If pressed to pick one cuisine to cook and eat for the rest of my life, I think it would have to be Asian. Now that’s a total cheat, since the idea of Asian cooking encompasses a vast array of more specific Asian cuisines, from Thai to Japanese to Chinese . . . and those cuisines encompass a whole array of other more discrete Asian cuisines (take Chinese food—we have Szechuan, Catonese, Hunan, etc., etc. . . .)

And a smidge of a confession—I would eat sushi every day if the fates would allow. It’s my favorite food, yet it’s one I don’t make myself (I am happy to leave that to the professionals, though my boys gave me a ten-pound bag of sushi rice and a sushi rolling mat for Mother’s Day last year. Sweet, hopeful, befuddled boys).

But other than that little no-go, my pantry is bursting with ingredients like ponzu sauce and chili garlic paste, my fridge never without fresh ginger and miso. But you don’t need a full-on Asian pantry, just a handful of ingredients to make perfect, simple dishes..

Here are just a few of my favorite (easy!) Asian recipes to jump into.

---

5 Great Simple Asian Recipes

---

---

---

---

---