Chile

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

If you're short on time, use a roast chicken from the supermarket instead of grilling chicken breasts. Serve Mexican beers alongside and tortilla chips for extra crunch.

Serve with jicama sticks, radish slices, peeled cooked shrimp, and corn tortilla chips.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. This sauce is great with roast beef, grilled steaks, and roasted chicken. It is also delicious as a sandwich spread or as a dip for crudités or tortilla chips. The "heat" of the mayonnaise will depend on the variety of chili you use. In a bind, chili powder can be substituted for the chili paste.

Serve this Indian condiment with grilled chicken, curries or sliced tomatoes.

(Layered Corn Tortillas, Tomato Sauce, and Cheese)

This recipe is an accompaniment for Panfried Pressed Poussins .

Pepper vinegar—the aromatic, piquant liquid from chiles that have been pickled for at least 3 weeks—is a household staple in many parts of the South. It is used in the kitchen and on the table to liven up stews and vegetable dishes. Store-bought pepper vinegar is available in southern supermarkets and West Indian markets.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. From northeastern Thailand, som tai is a salad Thais and farangs-the Thai name for foreigners-have come to love. It is traditionally made with grated green (unripe) papaya that is pounded slightly to soften the fibers before being tossed with lime juice, dried shrimp, and chilies. As the availability of green papaya in the United States is limited, we used cucumber and carrot. We also left out the dried shrimp in order to create a more delicate but still delicious dish.

Carnitas is a traditional Mexican dish of fried pork. In this version, the meat is braised with vegetables and spices. For best results, use large, meaty ham hocks.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

It takes one to two days to marinate the meat for this recipe, but it's worth it. These will be some of the best ribs you'll ever eat.

At the ever-popular Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe, chocolate and devilishly hot chile pequín flakes come together in an ice cream not soon forgotten. Our version is rich but almost austere compared to chef Katharine Kagel's original, the recipe for which appears in Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook.

This main-course soup is called pho in Vietnam, where it is eaten at any time of day.