Broad Bean Mash with Pickled Cabbage
Chinese Cabbage in Dashi Broth (Hakusai Nibitashi)
Braised Kaofu with Mushrooms, Wood Ears and Bamboo Shoots
Preserved Sausage Sandpot Rice
Wok-Fried Vermicelli with Mushrooms and Bean Sprouts
Malaysian Spicy Pan Mee Noodles
Original Shanghai Tan Tan Noodles
Sautéed Beef Hor Fan with Prawns, Bean Sprouts and XO Sauce
Noodles with Kimchi in Dried Anchovy Broth
ACROSS NORTH America, Asian greens such as gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and bok choy are now as easy to find as eggplants and shiitake mushrooms. Vegetables and starches are an essential complement to the seafood and meat dishes at any Asian meal, and vegetarianism is common in India and Taiwan and among Buddhists throughout Asia. Simply blanching or stir-frying vegetables is by far the most popular way to enjoy them: try the Mango Pepper Potatoes, which combines fruit and vegetables, or the Broad Bean Mash with Pickled Cabbage, which pairs two vegetables—one crunchy, one soft.
No meal is complete without a bowl of steamed rice, a tangle of noodles or a freshly baked flatbread to soak up sauces, temper fiery spices and add bulk to various dishes. Every region and culture has its own noodles made from starchy grains, roots, beans and legumes that are milled, mixed with water and sliced or pulled into long strands. Noodles are a must for Chinese birthday meals, since they symbolize longevity. Try them stir-fried with seafood and vegetables in Pad Thai or added to soups like Original Shanghai Tan Tan Noodles.
Rice—long- or short-grained, fragrant or wild—is stuffed into bamboo tubes and cooked over open fires in Malaysia, wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed in Thailand and China, baked with milk, sugar and spices in India. Sample the traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice, which is popular in Singapore and Malaysia, and Preserved Sausage Sandpot Rice, a mix of savoury meats cooked in a clay pot with a layer of slightly crunchy rice.