Asian Recipes
806 recipes. Page 3 of 34
The Asian category gathers popular dishes from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and beyond. Curry, stir-fried noodles, mapo tofu, pad Thai, and pho are among the Asian favorites commonly enjoyed in Korean households.
Botan Nabe Wild Boar Hotpot
Botan nabe is a hotpot from Tanba Sasayama City in Hyogo. Thinly sliced wild boar loin, grilled tofu, napa cabbage, burdock, taro, konnyaku, mushrooms, and other vegetables simmer in dashi seasoned with equal amounts of red and white miso. One account traces it to around 1908, when troops stationed in the area put boar caught during training into miso soup or brought the meat to local inns for a miso hotpot. Inns later arranged the slices like peony petals, linking the presentation to the name botan. It is served mainly in winter, at New Year, and for guests, with ground sansho added at the table.
Jianbing (Chinese Savory Breakfast Crepe)
Jianbing is a northern Chinese street breakfast crepe assembled on a flat griddle within minutes. A thin batter of mung bean flour and wheat flour is spread into a wide circle, then an egg is cracked directly on top and smeared across the surface while still liquid. Chopped scallion is scattered over the egg before the crepe is flipped briefly to set the other side. Sweet bean sauce and chili sauce are brushed on, followed by fresh cilantro and a crispy fried wonton sheet that provides the signature crunch. The mung bean flour gives the batter a distinctive nutty flavor and slightly crisp edge that plain wheat flour cannot replicate. The whole assembly is folded into a neat rectangle meant to be eaten by hand. Timing is critical for the wonton cracker, which should be added last to prevent sogginess, creating a layered contrast of soft crepe, runny egg, sharp sauce, and shattering crunch.
Wariboshi Daikon Harihari-zuke
Wariboshi daikon harihari-zuke is a pickle from Miura in Kanagawa, combining thick split-dried daikon with kombu, dried squid, and chile in a sweet soy-vinegar brine. Miura families traditionally split winter daikon lengthwise into sixteen to twenty sections and sun-dried it for about two weeks. The thicker pieces keep a firm, crackling bite unlike finely shredded dried radish. For home handling, the vinegar brine is brought to a boil, cooled completely, and poured over commercial dried ingredients, with the container held at 4°C or colder throughout curing.
Azuki Batto (Wide Noodles in Sweet Red Bean Soup)
Azuki batto is a Sanriku Coast dish from Iwate. Wheat dough rests for 30 minutes, is rolled to 3mm, and cut into short wide noodles 8cm long and 8mm wide. The noodles are boiled separately, rinsed, then brought once to a boil in red bean soup sweetened with coarse crystal sugar. Batto is said to be a regional form of the word hoto. Large bowls were shared as farm snacks and at topping-out ceremonies, harvest-end celebrations, and winter gatherings, with an August 7 custom in some communities. Boiling noodles separately keeps the bean soup smooth and relatively clear; cooking them directly in it creates a thicker local variation.
Falafel Salad Bowl
A falafel salad bowl arranges crisp, herb-packed chickpea fritters over a bed of mixed greens or grains alongside chopped cucumber, tomato, red onion, and pickled vegetables. The falafel are made from soaked raw chickpeas blended with parsley, cilantro, cumin, and garlic, then fried or baked until the exterior turns deeply golden while the interior stays bright green and moist. A generous drizzle of tahini dressing ties the bowl together with its nutty, slightly bitter sesame character, and a squeeze of fresh lemon lifts the entire dish. Adding cooked quinoa, bulgur, or couscous underneath turns it into a filling one-bowl meal. Each bite moves between crispy falafel, crunchy raw vegetables, and creamy dressing, so no two forkfuls feel the same. Originating across the Middle East, falafel has become an internationally recognized symbol of plant-based cooking, and this bowl format balances protein and fiber in a well-rounded single serving.
Akashiyaki (Soft Egg-Dashi Octopus Dumplings)
Akashiyaki is an Akashi specialty made by thinning wheat flour and refined wheat starch with dashi, adding eggs, and cooking the loose batter around a piece of boiled octopus in a round copper pan. The tender dumplings are lifted into warm or cold kombu or bonito dipping broth rather than covered with thick sauce. Jin-ko, the purified wheat starch, does not firm as strongly when heated, and the high proportion of egg and stock produces a softer, moister result than takoyaki. Locals have long called the dish tamagoyaki. The name Akashiyaki spread more widely through city promotion. One origin story links it to Akashi-dama artificial coral ornaments made from the late Edo period onward: egg whites were used in their production, and leftover yolks may have been cooked with octopus caught just offshore.
Earl Grey Roll Cake (Tea-Infused Chiffon Cream Roll)
Earl Grey roll cake is a chiffon sponge sheet baked with finely ground tea leaves folded directly into the batter, then spread with lightly sweetened whipped cream and rolled into a tight spiral. The meringue folded into the batter gives the sponge enough structure to hold its shape while rolling without cracking, a balance that depends on not overworking the batter after the egg whites go in. The tea leaf particles embedded throughout the crumb release bergamot fragrance with every bite -- a different quality from flavoring the cream separately, because the heat of baking fixes the aroma into the sponge itself. The cream filling is deliberately understated in sweetness so it supports the tea flavor rather than competing with it, and the fat content keeps the crumb moist even after overnight refrigeration. The cross-section of a sliced roll shows a clean gradient of pale brown sponge against white cream, with the tea flecks visible throughout. Bergamot aroma peaks when the cake is slightly cool rather than cold, making it worth pulling from the refrigerator fifteen minutes before serving.
Brown Rice Buddha Bowl
Brown rice Buddha bowl builds on a base of cooked brown rice, with pan-seared tofu and an arrangement of broccoli, carrot, red cabbage, and avocado placed in separate sections across the bowl. Brown rice has a coarser texture and a more pronounced, nutty grain flavor than white rice, and the chew brings out a mild sweetness that increases the longer it is worked. The tofu is pressed dry before searing so the exterior crisps properly in the pan while the center stays soft, giving a dual texture that holds up under the weight of the toppings. A soy and sesame oil dressing pulls the disparate ingredients together under a single Asian flavor profile, and the avocado contributes creamy fat that smooths out the drier components like the grain and the seared tofu. Keeping each ingredient in its own section preserves the visual contrast and lets each one hold its texture; mixing is done at the table according to the eater preference. The bowl covers protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables in a single serving.
Stir-fried Bok Choy (Bok Choy with Garlic and Oyster Sauce Glaze)
Halved bok choy is stir-fried with sliced garlic over high heat for two minutes, then finished with oyster sauce and soy sauce in a one-minute reduction that glazes every leaf and stem. The thick white stalks need significantly more heat than the tender green leaves, so placing them cut-side down first or adding the leaves halfway through prevents the greens from wilting to mush while the stems remain undercooked. Oyster sauce lends a concentrated umami depth to the otherwise mild vegetable, and a splash of 40 milliliters of water helps the sauce flow between the tightly packed stems so seasoning reaches every layer rather than coating only the outer surfaces. Black pepper and sesame oil are added only after the pan leaves the flame so their volatile aromas stay intact on the plate. Bok choy continues releasing moisture after it is plated, so serving immediately is critical to preserving the contrast between crisp stalks and just-wilted leaves. Waiting even a few minutes allows the released liquid to dilute the sauce and soften the texture. At 105 calories per serving, this is a light side dish that still provides meaningful amounts of vitamin A and calcium. For a Sichuan-style variation, replacing a portion of the oyster sauce with doubanjiang adds a spicy, reddish character without requiring additional chili oil. The dish is common across East and Southeast Asian home kitchens under various names but the technique of separating stalk and leaf cook times is universal to cooking bok choy well.
Ude Manju Boiled Red Bean Buns
Ude manju is a Saitama bun made by scalding wheat flour with boiling water, wrapping the dough around sweet red bean paste, and boiling it in plenty of water instead of steaming. The buns are stirred gently so they do not stick to the pot, lifted as soon as they float, rinsed in cold water to remove the slippery surface starch, and fanned immediately for a glossy finish. The name is a local form of yude manju, meaning boiled manju. Made with fragrant newly harvested wheat, it was offered during the Bon festival and also prepared for equinox observances, farm occasions, festivals, and sharing with neighbors.
Bo La Lot (Vietnamese Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaves)
Bo la lot is a southern Vietnamese dish that transforms seasoned ground beef into something aromatic and layered through the medium of la lot, the wild betel leaf (Piper lolot) - a broad, heart-shaped leaf with a peppery, faintly medicinal fragrance found nowhere else in the Vietnamese herb repertoire. The beef is combined with lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and five-spice powder, then wrapped tightly in individual leaves and threaded onto skewers. Over a charcoal grill, the leaf edges char and turn crisp while the rendered fat from the beef migrates into the leaf's porous surface, bonding the meat's juices with the leaf's volatile aromatic oils. The resulting bite carries multiple simultaneous impressions: char smoke from the grill, pepper heat from the leaf, savory sweetness from the spiced beef, and a faint numbing tingle from the la lot's natural compounds. The standard way to eat it is wrapped in lettuce and rice paper with fresh herbs and a bowl of nuoc cham for dipping, and it functions as a staple snack at the casual outdoor beer halls known as bia hoi across Vietnam.
Soba Dojo Buckwheat Dough Hotpot
Soba dojo nabe is a winter hotpot from Kagamino in Okayama. Buckwheat flour is kneaded with egg and boiling water, then pinched off and rolled into long, thin pieces shaped like loaches before cooking in dashi with vegetables. Despite the name and shape, the dish contains no loach. Burdock, carrot, napa cabbage, pumpkin, shiitake, fried tofu, and chikuwa simmer together, and soy sauce, mirin, and sake season the broth once the dough is cooked. Passed down in a mountain area as warming cold-weather food, it serves the tender buckwheat pieces and vegetables together in their savory broth.
Jiriyaki Miso Wheat Pancake
Jiriyaki is a Gunma wheat pancake mixed with green onion and sakura shrimp, cooked thickly over low heat, cut into pieces, and coated in a ground perilla seed and miso sauce. It was especially familiar in farming communities within a prefecture with a strong culture of wheat dishes. Traditionally it cooked slowly with the residual heat of ashes in an irori hearth, and its name is said to come from the jiri-jiri sizzling sound. Farmers also ate it by hand during the 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. work breaks. A skillet or hot plate now takes the place of the hearth while preserving its compact snack form.
Yukina Fusube-zuke
Yukina fusube-zuke is an Okitama pickle from Yamagata that dips snow-grown yukina in boiling water three times for only three seconds each, then presses it with salt to release a mustard-like pungency. Fusuberu is a local word for briefly scalding. Raw yukina is slightly bitter, but controlled heat develops volatile isothiocyanate aroma. The vegetable is said to have been encouraged by Lord Uesugi Yozan to provide winter greens in deep snow, where bundled plants use their own leaves to grow pale flower stalks. The key is to stop just before it becomes a cooked green, seal tightly so the aroma does not escape, cure at 4°C or colder for three days, and finish within one week.
Banh Canh Cua (Vietnamese Thick Crab and Pork Noodle Soup)
Banh canh cua thickens pork stock with crab meat and tapioca starch, then cooks thick banh canh noodles and egg in the broth. Dissolve the tapioca starch completely in cold water and add it to the simmering stock in small portions. Stop when the broth lightly coats the back of a spoon. After adding the noodles, stir down to the bottom so the thick broth does not catch. Cook until the noodle surfaces turn translucent while the centers retain some chew. Pour in the beaten egg in a thin circle, wait 20 seconds, and stir into soft curds. Check the broth again before turning off the heat because it thickens as it sits.
Fattoush Salad (Crispy Pita & Sumac Veggie Salad)
Fattoush is a Levantine bread salad in which crisped pita chips are as important as the vegetables surrounding them, providing a textural anchor that elevates the dish beyond a simple green salad. Tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, and romaine are cut into generous pieces and tossed with a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, and ground sumac. Sumac brings a flavor that resists easy comparison - a tart, fruity sourness distinct from lemon and unrelated to vinegar - and its reddish hue stains the dressing a deep rose color that coats every surface. Added to lemon juice, sumac creates a layered acidity with more dimension than either ingredient alone. Pita chips must be added immediately before serving and eaten without delay, because the juicy vegetables and dressing begin softening them within minutes. The ideal bite captures both the residual crunch at the center of the chip and the moistened, flavor-soaked edge. Fresh mint and flat-leaf parsley contribute a clean herbal brightness that lifts the heavier elements of the dressing. Pomegranate seeds scattered over the top add bursts of sweet-tart juice and a jewel-like visual contrast that is characteristic of Levantine presentation.
Aloo Gobi (Indian Cauliflower Potato Curry)
Aloo gobi is the kind of North Indian dish that appears in both roadside dhabas along Punjab highways and home kitchens across Uttar Pradesh, eaten by people with very different relationships to food. It is a dry preparation - no gravy, no broth - just potatoes and cauliflower coated in cumin, turmeric, and chili powder that forms a thin spice crust as the vegetables cook. Cumin seeds go into hot oil first, blooming their fragrance before the vegetables are added and turned to coat them evenly in the spiced fat. The lid goes on, trapping steam to cook the interiors while the base stays dry enough for browning to develop. Flipping once or twice is enough - too much movement breaks the crust and stews the vegetables instead of roasting them. The result: cauliflower edges that carry a faint char and a nutty depth, potato cubes that hold their structure with a floury, tender interior. Roti or plain steamed rice are the natural companions, and the spice notes actually sharpen as the dish cools, which makes it equally good packed for lunch the next day.
Ensaymada Cheese Bread (Filipino Sweet Cheese Brioche)
Ensaymada is a Filipino sweet brioche descended from the Spanish ensaimada of Mallorca, transformed over centuries into something entirely its own. The dough is enriched with a generous amount of eggs and butter, kneaded until it pulls away from the bowl in smooth, elastic sheets, then given a long rise that results in a pillowy interior with a cotton-like, pull-apart crumb. After baking, the buns are brushed with softened butter while still warm, rolled in granulated sugar, and blanketed in a thick layer of grated cheddar or Edam cheese. The contrast between the sweet, buttery bread and the salty aged cheese is not incidental but central to the character of ensaymada, reflecting a Filipino fondness for pairing sweet and savory within a single bite. Bakeries across the Philippines produce them in enormous quantities during the Christmas season, when they are given as gifts and served at holiday gatherings, though they appear on breakfast tables year-round alongside thick hot chocolate or coffee.
Tokushima Sobagome Zosui
Tokushima sobagome zosui is a buckwheat-grain soup from the mountainous Iya region. Instead of grinding buckwheat into flour or noodles, hulled whole groats called sobagome are boiled separately, rinsed, and added to a niboshi and shiitake broth with chicken, carrot, konjac, chikuwa, and scallion. Tradition connects the dish with Heike people who reached Iya and adopted fast-growing buckwheat where rice was difficult to cultivate. The groats swell to about four times their dry weight after 10 to 15 minutes of boiling. Adding them only after the broth is seasoned preserves their distinct tender, bead-like bite. At New Year, mountain vegetables or wild bird once made it a feast.
Chi-irichi (Okinawan Pork Blood Stir-Braise)
Chi-irichi requires sealed, refrigerated, pasteurized pig blood sold specifically as food for cooking. Keep 200 g of it at 4°C or below until use, separate its board and knife from other foods, and never substitute blood collected at home. Boil 100 g pork belly whole for 15 minutes, cut it into 5 mm strips, and simmer it for 4 minutes over medium heat with 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 0.5 tablespoon sake. Boil 50 g dried shredded daikon for 8 minutes, rinse, squeeze firmly, and cut it to 3 cm. Slice 20 g kamaboko into 4 mm strips. Blend the blood with 1 tablespoon red miso for 20 seconds until smooth, then coat every strand of daikon with the mixture. Melt 2 tablespoons lard in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the blood and daikon and work it continuously with several chopsticks for 6 minutes, breaking it into brown crumbs until no red liquid remains. Add the seasoned pork with its cooking liquid and 200 ml pork stock. Stir-braise for 10 minutes over medium heat, add the kamaboko, and continue for 2 minutes. Verify that the center reaches at least 74°C, then finish with 0.25 teaspoon salt and 0.5 teaspoon Okinawan long pepper. Refrigerate any finished food within 2 hours.
Botamochi (Rice Cakes Coated with Red Bean Paste)
Botamochi combines partly pounded glutinous and regular rice with a complete outer layer of smooth, sweetened red bean paste. Mix 150g glutinous rice and 300g regular rice, rinse until the water runs clear, and soak the grains in cold water for 1 hour. Drain for 15 minutes, cook with 3 cups water on a standard rice-cooker cycle, and leave the closed cooker for a 10-minute rest. Move the hot rice to a pounding bowl. Wet the pestle or spatula and work only until about half the grains have broken down. Keep the remaining grains visible, dampen your hands, and shape 30 small ovals of about 30g each. For the coating, dissolve 240g sugar in 160ml water over medium-low heat in a heavy pan. Add 400g unsweetened smooth red bean paste in two portions and stir continuously with a wooden spatula. Draw the spatula across the bottom: when the path stays visible for about 1 second, mix in 0.125 teaspoon salt and stop cooking. The paste firms as it cools, so take it off the heat before it becomes stiff and cool it completely. Divide the cold paste into 30 portions on plastic wrap or a damp cloth and flatten each into a thin oval. Place one rice oval in the center, pull the paste up around every side, and set the joined edge underneath. Use a long spatula because hot bean paste can spit during reduction. The rice center remains very sticky, so cut the finished cakes into small bites and chew slowly, especially when serving children or older adults.
Gobo Maki (Burdock Wrapped in Eso Fish Skin)
Gobo maki is a grilled seafood preparation from Hagi City in Yamaguchi Prefecture, traditionally served at festivals, for guests, and in cherry-blossom viewing lunches. It uses the skin separated from eso fish during local kamaboko production rather than wrapping the burdock in fish paste. The skin is soaked overnight in a concentrated sweet and savory sauce of soy sauce, mirin, cooking sake, and sugar. A burdock root cut to 15 to 20 cm is threaded onto a metal skewer, then wrapped one sheet at a time with the marinated skin. The skewer is turned continuously over the heat so the skin cooks evenly and the sauce darkens without burning in one place. It is ready when the outside is fully cooked and browned with light char marks. After a short rest, the skewer is removed and the roll is sliced to show the burdock center.
Somage (Buckwheat Dumpling Soup)
Somage is a mountain dish from Shiiba Village in northern Miyazaki, made by cooking buckwheat flour into dumpling-like masses in dried sardine broth with vegetables. Although its name joins soma, meaning buckwheat, with ge, meaning porridge, the Shiiba version resembles a vegetable soup containing rustic buckwheat dumplings rather than a loose grain porridge. Shredded daikon, carrot, green onion, and leafy greens simmer in broth seasoned with soy sauce and salt before the flour is stirred in and cooked through. It once replaced rice on cold days, and any portion that hardened after cooling could be cut into small pieces and toasted over a hearth.
Monjayaki
Monjayaki is a Tokyo griddle dish closely associated with Tsukishima, made from a very loose flour batter and finely cut cabbage. Cabbage, dried squid, tenkasu, and dried shrimp are fried first and shaped into a ring that holds the Worcestershire-seasoned liquid in its center. Once the batter bubbles and begins to thicken, everything is mixed, spread thinly, and left until the underside starts to brown. It is not flipped into a firm pancake. Diners scrape the soft mixture from the edge with small spatulas, pressing each bite against the hot plate to form a toasted surface.
About Asian
Each country brings its own signature spices and sauces, so even the same ingredients can produce completely different flavors. With a few key pantry items - coconut milk, fish sauce, curry powder, doubanjiang - you can recreate the tastes of Asia at home.