In the heat of summer, I often turn to dishes from Southeast Asia. Stir-fried noodles, cooked quickly with delicious morsels of pork or chicken, cool salads with shredded green mango, noodles tossed with sweet and spicy peanut sauce, and milky tea with pearls of boba tapioca — these are some of the most refreshing dishes in my repertoire. Here is a look back at 20 of our favorite summer recipes drawn from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and beyond. Spicy noodles to eat with a cold glass of beer, crispy salads, lemongrass bánh mì sandwiches, and more!
RICE & SIMPLE DINNERS
• 1 Sinangag (Filipino Garlic Fried Rice) - Start out simple with this basic supper dish from the Philippines.
• 2 Thai-Style Omelet (Kai Jeow) - Another quick basic: omelets, Thai-style.
• 3 Bánh Mì with Lemongrass Tofu - A classic Vietnamese sandwich!
• 4 Hainanese Chicken With Rice - A classic Singapore dish.
• 5 Vegetarian Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Crêpes) - A light, refreshing dinner.
NOODLES
• 6 Pad Thai from Mark Bittman - A review of Bittman's Pad Thai.
• 7 Spicy Glass Noodles with Crispy Pork (Yum Woon Sen) - Deliciously spicy noodles with crispy pork.
• 8 Vegetarian Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup) - A vegetarian take on the classic Vietnamese soup.
• 9 Cold(ish) Peanut Sesame Noodles - A simple Thai-inspired noodle dish.
SALADS & GREENS
• 10 Thai Grilled Steak Salad - With a punchy, tangy dressing.
• 11 Thai Stir-Fried Greens with Oyster Sauce - Stir-fried greens should be in everyone's weeknight rotation.
• 12 Goi Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Salad) - Refreshing and crisp with cabbage.
• 13 Bún Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Noodle Salad) - Can also be made with fish sauce for a more authentic (but non-vegetarian) flavor.
• 14 Thai Green Mango Salad - Tangy, salty, sour and slightly spicy.
DRINKS & DESSERTS
• 15 Rojak Salad - A sweet and spicy fruit salad that really satisfies.
• 16 How To Make Boba & Bubble Tea at Home - Love those slippery, chewy tapioca balls in tea? Here's how to make boba at home.
• 17 DIY Thai Iced Tea - Sweet and orange, the best iced drink to accompany Thai food.
• 18 Marking's Bibingka - Gluten-free chewy coconut dessert. Addictively good!
• 19 How To Make Thai Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice - Sticky rice with mango. One of my all-time favorite desserts.
• 20 Chè Bắp (Vietnamese Sweet Corn Pudding) - A sweet (and dairy-free) Vietnamese dessert.
What are your favorite Southeast Asian dishes? Noodles? Rice? Fresh salads?
(Images: See linked recipes for full image credits)
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For me, it's seafood dishes. South Asian cuisine is one of my favorite foods, and every time I order at restaurants or cook at home, I always end up with some kind of seafood dish...Yum. http://7th-taste.com/2011/09/11/vietnamese-style-pollock-with-ginger-liqueur/
bubble tea is Taiwanese. taiwan is part of east asia not south east asia.
Your list should have included Gado Gado, one of the great dishes of Indonesia. It is a salad composed of raw and lightly steamed veggies with a hot peanut sauce as a dressing. Great combinations usually have tofu, eggs, and potatoes.
I totally agree! For some reason I always find myself turning to the thinner rice and glass noodles in the summer. I crave the fresh, robust flavors this time of year too. I'm so glad to be able to add these to my repertoire!
Also, I had never even though about making my own Bubble Tea. Life. changed.
You forgot the grandaddy of all Filipino desserts - Halo-Halo!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577446411396686398.html
Also, some excellent main dishes from the Philippines:
Adobo - http://www.hapabento.com/2009/11/04/vegetarian-adobo-bento-box/
Pancit - http://pcij.org/i-report/1/pancit.html
I adore SE Asian food. Plus, they are definitely the ultimate summer cuisine. I mean, it's always summer in SE Asia...except when it rains.
I have lived in Thailand since 1998 and recently had a quite superb culinary experience at X2 Samui where they have created their very own brand of fusion pizza! Quite astonishing stuff, Pad Thai Pizza and similar, seriously Aloy Mak as they would say.