Viet-inspired potato salad
Who says potato salad has to be Euro-centric? Not us. This Southeast Asian-inspired twist on the beloved summer staple will change up your mayo-dressed spud game, taking it to places you never dreamed of. It’s got fish sauce, lime, raw garlic, sugar, coriander, and spring onion… the whole nine yards. The creamy mayo takes inspo from the flavours of nuoc cham, that tangy…
Lemongrass pork noodles
Fabulous fresh flavours in a flash – and yes, we’re getting all alliterative with this yum, Thai-inspired dish. When you want your noodles quick and you want your noodles with a kick (yep, we’re rhyme-y today too), this recipe will sort you. All you do is make a simple aromatic paste for stir-frying the mince, whip up an easy sweet-sour-salty dressing…
Nonya chicken curry
Yes, a curry paste from scratch, but hear us out. This curry is delicious, but not if you shortcut things. It’s our take on a Nonya curry; the Nonyas (also called the Peranakans) are communities descended from Chinese immigrants who settled in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, intermarried with locals, and blended their heritage with Malay influences. Their food is a true fusion cuisine…
Thai barbecued pork neck
Dammit, we’re not waiting any longer! We’re dusting off the barbie, firing it up, and cooking pork neck if it rains, sleets, snows, or kills us. And what better meat than pork for kicking off the barbecue season in tasty style? And what better cut than neck? It’s juicy, thanks to all the lovely marbling of fat, which slowly renders...
Thai-ish pumpkin soup
Is it too late to sneak in a soup recipe before spring? We think not. And not just any old soup either; a smooth, silky pumpkin one that skews Thai. With plenty of natural sweetness, pumpkin is an excellent foil for the sweet-sour-spicy-salty flavour formula that gives Thai food so much tasty depth...
Uncle’s ‘dry’ laksa
“When most people think of laksa, a bowl of brothy slurpy noodles comes first to mind, so a dry laksa might sound like a curious thing. I first had dry laksa at a friend’s place. Her father would politely interrupt every maths revision session with a plate of food, because ‘you can’t study on an empty stomach’. I vividly remember Uncle’s dry laksa; he had tried it at a trendy new café and recreated it for us…
Nonya lemongrass roast chicken
“If I had to pick my favourite British food, the humble roast chicken would definitely be one of my top contenders. I love everything about roast chicken – the homely smell that permeates the kitchen as it cooks in the oven, the theatre of bringing a whole bird to the table and carving it to share, the delicious contrast of crisp brown skin and juicy meat…
Slow cooker beef rendang
‘Proper’ rendang is a dry curry from the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra in Indonesia and it’s a touch labour-intensive to make. Once you’ve toasted coconut, ground a spice paste, then braised the beef with all of this goodness in a rich coconut gravy, you simmer until the liquid pretty much evaporates and the beef chunks fry…
Thai beef and tomato salad
Ah, Thailand. We l-o-v-e it. The bustle. The full-throttled craziness of its cities, especially Bangkok. The charm of the people and the allure of the culture; we’re big into those. And SHOPPING!! We love the retail action; those markets are unreal (how good is Chatuchak?)…
Fish and tomato curry
When you crave a curry, nothing else will do. But, you know. Making a ‘proper’ curry, whether Indian or South East Asian, involves loads of ingredients and making a paste from scratch. (Except a Japanese curry, where you just throw a few of those curry roux thingos…
Baked lemongrass chicken with coconut rice
In a world filled with ready-made pastes, jars of pre-mulched garlic and citrus juices in squeezy bottles (do not use these! They’re pasteurised, contain preservatives, and taste like rubbish), sometimes it’s nice to grab a whole pile of aromatic fresh stuff and chop…
Beef rendang
“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…
Salmon crudo with orange and lemongrass
Uugghh. Cooking. If you’re thinking nope, nope and ABSOLUTELY nope, we feel you. There’s cricket to watch, there are lawns to neglect and there are beaches calling your name. Stuff the kitchen. In this golden week between Christmas and New Year…