Woks: They can be powerful tools in the kitchen, as transformative as a sharp knife or that one trusty spatula. Or, they can be intimidating and underused, a pan that ends up forgotten in the back of a cabinet. Take this pre-recorded Zoom cooking class with guest chef J. Kenji López-Alt, the celebrated author of “The Food Lab” column and book and “The Wok: Recipes and Techniques,” for a class that will answer all your questions about wok cooking. Kenji starts with the basics: choosing the right wok for you and preparing it for daily cooking. Then, you’ll see a wok in action as Kenji teaches two of his favorite dishes from the new book. First up is Mapo Tofu, a classic Sichuan dish that literally means “pockmarked grandmother’s tofu” and that achieves the perfect balance of tender tofu, rich ground beef, fragrant aromatics and a perfect finishing drizzle of chili oil. Then, you’ll learn how to use your wok to make a batch of restaurant-worthy Kung Pao Chicken, which highlights the importance of a bit of prep work before you start cooking in a wok. Plus, Kenji throws together a crunchy and vibrant cucumber salad that will leave you addicted—as Kenji is—to the combination of yogurt and Sichuan Málà chili oil. Kenji will also walk you through good wok care, from washing to re-seasoning to storing. He covers common wok-related questions, leaving you feeling confident and inspired to cook with a wok as often as possible.

Biscuits are an icon of Southern baking, and some say it takes a lifetime to learn to make a really good one. Thankfully, Southern baking expert and Friend of Milk Street Cheryl Day taught a class with Milk Street that proves anyone can become a biscuit master (if they are willing to put in the practice). In this pre-recorded Zoom class, Cheryl teaches two recipes from her cookbook “Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking”: Flaky Butter Biscuits and Scallion and Cheddar Cathead Biscuits. About that name: Cheryl admits that Southerners are known to give their recipes colorful names. And Cathead biscuits are, well, as big as a cat’s head. They are also crisp and golden on the outside, soft and pillowy inside, and filled with scallions and cheddar cheese and just the right amount of black pepper. The Flaky Butter Biscuits have a shorter ingredient list and offer a perfect biscuit primer. We focus on the flaky factor here, and you’ll learn h ow to fold and stack the dough and correctly punch out biscuits with a cookie cutter in order to create those buttery layers. In class, Cheryl also tackles questions about ingredient variations and equipment choices — food processor? pastry blender? hands? — and how to turn leftovers (if there are any!) into her Southern Party Mix.

Guest chef Peter Reinhart, most recently the author of “Pizza Quest,” is the teacher of this pre-recorded Zoom cooking class that finally makes it possible to achieve restaurant-quality pizza at home. You’ll learn how to mix and easily handle a high-hydration dough, which requires different technique than sturdier doughs that have a higher ratio of flour to water. Peter shows you the stretch and fold method, which is a remarkable way to maximize gluten development and trap the carbon dioxide created by yeast. What does that mean in simple terms, you ask? Big, gorgeous air bubbles that you thought you could only get from your favorite pizzeria. When it comes to shaping, you’ll learn two approaches: a stretched, Neapolitan-style round dough and a no-fuss pan pizza. No matter which shape you choose, you can top it with Peter’s simple all-purpose pizza sauce and his secret garnishing sauce (hint: it’s a transformative mixture of peppers, garlic and vinegar)—or you can go rogue with your own favorite toppings. The best part? You don’t need a fancy oven to pull off feats of pizza magic. Peter walks you through baking tips, including his signature embedded cheese technique, to create memorable pizzas in run-of-the-mill home ovens.

Yes, homemade dumplings can be a part of your regular meal rotation. Guest chef Jing Gao, founder of Fly by Jing —the company behind the crowd favorite Sichuan Chili Crisp and other products made in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China—teaches this pre-recorded Zoom class that makes dumplings both easy and fun. Alongside Jing, you’ll learn how to whip up a big batch of pork and scallion dumplings using Chinese pantry fundamentals, like shaoxing wine, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil. Then, you’ll learn several folding techniques, from simple to more elaborate, how to cook your dumplings in two different ways—pan-fried and boiled—and several different dipping sauces to choose from. You’ll also hear from Jing about the process of founding Fly by Jing and the meteoric rise of the company, along with her favorite ways to use their Sichuan Chili Crisp and other sauces.

Treated with care, garlic is a cook’s dream ingredient: it can be pungent or mellow, crunchy or creamy, a bold flavor or a subtle background note. But to give garlic the culinary range it deserves, you need to know some basic information about how garlic w orks, and how it reacts to being sliced, smashed, simmered, fried and roasted. In this class, we covered it all. When you watch this pre-recorded Zoom lesson, you’ll learn how to quickly and easily peel garlic with minimal frustration. We discuss the advan tages of slicing versus mincing versus finely grating garlic, getting into the importance of particle size and the transformation that happens when you rupture cell walls. You’ll learn when and why to simmer or roast whole heads of garlic, and will get com fortable making garlic confit and crispy garlic chips. In addition to these techniques, we also make Spicy Garlic Soba with Greens, where we put garlic to work in two different ways. If you love garlic — or if you are in need of ways to tame its intense bite — this class is for you

The simplest recipes are the hardest. Think that’s a contradiction of terms? Consider the classic Roman dish Cacio e Pepe. It has just three ingredients, but it has frustrated countless chefs and is considered the most difficult pasta dish to make and serve even by Italians. Whether it’s a broken sauce, a curdled egg or a greasy texture, this seemingly simple dish can go sideways fast. Thankfully, Italian pasta expert extraordinaire Rolando Beramendi has taught a pre-recorded Zoom class with Milk Street to teach you how to execute it with confidence and grace. And for those who want to dig into a plate of pasta that doesn't come with a warning label, Rolando also makes one of the easiest pasta dishes: Spaghetti alla Carbonara. With Rolando as your guide, you’ll learn how to pick high-quality ingredients that will set you up for success, from sharp pecorino Romano to artisanal pasta to salty guanciale and fragrant black peppercorns. You’ll also learn the nuanced timing of both of these dishes, and why having your ingredients fully prepped and ready to go before you turn on a single burner is critical. You’ll also get a peek into Rolando’s experiences as the founder of Italian food importer Manicaretti, which means that eating his way through Italy is literally part of the job description. You’ll come away from this class several steps closer to pasta perfection.

Cancel that takeout order: it’s time you learned to make ramen at home. Guest chef Hugh Amano, author of “Let’s Make Ramen” and “Let’s Make Dumplings,” is the teacher of this pre-recorded Zoom cooking class all about the component parts of a perfect bowl of ramen. The star of the show are homemade ramen noodles. You’ll learn why baked baking soda (you read that right) is the key to getting the perfect texture in genuine ramen noodles, and how to perfectly time your noodles to achieve the ideal hydration level. Noodles alone do not a bowl of ramen make, however, so Hugh also walks you through his favorite broth recipe, which sticks to a short ingredient list of just chicken, scallions, ginger and kombu. With broth and noodles as our foundation, the real fun begins, as you decide which ramen toppings to treat yourself to. Hugh covers his favorite tare (a general word for Japanese dipping sauce), which features both red and white miso. He also makes seasoned soft-boiled eggs, ultraquick sauté-steamed vegetables, Japanese-style chili oil, pickled ginger and shiitake mushrooms, and more. The result is a vibrant, colorful and customizable bowl of ramen.

Great Vietnamese food is easy to whip up—all you need is a good bottle of fish sauce and a little enthusiasm! Cookbook author and photographer Uyen Luu leads this pre-recorded Zoom cooking class where you’ll learn her go-to simple techniques for one-pot dinners full of balanced and complex flavor. You can practice along with Uyen as she makes Tofu Pillows, Tomatoes & Broccoli with Fish Sauce; and Sea Bass in Tomato, Celery & Dill Broth. The sea bass is one of Uyen’s most favorite traditional meals, a classic, easy, one-pot wonder. Known as ‘sour soup’, canh chua is a perfect balance of sweet, sour and hot tanginess. And of the tofu, Uyen says, “When tofu is cooked properly, it is soft, pillowy and smooth—like bouncing on a cloud.” She’ll show you how to get that perfect texture. You’ll also learn about the favorite kitchen tools and staple ingredients Uyen uses to make the 80 impressive yet simple recipes in her new book, “Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home.”

Forget that “30-minute miracle” recipe that never seems to make anything other than a big mess. Let’s make the real deal: a semi-cultured mozzarella that can be eaten as curd, stretched into mozzarella forms such as braids or balls or even stuffed into Burrata. Guest chef Louella Hill is the fearless leader of this pre-recorded Zoom cooking class, which will leave you feeling calm and confident as you make homemade mozzarella cheese. Louella’s recipe takes some time – a bit more than 30 minutes – but is consistent, flavorful and so much fun to play with. Note that this recipe has some time sensitivities (it can’t be easily paused) and also works best using fresh, raw, whole cow milk.

Guest chef Shahir Massoud, author of “Eat, Habibi, Eat: Fresh Recipes for Modern Egyptian Cooking,” is the teacher of this pre-recorded Zoom cooking class where you’ll learn how to achieve falafel perfection. According to Shahir, great falafel should have a crispy, golden exterior that reveals a bright-green center. Green, you ask? That’s right: true Egyptian falafel is made with fava beans, not chickpeas. Shahir’s version uses frozen edamame and peas, making this a perfect dinner solution when you’re not sure what to make for dinner and turn to your freezer for inspiration. And rather than making a whole bunch of individual falafel, we’ll keep things simple by cooking them like a burger (though you could certainly use this recipe for smaller falafel, as well). To accompany our falafel burgers, Shahir teaches you his favorite way to prepare tabbouleh, which starts by giving the tomatoes some time in a low-temperature oven to amplify their natural sweetness. From there, the tabbouleh is a bright and flavorful combination of garlic, olive oil, lemon, cucumber, fresh herbs and, of course, bulgur. This class puts Egyptian-style falafel and tabbouleh easily within reach for many weeknight meals to come.

Biryani is a true labor of love. It simply can’t be thrown together in a rush: it asks for patience, a suite of key kitchen techniques and, yes, a bit of planning ahead. But the result is worth it when you taste the saffron-infused rice, the melt-in-your-mouth lamb marinated in Indian spices and the creamy, rich gravy brightened by tomato and saffron. This is a recipe that benefits from some professional support when you’re making it for the first time. Thankfully, guest chef Cherie Scott, founder of Mumbai to Maine, has taught a class where she walks you through it all. In this pre-recorded Zoom class, you’ll learn Cherie’s mother’s lamb biryani, the same one she used to spend days—days!—preparing for up to 40 people before every big family celebration. Yours won’t take days to make, but you’ll be glad for Cherie’s insights as you blend your own garam masala variation, learn why lamb loves to be marinated in yogurt, make an Indian-style gravy (sauce) and prepare perfumed rice enriched with a splash of milk and a pinch of precious saffron threads. You’ll learn the history of biryanis, which date to the 1600s, when they were a preferred dish of Mughal emperors. You’ll get a peek into Cherie’s pantry and learn which ingredients you’ll want to have on hand for future biryani endeavors. Open a bottle of your best wine: this lamb feast is fit for royalty and calls for nothing less than a celebration!