Photo: Craig Cutler

With six Momofuku restaurants in New York, Sydney and Toronto, chef David Chang is an expert at pleasing multiple and varying palates. And then there's Thanksgiving with his family. For the annual eat-fest, 40 or 50 of his Korean relatives all bring their own "famous" dish. The menu mixes classic Thanksgiving foods with Korean specialities, like Chang's aunt's "insane dumplings," and his mom's braised short ribs. Six years ago, Chang started contributing his own dish to the potluck: the Brussels sprouts with chili, cilantro, and lime juice he'd just started making at his restaurants. Today, it's his famous dish for the annual family feast.

The side isn't completely vegetarian (it does contain fish sauce), but it's considerably less meaty than the fare Chang is known for, in that it does not call for at least a little bit of chicken fat. And while we are aware that some people keep a safe distance from these cute little cabbages unless they're served with some sort of cured meat (and yes, this Bacon Brussels Sprouts recipe does sound amazing), there's so much excitement in Chang's dish--spicy heat, tangy citrus, cooling herbs--that they just might turn on the teenager whose plate is usually a half-and-half mix of turkey and mashed potatoes. It's a brilliant mash-up of international flavors with a traditional American food (for more examples of fusion that works, check out this Ginger-Pear Cranberry Sauce and this Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Canned Cranberry Jelly Cut-Outs).

For Chang's recipe--and 8 other sides from Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Giada De Laurentiis, April Bloomfield, Eric Ripert and others--see our Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes from the World's Best Chefs slideshow.