A plate of ceviche topped with sliced avocado, jalapeños, cilantro, and red onion, served with tortilla chips. Lime wedges, cilantro, and half an avocado are in the background.

Peruvian Sea Bass Ceviche

I love to make Sea Bass Ceviche in the summertime. The flavors are so fresh and light and it feels like a perfect light meal for hot days. I also just love how magical the process of making ceviche is. The fish turns opaque and firm just by marinating in lime juice, no heat involved. Ceviche comes from the coast of Peru, where fishermen have been curing the day’s catch in citrus for generations. Sea bass is considered one of the best choices of fish for ceviche because it’s firm and dense, and can withstand the citric acid marination process without turning mushy. Some cooks add sweet potato or corn on the side, others toss avocado or mango right in

A hand dips a chip into a clear bowl of chili oil with visible chili flakes, surrounded by scattered chip pieces and garlic skins on a white surface.

Salsa Macha

I always keep a jar of Salsa Macha in my fridge. It’s an oil-based Mexican chile sauce that’s loaded with toasted chiles, garlic, and a mix of nuts and seeds. It’s rich, smoky, and a little bit crunchy, sort of like a Mexican-style chili crisp. I spoon it over eggs, drizzle it on tacos, or scoop it up with tortilla chips. I used to buy Salsa Macha from the Mexican market in my neighborhood. But once I started making it at home, I couldn’t go back. So much flavor gets built into the oil itself, and I love being able to control the flavors and textures. This isn’t a fresh salsa like pico de gallo or Salsa Verde. It’s closer

A crispy tortilla topped with guacamole, seasoned shrimp, diced tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream, served with a lime wedge.

Spicy Shrimp Tostadas

Spicy Shrimp Tostadas are proof that sometimes a crunchy shell beats a soft tortilla. Each one starts with a tostada shell so crisp it cracks the second you bite into it, then gives way to cool, creamy avocado mash, warm smoky shrimp, and a bright squeeze of lime. I make these a lot during the summer because the recipe is simple and everyone loves it. What makes this one worth returning to is the contrast in every bite: the shatter of the shell, the smoothness of the avocado, the char and spice on the shrimp. If you want to switch things up, grilled shrimp works just as well as pan-seared, and you can swap the sour cream for Mexican crema

A white bowl filled with chunky, orange-brown mango chutney sits on a striped towel, with mustard seeds and a piece of ginger nearby.

Mango Chutney

If you have ripe, or even overripe mangos, there is no better way to use them up than this Mango Chutney. It only takes about 30 minutes to turn the fruit into a tangy, sweet-savory chutney that adds the perfect flavor counterpoint to samosas or curry and rice. This version leans warm and mellow, with mustard seeds, fresh ginger, and garlic. Chutneys like this one have deep roots in Indian home cooking, where fruit, vinegar, and sugar get simmered down into a condiment meant to sit alongside rich, spiced dishes and balance them out. I like that this one comes together with pantry staples and one pan, no special equipment required. If I want more heat, I add a pinch

A plate of fried rice with peas, carrots, and sliced cucumber, topped with a sunny-side-up egg and black pepper, on a white table with bowls of chopped green onions and salt nearby.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)

Nasi Goreng is Indonesian fried rice that delivers sweet, salty, and spicy in one dish. Turmeric and ground coriander give it warm color and flavor, and kecap manis, a thick, dark, sweet soy sauce, caramelizes the second it hits the hot pan. I load mine with vegetables and finish it with a fried egg, because a runny yolk breaking over hot rice is hard to beat at any hour of the day. “Nasi goreng” translates to “fried rice,” but in Indonesia it does a lot more work than that name lets on. It shows up at breakfast, on street carts, and on upscale restaurant menus. Every region and every cook has their own version, but the constant us kecap manis,

Close-up of fried chicken pieces glazed with sauce, garnished with sesame seeds and chopped green onions on a white plate.

Bang Bang Chicken

Bang Bang Chicken is the reason I keep a bottle of sweet chili sauce in my pantry at all times. The creamy Bang Bang Sauce, which uses sweet chili sauce as a base, is what makes this dish. It’s a creamy, spicy, slightly sweet mix that clings to every crispy piece of chicken. I make this one on repeat because the ratio of crunch to sauce is exactly right. The buttermilk soak keeps the chicken juicy under all that crunchy coating, and the cornstarch and flour combination gives it a shatter-crisp exterior that holds up under the sauce. Bang Bang Chicken started as a Bonefish Grill appetizer, but home cooks everywhere have made it their own, and mine leans a

A plate of shrimp stir-fry with bell peppers and sauce is served over white rice, garnished with sesame seeds and green onions. Chopsticks are picking up a shrimp.

Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce

Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce starts with the sharp sizzle of garlic hitting hot oil, and within a minute my whole kitchen smells like my favorite Chinese restaurant. The shrimp turn pink and plump almost immediately, and they stay tender even after they go back into that thick, garlicky black bean sauce. Green bell pepper adds crunch and a little sweetness against all that salty, fermented depth. I always end up pouring extra sauce over my rice because I can’t stand to leave any of it behind. Black bean sauce gets its deep flavor from fermented black soybeans, garlic, and ginger. It’s a staple in Cantonese cooking, and you’ll find it stirred into stir-fries with all kinds of proteins, from

A plate of colorful salad with sliced vegetables, edamame, peanuts, and sesame seeds, served with a small dish of dressing on the side.

Rainbow Salad with Peanut Dressing

I’ve been making this Rainbow Salad with Peanut Dressing a lot this summer. I love that there’s no cooking, so the veggies stay crunchy. And the dressing. It’s so good with a thick, nutty peanut butter base, brightened lime juice and spicy chili paste. It coats every ribbon of carrot and cucumber instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl the way thinner dressings do. I love turning the veggies into ribbons instead of the standard dice. Pulling a vegetable peeler down the length of a carrot or a cucumber gives you the long, curling ribbons that are perfect for holding the dressing. This salad also holds up well to substitutions, so I don’t worry too much about following

A close-up of a baked peach cobbler in a cast iron skillet, showing a golden-brown crust with visible peach slices.

Peach Cobbler with a Golden, Cakey Crust

The minute I see ripe peaches at the farmers market, I’m making this dessert. The peaches turn soft and syrupy underneath the golden-brown topping that cracks open as you spoon into it. It is an old-fashioned dessert that needs nothing more than a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. I grew up watching my mother make cobbler from whatever fruit was about to go soft on the counter, but peaches were everyone’s favorite filling. Just the smell of peaches cooking down with sugar and cinnamon draws the whole family to the kitchen like nothing else. The topping on this version bakes up part cake, part biscuit, with crisp edges and a soft, custardy middle where the batter settles

Two folded birria tacos filled with shredded meat and cheese, garnished with cilantro, served on a plate with a bowl of dipping sauce and a lime wedge.

Chicken Birria Tacos

Chicken Birria Tacos are rich, spicy, and a little messy, with crispy, cheesy edges and a bowl of deep red sauce on the side for dipping. Inside, the shredded chicken turns soft and richly flavored from sitting in that chile sauce, and the tortilla fries up crisp around a pocket of melted cheese. I love how each bite gives you crunch, melted cheese, and saucy chicken all at once. Birria traditionally starts with beef or goat, slow cooked for hours until it falls apart into a deeply flavored stew. This chicken version borrows that same chile and spice base but gets there much faster, since chicken breaks down and shreds in a fraction of the time. I still use the

A plate of pan-fried dumplings garnished with sliced green onions, served with a small bowl of dipping sauce topped with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

Potstickers

Potstickers are one of my favorite kitchen projects because the process is almost as enjoyable as eating them. I love sitting down with a stack of wrappers and a bowl of filling, folding dumplings while I chat with family or listen to a podcast. These pan fried dumplings have a savory pork and cabbage filling, crisp bottoms, and chewy wrappers that are made for dipping in soy sauce. One batch makes 30 to 40 dumplings, plenty for dinner with leftovers to freeze. The pork-and-cabbage filling is seasoned with garlic, ginger, and sesame oil, then wrapped in the thin dough rounds, and pan-fried until the bottoms turn deep golden brown. A splash of water steams them until the filling is fully

A plate of pad thai with shrimp, tofu, bean sprouts, green onions, cashews, and a lime wedge on a green elephant-patterned tablecloth.

Why Thai Cuisine Has Become So Popular Worldwide

Thai food has been winning over home cooks and restaurant-goers around the world for decades, and honestly, it’s not hard to see why. A Unique Balance of Flavor What makes Thai food so craveable is the way it balances all five basic tastes — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami — in a single dish. Think about a bowl of tom kha: you get creamy coconut milk, bright lime juice, fragrant lemongrass, a little heat from chilies. No single flavor dominates. They all work together, and that harmony is what keeps you coming back for more. Fresh Ingredients Make All the Difference Thai cooking is built on fresh ingredients, and you can taste it. Each herb, vegetable, aromatic spice, and

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