Southeast Asian

(Tangy Soy Chicken)

There's something for everyone in this traditional specialty. Don't forget to soak the bamboo skewers before using them.

The seafood is cooked in lime juice and fish sauce, making this oil-free salad perfect for a low-fat lunch.

Called pho in Vietnam, this unusual soup is a wonderful party centerpiece dish for an informal gathering. Start out by supplying everyone with a large soup bowl and a ladle. Place the soup tureen in the middle of the table. Have each guest take a generous helping of noodles first, then some meat and broth. Each serving is topped off with shredded lettuce, sliced green onion and a squeeze of lemon juice.

"Thai is my favorite Asian cuisine, and the Thai noodles at Q, A Thai Bistro, here in Forest Hills just may be my favorite dish," writes Loren Kliegerman of Forest Hills, New York. "Any idea how it is prepared?"

Nasi goreng, which is Indonesian for fried rice, is a staple in Indonesia. It's delicious on its own for lunch or as a side dish for an Asian-style dinner.

Simple yet sumptuous desserts like this one — where readily available ingredients such as bananas or yams are cooked in sweet coconut milk — are a specialty of Malay cooking. The pudding is traditionally made with pearl sago and palm sugar.

At Aruns in Chicago, owner and chef Arun Sampanthavivat has come up with this fresh take on a traditional Thai recipe.

The combination of herbs, the rice noodles, and the garlicky lime sauce mark this pasta salad as Vietnamese.

The sweet potato and coconut milk balance the spiciness of this dish. Serve it over white rice, and dinner is ready.

Anywhere you go in Laos, you will find women patiently preparing papaya for this salad. Using a small machete-like knife, they make repeated shallow parallel cuts, each about 1/8 inch deep, in a section of the papaya. Then they scrape the papaya from top to bottom so they end up with very nice julienne. A food processor fitted with the julienne disk or a manual slicer such as a mandoline works equally well.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. We were intrigued by the flavored cooking oil, ginger soy sauce and curry paste we found in the Asian foods section of the market last year, and used them to lend flair to this quick dish. Steamed white rice is the ideal side. Use a melon baller to scoop papaya, mango and passion-fruit sorbets into pretty cups, and garnish with crisp ginger cookies.

This Vietnamese classic is usually made with top or bottom round beef, which is sliced and then marinated and grilled. We've adapted the recipe to use skirt or flank steak and made it easier by grilling the meat before slicing it.

(Stir-Fried Rice Noodles)

Glutinous rice is distinctively aromatic and appealingly chewy. Before being steamed, it requires at least 3 hours of soaking (overnight is fine, too).

Instead of ordering Thai takeout, whip up this easy classic. Serve with: Steamed jasmine rice and a cucumber and snow pea salad. Dessert: Sliced tropical fruits such as pineapple, kiwi, and mango.

You can make the salad with roast chicken if you prefer. Offer purchased sesame noodles as an accompaniment. For dessert, serve sugared sliced plums, topped with vanilla ice cream and chopped crystallized ginger. Look for the Thai fish sauce in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

Thai spicing brings new flavor to an avocado classic. Add more color by serving this in a large leaf of red cabbage.