Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez Sukuma wiki—sautéed collard greens typically cooked with a fragrant combination of onions, tomatoes, and ginger—is a popular dish in Kenya and one of my favorite ways to eat dark leafy greens. While most kids have to be forced to eat their green vegetables, I have fond memories of eagerly eating these simply prepared collard greens alongside ugali (cooked cornmeal), both of which my Kenyan grandmother would prepare for me.  Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez At local markets in Kenya, sukuma (collard green) vendors hold a tight bundle of the fresh stemmed and rolled ..read more

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik Floundering on the internets for new ways to prepare this delicate white-fleshed flatfish? Here are our ten go-to methods for getting flounder on the table, ranging from simple pan-seared, lemon-kissed treatments like meunière and piccata to battering and deep-frying for sandwiches and tacos. Sole Meunière Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez This classic preparation is quick, easy, and arguably one of the best ways to serve delicate fillets like flounder. West Lake Soup Serious Eats / Qi Ai This comforting soup is often made with ground pork or beef, but we really like usin ..read more

Serious Eats / Mai Kakish For such a humble and simple dish, hummus has inspired an impressive and complex battle of opinions. From texture and flavor to cooking techniques, everyone seems to think there is a best or right way to make hummus. Though there are some guiding principles to keep in mind—more on that below—how you prepare the spread ultimately comes down to personal preference. Silky hummus is a triumphant treat. But if we start splitting hairs over the degree of smoothness and trouble ourselves to the point of vowing to never to make hummus again unless we painstakingly peel each c ..read more

Serious Eats / Qi Ai Being Asian, I always considered myself fairly lucky not to have grown up lactose-intolerant. Heck, my first real paying job was scooping ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, and as a pastry chef, I loved coming up with new flavors of ice cream. Flash forward a few decades and I'm popping Lactaid tablets even before I start melting the cheese on my burger. Consequently, I'm always on the hunt for great dairy-free options that don't make me feel like I'm missing out on something. It can be a real challenge to create dairy-free dishes that satisfy on all fronts—particularly when it ..read more

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez There are few foods more reviled than gefilte fish—the mere mention of it almost always triggers a compulsory acknowledgement of its inherent disgustingness. Gefilte fish elicits acks and icks in conversation and preemptive apologies from food and recipe writers, who manage to say in a single breath: "I value this food enough to spill ink about it" and "of course we all agree it's pretty gross." I will not do that, because I do not believe it. Yes, it's a poached fish ball often served in its own chilled jelly, but I don't think there's anything particularly offens ..read more

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez I would not say these are the best of times. I would not say these are the chillest of times. I would not say, as we emerge from a dark and hot winter into a wet and hotter spring, that these are the most predictable of times. And yet I cannot tell you how excited I am that we are barreling toward Passover. Passover sucks (a week-plus of unleavened meals, a distinct heaviness in the form of constant reminders of our past, too much sugar-wine, etc.), but it always brings matzo times. And I positively adore matzo times. To be clear: Matzo sucks, too. No, I hear you—m ..read more

Serious Eats / Vy Tran Vietnamese bánh tráng (rice paper) is endlessly adaptable. After soaking, it can be stuffed with vegetables, herbs, meat, or seafood for a soft summer roll, or crisped to a golden crunch. Rice paper recipes are also ideal for the warmer months; since the wrapper itself isn't heavy, almost anything you chose to stuff it with turns it into a light meal or snack. Keep reading for some of our favorites! Bánh Tráng Nướng (Grilled Vietnamese Rice Paper With Egg, Pork, and Condiments) Serious Eats / Jenny Dorsey A popular street food among school kids in Vietnam, bánh tráng n ..read more

Serious Eats / Greg Baker When I owned restaurants, I had an enormous smoker in the back of one that ran almost daily. There was always mullet (the fish—it's a Florida thing), bacon, pastrami, ham, or the occasional whole pig that needed several hours of bathing in smoke. I often used charcoal as my starter, which provided a good base heat before adding oak logs. And, like many people, I used a chimney starter to get those coals hot. Charcoal chimney starters are super easy to use: fill them, light 'em, walk away for about 25 minutes and you've got coals ready to go. I’ve used several brands o ..read more

Serious Eats / Kelli Solomon, Amanda Suarez When I finally shake off the winter doldrums each spring, one of the first things I do is fire up the grill. Truthfully, I'm not opposed to using the grill any time of year—there may even be a photo of me shoveling a pathway on my dad's deck from the door to the grill and nowhere else—but my commitment to grilling kicks into high gear, when I have access to all the seasonal green veggies: ramps, garlic scapes, and, of course, asparagus. The only problem with these spring grill-ables is that they all have a not-so-nifty habit of falling right through ..read more

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