Twelve ways to set a table
An Asian meal isn't a single course — it's a chorus of small bowls. Soups and noodles, curries and rice, the smoke of grilled skewers and the slow steam of dim sum baskets. Browse the 12 categories that organise our 582-recipe collection.
First bites — what the table greets you with.
Broths simmered slow — clarity, depth, restoration.
Hand-pulled, ribbon-cut, slurped from the bowl.
The grain that feeds the continent — claypot, plate, fragrant.
Spice on spice — every region a different fire.
Wok-tossed in a flash — char, fragrance, motion.
Smoke on the skewer — alleys, charcoal, late nights.
Bamboo-stack steam — pleated, parcelled, gentle.
The centre of the meal — claypots, braises, roasts.
Sold from carts at dusk — handheld, cheap, perfect.
Sweet endings: shaved ice, sticky rice, milky tea.
From bittermelon teas to glittering bubble milk.
A table set in Asia is a small geography — soup at the centre, rice as horizon, side dishes as villages.
Editor's note · Taste of Asia