Weeknight dinner doesnโt need to mean making the same few meals over and over. This list is full of easy Asian dinners that are simple enough for a busy night, from quick fried rice and noodle dishes to rice bowls, curries, and a few restaurant favorites you can make at home.
I tried to include a good mix of chicken, beef, seafood, and vegetarian recipes, along with different cooking methods. Some come together in one pan, others make good use of leftover rice, and a few let the oven, air fryer, or Instant Pot do most of the work.
Whether you have 20 minutes to get dinner on the table or a little more time to let something cook, thereโs plenty here to choose from.
Easy Asian Dinner Favorites
These are the dinners to start with when youโre not sure what youโre in the mood for. Thereโs a little bit of everything here, from crispy chicken and glazed salmon to easy stir-fries and one-pan dinners.
Chicken Katsu
Crispy panko-coated chicken is hard to go wrong with, especially when you add steamed rice, shredded cabbage, and katsu sauce. Chicken Katsu also cooks quickly because the chicken is pounded thin before breading and frying.Itโs a good one to make when youโre craving something youโd normally order at a Japanese restaurant but donโt want to go out.
Miso Salmon
Miso Salmon gets baked until tender, then broiled for a few minutes so the miso glaze caramelizes on top. Thereโs no need for a long marinade, which makes this one much easier to fit into a weeknight.Add rice and a simple vegetable and dinner is done.
Pad Krapow Tofu
For a meatless dinner, Pad Krapow Tofu has crispy pieces of tofu with basil, chilies, and a savory sauce. Serve it over jasmine rice and add a fried egg on top if youโd like.You can also adjust the chilies depending on how spicy you want it.
Gochujang Pasta
Gochujang Pasta combines Korean gochujang with a creamy pasta sauce, shrimp, mushrooms, and spinach. Itโs a good option when you want pasta for dinner but want something different from the usual tomato or cream sauce.The gochujang gives the sauce a little heat, so you can adjust the amount to your taste.
Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli
Chicken and broccoli cook together on one sheet pan in Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli, which means you donโt have to cook the main dish and vegetable separately.Serve everything over rice and spoon any extra teriyaki sauce over the top. This is also a good one for meal prep since the chicken, broccoli, and rice reheat well together.
Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken is marinated with lemongrass, garlic, shallots, and fish sauce, then you can pan-sear, grill, bake, or air fry it depending on what works best for dinner that night.Serve it with rice, sliced cucumbers, pickled vegetables, or whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand.
Miso Cod
Most of the work for Miso Cod happens ahead of time. Let the cod marinate in the refrigerator, then bake and broil it when youโre ready for dinner.The white miso glaze caramelizes under the broiler, and regular grocery-store cod works well, so you donโt need to find black cod or another specialty fish.
Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps
Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps use ground beef instead of thinly sliced marinated meat, which keeps the prep simple. The beef cooks in a soy garlic sauce, then everyone can fill their own lettuce cups with cucumbers, carrots, rice, kimchi, or whatever toppings they like.I like this style of dinner because you can keep it lighter with just lettuce or add rice when you want something more filling.
Quick Rice & Noodle Dishes
Leftover rice and a package of noodles can make dinner a lot easier on busy nights. Most of these are cooked in one pan, and several are easy to change depending on what vegetables or proteins you have in the fridge.
Spam Fried Rice
Spam Fried Rice is one of my favorite ways to turn leftover rice into dinner. The Spam gets browned first so the edges are golden, then everything comes together with vegetables, eggs, and a simple savory sauce.Frozen vegetables work well here too, which makes it especially easy to keep the ingredients on hand.
Yaki Udon (Japanese Stir-Fried Udon)
Thick, chewy udon noodles are the best part of Yaki Udon. This version has ground chicken, mushrooms, bok choy, and carrots tossed together in a savory sauce.Itโs also easy to change the vegetables depending on what needs to be used up in your refrigerator.
Thai Basil Fried Rice
Thai Basil Fried Rice gets most of its flavor from fresh Thai basil added near the end of cooking. I make mine with shrimp and eggs, but you can easily change the protein.Cold rice works best, so this is a good dinner to plan for the day after you make a big batch of rice.
Crab Fried Rice
If you want fried rice that feels a little different, Crab Fried Rice uses sweet lump crab with eggs, garlic, and light seasoning.The crab gets folded in near the end so the larger pieces stay intact, and the seasoning is kept simple enough that you can still taste the crab.
Kimchi Fried Rice
A jar of kimchi and some leftover rice can turn into dinner pretty quickly with Kimchi Fried Rice. Cooking the kimchi first gives it a deeper flavor, then gochujang adds some heat and color.Top it with a fried egg and green onions for an easy one-pan meal.
Egg Fried Rice
Egg Fried Rice is probably the simplest fried rice on this list and one of the easiest to customize. Add whatever vegetables you have, keep it simple with eggs, or toss in leftover chicken or another protein.Itโs also a good recipe to know when you have rice in the refrigerator but no dinner plan.
Vietnamese Fried Rice
Vietnamese Fried Rice (Com Chien) is a little more loaded than a basic fried rice, with Chinese sausage, shrimp, eggs, and vegetables mixed throughout.Jasmine rice works especially well, and letting the rice sit against the hot pan for a bit gives some of the grains a chance to crisp.
Easy Rice Bowls
Rice bowls are one of my favorite ways to make dinner feel easy while still being filling and flavorful.
Korean Beef Bowls
Korean Beef Bowls are made with ground beef cooked in a slightly sweet soy garlic sauce, so thereโs no slicing or marinating meat ahead of time.I usually add cucumbers and shredded carrots, but kimchi, a fried egg, green onions, or gochujang are all good toppings too.
Honey Garlic Shrimp Rice Bowls
The sauce is one of the best parts of this Honey Garlic Shrimp Rice Bowl because thereโs enough to spoon over the rice underneath.Add cucumber and avocado for some freshness, then finish with green onions and sesame seeds. Since shrimp cooks so quickly, this is especially useful when you need dinner without much planning ahead.
Air Fryer Salmon Bites
Cutting salmon into bite-size pieces helps Air Fryer Salmon Bites cook quickly and gives you more seasoned edges in every bite.Serve them over rice with cucumber, avocado, and spicy mayo for an easy salmon bowl. You can also set the toppings out separately and let everyone put together their own.
Bulgogi Bibimbap
Bulgogi Bibimbap takes a little more prep than the other bowls, but itโs a good choice when you want plenty of vegetables in one meal.It starts with rice, marinated bulgogi beef, sautรฉed vegetables, and a fried egg, then everything gets mixed together with bibimbap sauce before eating. The vegetables are flexible, so you can use what you already have.
Easy Curries & Comfort Dinners
These are the dinners Iโd pick when you want something warm with plenty of sauce to spoon over rice. They also make especially good leftovers since many curries taste even better after the flavors have had time to sit.
Instant Pot Japanese Curry
Instant Pot Japanese Curry has tender beef, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms in a thick Japanese curry sauce. The Instant Pot helps get the beef tender without having to simmer it on the stove for hours.Make extra rice because the leftovers are really good for lunch the next day.
Coconut Chicken Curry
Coconut Chicken Curry is one of the more flexible dinners on this list. Thinly sliced chicken cooks right in a creamy red curry coconut sauce, and you can change the vegetables depending on what you have.I usually use bell peppers and green beans, but zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms work too.
Instant Pot Butter Chicken
The Instant Pot makes Instant Pot Butter Chicken easier to fit into a weeknight because the chicken turns tender under pressure without a long simmer.The sauce is finished with cream after pressure cooking so it stays smooth and creamy, and you can adjust the cayenne depending on how mild or spicy your family likes it.
Making Weeknight Asian Dinners Easier
You donโt need to cook a completely different meal from scratch every night to add more Asian dinners to your week.
A few ingredients are especially helpful to keep around. Rice, noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, miso, coconut milk, and a few sauces or curry pastes can be used across a lot of these recipes. I also like keeping frozen vegetables around for fried rice and other quick meals.
Cooking a little extra rice is another easy shortcut. Refrigerated rice is actually better for fried rice, and you can use fresh rice for bowls or curries earlier in the week.
You can also mix up the cooking methods so youโre not standing over the stove every night. A sheet pan dinner, an air fryer recipe, and an Instant Pot meal can make the week feel much more manageable.
Start with a few recipes that sound good and build from there. Once you have some of the sauces and pantry ingredients on hand, a lot of these dinners become even easier to put together.
