Quick

Plantains, a staple throughout much of Africa, are spiced up here to be served as a slightly sweet side dish. Warm, deeply satisfying, and quick, this is unusual and good even on weeknights. Best with West African, Caribbean (especially Lechon Asado, page 375), Mexican, and South American dishes. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: green bananas or potatoes, both of which will need longer cooking time.

Black cod, a Pacific fish also known as sable, is treasured in Japan (and at elite Japanese restaurants here) for its richness and slightly smoky flavor. With miso it is astonishingly delicious. (Mackerel is not the same but still very good.) Use white (it’s actually beige) miso if you can find it. As is common before cooking many types of fish in Japan, this is salted to firm up the flesh; you can skip this step if you prefer. This is not a super-saucy dish, but well-made short-grain rice (page 507) is still a good accompaniment, as would be any salad.

Many Japanese cooks treasure dark, oily, full-flavored fish and treat it with a simple dose of powerful seasonings and a simple cooking technique that might be called “pan-steaming.” If you think you don’t like mackerel, try it this way; it may change your mind. Serve this with short-grain white rice (page 507).

This is an ultraquick recipe, lightly sweet, and one that will work for any white fillet—even thick ones if you extend the cooking time slightly. I prefer very thin ones, though, because the sauce almost permeates them and the cooking time is so short. The soy glaze makes this a natural over white rice.

There were two things I couldn’t get enough of in Vietnam: crunchy lemongrass dishes and caramel sauce dishes. Here’s one of the latter, in which the caramel sauce—essentially melted sugar, which becomes oddly bitter while retaining its sticky sweetness as it browns—is used to poach the fish. Make sure you use lots of black pepper, which is one of the characteristic seasonings of Vietnam, and serve this unusual, delicious dish with Basic Long-Grain Rice (page 506). Information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla) is on page 500.

We’re accustomed to seeing shredded potatoes in hash browns or in the Eastern European pancakes commonly known as latkes. These are deliciously different. The easiest way to prepare the potatoes is with the shredding disk of a food processor, but you can also use the normal steel blade and pulse until they are chopped. Or, of course, you can grate them by hand. In any case, do not grate too finely. Serve with any stewed meat dish and not just Korean-flavored ones. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: you can substitute carrots or sweet potatoes for half of the white potatoes here.

I had been making meatless potato croquettes for years when I found that my favorite condiment (for these and many other fried foods) was soy sauce mixed with lemon—so imagine my self-satisfaction when I was served these at a Tokyo lunch counter with exactly that dipping sauce. I like to add curry powder, for both flavor and color, but it’s not essential. Substitute canned salmon or tuna for the meat if you like, but don’t cook it; simply toss it with the onion and seasonings after cooking the onion. The Japanese bread crumbs called panko are available at Japanese markets and many supermarkets. In Japan, these are almost always deep-fried; I find panfrying suffices, though of course you can deep-fry if you prefer. They’re usually served on a bed of plain shredded cabbage, sometimes as an appetizer, sometimes as a main course. You can make both mashed potatoes and the meat mixture in advance; you can also make the patties in advance and cover and refrigerate them for up to a day before cooking.

One of the most popular dishes in Parsi (Zoroastrian) cuisine and wonderful with basmati (or brown) rice, this is traditionally made with pomfret, a fish that is not always readily available here. Use pompano, if you can find it, or any fillets, from mackerel to sole. You can prepare the banana leaf packages up to 3 hours in advance—just cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

This dish is dead easy to make and will wow everyone you serve it to. Dried banana leaves are sold at many Asian food markets, and though they’re not likely to be the kind of thing you use every week, they are cheap and keep forever. For steaming Sticky Rice (page 508) or a dish like this, they are enormous fun and add a wonderful woody, smoky flavor. Furthermore, they seal in so much moisture that it’s difficult to overcook the fish this way. See page 500 for information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla).

The heat from the sauce—red because of the chiles—and the tartness of the tamarind give these otherwise mild fillets a wonderful kick. For sweet and spicy flavors, try the variation. The spice mixture can be made well ahead of time and this dish finished in just a few minutes. See page 500 for information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla). Serve with any simple rice dish.

An unusual combination of textures and flavors, but—like the eggplant and apple mixture on page 458—one that really works. Serve in combination with other Indian dishes or as an unusual side dish with Western food. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: for the eggplant, substitute cauliflower or thick slices of red or yellow bell pepper or a combination.

A real twist on American home fries, so good they can be eaten cold. Amchoor is dried mango powder, a supersour element; substitute lemon juice if you prefer. Amchoor powder is available at Indian markets. Serve these as you would any home fries. If you cook these in butter, they’ll be more authentic and more delicious. But oil is fine, too.

A glance at the ingredients might convince you this is an Italian dish. But this sweet-and-spicy concoction, laced with nam pla (see page 500 for information on this Thai fish sauce), could not be less Mediterranean in character. It’s great with fillets, but you can also make it with whole fish; see the variation.

This is closely related to the Tortilla (page 341) so frequently served as a tapa in Spain, but it’s simply potato and olive oil, kind of Spanish home fries. A little garlic is nice but not essential. Serve as you would any home fries. You can use all-purpose potatoes for this (like Yukon Gold) or red or white waxy potatoes, but don’t use baking potatoes, which will simply fall apart as they soften.

Bean curd sheets, which have a wonderful chewy texture and the mild flavor of tofu, are sold at Asian groceries, fresh (refrigerated) or dried. They are not difficult to handle; in fact they’re a lot of fun and create a wonderful crisp exterior that offsets the flaky, soy-marinated fish inside. If you cannot find them, substitute the rice paper sheets traditionally used for spring rolls (see the variation).

When you don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to braise a whole fish, try this simpler, faster version; the flavors are much the same. Serve this over rice.

The now-familiar gnocchi (preceding recipe) have gotten all the attention, but these—if a bit less elegant—are quite wonderful, considerably easier to handle, and far swifter to prepare. They are ideal alongside dishes like Sour Beef Stew with Horseradish (page 379).

A big potato pie, one of my grandmother’s favorites. She made this in a big cast-iron skillet, usually without butter, but it is better this way and can usually be made a couple of hours before eating; it remains quite crisp. Serve to a crowd, along with a stew or roast.

Unless you live in Alaska or know a good fishmonger in the Pacific Northwest, it’s almost impossible to buy Dungeness crab that has not already been cooked. That’s not a problem; they can still be steamed, as they are here. This is a subtle preparation, but Dungeness is so wonderful that’s all it takes. (You can use lobster if you prefer.)

About as far from the classic “American” mashed potatoes as you can get, these are equally rich (especially with the butter), but far more flavorful. They’re great with simple roasted meat or poultry but are not for the faint of heart.