149 dark recipes

Battered eggplant slices deep-fried until crispy and drizzled with a spicy Sichuan sauce of chili bean paste, black vinegar, ginger, and tomato paste. A vegetarian Chinese dish with serious crunch and heat.

This green-bean dish is outstanding. The green beans exude aromatic flavors and have an interesting chewy texture.

Instead of pumpkin pie, try this coconut pumpkin tart.

Overnight apple-orange coffee cake: a yeast-raised cake topped with juicy apples, raisins, and orange zest, then drizzled with orange glaze. Mix the night before, bake fresh in the morning.

Spicy Sichuan-style pork with peanuts, a fast wok stir-fry of cubed pork tossed in a fiery soy, rice wine, and chili sauce with toasted peanuts and dried chilies. Big heat, deep crunch, restaurant flavor at home.

Spiced pumpkin or winter squash cake with a classic cooked caramel frosting. Four autumn spices, buttermilk tenderness, and a rich old-fashioned finish worth the candy thermometer.

Shredded chicken breast stir-fried with bamboo shoots, zucchini, and bell peppers in a bold chili bean and dark soy sauce. A fiery Chinese-inspired main dish ready in 45 minutes.

Kung Pao chicken stir-fry with charred dried chiles, roasted peanuts, bell peppers, and a soy-vinegar-sesame glaze. Wok-cooked with ginger and garlic in under 10 minutes.

Asparagus and beef stir-fry with Chinese fermented black beans, garlic, ginger, and oyster sauce. A classic Cantonese wok dish that comes together in under 5 minutes once the prep is done.

A fiery Cajun shrimp sauce piquant loaded with three types of pepper, jalapenos, the holy trinity, and tomatoes simmered in seafood stock. Spooned over rice, this Louisiana classic brings serious heat and soul.

Here's a recipe for Chow Mein which is a pretty classic application using pan fried noodles.

Porterhouse steak grilled with a hoisin barbecue sauce that mashes up Chinese pantry staples with classic BBQ flavors, hoisin, soy, and rice vinegar meet ketchup, ancho chili, and Worcestershire.

Sweet potato pecan pie: a layer of spiced sweet potato custard topped with classic pecan filling, served with a bourbon-spiked vanilla cream sauce. The ultimate Southern Thanksgiving pie.

Tender bundt cake layered with cinnamon-walnut streusel and studded with dried apricots, finished with a sweet almond glaze that drips down the ridges.

Vegetable lasagna layered with zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, and a red wine tomato sauce. Make-ahead and lighter than meat lasagna, with cottage cheese standing in for ricotta.

Nothing is more fascinating and delicious than eating at the open- air street hawker centers in Asia, particularly in Singapore. Each stall serves a specialty, typically an honest, unpretentious, home-style dish for $1 to $3 a plate. This rice noodle dish is hawker food at its best. If done right, its fragrance will tell you how good it's going to be as soon as it arrives at your table.