Asian Recipes

More on Asian

• How to cook tofuThe big tofu guide: which type for what, how to press and marinate it, and how to finally get it crispy.

• Which Asian recipes are quick?+

  Most of the pan dishes here are done in 20 to 30 minutes, because the vegetables are cut small and cooked only briefly. The fastest is a vegetable stir-fry with tempeh or tofu, with rice or noodles alongside. Every recipe gives its real cooking time at the top of the card.

• Are these Asian recipes vegan?+

  Most of them are fully plant-based. A few list honey as an alternative to maple syrup, which is why they carry the vegetarian label; cook them with maple syrup and they are vegan too. Asian cooking barely uses dairy anyway, and meat or fish swap out well for tofu, tempeh or mushrooms. Every recipe shows its diet right on the card.

• What ingredients do I need for Asian cooking?+

  Five staples get you a long way: soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, coconut milk and a curry paste. Add fresh ginger, garlic and spring onions. All of it keeps well, and most of the recipes here need nothing beyond that.

• What kinds of Asian noodles are there?+

  Buckwheat soba are nutty and are often eaten cold, udon are thick and soft, and mie noodles are thin and made for the pan. Rice noodles and glass noodles are naturally gluten-free and usually need nothing but hot water instead of a boil.

• What replaces fish sauce in vegan recipes?+

  A mix of light soy sauce with a little pickled seaweed or nori gets very close to that salty, savoury note. Miso paste, or a squeeze of lime with soy sauce, works well too. The recipes here always give the plant-based version.

• Which Asian recipe is best for beginners?+

  Start with a vegetable stir-fry or a coconut soup. Both forgive almost anything, the order of steps never changes, and they taste right on the first try. Dumplings and summer rolls take more practice.

• Which Asian dishes do kids like?+

  Mild coconut soups, noodles in a slightly sweet sauce, and anything everyone assembles themselves go down best in our house. The heat can be left out of almost every recipe and put on the table separately.

• Do I need a wok?+

  No. On a normal stovetop a large, heavy skillet gets hotter than a round wok, because more of it touches the burner. What matters is that the pan is properly hot and not overcrowded.