Fast favorites FROM 2023

Need a quick weeknight meal? Look to recipes popular from last year

We’ve published our list of the 50 most popular recipes of 2023, and I’d like to compliment you on your excellent taste. The tinto de verano! Dumpling tomato salad with chile crisp vinaigrette! Mochiko chicken! Cacio e pepe and white lasagna! And the banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery in New York, which I think far outshines its famous cupcakes.

I’ve picked several recipes from the list to feature, dishes I feel are particularly good for a fast dinner.

GINGER CHICKEN WITH SESAME PEANUT SAUCE

In this crisp-skinned chicken dish, full of bold, zesty flavors, chicken legs are flavored with toasted sesame oil, garlic and ginger, then roasted until golden brown. They’re served with a creamy peanut-sesame sauce that’s spiked with even more ginger and garlic, which can be quickly whisked together while the chicken legs cook.

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Total time: 45 minutes, plus at least 1 hour’s marinating

For the chicken:

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger 3 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

3 ½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks 1 tablespoon grapeseed, safflower or other neutral oil

2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

For the peanut sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce or tamari, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar, plus more to taste

1 small garlic clove, finely grated or minced

½ teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 1 tablespoon honey, plus more to taste

½ cup smooth peanut butter, preferably natural

1. Prepare the chicken: In a small bowl, mix together sesame oil, salt, ginger and garlic, and smear mixture all over the chicken and underneath the skin. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet (or plate), preferably on a rack to allow air to circulate, and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

2. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove the rack under the chicken if you’ve used one. If chicken isn’t on a rimmed baking sheet, transfer it to one (you can line it with parchment to make cleanup easier, but it’s not necessary). Pat the legs dry with a paper towel. Drizzle chicken with the neutral oil. Roast until the chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pricked with a fork, 30 to 40 minutes.

3. While chicken is in the oven, make the peanut sauce: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger until combined, then whisk in sesame oil and honey.

Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth. If the mixture is very thick (and this depends on your brand of peanut butter), whisk in a few tablespoons of cold water until it becomes a thick but pourable sauce.

4. Transfer chicken to a serving plate and carefully pour any pan juices on the baking sheet into the bowl with the peanut sauce. Whisk until combined. Taste the sauce and add more soy sauce, vinegar or honey if you’d like.

5. Drizzle or brush some of the peanut sauce all over chicken pieces, reserving some sauce for serving. Garnish with scallions and serve with reserved peanut sauce.

KELLY MARSHALL/THE NEW YORK TIMES You could lean into wintry weather, if you’re somewhere cold right now, and simmer some stew. Or you could make these beachy shrimp tacos, which come with a side of sunshine.

DAVID MALOSH/ THE NEW YORK TIMES Ginger chicken with sesame peanut sauce. You can make this recipe with tofu if you don’t eat meat.