Papaya trees.

Yong tau foo began as a dish of Chinese stuffed tofu, but now can mean any of a variety of stuffed vegetables.

Fermented bean curd, sometimes called "Chinese cheese" because of its similarity in texture, smell, and flavor to bleu cheese.

Step-by-step photo instructions on how to chop and prepare sugarcane.

Peanut butter and white chocolate drizzled popcorn.

Looks like they're sour cream and onion potato chips, but they're not. Would you like a seaweed and salt chip?

Loofah, the stuff you scrub with in the shower, is also edible.

Che dau trang (Vietnamese dessert soup with white beans and sticky rice in coconut milk). I make mine with black-eyed peas.

Meyer lemon granitas.

Banh tet chuoi, Vietnamese sticky rice cakes with baby bananas, steamed in banana leaves.

Chinese hot and sour soup, a mainstay of many restaurants, is easy to create at home. The "hot" is white pepper and the "sour" is black vinegar.

Unlike Indian or Thai curries, ca ri ga (Vietnamese chicken curry) is more like a stew.

"Animal-style" fries and other In-N-Out "hidden menu" items, are no longer secret!

Com lam (Vietnamese sticky rice in bamboo) in Sa Pa, Vietnam.

How much do I love borscht? I made a 6-quart pot and ate it every day over the course of a week. And it was good every single time.

Taiwanese popcorn tofu, a vegetarian take on a tea house snack favorite.

What greater recipe to celebrate the love between purple cauliflower and purple yams than Indian aloo (Technically potatoes, yes I know, but let's give me a little leeway?) gobi (cauliflower).

A little video demonstration on how I make scrambled egg omelets in a wok.

Yang Chow fried rice, a staple at most Chinese restaurants.

Blood orange granitas.

What to do when my uncle gave me a colander full of chili peppers? I made tuong ot xa (Vietnamese lemongrass chili sauce).

Homemade char siu (Chinese barbecued pork). Juicy and flavorful without the food coloring-enhanced unreal pink color.

German oven pancakes with cinnamon-apple topping. Just in time for National Pancake Day!

It's loads cheaper to make your own Vietnamese banh mi. Plus, you can stuff it with as much meat as you'd like. The first of three banh mi recipes.

Chocolate mochi with Nutella filling. Just in time for World Nutella Day!

Forget wheatgrass! Pennywort has been credited with helping a Chinese tai chi master live to 256 and a Sri Lankan king satisfy his harem of 50 women. My recipe for nuoc rau ma (Vietnamese pennywort juice).

Bac ha, essential to Vietnamese canh chua (sour soup), resembles the elephant ear plant. But make sure it's the alocasia odora variety or else you'll have a very allergic reaction.

Durian, the king of fruits. While I can't bear its stench or butter-like consistency when fresh or frozen, I love eating it as ice cream.

Caramelizing sugar is what gives Vietnamese braised pork its deep color and slightly molasses flavor.

Trieu Chau/Chiu Chow, the eastern part of Guang Dong province, features a more delicate touch to Cantonese food.

"Harsmar" was all over the menu. So I ordered it... And found out I ate rehydrated fallopian tubes of the Asiatic grass frog!!!

One of my favorite fusion recipes - Sriracha buffalo wings.

Just in time for the holidays. Peruvian green chili sauce.

Monkey head or lion's mane mushrooms have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years, but I made them into cream of four mushroom soup.

No family? No friends? My rankings of frozen turkey dinners if you're by your lonesome on Thanksgiving Day.

Preserving duck eggs with a mixture of clay, ash, salt, and lime leaves the albumen translucent and gelatinous, and the yolk takes on a creamy, almost cheese-like quality.

Fessenjan (Persian walnut pomegranate glaze with Cornish game hens) looks even more colorful on a bed of saffron rice and dusted with fresh pomegranate seeds.

I know most people wait 3 days to a week for kimchee to ferment before eating, but a fresh batch of kimchee is tasty too.

Baked figs stuffed with walnuts, wrapped in prosciutto, and drizzled with honey.

Ravioli with basil, squash blossoms, and ricotta using wonton wrappers.

The ultimate in fusion cusine - filet mignon pho for only $6.

Sinh to dam (Vietnamese aloe vera shake).

How to properly season a wok so it remains non-stick and rust-free for life.

The appearance of the bright fuchsia dragonfruit with its bright green scales, trailing from vines is just so arresting.

Lavender biscuits slathered with homemade butter and honey.

Chicken pot pie with cilantro biscuits.

Have you eaten yellow watermelon before?

I'm no Persephone because I could never stop at just 3 measly pomegranate seeds.