcore versions of the dish have the noodles quite literally swimming in a bowlful of chile oil. I like my oil to coat the noodles and pool up a bit in the bottom of the bowl.

Beets and citrus are a classic combination. This salad combines grapefruit, orange, roasted beets, and bit of arugula for some peppery kick. Nuts, in this case pine, go great with beets, and a vinaigrette made with sherry vinegar, shallots, walnut oil, and a touch of agave nectar sweetens the whole thing.

When the mercury rises, do you need to forgo spicy foods? Fortunately, the answer is "no.' Spicy foods can make you sweat , and your body cools as sweat evaporates from your skin. So if you're craving noodle food culture|Https://noodleinsight.com/ with some heat when the thermometer reads 100°, go ahead and set your mouth on fire with one of these 15 dishes. They may bring the heat to your mouth, but they won't bring the heat to your kitchen—none of them require turning on the oven.

Smoked low and slow on the grill, this chicken marinated with Scotch bonnet peppers puréed with other fresh aromatics and spices tastes incredible. It's an 11 1/2-hour process (about 10 of those hours are hands-off while the chicken marinates), but the flavor is beyond worth the effort.

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.

Transfer noodles to serving bowl and 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.

"Riesling with some fruitiness and a bit of age pairs nicely with heavy and complexly spiced Chinese sauces. Riesling from older vintages can be hard to come by at an everyday wine store, but they do make appearances from time to time. Stock up when you see a nice Riesling with age and save it for a rainy Chinese takeout day! I did this with a Riesling Spatlese from Mosel, Germany 1997 for less than $20 that I found at my neighborhood wine store and enjoyed it with a few savory, dark-sauced Chinese dishes—the flavors balanced each other perfectly. Additional choices from the other side of the Rhine River are Alsatian Pinot Gris, Muscat, Riesling and Gewurztraminer—these all contain a lot of complex spice notes, and occasionally a touch of residual sugar, which allow them to work with Chinese food."— Caleb Ganzer, Eleven Madison Park (NYC)