Dinner

Build a sauce bulked up with jarred red peppers and green olives, then toss it with pasta and lots of mozzarella cheese that goes crisp on top and cheesy-pully in the middle in the oven.

Truly a one-pot wonder, this dish is homey, comforting, and weeknight-friendly (thanks to the minimal cleanup). Rinse your rice until the water runs clear before adding to keep the grains from going clumpy or gummy in the pot.

Paneer is perfect for this toasted sandwich recipe—the cheese is creamy but doesn’t melt completely, adding a satisfying texture to an easy tomato sauce that’s spiced with jalapeño, ginger, coriander, and cumin and mustard seeds. Searing the paneer leaves some bits a little crunchier than others while adding a smoky flavor to the sauce; Sach is my favorite brand. You can serve the sauce simply with flatbread or over rice or use it as the filling in enchiladas or tacos (topped with sautéed mushro.…

Spiced tomato sauce with bits of creamy paneer fills delicious stuffed peppers here, but it can also be served with flatbread, over quinoa, or in a quesadilla.

Starring crispy fried thigh meat dressed in a savory, citrus glaze, orange chicken is a Chinese American take-out staple well worth making at home.

Mild, flaky cod gets an ideal counterpart in this silky-creamy miso–butternut squash sauce. The sauce delivers plenty of flavor thanks to miso and ginger, topped with lemon, cilantro, and chili crisp. The cooking time will vary depending on the fish’s thickness, so keep an eye on it as it cooks; you will know it is done when the fish flakes easily at the push of a fork. 

This simple soup packs a lot of flavor thanks to miso and ginger in the base, plus punchy finishers like lemon juice, cilantro, and chili crisp.

This easy chunky guacamole recipe gets warmth from a dash of cumin and heat from fresh or pickled jalapeño.

This dressed eggplant is wonderful as an appetizer or a full meal on its own.

Braise tofu in an aromatic and spice-filled broth that’s used not just once but over and over again.

This delicious vegetable soup, called sayur lodeh in Indonesian, is popular in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Rendang is a slow-cooked dish that requires hours of stovetop nursing. It was only when I bought an Instant Pot that I even entertained the idea of making it myself.

This peppery turmeric soup is a meatless version of soto ayam, which is usually made with chicken. 

This Taiwanese classic gets its name from the generous amounts of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine it calls for.

Menudo is typically served on weekends (whether that means family reunions, dressed in your Sunday best—or as an ideal hangover cure). The earthiness of the hominy and smoky chiles makes this dish one you’ll crave for weekends to come. Dried snow mushrooms are easy to find online and at many East Asian grocery stores. Their frilly, honeycomb-like texture provides a similar look and bite to the pancita—a.k.a. beef stomach—used in traditional menudo, making this dish accessible to almost anyone. W.…