Dinner
8856 recipes found
Lemongrass Chicken
Defined by the bright, citrusy flavor of fresh lemongrass, this 30-minute Vietnamese chicken dish is further complemented by punchy black pepper, spicy red chile, salty fish sauce and a dash of sugar for sweetness. The recipe builds intense flavor in minimal time, so using boneless chicken thighs is ideal because they’ll stay moist throughout cooking. This recipe is adapted from a dish by Vicky Pham, a blogger who writes about Vietnamese home-cooking dishes that aren’t typically found in Vietnamese restaurants in the United States. “I wanted to replicate those recipes with precise measurements instead of relying on the traditional ‘pinch of this’ and ‘just add enough until it tastes right’ so that one day my kids wouldn’t have too much trouble replicating their favorite childhood dishes,” Ms. Pham said. She whittled this dish down to three simple steps: Sear the chicken until golden, push it aside to make room to bloom the lemongrass, garlic, shallot and chile, then toss with fish sauce and sugar until caramelized. Spicy, salty and sweet, this dish is deeply satisfying served simply with a bowl of rice.
Hand-Pulled Noodles
The pleasantly chewy texture of these long Chinese noodles is part of the allure, as is the artful practice of delicately pulling the fresh wheat dough to create the strands. Hand-pulling noodles, or la mian, is a technique that has been passed from generation to generation, and the results cannot be replicated with a machine. With just bread flour, water and salt, a streamlined recipe, and a little patience, you really can make these fresh noodles at home. Using a high-gluten flour like bread flour, and allowing an ample amount of rest time, will make the dough easier to pull. Once cooked, these springy noodles can be served in a simple broth accompanied by fresh vegetables and topped with a tongue tingling chile crisp.
French Dip Sandwiches
A classic French dip sandwich traditionally starts with high-heat roasting or slow-simmering a sirloin or ribeye loin in aromatics for several hours. For a quicker version that is no less delicious, use premium deli roast beef. A simple jus, or gravy, made of beef broth, soy sauce and Worcestershire seasoned with onions, garlic and thyme, is served alongside for dipping so you can enjoy this classic any day of the week. The jus can be made up to four days ahead; refrigerate in an airtight container and rewarm on a warm stove.
Hot and Sour Soup
Rich with pork, silky with tofu, punchy with rice vinegar, and spicy with both red and white pepper, this comforting soup is a Chinese classic. Hot and sour soup has been around for centuries in China, eventually making its way to the United States where it was tweaked for American palates (less sour and spicy) and became a popular staple at Chinese-American restaurants. Variations of the dish abound, mostly dependent upon the protein used: Pork is most common, but lamb, beef, chicken and vegetarian versions also exist. Cornstarch is essential to the recipe as it provides the soup’s velvety texture. (Just note that the soup can thicken as it cools.) Adjust the pepper and vinegar amounts to your preference.
Black Pepper and Onion Spaghetti
This rendition of Florentine spaghetti with red onions is so superlative, it has remained on the menu at Locanda Vini e Olii since the restaurant opened in Brooklyn in 2001. Michele Baldacci, the chef and co-owner, recommends a mixture of white and red onions for a more delicate, saucy result, and cooking them in a covered pot so they slowly braise in olive oil and their own juices. The sweetness of the onions is accented by tarragon and black pepper, plus optional grated cheese (which can be omitted for vegan diners). “We never add anything [else], we’re boring,” Mr. Baldacci said, but reckons livers would be delicious.
Hot Pot
Featuring a steaming pot of savory broth surrounded by platters of meats, seafood and vegetables, Chinese-style hot pot is a fun, interactive dining experience meant to be shared with friends and family. The practice likely began during the Song dynasty (960-1279), when cooking food in a communal copper pot became popular among nobility, but nowadays, a large metal pot — or double-sided pot if you want both a spicy and a mild broth — perched atop a portable burner is used so everything can be cooked at the table. Diners choose their ingredients, dip them into the bubbling soup, then into accompanying sauces. When it comes to ingredients, the more the merrier: All of the amounts below are just suggestions, so mix and match until you have a variety that makes you happy. For a vegetarian hot pot, double up on the tofu or bean curd and vegetables. The soup base and ingredients vary by region: Sichuan-style hot pot, for example, is famous for its numbingly spicy red broth spiked with Sichuan peppercorns, the Cantonese version is loaded with seafood, and Beijing-style is made with mutton. (Here’s everything you need to make hot pot at home.)
Ginger Scallion Chicken and Rice
Hainanese chicken rice, most likely originating from the island of Hainan off the coast of southern China, is a beloved dish of silky poached whole chicken and gingery rice cooked with the bird’s cooking broth and rendered fat. This streamlined version simmers the two together in a single pot to make it a meal fast enough for weeknights. With endless variations throughout the world, most notably in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, one constant is dipping sauces for the meat. There’s often three: ginger-scallion or ginger-garlic sauce, sweetened dark soy and red chile sauce. Here, hot oil is poured over minced ginger and scallions to create an aromatic blend that brings a warming edge to the comforting rice and meat. The slick of oil that remains is used to quickly stir-fry vegetables to turn this into a complete meal. Any leftover sauce is great over fish, tofu, eggs and noodles.
Crispy Sour Cream and Onion Wings
These crisp, flavorful wings have all the goodness of classic sour cream and onion potato chips — including leaving your fingers caked with tasty seasoning. The creamy, tangy dipping sauce is a perfect foil for the crackly skin and can be doubled to use as a dip for crudités or chips. It’s a common misconception that crunchy chicken wings can be obtained only by deep-frying, but this recipe subverts that notion with the use of a pantry ingredient: baking powder. Using baking powder helps with browning and results in all the crackle with none of the hassle. For best results, avoid using expired baking powder.
Sausage Smash Burgers
The delightful characteristics of a beef smash burger — thin, quick-cooking patties with a superbly caramelized ragged edge — are applied here to Italian-style sausage. (The stress relief from smashing food is yet another smash burger perk.) Mayo smeared on soft brioche buns along with a tangle of sautéed sweet peppers and onions top the patties, making this a bit like the sausage and peppers of the burger world. Optional oregano adds a fresh herbal accent. Each bite is savory, rich, sweet and smashingly craveable. These sandwiches are delicious all by themselves, but if you’d like a side, serve with a green salad or French fries.
Double Celery Salad
This dish employs two kinds of celery: the tender hearts of branch celery and so-called knob celery, also known as celery root or celeriac. It’s a nice salad in winter, for a change of pace. A bed of spicy watercress, arugula or mizuna lends even more of a green hue to this dish.
Mussels in Spicy Green Broth
Steaming a pot of mussels couldn’t be easier for a quick, satisfying meal. Cooked simply with garlic, shallots and white wine, they produce a delicious broth. For a version with more oomph, stir in this spicy butter and a squeeze of lime.
The Commerce Inn Patty Melt
Patty melts have very few components: sliced bread, beef patties, caramelized onions and cheese. Vary them slightly and it’s possible the sandwich you end up with won’t be a patty melt anymore. Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, the chefs and owners of The Commerce Inn in New York City, put Dijon mayonnaise inside their patty melts, and it works. The mayo makes the sandwich juicier, the mustard helps cut through the fat, and the result is still, undeniably, a patty melt.
Microwave Salmon
This easy approach to poached salmon turns out buttery, flawless fish. The trick to getting domino-fall flakes of salmon? Microwave it in a simple saltwater solution at full power and let it rest for an equal amount of time before serving. The water both seasons the fish and helps it cook evenly. You can add a teaspoon of sugar or syrup to the saltwater to add a subtle sweetness, and aromatics, such as rosemary or dill to create additional layers of flavor. If you have time, you can brine the salmon as long as overnight in the refrigerator, which helps reduce the albumin (the harmless white protein that gathers on the surface of the fish during cooking). Most microwaves range in power levels from 600 to 1200 watts. This formula was developed in a 1000-watt microwave that boils one cup of cold tap water in 2 minutes. Cooking speeds on microwaves vary, even among those with the same wattage, so this recipe calls for checking your fillet early to avoid overcooking.
Ravioli
This easy method for making ravioli relies on a food processor to do much of the kneading, making it beginner-friendly and fairly hands-off for a homemade pasta. The dough is filled with a simple ricotta filling, but stuffing it with a more substantial meat or vegetable filling would be equally delicious. (Just keep in mind that whatever you use should be firm enough to hold up as the pasta cooks.) Toss ravioli in any number of classic Italian-type sauces, such as pesto, tomato or alfredo, or plan ahead and freeze the uncooked ravioli for fresh pasta at a moment’s notice (see Tip 1).
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As-sam (Bornean Bamboo-Cooked Rice With Chicken)
Imbued with the fragrance of ginger, lemongrass, and pandan, this Bornean rice dish is hearty and satisfying.
Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken Wings
Crisp and smoky like a barbecue potato chip, with tender chicken underneath, these grilled chicken wings are worth the time investment, and most of it is hands-off. Dry-brining the wings with baking powder and spices seasons and dries them so that when they hit the grill, their fat fully renders and browns into a shattery crust. A final shower of seasonings ensures an extra bolt of flavor and plenty of spices to lick off fingers.
Waldorf Salad
Crunchy, creamy, sweet and sour, this classic salad has only slightly evolved from the original recipe that was first published in 1896. Oscar Tschirky, the chef at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, developed the recipe using just three ingredients — apples, celery and mayonnaise — and this one closely mirrors that version. Besides the three staples, walnuts and grapes provide additional texture, and a splash of lemon juice brightens up the creamy dressing. Feel free to improvise, adding other crunchy ingredients like chopped raw broccoli, sunflower seeds, raisins or sliced pitted dates. This salad can be made a few hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator before serving. Serve as a side salad, or add cooked chicken to the mix for a satisfying lunch.
Bagara Baingan (Creamy Spiced Eggplant)
Tender and round, Indian eggplants are slit, shallow-fried and simmered in a rich, nutty, spiced gravy in this fiery Hyderabadi dish. There are a few different ways of making it, including stuffing the eggplants with a paste of peanuts, coconut and sesame seeds. This version minimizes tedium by skipping that step and using peanut butter instead of freshly ground peanuts. Whole mustard seeds bring texture and a delicious bitterness. Tamarind paste and cilantro add a citrusy freshness. Though the ingredient list is on the lengthier side, the only ingredient that needs chopping is an onion — and this deeply flavorful dinner cooks in just 40 minutes.
Coconut Black Bean Soup
Earthy black bean soup gets a plush makeover with the addition of canned coconut milk, which lends richness and a sweet, mellow flavor. Whole cumin seeds and tomato paste add depth, while jalapeño contributes both brightness and heat to the pot. You can purée the soup until it’s velvety smooth, or leave it a little chunky. Either way, it makes for a satisfying and hearty weeknight meal.
Branzino
Cooking a whole fish at home may seem daunting, but this simple method for roasting branzino is surprisingly hands-off. Whole fish are also more forgiving than individual fillets because the skin and bones insulate the fish from the heat source and help prevent overcooking. Here, the mild, white fish are stuffed with lemon slices, fresh herbs and garlic, then roasted on a sheet pan until flaky and tender. A quick broil helps crisp up the skin. Since it’s petite, branzino is an ideal fish to serve whole because the bones are easy to remove and its skin is tender enough to eat. Serve the roasted fish with steamed rice and a roasted green vegetable, such as broccoli or asparagus, squeezing the roasted lemons over everything on the plate.
Pepperpot
Warm with sweet orange peel and spices like cloves and cinnamon, pepperpot, a stewed meat dish popular in Guyana and the Caribbean, is traditionally served on Christmas morning. But you could make this version any time you want to celebrate. What gives it its distinct taste is cassareep, a sauce made from the cassava root. There’s no substitute, so you’ll want to plan ahead and find some online or at a Caribbean grocer. If you can’t find wiri wiri peppers, Scotch bonnets will work. Whatever you do, don’t forget to serve this braise with thick slices of white bread, roti or rice to sop up that delicious gravy.
Sheet-Pan Coconut Shrimp and Sweet Potatoes
Cubes of sweet potatoes and plump pink shrimp — both coated in spicy ginger-spiked coconut milk — share a sheet pan in this easy, deeply flavored one-pan meal. The sweet potato is added to the pan first, and roasted until just tender. Then, shrimp is scattered on top, and the whole pan is run under the broiler. The brief, intense heat allows the shrimp to cook through but stay succulent and the coconut milk-bathed sweet potatoes to caramelize at their edges. Scallions, cilantro and lime juice add a jolt of brightness right at the end.
Parmesan Braised Beans With Olives
At the Manhattan restaurant Ci Siamo, the chef Hillary Sterling serves these dynamic beans topped with a tinsel of fried rosemary and sage, a shower of salty cheese, and a flourish of olive oil and black pepper. For a dish so luxe in flavor, it’s surprising how everyday its ingredients are. At the restaurant, Ms. Sterling uses at least four different types of beans (such as flageolet, scarlet runner, small white, tiger’s eye and Tarbais), but at home, any mix of white, brown and black that you prefer will be beyond delicious. With crusty bread and a glass of wine, these beans can be enjoyed as a meal on their own.
Chicken Quesadillas
Ever the reliable 10-minute snack or meal, chicken quesadillas are not hard to make, but a few pointers ensure they’re as gooey, crispy and delicious as possible: Start with cool, shredded chicken so it doesn’t make the tortilla soggy. Toss the chicken and cheese together for even distribution, and add a smidgen of chili powder to the filling for spunk. Cook the quesadilla over moderate heat, so the cheese melts just as the tortilla’s toasted.