Papaya

In this nutritious salad, papaya, red bell pepper, and cabbage provide vitamins A and C, while carrots contribute large amounts of beta carotene. Cilantro and mint supply flavonoids, and peanuts add vitamin E and selenium, all potent antioxidants.

You can serve this chunky salsa in seashells as an hors d’oeuvre with cocktails, but it would also be ideal as a dip for Fried Plantain Chips (recipe follows).

Not surprisingly—Vietnamese food is only occasionally hot—this isn’t as blistering as the vegetarian Thai version on page 174. You can buy Vietnamese chili garlic paste at any store selling Asian ingredients; it keeps nearly forever in the refrigerator. Fish sauces like nam pla and nuoc mam are discussed on page 500. Palm sugar is available at many Asian markets, but brown sugar is indistinguishable in flavor.

This fiery, strong northern Thai specialty (if it’s made correctly, you will really reek after eating it, but it’s worth it) has become one of the most popular dishes in Thailand and at Thai restaurants in the States. When I was in Bangkok, I could not walk down the streets or through the markets without at least a dozen offers of Som Tum from the vendors, and it was hard not to stop for a little dish with some grilled meat and sticky rice. You can usually find green, or unripe, papayas and yard-long beans (and the Thai fish sauce called nam pla) at Asian or Latin groceries, but you can also substitute Granny Smith apples for the papaya and Napa cabbage for the beans.

The best substitute for papaya here, believe it or not, is watermelon. Cantaloupe isn’t bad either. Serve this with any grilled meat, poultry, or fish.

This Southeast Asian–influenced dish is perfect for summer dining: it is light and refreshing, with tangy sweet-and-sour flavors. I love green papaya, an ingredient that has an appealing crunch and natural sweetness. Lemongrass, another one of my favorite Southeast Asian ingredients, adds a wonderful lemony fragrance. I cook with both at my restaurant.

When I was growing up, my mom would cut up fresh fruit and arrange it on a plate with a shot glass full of toothpicks. She would also toss fresh fruit with some orange or lime juice and sugar. Taking inspiration from her, I came up with my own version: lime, lemon, a little maple syrup, and an herb syrup with rosemary or mint.
Cut your fruit into chunks rather than into small pieces; I find that small pieces of fruit get mealy and mushy. Make the salad the morning you're going to serve it, but if you're determined to make it the night before, cut up the fruit, store it in separate containers, and then toss it together in the morning. Use whatever fruit you'd like (bananas, apples, berries—the possibilities are endless), but unless you're using the ripest, sweetest seasonal fruit, add a little sugar.

Simple grilled shrimp combined with papaya mustard becomes wondrous. The fabulous dipping sauce, which combines mustard powder for heat and Dijon-style mustard for complexity, is also wonderful over tuna, crab, or scallops. I like it on hot dogs too.

For this dish, I recommend using leftover chicken or a pre-roasted chicken from the supermarket.

This gorgeously scented, lush dessert radiates the tropics: As the guanabana—otherwise known as soursop—sherbet melts on the tongue, it releases notes of exotic fruits and flowers that are beautifully complemented by the other fresh fruits served with it.

Round out your dinner: Add 1/2 cup cooked wild rice, 1/2 cup steamed spinach; 3/4 cup cream of carrot soup.

A delicious recipe from the eat-right doc Sure, this dish is heavy on the fat, but it's the healthy omega-3 kind found in salmon, says leading health researcher Walter Willett, M.D. The recipe comes from his new book, Eat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical Guide to Healthy Eating (Simon & Schuster Source).

Kerabu Bok Kwa This fresh, zesty salad cuts through the richness of the heavier main courses. Sambal belacan is a classic Nonya dressing. We've reduced the amount from what would traditionally be used because belacan (shrimp paste) can be rather strong for those who aren't used to it. The paste has a salty fish taste and pungent smell (the odor dissipates once it's added to the dish), but it lends a dimension of flavor very characteristic of Nonya cuisine — were you to eliminate it, you wouldn't really be eating Nonya food. For a more authentic version, use 2 tablespoons belacan and 4 tablespoons lime juice.

The zombie cocktail was invented by Donn Beach in Los Angeles—a tiki drink so strong that drinkers at his Don the Beachcomber restaurant were limited to a maximum of two. 

Simply omit the ginger for a classic crème brûlée. A small blowtorch (made for the kitchen) is a useful gadget for caramelizing the sugar topping. You can also broil the custards until the sugar turns dark brown.

There is no oil in this most original salad.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Green papaya salad in all its regional variations - often flavored with pork, beef, or shrimp (as below)-is hugely popular throughout Southeast Asia. The dish is made from unripe Southeast Asian papayas, which have firm white flesh and white seeds. The current popularity of Vietnamese and Thai food in the United States has increased these papayas' availability, although it is still generally limited to Asian markets. Such papayas can grow to the size of cantaloupes or larger and range in shape from oval to round. Look for rock-hard dark green fruit without a trace of pink or yellow blush. If you don't see any, ask (some shopkeepers do not display them). Those who can't find the right kind of papaya might skip the salad or substitute seedless (European) cucumbers despite the repetition with the main course. Those who can find Southeast Asian green papayas will be treated to a salad that our food editors found irresistible.