Cucumbers with Scallions and Chili Oil

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.

This luscious chilled yogurt soup, packed with fresh and dried mint, is an incredibly refreshing and cooling appetizer during the summer.

Oyster mushrooms are a strong all-rounder in the kitchen, seeming to straddle both plant and meat worlds in what they look and taste like when cooked. Here they’re coated in a marinade my mother used to use when cooking Chinese food at home—honey, soy, garlic and ginger—and roasted until golden, crisp, and juicy.

Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.

The tofu is crunchy on the outside, in part thanks to a panko-studded exterior, and squishy-in-a-good-way on the inside. It also comes together in 20 minutes.

Creamy and bright with just a subtle bit of heat, this five-ingredient, make-ahead dip is ready for company—just add crudités.

Easy to make, impossible to stop eating.

Among the top tier of sauces is Indonesian satay sauce, because it is the embodiment of joy and life. In fact, this sauce is also trustworthy and highly respectful of whatever it comes into contact with—perhaps it is, in fact, the perfect friend?