Pork recipes

Mexicali pasta pie with a spaghetti crust, cottage cheese layer, and spiced ground pork with green chiles and tomatoes, topped with cheddar and crushed corn chips. All microwave.

Authentic Chinese hot and sour soup with cloud ear mushrooms, golden needles, silken tofu, shredded pork, and the signature tangy-spicy-savory broth thickened with cornstarch.

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.

A loaded Spanish paella with chicken, pork, shrimp, and calamari over saffron rice. This one-pan fiesta feeds 6 and comes together in under an hour.

Pancit bihon guisado with chicken, pork, and shrimp sauteed with rice noodles, napa cabbage, and carrots in soy and fish sauce. A classic Filipino noodle dish for celebrations.

Mix-and-match meatballs you build your way, choosing the meat, broth, herb, and creamy finish. Baked, then simmered in a mushroom gravy enriched with sour cream, yogurt, or cream cheese, served over noodles, rice, or spaetzle.

Homemade Pad Thai with chicken or pork, shrimp, rice noodles, and a tangy fish sauce with tomato paste and dried shrimp. Topped with crispy fried basil, peanuts, and bean sprouts.

Butterflied shrimp in savory black bean sauce with ground pork and vegetables. This Chinese-American classic with egg ribbons is ready in just 20 minutes over rice.

Spicy, tangy Chinese soup with pork, silky tofu, wood ear mushrooms, and egg ribbons in a pepper-spiked broth. This restaurant favorite is ready in 45 minutes.

Authentic Chinese hot and sour soup with wood ear fungi, dried lily buds, shiitake mushrooms, pork shreds, and silken tofu. Tangy, peppery, and finished with egg ribbons and sesame oil.

Hearty Italian spaghetti sauce with pork ribs, homemade meatballs, and scorched tomato paste simmered for hours into rich, meaty perfection.

Great ribs, sticky, succulent and totally David Chang or Momofuko fame.

Authentic hot and sour soup with shredded pork, wood ear mushrooms, seaweed, and bean curd in a tangy black-pepper-and-vinegar broth. The Sichuan-style takeout classic, made from scratch.

Wild boar saddle slow-roasted over Cuban-style black beans with dark rum, smoked ham, and salt pork. Hunter's chili with deep, layered flavors and traditional egg-and-scallion garnish.

Shrimp in lobster sauce, the classic Cantonese takeout dish: egg-white-marinated shrimp tossed with ground pork, fermented black beans, garlic, ginger, and silky egg ribbons. No lobster, all flavor.

Cajun meat loaf made with beef and pork, loaded with sautéed holy trinity vegetables, three kinds of pepper, Tabasco, and Worcestershire. A spicy Louisiana twist on a comfort food classic.