Eastern expert: Ming Tsai, chef-owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts, star and creator of the show East Meets West With Ming Tsai on the Food Network. What you'll love: The fresh and healthy idea of combining raw greens with pasta. Said one taster, "I'd never thought to do that before, but I'd do it again."
Reliable cabbage is cooked in the punchy sauce and then combined with store-bought baked tofu and roasted cashews for a salad that can also be eaten with rice.
Blend frozen mango, blanco tequila, and lime juice into these cooling margaritas. A Tajín rim adds a spicy-salty kick.
This dish is not only a quick meal option but also a practical way to use leftover phở noodles when you’re out of broth.
Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.
Mexican pasta probably isn’t something you’ve thought about before, but this poblano sauce may have you rethinking your devotion to the red variety.
Cabbage is the unsung hero of the winter kitchen—available anywhere, long-lasting in the fridge, and super-affordable. It’s also an excellent partner for pasta.
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
Berbere is a spicy chile blend that has floral and sweet notes from coriander and cardamom, and when it’s paired with a honey glaze, it sets these wings apart from anything else you’ve ever had.