I love cooking like this—simple, feel-good meals. Take a basic protein, some water, a few key seasonings and make something (great) out of almost nothing.  Here is a Taiwanese favorite from my wife’s family.

When we miraculously had the chance to meet up with Iron Chef Chen Kenichi last year at his Shisen Hanten Restaurant, one of the best moments of the evening was when he brought us into his kitchen and demonstrated an eggplant dish he was making for the staff. (He also gave us a bowl to take back to the table.) The dish was just like Chen himself: spicy, tangy, down-to-earth, and full of authentic Chinese flavor. I will never forget that experience.

My friend Tim came up with this on our recent trip to Philadelphia. I thought it was brilliant… bruschetta-style tomatoes are so good, why not use them as the perfect sandwich topping? The tomato/basil/vinegar mixture along with fresh mozzarella cheese, juicy chicken breasts, and crispy sourdough make this one of my new favorite items to grill.

Scarfing this down, along with a nice summer ale or a glass of light red wine on the patio, sounds like the perfect way to kick off the warm summer season.

Ramen is severely under-appreciated in the west. Don’t think of the little dried packets sold in America… I mean the deep, rich comfort food you find in little shops all over Japan. This is not fancy food, but feel-good stuff you scarf down from a countertop stall on the way home from a bar. If you’ve had good ramen while traveling in Japan, you probably miss it already. To me, quality ramen has a near-magical status.

Sometimes you just need a big old bowl of meat and pastry.

OK, so, veal. Veal tastes good, it’s easy to cook and – while I wouldn’t kill a baby cow every day – it makes for a nice change from the usual. It’s an extremely versatile ingredient with a subtle flavor profile; good sautéed, fried, stewed, braised or made into a stock.

Thanks to Jared Tague for this post.

This Italian classic combines my love of pasta, tomato sauce and cheese perfectly. Generally, ziti pasta is used for this dish, but I prefer to use penne. It’s smaller, and I think the shape of penne actually works better than actual ziti.