Pasta & Noodles

Lush pork, toothsome noodles, and a heady broth you can't stop slurping—it's no wonder ramen joints are drawing droves of diners, off-duty chefs, and seemingly everyone on your Instagram feed. Bringing shoyu ramen home takes a trip to an Asian market, three days of work, and your largest pot, but this low-stress (really!) labor of love might be the best soup you'll ever make.

For the quick pickles, try using other crisp vegetables, such as radishes, celery, or fennel.

Rice sticks are a magic trick in a bag: Crumble them into hot oil and they poof instantly into crispy, twisty little morsels of browned, puffed rice—ready in seconds to serve as a crunchy topping for bite-sized pieces of quick-cooked chicken, broccoli, and almonds.

White miso might sound like the kind of ingredient that sends you in search of a specialty store, but in fact it is the most common type of miso paste, and you're likely to find it in the international or Asian food section of the supermarket. It's a lighter, sweeter alternative to dark miso, which is generally used in soup, and it often appears in dressings like the one for this easy Japanese noodle salad. You can make the dressing in the time it takes to cook the soba, and if you add some thinly sliced cooked chicken, beef, or shrimp, you'll have a one-dish meal.

We like skirt steak because it's a tasty and affordable cut. Slice it thinly so it's tender.

The Japanese are renowned for their longevity. As of 2011, their average life expectancy was 82.3 years. (The United States came in fiftieth, at 78.4 years.) Researchers often credit their diet, and this soup is my way of cramming as much of their healthy cuisine into a bowl as possible. It's called Bento Box Soup because of the traditional Japanese take-out bento box lunch, which is full of compartments, each containing a tasty treat: fish or meat, rice, pickled or cooked veggies, and other goodies. The base is a miso broth; if you're not in the know about miso, it's a salty fermented soy product that aids digestion and improves immune function. In case white miso isn't available, use any mellow (light) miso. I kicked those healing properties up a notch by infusing green tea into the broth for an extra immune boost, then added shiitakes, spinach, kombu, scallions, and tamari.

Lo mein is a noodle dish that often is confused with chow mein, and many Chinese restaurants further the confusion by using the two names interchangeably. The dishes are similar, both featuring noodles mixed with stir-fried meat and vegetables and a savory sauce. But whereas chow mein refers to parboiled and stir-fried noodles, lo mein refers to noodles that are fully cooked separately and quickly tossed with sauce in the wok. The roast pork in this recipe is char siu, the same gorgeous reddish-brown pork often displayed and sold in Chinatown shop windows. Instead of buying the pork ready-made, you can also roast your own at home. For the egg noodles, you can use any that are thin and round; spaghetti will also work.

Buddha's Delight is traditionally served on the first day of Chinese New Year, a practice stemming from an old Buddhist custom of spiritual cleansing. In fact, the recipe's Cantonese name is simply jai, meaning "vegetarian food." Some ingredients, such as lily buds and bean thread noodles, may require a special trip to a Chinese market.

A simple curry paste gives this northern Thai-inspired soup surprising depth of flavor.

These udon noodles with chicken and scallions come together in under 30 minutes.

A departure from the more common potato gnocchi, these light, pillowy rounds feature semolina and are baked instead of boiled. Parmesan cheese and a glaze of butter make them quite rich and delicious. They go well with meat or poultry but you can also top the gnocchi with your favorite tomato sauce or pesto.

A modern version of a Cantonese classic, this noodle dish got a reworking in Epicurious member Roni Jordan’s Massachusetts kitchen and has been a family staple for more than twenty-five years. These sesame- and soy-sauced noodles will easily become a favorite whether you enjoy them warm, at room temperature, or straight out of the fridge three days later. Toss in your favorite veggies for a multifaceted vegetarian meal or serve it alongside grilled chicken or flank steak.

When the heat is on, there’s no better way to cool down than with a bowl of chilled noodles. To make this truly vegetarian and vegan friendly, seek out a ponzu sauce without dashi, an ingredient made with dried fish. Two brands worth considering are Marukan and Wan Ja Shan. For die-hard meat eaters, add some thin slices of cold beef.

Attention, parents: If you’re looking for a veggie-packed, kid-pleasing recipe—one that children as young as two can help you prepare—this is it. Set up a workstation with the ingredients, parchment paper for easy cleanup, and a pastry brush, and let the kids “paint” the lettuce leaves with peanut sauce.

This Thai-inspired noodle dish dovetails four essential flavors: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Seek out Thai basil, which imparts clean, crisp notes of anise and mint.

Lemon lovers adore this simple and satisfying pasta. Lemon zest and juice brighten the peas and spinach while lightening the creamy Parmesan sauce. You can also use penne, orecchiette, or another small pasta. To cut back on calories, use whole milk or half-and-half in place of some or all of the heavy cream.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious.

The mention of Hue, a city in central Vietnam, brings up many conflicted memories for me. It was the site of the Battle of Hue, one of the longest and deadliest battles of the Tet Offensive, which began in January 1968, and of the Vietnam War. Although I was just a kid when the fighting took place, the stories that I heard about it during my childhood were frightening. Hue was the imperial capital of Vietnam for nearly a century and a half, until 1945, and many of the most sophisticated and interesting dishes in the Vietnamese repertoire originated in the region, including this classic spicy beef soup. The light stock, which is made with beef and pork bones, is scented with lots of lemongrass and shrimp paste. Any rice noodle can be used here, but the usual choice is the round rice noodle that resembles spaghetti. In Vietnam, the soup is often served with cubes of coagulated pig's blood, like the bowl pictured here.

Dried rice noodles are readily available, but homemade fresh noodles are a fun project. If you've ever made the light pastry dough known as pâte à choux (the base for gougères and profiteroles), the first step to making the noodle dough will be familiar. The flour and water are mixed together, then cooked on the stove top until thick (this step also cooks out the raw-flour taste). This is a two-person operation: once the paste thickens, one person will need to hold the pot down while the other stirs continuously. You will need a potato ricer for extruding the spaghetti-like noodles. The flavor of these noodles improves if you let the initial rice flour-water mixture ferment at room temperature for four days. While not essential to the success of the recipes, it does lend a nice tanginess to the finished noodles. However, if you are in a rush, you can let it soak overnight. The noodles can be used in Bún Bò Hue or as the base for noodle bowls.

These tiny gnocchi are tender, so place the cooked pasta in a bowl and spoon the porky sauce over top, instead of tossing the two together.