Chinese

While we preferred udon noodles, lo mein and even spaghetti are fine substitutes. A simple chili oil, made by infusing vegetable oil with red pepper flakes, can be adjusted to taste. To soften the bite of the scallion whites, we add them to the hot oil.

Don’t walk away while heating the oil. The sesame seeds can burn in an instant, and the red pepper flakes will blacken and become bitter. The seeds should be just turning golden, and the pepper should be pleasantly fragrant.

This traditional sweet is believed to have originated in Sichuan, where walnut trees from Persia were first planted in China. As with many Chinese foods, the walnut is imbued with symbolic meaning: it is believed to benefit the mind because the shelled nut looks like a brain lobe. Brain food or not, the walnut was a deliciously significant sweet long ago in Sichuan and western China. Reminiscent of halvah, mashed walnuts encased in a thin, flaky dough and covered with sugar syrup is a famed tea-time dish and just one of many Sichuan creations based on walnuts.

This popular restaurant bowl is easy to make at home but the technique is a little tricky. The finished soup should have pale yellow petals of barely set egg floating in a rich chicken broth. To achieve this, you have to wave chopsticks above the surface of the hot soup with one hand while you slowly pour in the eggs with the other - without overcooking the eggs. If you’re starting with commercially prepared chicken stock, enhance it by simmering it for 10 minutes with several slices of fresh ginger and scallions, both bruised slightly with the flat side of a broad knife.

In the western Yunnan province around Lake Erhai, the Bai people make this dish with fresh fava beans, write Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, who prefer to use soybeans.

At Rice Valley in Newton, cooks use silken tofu, which they steam with shreds of ginger and scallion. Then they bathe the cubes in hot soy sauce and chicken broth. You don’t need a wok or steamer. Use a deep 12-inch skillet and round cake rack. Serve with white or brown rice. 

This healthy side dish will add a whole lot of flavor to your next meal. Try it tonight with grilled fish, chicken or steak. 

Because of the high moisture content of tofu, it can go from a stir-fry to a braise in seconds. We also recommend salting and drying the tofu in paper towels so oil doesn't splatter during frying. 

Once you try this versatile stir-fry sauce it will become a staple in your weeknight dinner repertoire.