Jeffrey Alford | Naomi Duguid

In Thai cooking, cilantro root is used to liven up dishes with a peppery and aromatic flavor. If you think it sounds good, just wait until you taste it slathered all over grilled chicken.

For this embarrassingly easy roast, a tingling rub of Szechuan pepper, black pepper, and nutmeg (yes, nutmeg) coats pork butt or loin before it's roasted to tender incredibleness.

A simple, satiating, summery Vietnamese tradition known as ca phe sua da, this seductive classic is simply coffee, ice, and sweet, sweet, sweetened condensed milk. Here's how to succumb at home.

Unspeakably more nuanced than takeout Thai, these stir-fried noodles boast a sigh-inducing balance of salty, sour, and sweet. In other words, it's the real deal.

There's nothing wallflowerish about this stir-fry, not with its gingery zing of tongue-tingling, sinus-clearing, tummy-settling ginger. Nothing at all.

These lacy Asian waffles are more like pancakes made with tiny shrimp, coconut milk, lime juice, and cilantro. The sauce adds a touch of saltiness and heat.

A classic Thai trick for imparting a lot of oomph without a lot of ingredients or expense.