Cookbooks

You can have almost no money and still have enough to live off this stuff for weeks, months, years. Eat enough and you'll start to look for ways to make it different: add a little more sauce, a little less sauce, cook the noodles less, cook them more, add more water, less water, add an egg, scramble the egg, etc. Me, I've become a freak when it comes to my instant ramen. Don't fuck wit it, don't fuck wit me, let me do my thing. This is how I do my own thing.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm. Japanese short-grain white rice is the only rice we make. We, like all restaurants and many home cooks, use a rice cooker to prepare it—it's just that much easier and more reliable than cooking rice on the stove. Here are directions for both methods.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm. Ssämjang—a spicy fermented bean paste sold in Korean markets—is a traditional accompaniment to grilled meats. Ssämjang is like the love child of two Korean sauces: a mix of denjang (Korea's funkier answer to Japanese miso) and kochujang, a spicy chile paste. Anyway, rather than just thinning out the ssämjang with oil or water as is most commonly done, we've allied ssämjang with extra kochujang and added vinegar in the mix to bring up the acidity of the sauce.

Our bo ssäm was a long time in the making before it showed up on the menu. I'd had an inkling for years it would be a good idea—bo ssäm is a supercommon dish in Korean restaurants, though the ingredients and cooking that go into it are frequently an afterthought. The oysters are usually Gulf oysters from a bucket, the kind that are really only suited to frying; the pork is belly that's been boiled into submission. Almost every time I ate it at a restaurant, I'd think about how much better it would be if all the ingredients were awesome. The first time we made one was for family meal back when we'd just started serving kimchi puree on our oysters at Noodle Bar. One of the new cooks was fucking up oysters left and right, so I made him shuck a few dozen perfectly, and then we ate them ssäm-style: wrapped up in lettuce with rice, kimchi, and some shredded pork shoulder that was otherwise destined for the ramen bowl. (The shoulder in our bo ssäm is, essentially, the same shoulder we put in the soup at Noodle Bar, except that we add more sugar in the last step to make the crust even more delicious—it's like a shoulder encrusted in pig candy.) So there, in the cramped, dark subterranean kitchen of Noodle Bar, I ate the best bo ssäm of my life. I think that experience and our take on the bo ssäm are typical of the way we approach "traditional" dishes: with one foot rooted in tradition and the other foot kicking it forward. There is a great line from Emerson that sums up my perspective perfectly: "Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote these books."

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm. This is the kimchi we use most often in our cooking and in our restaurants.

At first glance, this might look like a simple lamb stew, but you will be delighted by its finesse when you remove the lamb from the bone, return it to the pot, and toss with your favorite pasta. The secret to this deep and succulent sauce is the Basic Fond de Veau , a reduced veal stock whose unctuousness is well worth the extra preparation. The lamb can be made ahead, to concentrate the flavors. This ragout makes a surprisingly satisfying dish for entertaining.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef John Besh's Basic Fond de Veau. I never make a strong beef stock, preferring instead the viscosity, collagen, and more delicate flavor that comes from using veal bones. This Veal Stock is based on veal shanks.

Trout cooked this way is called müllerin, "the miller's wife's" fish, because it's made from filets of mountain trout fished from the stream that powers the flour mill. It is precisely the same preparation and derivation as the French meunière. Don't be fooled by its apparent simplicity: layers of flavor are built by each ingredient in its turn—it is elegant in its simplicity. The trout filets are lightly coated with flour, browned in a pan with good butter, and by the time the fish is cooked, the butter has turned nutty brown and the fish is crisp and tender. Just before serving, a squeeze of lemon and freshly chopped parsley turn the butter in the pan into bubbly foam which is then spooned over each filet.

This sauce is the cook's best friend and the building block of many great French dishes. The powdered stuff sold in stores is not even in the same ballpark. This fond, or foundation sauce, takes my Basic Veal Stock then flavors and reduces it to intensify its power. Fond de Veau does require a bit of preparation and is probably the most expensive sauce I use, but it is so worth it for the potent, authentic flavor it confers to something like sautéed porcini mushrooms or as literally the secret sauce in the Ragout of Lamb Shoulder with Cavatelli.

Oh lentils, what can't you do? Here they join forces with miso to create a flavorful, silky gravy that you'll want to pour over everything. You have my permission to do so, but let's start here: with quinoa, sautéed seitan, and broccoli that's steamed perfectly, still crispy and bright. For a more organic feel, tear the seitan into bite-size pieces with your hands instead of slicing it with a knife. You'll have more gravy than you need, but reserve the rest for sopping up with toast or biscuits for breakfast.

Gravy is pure comfort for me, and if I can make a gravy into a meal, so much the better. This is one of my favorite ways to have a rich, comforting, and filling dinner in less than half an hour. It also contains one of my favorite methods to get a toasty gravy base with lots of depth—toasting bread crumbs. After caramelizing the onions, you sprinkle in the bread crumbs and toss them around a bit until golden brown. Then, when you add the liquid ingredients, the bread crumbs thicken and flavor the gravy. It's wonderful served with grilled or sautéed kale, and over mashed potatoes.

If you have a fetish for dark chocolate, this will fuel your flame. It will also energize your body with antioxidants that boost blood flow to the brain (and a few other vital organs). Cocoa, kale, and cherries, three beloved and sexy superfoods, contain flavonoids and antioxidants that fight heart disease and diabetes and even promote brain growth.

There is so much folate in this pesto, you'll make a pound of serotonin before bedtime, which means a night of great sleep and a smile in the morning. Both kale and walnuts feed your lover's brain with the omega-3 ALA , which is converted into molecules that protect your brain cells and are linked to a lower risk of depression. The pesto is equally delicious on pasta or brushed on grilled chicken.

I like the flavor of pie dough made with butter, but I sometimes like to include a few tablespoons of lard in the dough. The butter gives a lovely rich flavor and tenderness and the lard makes the dough crisper and flakier, and easier to handle. If you don't have good, fresh lard on hand, organic vegetable shortening will accomplish the same result. The butter and lard are cut and worked into smaller pieces in this dough creating a more tender pastry than the crisp gallette dough.

The success of a dessert as simple as apple pie depends on using perfect ingredients: tart, flavorful apples like Sierra Beauty, good buttery pie dough, and just enough sugar to bring out the flavor of the apples. You can always make a double-crusted pie, but for something different, try this one with its crumb topping.

This pasta is tasty made with kale, collards, or any greens you have growing in the garden. I will go and cut whatever is ready or use what I brought home from the farmers' market. I like to include something that has a bit of spice, such as broccoli rabe, red mustards, or mature rocket. Many times I will cook more greens than I need and put them in the refrigerator to make a quick pasta another time. (Add the garlic and goat cheese at the time you are going to toss them with the pasta.) This is perfect for those days when dinnertime shows up before you know it.

This gluten-free crust is inspired by the very popular gluten-free cakes we've baked at CakeLove for years. Here, I've added freshly ground golden flaxseeds, which add a wonderful, nutty aroma and taste to the dough. The rice flour lends sweetness, and millet is a good substitute for the starch component in flour, but it doesn't do much in the way of binding. That task is left to the tapioca and egg white, which help hold the dough together as you roll it out.

Like most recipes in this book, this salad can be altered endlessly and tweaked to your liking. Have a cup of kale left over from dinner? Dice it and mix into your fish salad for an added boost of flavor, fiber, and vitamin K. Or try adding some of your favorite hot sauce to this recipe and serve it on whole grain crackers as a snack or hors d'oeuvre. The options are endless.