“Sweet spices in a ragù are typical of northern Italian cooking, and they are surprisingly perfect with meats like lamb, beef and game. The star anise and cinnamon lend sweetness and depth, while the tomato, red wine and rosemary bring this back to more recognisable territory. Don’t let the long ingredients list put you off – once everything is in the pot, this ragù is pretty hands off.” - Danielle Alvarez

A popular Chinese dish from the cookbook Bao Family by Céline Chung. Tasty, simple to make, and packed with flavour.

“White pomfret was Amah’s favourite fish to eat, but it was really expensive. I knew every time we ate it something special had happened: maybe my dad had closed a business deal, maybe one of us got straight As at school or maybe it was for Lunar New Year. It was precious. Pomfret is hard to get in Australia, but you can use any other white fish in this recipe. When we serve this for Lunar New Year at the restaurant, we use coral trout because it’s one of my favourites and, in my opinion, the best fish we can get in Australia.”

“Malaysian roast chicken has crispy, dark skin and lots of flavour from the five-spice and salt rub. Back in primary school, when my mum was working and it was just us boys and Dad, he would often ask, ‘Chicken rice tonight?’ It was always a big yes from us, and we’d go to the chicken rice shop near our house where, like almost all chicken rice shops, you could get Hainan chicken or roast chicken. I always prefer roast chicken. I love the flavour, and there is a lot more skill in making a proper Malaysian roast chicken with crispy skin. Start this recipe the day before.”

“The quality of beef in Malaysia sucks, and my grandparents never ate beef because of their religious beliefs. One of the few times we ate it was at Kayu Nasi Kandar, a shop in Petaling Jaya that serves rice with a choice of curries on top. The rendang gravy at Kayu was delicious, but the beef was so tough and chewy. The only beef I liked was a McDonald’s cheeseburger. We’d go on a Monday for the one-ringgit cheeseburger special. My dad would ask me and my brother how many we wanted and, being growing boys, we’d take ten or fifteen home and smash the lot.

So the first time I properly appreciated rendang was in Australia. My take on rendang is controversial as I use good-quality Australian beef for the texture and flavour. Some people wonder what’s the point if you are going to slow-cook it, but when I ask if they like the sauce they say it’s bloody amazing. It’s all a by-product of using good-quality, fatty meat.”

“This recipe makes wings similar to the type you find at izakaya and kushikatsu (fried skewers) restaurants. After being fried, the wings are dipped into a sauce, which, naturally enough, slightly softens the crispness. The wings are at their absolute best eaten within 10 minutes of being fried and dipped but are delicious even when the crispness has entirely faded. Izakaya frequently serve the mid-joint portion with the wing tip attached, so use them, if possible. Bottled ponzu is fairly easy to find, but bottled yuzu might be more difficult – look for it at shops specializing in Japanese ingredients. If you can’t find yuzu juice, use equal parts of fresh orange, lemon and lime juice to total 5 teaspoons.”

“If you’ve eaten KFC – Korean fried chicken – chances are high that the first version you tasted was the sweet and spicy Dakgangjeong or Yangnyeom. The two are very similar, but my Korean friends tell me that Dakgangjeong is sweeter and sticker, while Yangnyeom is spicier. I prefer the spicier version.”

We couldn’t do a cookbook without one of our all-time fave dinners in it. We have this at least once a week. It is utterly divine — soul food at its best. The mac is a great way to use up any random bits of cheese in the door of the fridge. We usually serve this with a tangy garden salad (for balance).

This showstopper of a dish originates from the Chittagong district, and is traditionally served to welcome a new groom into the bride’s family. Mellow, lightly spiced and creamy, the skinless chicken is melt-in-your-mouth and flavoursome throughout thanks to slow cooking and bhagar or tempering of golden fried onions.

Every region in China will tend to have their own version of this dish; however, the one I constantly crave is the garlicky spicy kind. The simple mix of soy sauce, chilli oil and raw garlic is such a classic central Chinese flavour that has grown to be very popular in the West too.

This salad is a perfect palate refresher for the table and is packed with flavour, with salivating qualities to make you go back for more until it’s all gone. It’s so easy to make and a guaranteed people-pleaser.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can substitute so many other vegetables for the cucumbers, such as blanched green beans, steamed broccoli or cooked broad beans. The real hero of this dish is the seasoning combination.

Feel free to garnish with chopped spring onion, coriander or fried peanuts for that little something extra.

Our lamb chops have become a signature dish at Cassia. We have guests who come in each week to just have their Cassia lamb chop fix. This recipe uses a key spice blend called chapli kebab masala, which was introduced to the north of India by the Mughal kings. The spiced cream is inspired by Goan cuisine, which is in turn influenced by Anglo-Portugese flavours — it provides balance to the heat, and adds tanginess to the dish. — Chandni Sahrawat

People often mistake salsa verde (green sauce) for pesto — but once you’ve tasted this tongue-tickler, you’ll want to put it on everything! Use it on pork chops or steak, blob it on schnitzel, drizzle it on cauliflower cheese, stir it through pasta and eggs. It also makes a great dip for corn chips. Tomatillos (Spanish green tomatoes) are tangier and smaller than the red tomatoes we’re used to; they’re what makes this salsa so bright and moreish.

Growing up in Korea, fried chicken was a special meal that we didn’t get to have often. Back then we had two choices — plain or gochujang — but these days, there are fried chicken shops all across Korea, doing their own flavours and styles. Fried chicken can seem incredibly simple, but in fact it’s quite complex as there needs to be a perfect mix of sweet, savoury, spicy and salty. I’ve been working on this recipe for years. — Jason Kim

These Javanese-style fish cakes are simple to prepare, easy to cook and packed with flavour. Any white-fleshed fish will work and, while we’ve gone for snapper, by all means substitute with what’s freshest, sustainable and well-priced at your fishmonger or supermarket. No chilli required here – just whip up a batch of cucumber pickles and you’re away!

We love the old-world, gruff charm of Kao Rou Ji restaurant in Beijing’s Houhai precinct. This gorgeous area is right on the lake and although it has been hijacked somewhat by souvenir shops and pizza joints, it still speaks of a time when life was a little less polished and a lot less Westernised. The dining room is filled with the smells of cumin and lamb and barbecued meat and this dish reminds us of being there.