By Ali Slagle — This weeknight meal is silky, slurpable and so quick to pull off. It follows the tradition of wafu or Japanese-style pasta, and combines brown butter, udon and spinach, but the classic combination of savory sauce, chewy noodle and green vegetable allows plenty of room for improvisation. Instead of soy sauce, you can add umami with Parmesan, miso, seaweed or mushrooms. Instead of black pepper for heat, grab ginger or chile flakes, oil or paste. For more protein, boil eggs or shelled edamame in the water before the udon, or add tinned mackerel or fresh yuba along with the sesame seeds. Udon noodles, found fresh, frozen or shelf-stable, are singularly bouncy and thick; if you can’t find them, use the thinner, dried style that resembles linguine.

by Vivian Chan-Tam In 1987, chef Andy Kao and Andrew Cherng, a founder and chairman of Panda Express, developed orange chicken, a dish of fried chicken pieces coated in a sticky citrus sauce. The top-selling dish was inspired by a Taiwanese fried chicken dish, a Sichuan beef stir-fry with dried tangerine peels and the sweet-and-sour flavors popular in the Jiangsu region of China. In this version, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are coated in cornstarch, deep-fried until crisp, then tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce made with fresh orange juice. Adjust the heat to your preference with crushed red pepper, and serve over a bed of fluffy jasmine rice.

Sprinkle the warm rice mixture with sushi vinegar just before topping with chicken. It’s a flavor explosion!

By Zainab Shah — 21 March 2024 Broccoli florets are simmered in coconut milk and almond butter then topped with slivered almonds, resulting in a nutty, luxurious main or side in just 30 minutes. Malabar pepper, grown and commonly used in the south of India, has a delicate lingering heat. (You could use another black pepper, but if the former is an option, try it.) Garam masala dials up the spice and an onion provides subtle sweetness. Serve with rice or roti.

By Kay Chun Yakisoba is a Japanese stir-fried noodle dish with a rich Worcestershire-flavored sauce. This veggie-packed version combines carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms and kale for a fun mix of textures and flavors. The key in this dish is to sauté the yakisoba noodles first, creating a dryer, firmer noodle that won’t fall apart in the sauce. The tangy-sweet sauce consists mainly of pantry condiments and can be made the day before. Leftovers can be enjoyed the traditional street food way: reheated and served in buttered hot dog buns topped with Japanese mayo and pickled ginger.