Whether it’s the fresh herb-driven dishes of southeast Asia, India’s heady spices, the diverse regional cuisines of China or Japan’s unique dishes, we’re in love with Asian flavours. Here are some of my favourite Asian recipes.
Stir-fried Bean Sprouts & Garlic Chives I love the crunch of bean sprouts scattered over many dishes, from char kway teow to laksa, but I find that whenever I buy a bag I always waste more than half of them as I’m using just a small handful as a garnish. Then I came across tumis […]
Nyonya Curry Paste My Singaporean friend, Audra Morrice, taught me to make this classic Nyonya curry paste. She explained that it can be tricky making curry pastes in a smaller quantity than this, so it’s best to make the full amount then, if you don’t need it all, freeze half for a quick meal later. […]
How To Toast Shrimp Paste Fermented shrimp paste is used widely throughout Southeast Asia to add depth and savouriness to dishes. It’s called belacan in Malay, terasi in Indonesian, and gapi in Thai; there are minor variations between the different preparations so it’s best to use a shrimp paste native to the cuisine you’re cooking. […]
How to Make Tamarind Liquid Tamarind adds a deliciously tangy note to many Asian dishes. To make a thick sweet-sour tamarind liquid for use in any recipe, combine 1 part tamarind pulp with 1.6 parts warm water and set aside for 10 minutes or so then knead it to extract the pulp from the seeds. […]
Apom Berkuah with Pengat Pisang Apom berkuah with pengat pisang is a popular Singaporean dessert. Apom comes from the word ‘appam’, a southern Indian fermented rice pancake popular in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and berkuah (also written bokwa or bengkua) means to accompany a thick sauce or gravy, in this case the delicious banana-studded coconut […]
Oyster Omelette This recipe brings back memories of my first trip to Singapore – and my first meal at Newton Circus hawker centre. I’ve seen the translation of oyster omelette written so many ways, including or luak, orh luak, orr chien, orh jian and o-a-tsian. The ingredients vary a lot too, some people use tapioca […]
Kaya Toast Kaya toast is a classic Singaporean breakfast, found in every kopi tiam (coffee house) across the island. And what’s not to love? Crisp white toast, a thick slice of cold butter and a good smear of sweet coconut jam (kaya). This isn’t the place for fancy sourdough, supermarket-style sliced white bread is the […]
Fish Head Curry Fish head curry is a classic Singaporean and Malaysian dish. It’s said to have originated in Singapore in the 1950s, though it seems likely that thrifty housewives were finding ways to make fish heads tasty long before then, after all the meat in the cheeks and wings is delicious and plentiful in […]
Singapore Chilli Crab Chilli crab is perhaps the dish most synonymous with Singapore. It’s found all over the island, from hawker stalls to fine diners, as well as being the most popular Singaporean dish abroad. I’ve played around with recipes for Singaporean chilli crab since I had my first plate of it in Ponggol many […]
Five Spice Ling The marinade for this five spice ling, aromatic with star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel and Sichuan pepper, is perfect with almost any seafood or poultry. Chef Mark Jensen from Red Lantern (who taught me how to make it) uses it with quail; I love it with firm-fleshed ling and prawns, squid or […]
