With a baby due on the first day of the Year of the Tiger, writer Patricia Tanumihardja finds ways of mixing and matching traditions for her new family.

This popular Burmese chicken coconut soup features noodles doused in a mild curry sauce with a consistency that’s somewhere between soup and gravy. Delish.

A brief fling in the wok is all that’s needed to cook these delicate pea shoots–also called pea vines. Garlic, chicken stock, and sesame oil lend flavor.

For Thai Basil pork, ground pork is cooked with garlic, shallots, Thai chiles, and sweet basil. Serve white rice alongside mounds Thai basil pork.