Recipe Archive

Side Dishes

Side dishes should earn their place at the table. These recipes focus on contrast, seasoning, and supporting flavors that make the whole meal better.

1006 recipes

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Recipes

Sakura Ebi Gohan (桜えびご飯, spring shrimp rice)

Chef Takumi

Sakura Ebi Gohan (桜えびご飯, spring shrimp rice)

Tiny dried sakura ebi do nearly all the work here, staining the rice pale pink and giving it a sweet sea fragrance with only sake, shoyu, and patience.

Salmon and Roe Rice (はらこ飯, Harako-meshi)

Chef Takumi

Salmon and Roe Rice (はらこ飯, Harako-meshi)

Harako-meshi is Miyagi's autumn rice bowl: salmon first simmered gently, then its broth used to cook the rice, with bright ikura set on top at the end.

Salvia Fritta

Chef Graziella

Salvia Fritta

Sage leaves in their thinnest possible coating of batter, fried until shatteringly crisp. A contorno so simple it seems like nothing, until you taste it.

Sambal Goreng Boontjes

Chef Joost

Sambal Goreng Boontjes

Sambal goreng boontjes is the workhorse vegetable of the Indo-Dutch rijsttafel: green beans kept crisp in fried chile paste, coconut cream, and ketjap, bright enough to steady a table of many dishes.

Sambal Goreng Hati

Chef Joost

Sambal Goreng Hati

The name says exactly what the dish is: liver carried through fried chili paste and coconut milk, a small fierce plate from the Indo-Dutch rijsttafel.

Sambal Goreng Kentang

Chef Joost

Sambal Goreng Kentang

The Indo-Dutch rijsttafel would be poorer without these crisp potato matchsticks, fried first, then lacquered in sambal, ketjap manis, garlic, and tamarind.

Sambal Goreng Telor

Chef Joost

Sambal Goreng Telor

The brown-sauced egg of the Indo-Dutch rijsttafel: boiled, fried, then simmered until chile, coconut, and ketjap cling to it like family memory.

Sambal Goreng Tempeh

Chef Joost

Sambal Goreng Tempeh

Fermented soybean tempeh, fried crisp and lacquered with sweet chili, ketjap, and coconut, carries the Indo-Dutch table's most practical wisdom: make it ahead, then pass it generously.

Sauerkraut nach Wiener Art

Chef Elsa

Sauerkraut nach Wiener Art

White cabbage sauerkraut braised low and slow with caraway, juniper, and a bay leaf until it turns golden and mellow, the way every Gasthaus in Vienna has served it for centuries.

Sausage and Apple Stuffing

Chef Dean

Sausage and Apple Stuffing

Crusty bread cubes mingled with crumbled Italian sausage and tart apple, bound by sage-perfumed stock and baked until the top shatters golden while the interior stays moist and giving.

Sautéed Burdock and Carrot (きんぴらごぼう, Kinpira Gobō)

Chef Takumi

Sautéed Burdock and Carrot (きんぴらごぼう, Kinpira Gobō)

Kinpira gobō is a knife lesson in a small pan: earthy burdock and sweet carrot cut fine, cooked quickly, and glazed until every strand shines.

Sautéed Green Beans with Tasso Ham

Chef Remy

Sautéed Green Beans with Tasso Ham

Fresh green beans sautéed with smoky tasso ham, sweet caramelized onions, and golden garlic, finished with a splash of chicken stock that brings everything together into pure Louisiana comfort.

Savory Crawfish Beignets

Chef Remy

Savory Crawfish Beignets

Tender Louisiana crawfish folded into a light, seasoned batter, fried to golden perfection, and served with spicy Creole remoulade, the kind of appetizer that has folks circling back for seconds before the first batch is gone.

Savory Potato Kugel

Chef Dean

Savory Potato Kugel

Golden-crusted potato casserole with crispy edges and a tender, onion-laced interior. This is the kugel that silences a table of relatives, the one they'll ask you to bring every year.

Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin

Chef Dean

Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin

Silky layers of tender potato swimming in cream and nutty Gruyère, crowned with a burnished crust that shatters under your spoon. This is the dish that makes people ask for seconds before they've finished their firsts.

Schales

Chef Klaus

Schales

The Saarland oven cousin of Dibbelabbes, raw potato grated fine, squeezed dry, seasoned with bacon and onion, then baked until the top sets and the middle cuts clean.

Schorseneren in Witte Saus

Chef Joost

Schorseneren in Witte Saus

The root Dutch cooks called kitchen-maid's sorrow becomes winter asparagus at the table: black salsify, patient peeling, white sauce, nutmeg, and one forgotten vegetable refusing to be forgotten.

Schwammerl in Rahm (Creamed Wild Mushrooms)

Chef Elsa

Schwammerl in Rahm (Creamed Wild Mushrooms)

Golden wild Eierschwammerl sautéed in butter and finished in cream with a whisper of marjoram and nutmeg. Late summer in the Austrian Alps, in a pan.

Sekihan (赤飯, celebratory red bean rice)

Chef Takumi

Sekihan (赤飯, celebratory red bean rice)

Sekihan looks ceremonial, but the work is plain: soak the sticky rice well, save the bean liquor, and steam until each grain turns rosy, tender, and quietly chewy.

Semmelknödel (Austrian Bread Dumplings)

Chef Elsa

Semmelknödel (Austrian Bread Dumplings)

Austria's soft, pillowy bread dumplings made from day-old Semmeln, parsley, and eggs, shaped by hand and simmered until they're ready to soak up every last drop of Bratensaft on your plate.

Semmelknödel

Chef Klaus

Semmelknödel

Altbayern's bread dumpling lives on stale rolls and patience: dry bread, warm milk, a gentle hand, and water that trembles instead of boils.

Serviettenknödel

Chef Elsa

Serviettenknödel

Bread dumpling dough rolled into a log, wrapped in cloth, and simmered until the slices come out pillowy and firm, ready to soak up every drop of roast gravy on the plate.

Sesame-Dressed Kabocha (かぼちゃのごま和え, Kabocha no Goma-ae)

Chef Takumi

Sesame-Dressed Kabocha (かぼちゃのごま和え, Kabocha no Goma-ae)

Kabocha no goma-ae is autumn squash made plain and good: steamed until tender, then folded through fragrant ground sesame, shoyu, and sugar while the flesh is still warm.

Sesame Ginger Green Beans

Chef Dean

Sesame Ginger Green Beans

Blistered green beans tossed in a glossy glaze of soy, fresh ginger, and toasted sesame, the kind of quick-fire side dish that steals the show from whatever you meant to be the main course.

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