In my parent’s house, Chinese food is virtually synonymous with “leftovers.” My family has a habit of ordering far too much takeout and storing it in the fridge for days in little paper boxes. They respect Chinese food, viewing it as delicious the first time around, but for them, ordering Chinese is as much about convenience as it is taste. They love the fact that they can enjoy three, four, or even five meals by ordering a single one by putting kung pow beef over rice or reheating chow mein.

Sushi is a pretty hot topic in America these days. While it’s easier than ever to find a high-quality sushi joint near your home, it’s not necessarily easy to pick up the traditional ingredients you need to make sushi yourself. Kampyo is one of these hard-to-find sushi fillings that’s often talked about in traditional recipes for futomaki sushi.

If you’re after something a bit different from your typical supermarket beef jerky, Savage Jerky might be the brand for you. This modern brand offers a mix of traditional flavors, Cuban-inspired citrus flavors, buffalo flavors, and even incredibly hot jerkies. Here’s a look at some of Savage beef jerky’s more popular flavors.

In my opinion, one of the most liberating parts of cooking is when a recipe really comes together. There’s no feeling that compares to the exhilarating sense of mastery that you get when you unlock the ability to create your favorite foods right at home in your kitchen whenever you want.

I was at a sushi bar in Los Angeles perhaps two years ago when I witnessed a particularly embarrassing interaction. A woman was talking to one of the chefs (who spoke very good English) and she forced the poor man to explain in great detail what all of the ingredients in her sushi roll were. She wasn’t content with normal explanations, either. Instead, she demanded that he describe all of the ingredients in simple English terms — seaweed instead of nori and so forth. When he tried to define gobo, however, she refused to believe him.

If you’re after an authentic Mexican experience, one of the things that’s hard to get right is the cheese. Mexican cuisine uses many unique kinds of cheese, including asadero cheese, queso fresco, and even the not-quite cheese called crema. A recipe that uses these authentic cheeses instead of the closest American substitute tastes a little bit different and has a slightly different range of textures, meaning it’s a different overall experience that can make a dish that much more delicious.

While all types of curries are delicious, there will always be a special place in my heart for authentic Indian dishes made with real spices. There’s something about toasted cardamom, chiles, and ginger that goes really, really well with the other ingredients you find in curry. My favorite recipes use carefully crafted spice blends with just the right kind of garam masala to get the perfect flavor. In other words, there’s no substitute for real kasoori methi.