Spicy Summer Dishes

Preserved mustard root like this (often labeled "Sichuan Preserved Vegetable") can be found in cans or jars in your Chinese market. Once opened, they'll last for months in a sealed container in the fridge. You don't need much to add big flavor to dishes.

To make the roasted chile oil, just toast a handful of whole Chinese chiles (or if you want, red pepper flakes) in a dry skillet until fragrant and ever-so-slightly smoking (about 30 seconds). Transfer them to a food processor with a cup of neutral oil, like canola, and whiz the whole thing up. Let it sit in a sealed container in the fridge for a week or so, and you're good to go. You can even top up the jar with more oil and toasted chiles every time you seem to be running low. Make some, have it on hand at all times, and it will revolutionize your mapo tofu, ramen, dumplings, stir-fries, and countless other dishes.

The first great thing about making dan dan noodles at home is that you can customize it however you'd like. Personally, I like the chile oil of the Sichuan version, but I also love adding crushed roasted peanuts to the top. Who's to stop me? Some hardcore versions of the dish have the noodles quite literally swimming in a bowlful of chile oil. I like my oil to coat the noodles and pool up a bit in the bottom of the bowl.

Colorful bell peppers—red, yellow, or orange—cooling cucumbers, and bean sprouts are the base of this vegetable salad with noodles. It gets heat from ground chili sauce in the dressing, plus optional Thai bird chiles that you add to the fresh vegetables.

Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) neutral oil to wok or skillet and heat over high heat until smoking. Add pork, spreading it out in a single layer, and let cook on one side until crisp and brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring and tossing, until just cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to plate with vegetables.

"In the wine world we say, what grows together goes together. When it comes to pairing Chinese food with wine that theory goes out of the window. As the general rule I would pick wines with lower tannins, light to medium body and focus on preparation and cooking technique rather than ingredients. For example, if you serving spicy and complex dishes of Sichuanese cuisine, I would go with wines from Alsace (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris...etc) or German Riesling. If we are enjoying delicate seafood dishes of Cantonese cuisine my choice would be Chablis, Gruner Veltliner and any lean, crisp white wine. With fried food, the best choice would be any refreshing, palate cleansing sparkling wine(Cava, Prosecco, Sekt,...) or Champagne. Sweeter dishes like mushu pork I would match with softer style Rose wines (Tavel, Muga Rose)."— Oz Podnar, BLT Fish (NYC)

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add cabbage and cook, stirring regularly, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Work in batches if necessary to get the leaves nicely charred. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and return to heat until smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring regularly, until lightly browned and tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Add chives and cook, stirring, until lightly wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl with cabbage.

"There are usually many components to juggle; is the dish light or heavy, is the spice character low or aggressive, is the heat character mild or strong? With that said, here are some guidelines with a general range of dishes. Dim Sum can throw a dizzying amount of complex pairings your way. Stick with a high acid wine that also has significant weight. Riesling from Alsace (seek out the wines of Andre Ostertag) or Austria (Johannes Hirsch from the Kamptal is a rockstar!) would work great here and will keep your palate pristine in-between bouts with the steam cart. For spicy noodle Food tips|https://noodleinsight.com/, rice, or tofu dishes, texture and heat are the main concern. I like wines with softer acidity and a rounder texture as it will help balance the heat component. Gewurztraminer from Alsace (Zind-Humbrecht for a richer style) and Viognier from the Northern Rhône (any cuvée from Yves Cuilleron) or Central Coast of California (Morgan Clendenen’s Cold Heaven) are round and lush and can lend their own exotic profile to the dish. For smoked or roasted proteins with sweet sauces, such as Peking duck , red wine can be the go-to for you to build on the umami factor. A Barbera from Alba (Vietti’s bottling from the Scarrone vineyard is a prime example) or a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (look for Failla from Ehren Jordan) will be dexterous with their acidity and high- toned red fruit."— Ehren Ashkenazi, The Modern (NYC)

"Ma po tofu is a lot of fun with a demi-sec wine from Alsace, like Sylvaner, or a bigger Pinot Gris. These wines have a mellow sweetness and bright acidity. For mushu pork, I think pairing with Riesling or a dry Tokay goes well; Furmint has a lot to offer to all the ingredients from this dish and we don’t play a lot with Hungarian wines, but there is a lot of great potential here. For the Pièce de résistance, peking duck? Well, you must break this down to white, red, or what the person in front of you likes better. If your dining companion likes white better, go with Loire Chenin Blanc. For red, I would go with Languedoc—a medium to bigger body, jam-plummy wine. Corbieres any one?"— Gerardo Acevedo-Vanni, Bocanova (Oakland CA)