Shellfish

Preparation time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes Sichuan cooking is popular throughout China, and in recent years, adventurous Chinese restaurant diners have discovered how delicious it can be. This is one of the best known dishes from that area.

Matt McMillan, Big Bowl's executive chef, threw together these items for his lunch one day. We ran it as a special the next week. It's simple and delicious.

Steve Silverman of South Burlington, Vermont, writes: "In my cooking I tend to be very quick and health-conscious. During the summer, my wife, Mary, and I usually grill chicken or fish and make salads. I'll use whatever fresh vegetables and ingredients I have on hand and come up with a wonderful meal for the two of us." To make this a substantial main course, add 1 1/4 pounds cooked shrimp.

There are two ways to get tender squid: a very quick sauté or a very long simmer. This simple yet impressive recipe uses the former method. We call for a Thai or serrano chile because they're easier to find here — try your local supermarket — than the small, thin Italian hot chiles. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 hr

These crab-stuffed mushrooms are a longtime favorite at Phillips. Tip: Use a melon baller to scoop out the mushroom stems.

Golden brown sugar brings out the natural sweetness of the shrimp.

The Mediterranean fish soup bourride is something like a bouillabaisse but has a consistency more like stew. Instead of putting the aïoli directly into the soup, as is traditional, Adams likes to dollop it onto toasts.

Squid can vary quite a bit in size. If you get lots of little squid (under 2 inches each, not including tentacles), they'll need less preparation. Larger ones need to be scored to stay tender.

The corn coulis also pairs nicely with pork tenderloin, shrimp, or grilled chicken. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

Japanese bread crumbs, called panko , give these cakes a light, crisp coating. Panko is sold at Asian markets and can often be found in the seafood section of large supermarkets. But if it's unavailable, plain dry bread crumbs are an acceptable substitute.

These hors d'oeuvres—a dressed-up version of shrimp toasts—are adapted from a recipe by Chinese cooking authority Nina Simonds, a longtime contributor to our pages.

Miso, a fermented soybean paste, can be found in Asian markets, specialty foods stores and in the Asian section of most supermarkets. It is usually sold in plastic tubs and has a long shelf life.

I'm not sure if shrimp is so popular because of its versatility or if it's the other way around. In any event, shrimp is one of America's favorite seafoods, so I was a bit surprised not to find a tradition of shrimp chowder anywhere in this country. The lion's share of chowders orignated in New England, but shrimp are only caught here in the winter, up in Maine. "Maine" shrimp (Borealus red shrimp) are small and delicate. They are good in a quick-cooked stew or pureed in a rich bisque, but they become very soft in the extended cooking time involved in making a chowder. In the Southern states, along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, big white shrimp are abundant, but they are traditionally cooked in gumbos and "muddles" (seafood stews). And I found no trace of an authentic shrimp chowder on the West Coast. So, starting with a clean slate, I was able to create a chowder that expressed what I think a shrimp chowder should be. The is a lovely creamy pink chowder with delicious fennel flavor.