In countries like Thailand and Laos, meals include what might be the simplest salad of all: a plate of assorted raw vegetables and herbs. Unseasoned and dressing-free, this type of salad still satisfies, and is especially refreshing during the heat of summer. More

Some food and condiment pairings are so magical, it's almost not worth eating one without the other. French fries and ketchup comes to mind — and so does grilled chicken and Thai sweet chili sauce. More

How best to describe this steamed rice treat? Well, it's sticky! It's also chewy in the way that mochi is chewy. It's sweet with coconut milk and fragrant with something called pandan leaf essence. Never heard of pandan? Neither had we. More

Thai curry, how I love thee. You're spicy yet sweet. You're rich with coconut milk yet surprisingly light. You're full of enough vegetables that I can feel vaguely healthy eating you. And now I can make you at home. More

Whether I'm trying to put a late-night dinner on the table or cooking for one, a Thai-style omelet (kai jeow) is what I often turn to for an easy meal in minutes. Browned and crispy, it's quite different from a French omelet, especially thanks to the punch of umami from its essential ingredient: More

This weekend my husband and I had a chance to swing by our local Asian market. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they had recently undergone a makeover and were now able to carry new products that we hadn't had local access to before — including the smallest, stinkiest bottle ever to grace our pantry! More

We can get a little nutty when coconut is anywhere on the menu. It’s one of those ingredients that pops up again and again across all the various Asian cuisines (not to mention many others around the world!), and we love it in whatever form it takes. Just take a look at these recipes and tell us if you don’t agree. More

We've talked before about how tamarind is the "secret ingredient" in a lot of Asian cooking. A combination of sweet and sour, it just gives some dishes an extra "oomph" that they wouldn't have otherwise. Until I googled "tamarind soup recipes" I had no idea exactly how many kinds of tamarind soup there are! More

We’re suckers for pad thai and can slurp down a plate of these tangy-sweet noodles faster than you can squeeze a lime wedge. We’d love to master making this dish at home (thus ensuring a steady supply). If anyone can break down restaurant-quality pad thai into something a home cook can duplicate, it’s Mark Bittman. More

If you've ever visited an Asian grocery store, chances are you've found yourself in the produce section wondering what all those green leafy vegetables are, and how to cook them. Each vegetable has its own taste and texture; from the crunchy gai lan to the spicy, mustard-y gai choy. As with most greens, these can be steamed, stir-fried, stewed, braised, chopped and cooked in dumplings, and cooked in soups. In this post, I'll demystify some of them for you. More