Easy, fresh spring rolls for a light yet filling dinner

Ali Slagle's new recipe is fun to make and very versatile.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story January 4, 2024 Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Easy, fresh spring rolls with a punchy peanut sauce By The New York Times Cooking Tanya Sichynsky — a senior staff editor you might know from The Veggie — has written a friendly "start here" guide for common cooking resolutions. It's worth a read, especially for this encouraging suggestion: "Try to become just a little bit better at something, rather than change your habits wholesale." If one of your resolutions is to eat less red meat, we have plenty of inspiring recipes for you, including this new one by Ali Slagle for fresh spring rolls. They're light yet filling, especially if eaten with a limey, chile-spiked peanut sauce. It's a recipe that helps you improve and fine-tune all sorts of cooking skills: assembling a pleasing mix of simple proteins, crunchy vegetables and fresh herbs; striking the right balance of lime juice and fish sauce in your nước chấm; and, of course, rolling your rolls. This dexterity will come in handy for all sorts of delicious and fun meatless meals, like bean and cheese burritos, rolexes, cabbage rolls and hand rolls. Featured Recipe Fresh Spring Rolls View Recipe → If you'd like to get better at stir-frying, start with Vivian Chan-Tam's moo goo gai pan. As Vivian notes, the basic components of this classic Chinese American dish have remained relatively unchanged over the years: tender slices of chicken breast and an assortment of vegetables coated in a light, savory sauce. Those canned bamboo shoots and water chestnuts kicking around in your cabinets will shine here. Mastering an array of skillet chicken dinners — that is, dinners that are cooked from start to finish in one big shallow pan — is crucial to getting delicious meals on the table on busy weeknights. This pan-seared chicken with harissa, dates and citrus from Yewande Komolafe is a terrific recipe to keep up your sleeve, as it's a perfect mix of shelf-stable staples (a tube of harissa, dried dates) and bright, winter-dread-defying ingredients (oranges, limes and Greek yogurt). "Before we were finished eating, my partner asked when I'd make it again," Eleanor, a reader, writes. "Total keeper!" While not made in a skillet, Ali Slagle's one-pot rice and beans dish is — you guessed it — a one-pot affair. Make this 30-minute recipe over and over to serve with whatever protein you like (michelada chicken? Baked tilapia?), or on its own as a simple and satisfying meal. If you'd like to eat more leafy greens in 2024, these salt and vinegar kale chips from Hetty Lui McKinnon make that resolution a snap. The roasted leaves become shatteringly crisp in the oven, and Hetty pairs them with pan-fried chickpeas for even more golden crispy goodness. With a lacy fried egg and slices of avocado, these kale chips become a hearty dinner; by themselves, they're an excellent snack. And if you want to get better at fortifying breakfasts, Genevieve Ko's overnight oats are here to help. The recipe is highly customizable — use milk or your favorite dairy alternative; add whichever nuts, seeds and dried fruits you like; and sweeten things up (or not) with maple syrup, brown sugar or honey. New year, new breakfast. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Moo Goo Gai Pan By Vivian Chan-Tam 45 minutes Makes 4 servings Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Pan-Seared Chicken With Harissa, Dates and Citrus By Yewande Komolafe 40 minutes Makes 4 servings Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. One-Pot Rice and Beans By Ali Slagle 30 minutes Makes 4 servings Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips With Fried Chickpeas and Avocado By Hetty Lui McKinnon 45 minutes Makes 4 servings David Malosh for The New York Times Overnight Oats By Genevieve Ko 5 minutes, plus overnight soaking Makes 2 cups Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter Fresh dinner ideas for busy people who want something great to eat, with NYT Cooking recipes sent to you weekly. Get it in your inbox Sign up for The Veggie newsletter Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties. Get it in your inbox Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Cooking from The New York Times. To stop receiving Cooking, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to NYT CookingGet the NYT Cooking app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018