Pasta & Noodles

Called pho in Vietnam, this unusual soup is a wonderful party centerpiece dish for an informal gathering. Start out by supplying everyone with a large soup bowl and a ladle. Place the soup tureen in the middle of the table. Have each guest take a generous helping of noodles first, then some meat and broth. Each serving is topped off with shredded lettuce, sliced green onion and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Spicy Szechuan dishes were quite the thing in the seventies; around that time, pasta was also coming into its own. This recipe features ingredients that are widely available in the Asian foods section of most markets. If you like, add snow peas and sliced red bell pepper for some crunch.

"Thai is my favorite Asian cuisine, and the Thai noodles at Q, A Thai Bistro, here in Forest Hills just may be my favorite dish," writes Loren Kliegerman of Forest Hills, New York. "Any idea how it is prepared?"

The combination of herbs, the rice noodles, and the garlicky lime sauce mark this pasta salad as Vietnamese.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Cafe Vesuvio in St. Charles offers an absolutely delicious dish of angel hair pasta topped with tuna. We'd like to know how to make it. Nancy and John Noble St. Charles, Illinois

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Editors' note: The original recipe calls for Chinese wheat noodles, but we also like this soup made with somen (Japanese thin wheat noodles) or soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles).

This Vietnamese classic is usually made with top or bottom round beef, which is sliced and then marinated and grilled. We've adapted the recipe to use skirt or flank steak and made it easier by grilling the meat before slicing it.

We used a Microplane rasp (available at cookware shops) to grate the cheese in this recipe. You can use a box grater instead, but the same amount of cheese (1 ounce) will yield less volume. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

(Stir-Fried Rice Noodles)

To form the noodle cakes, measure them out by taking a few strands of noodles and loosely squiggling them into a tablespoon. Once you get the hang of the amount needed, you can pretty much eyeball it.

The hearty sauce is also great over couscous.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A salad of baby greens and raspberry vinaigrette and some pencil-thin breadsticks go well with the pasta. End the dinner with orange sherbet, Swedish butter cookies and, perhaps, a shot of aquavit.

Gnocchi aux Blettes According to some sources, gnocchi are a Niçois invention, and the use of Swiss chard in the dough is a traditional addition. In fact, Swiss chard is ubiquitous in Provençal cooking. This recipe is from L'Escalinada, where the gnocchi are served with a fresh tomato-herb sauce. Make your own sauce, or look for a good-quality one at the market.

In Chinese culture, noodles symbolize longevity and are often served at New Year celebrations and traditionally left very long.