This adaptation of Momofuku's chicken wings is everything the official recipe is not: Namely simple, quick, and immediately satisfying. More

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While you're never going to be able to slow-cook a whole slab of St. Louis style ribs on your stovetop, a wok is an excellent way to add a bit of light smoke flavor to smaller foods. It requires no special equipment other than a wok and a rack. Since the whole thing happens in a tightly sealed foil tent, very little smoke actually enters the room (less than say, searing a few steaks off). More

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It turns out that not only do you not need a large volume of water to cook pasta, but in fact, the water does not even have to be boiling. Wait. What? Let me explain. I, and every other trained cook I know have been taught that when cooking pasta, you need to have a large pot of boiling water. If my wife turned out to be right about this, just think of the pastabilities! This could turn my whole pasta-cooking regime on its head. Some serious testing was in order—I called downstairs and told my doorman that I hope he likes noodles, cause that's gonna be his lunch for a few days. More

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Summers are made for the grill, but what's a steak lover to do when the weather's too cold and wet to light the suckers up? Just cook them indoors. Indeed, pan-seared steaks have several distinct advantages over grilled steaks—enough that there are times when given the two choices, I'll choose pan-seared just for the sake of it. While grilling will get you a rapid-fire crust on your steak with all those delightfully crisp, on-the-verge-of-burnt bits and a good smoky flavor, I find that the even golden brown crust you can develop in a hot cast-iron pan really accentuates the flavor of the beef itself, letting it shine. On top of that, pan-searing affords you the opportunity to add your own flavorings in the form of aromatics. Pan-seared steaks come out about 4 percent moister to boot.

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I've been cheating on Signore Nutella. If Nutella is like a familiar pair of comfy jeans, then lately I've been trying on evening gowns, taking it up a notch or two on the gianduja scale with crema di gianduja from some of Italy's finest confectioners. Last week, I popped over to the gastronomic emporium Volpetti in the Testaccio section of Rome on a sworn mission to just browse (the rent is due soon). Willpower dissolved when I spotted a jar of Giacometta, the crema di gianduja by Piemontese chocolate producer Giraudi. The little card attached proclaimed the percentage of Piemontese hazelnuts at a respectable 32 percent. Sold. Rent, be damned!... More

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There is no better place on earth to experience the glory of gianduja than in Piedmont’s elegant, capital city of Torino, which also happens to be the birthplace of both solid chocolate and gianduja. But you can find it Stateside, too. Here's where. More

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Our desert island dumpling would be the chewy-crispy, pork-filled, Beijing-style guo tie. You'll see them on the menu as fried dumplings or potstickers. Last week, we visited every dumpling shop in Chinatown to see whose were best. More

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I'm about 10% of the way into a quest to find the best Xiao Long Bao—the soup-filled dumplings from Shanghai—in Manhattan. It's a tough but rewarding job that involves plenty of pork, hand-stretched pastry, and soup-stained clothes. The fact that our office is right in the middle of Chinatown makes things a bit easier, and indeed, I managed to accidentally discover what might be one of the top contenders during the middle of a torrential downpour a couple weeks ago. Shanghai Cafe Deluxe has its hits and misses, but the soup dumplings are a hit. More

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When you start spending time in Manhattan's Chinatown, the idea of shelling out more than $6 for a meal seems preposterous. Because it's possible to fill up for about $2. There's so much to eat in the neighborhood that we could probably write this article ten times over. ("100 Great Meals Under $6?") But as a first step, here are 10 insanely good deals in Chinatown—tasty eats for under $6. Sometimes way under. More

Note: You can add a few drops of red food coloring to the marinade if you want a deeper red hue on your ribs. Baby back ribs will work just as well as St. Louis-cut. You can cook ribs the... More

Click through to the slideshow for step-by-step photos! » About the author: After graduating from MIT, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt spent many years as a chef, recipe developer, writer, and editor in Boston. He now lives in New York with his... More