By Emily Weinstein, The New York Times
Tuesday is the 10th anniversary of New York Times Cooking, and I have to say, I’m feeling kind of sentimental about it! It’s our little app that could, a dormant recipe archive that not only came to life but has grown into something much more vast, with videos, newsletters, cookbooks and more.
As I pored over spreadsheets with our highest-rated, most-saved, most-loved recipes, a few jumped out. You know how a familiar recipe can feel like an old friend? The dishes below are like that to me.
1. Kimchi Fried Rice
Not the high-heat stir-fry you might expect, Grace Lee’s homestyle fried rice recipe uses a simple technique: Make an easy, flavorful kimchi sauce, mellowed out with butter, and saute leftover rice in it. It’s perfect for a snack or a quick, simple meal. The Spam, though optional, reflects many Koreans’ love of foods introduced by the U.S. military.
Recipe from Grace Lee
Adapted by Francis Lam
Yield: Serves 2
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 small onion, medium dice
1 cup roughly chopped kimchi (6 ounces)
2 tablespoons kimchi juice, or to taste
1/2 cup small-dice Spam, ham or leftover cooked meat
2 cups cooked, cooled rice (preferably short-grain)
2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil, or to taste
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
Salt to taste
Crumbled or slivered nori (roasted seaweed) for garnish
Sesame seeds for garnish
Preparation
1. In a nonstick saute pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat, and add onions. Cook, stirring, until the onions start to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Add kimchi and kimchi juice, and stir until it comes to a boil, about 3 minutes. Add Spam, and cook until sauce is nearly dried out, about 5 minutes.
2. Break up the rice in the pan with a spatula, and stir it to incorporate. Turn heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the sauce and is very hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil. Taste, and adjust with more soy sauce, sesame oil or kimchi juice. Turn heat down slightly, but let the rice continue to cook, untouched, to lightly brown while you cook the eggs.
3. Place a small nonstick saute pan over medium heat, and add the vegetable oil. When it is hot, add eggs, season with salt and fry to your desired doneness. Serve rice topped with fried eggs, nori and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
2. Garlicky Chicken With Lemon-Anchovy Sauce
There’s nothing wrong with a dinner of pan-seared chicken seasoned with salt and pepper. But there’s everything right about the same chicken when you add anchovies, capers, garlic and plenty of lemon to the pan. What was once timid and a little dull turns vibrant, tangy and impossible to stop eating. And the only real extra work is chopping the garlic and a little parsley for garnish. In this dish, the cut of chicken is less important than the pungent pan sauce. Most people will probably want to use the workhorse of all poultry dinners: the boneless, skinless breasts. But the thighs cook nearly as quickly and have a greater margin of error in terms of doneness. Overcook your breasts by even a minute, and you’ll get dry, tough meat. Thighs are more forgiving. However, if your family insists on white meat, you can substitute breasts and subtract about 3 minutes from the cooking time. There is no need to mention the anchovies until after people have complimented you on the meal.
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By Melissa Clark
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 to 5 thighs)
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 anchovy fillets
2 tablespoons drained capers, patted dry
1 large pinch chile flakes
1 lemon, halved
Fresh chopped parsley, for serving
Preparation
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and let rest while you prepare the anchovy-garlic oil. Mince one of the garlic cloves and set it aside for later. In a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the 5 smashed whole garlic cloves, the anchovies, capers and chile. Let cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the anchovies, until the garlic browns around the edges and the anchovies dissolve, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken thighs and cook until nicely browned on one side, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip the thighs, place the pan in the oven and cook another 5 to 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
3. When chicken is done, transfer thighs to a plate (be careful, as the pan handle will be hot). Place skillet back on the heat and add minced garlic and the juice of one lemon half. Cook for about 30 seconds, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Return chicken to the pan and cook it in the sauce for another 15 to 30 seconds.
4. Transfer everything to a serving platter. Squeeze the remaining lemon half over the chicken and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve.
3. Hot Honey Shrimp
Chile powder adds sting, honey lends sweetness, and butter gives a creamy richness to these succulent roasted shrimp. Even better, the dish comes together in minutes, making it an ideal after-work meal or extremely speedy appetizer. The shrimp are also excellent tucked into a baguette for a shrimp sandwich. If you happen to have a jar of hot honey (chile-spiced honey), you can use that instead of combining the honey and cayenne. Just be sure to use a light hand with the lime juice at the very end; hot honey also contains vinegar, so taste as you go. If you’d like to double the recipe, you can. Just use two baking pans so as not to crowd the shrimp.
By Melissa Clark
Yield: 2 servings
Total time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/4 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 garlic clove, grated on a Microplane or finely minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound cleaned extra-large shrimp, patted very dry with paper towels
1 tablespoon very cold butter, cubed
Lime wedges, for serving
1 jalapeño, halved, seeded and very thinly sliced, for serving
1 tablespoon chives or scallion greens, finely chopped, for serving
Mayonnaise, for serving (optional)
Preparation
1. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine honey, cayenne, lime zest, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss in shrimp to coat.
3. Spread shrimp on a large rimmed baking sheet and dot with butter. Roast until shrimp is pink and opaque, but before the edges have started to curl, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle generously with fresh lime juice and toss with jalapeños and chives or scallions. Serve with mayonnaise if you like.
4. Pasta Alla Vodka
There’s no need to order takeout from your neighborhood restaurant when this beloved, easy-to-assemble Italian American classic gets dinner on the table in no time. Adding pancetta brings a salty smokiness, but if you leave it out, you’re still in for a quick and flavorful dish. If you’re feeling ambitious, the pasta is delightful with Caesar salad or garlic bread, but it’s also satisfying enough to take center stage. Put on some Puccini, open up a bottle of red, and you’re guaranteed a more relaxed dining experience than the one you might get at the local red-and-white checkered-tablecloth joint.
By Colu Henry
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound rigatoni or penne pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces diced pancetta, optional
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
3/4 cup vodka
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons roughly chopped Italian parsley
Preparation
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 7 quarts water). Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Heat the oil in a deep 12-inch skillet or pot over medium. Add the pancetta, if using, and fry until crispy, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low, add the vodka and cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes and then fill the can halfway with water and swish it around to loosen up any leftover tomatoes; add a quarter to half of the water to the pan. Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes, and season with salt and pepper. If you prefer your sauce a little looser, go ahead and add the remaining water and simmer 2 to 3 minutes more. Reduce heat to low, add the cream and cook, stirring, until the sauce becomes an even pinkish-rust color, about 1 minute.
4. Stir in the cooked pasta and 1/4 cup cheese; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls, top with additional cheese, if desired, and sprinkle with the oregano and parsley.
5. Mapo Ragù
This is my simple, everyday take on a dish developed at Momofuku Ssam Bar in Manhattan many years ago by chefs David Chang and Tien Ho and their band of collaborators. It is almost literally a mashup: a meal that is kind of Korean, kind of Chinese, kind of Italian. If you don’t like spicy food, use miso instead of the gochujang and don’t use Sichuan peppercorns, which add a numbing, tingly pop to the fire. (If you like really spicy food, add dried chiles or hot pepper flakes to the recipe at the point you add the gochujang.) And if you want to make it even more luxe than it is already, follow the lead of Chang’s crew and stir 6 ounces of silken tofu into the sauce at the end.
Recipe from David Chang and Tien Ho
Adapted by Sam Sifton
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
3 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
Pinch of kosher salt, or to taste
1 pound ground pork
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
10-15 frozen cylindrical rice cakes (optional), or rice noodles, or pasta, or steamed rice
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili-bean paste)
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
1 bunch kale or any hearty cooking greens, roughly chopped
4 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Preparation
1. Heat the oil in a wok set over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the onions and the pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have released their moisture and are starting to brown, approximately 10 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low, and continue to cook, stirring every few minutes, until they have turned golden brown and sweet, an additional 20 minutes or so.
2. Tip the onions into a bowl, and return the wok to high heat over the stove. Add remaining tablespoon of oil, then the pork, and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until it is just cooked, but not yet browning, approximately 10 minutes. Add the cooked meat to the reserved onions.
3. If using the rice cakes, put a large pot of salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil.
4. Return wok to stove over medium heat and cook the garlic and ginger in fat remaining from pork (add an extra splash of neutral oil if necessary). When the garlic and ginger soften, add gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar and, if using, the Sichuan peppercorns. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water, enough to loosen the gochujang and make a sauce, then return pork and onions to the wok and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings.
5. Bring sauce to a simmer, and add the chopped greens, then stir to combine and cook until they have started to soften, approximately 5 minutes.
6. If using rice cakes, place them in the boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes to soften, then drain and add to the sauce. (If not, serve the ragù with steamed rice, rice noodles or pasta.) Garnish with the sliced scallions.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.