Southeast Asian

Pork belly is ubiquitous throughout the Philippines; the fat is glorious and tastes great grilled. Getting a nice char on the fatty bits is important, as it adds another level of flavor to the salty-sour-tart-sweetness of the soy-calamansi marinade.

You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles. Note that this recipe can be adjusted as you like—try using different chiles or other spices like bay leaf.

Add these seasoned peanuts to your som tum.

These chicken and mushroom spring rolls are spiced with the sweet and salty flavors of kecap manis, the syrupy soy sauce for which Indonesia is famous.

These savory Indonesian cookies from cookbook author Lara Lee are perfectly buttery, crumbly, and cheesy. Make a big batch and enjoy them with coffee or tea all week long.

This roll can be filled with whatever you like: beef, pork, or vegetables. The combination in this recipe is my favorite.

This recipe is inspired by the grilled chicken served at Jeerapan, a 77-year-old restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. Their version is baked in a tandoor-like oven, but I've adapted it for a grill or oven. The two-stage cooking method is essential: The initial roasting at moderate heat partially cooks the meat while dehydrating the skin, getting it ready to crisp up later on and allowing all the scattered bits of fresh aromatics and dried spices in the marinade to adhere. The final stage of cooking is hot and fast, using saffron-infused coconut oil as a basting liquid. The end result is a juicy, fragrant, and intensely flavorful bird, tinted canary gold—its skin smoky, charred, and crisp. The pineapple-chile dipping sauce lends its sweet tang and a mild kick of heat to round out the meal.

This coconut rice recipe appears in Leela Punyaratabandhu's cookbook, Bangkok, as part of a meal that includes green papaya salad, sweet shredded beef, and chicken red curry.

Grated cassava takes the place of flour in this classic Filipino cake, which soaks up the rich coconut milk, and lends a sweet, nutty flavor and a sticky, chewy texture.

Green curry with chicken and eggplant from Chef Hong Thaimee.

Homemade green curry paste has more vivid flavor and aromatic intensity than store-bought, not to mention the freedom to control the spice level. Sopon Kosalanan of restaurant Khao King in, Queens says, “If you get it from a can, I don’t feel like it’s green curry. It doesn’t have the same aromas.” This is the recipe he makes in big batches for his restaurant every day.