Featured Recipe
Balinese Roasted Chicken Wings
Monday, March 23, 2026| |
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Crispy, juicy chicken wings marinated with aromatic spices – this straightforward roasted chicken recipe brings together the fragrance of galangal, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass (essential ingredients in Indonesian kitchen together with shallots and garlic) with succulent chicken wings, then baked to the crispy perfection.
If you can’t find lime leaves and galangal, bay leaf and fresh ginger are good substitutes. For 1 lemongrass, use 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and ½ teaspoon of grated ginger. Deseed the red chilli if you can't handle the heat!
Thai Massaman Beef Curry
Saturday, March 21, 2026| |
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Massaman curry is a classic Thai curry of Muslim origin and traditionally it’s loaded with potatoes. I have simply skipped them and used 2 onions, but you can use radishes, kohlraib or even cucumber instead. If you are short in time, use a ready-made massaman curry paste. This recipe calls for braising beef, however, you can make this with beef ribs, lamb shanks, chicken, pork or even tofu too. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly. If you are sensitive to peanuts, simply omit them or use cashew nuts instead.
Massaman means "Muslim" and is derived from a now-archaic English term "Mussulman," highlighting its origins as a fusion dish brought by Persian or Malay traders.
Lamb Shank Nihari
Saturday, March 07, 2026| |
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Nihari is a succulent, flavoursome and delicious stew from the Indian subcontinent, famous as Pakistan's national dish. It consists of slow-cooked meat, mainly a shank cut as well as bone marrow. It is typically seasoned with a complex blend of spices and often served with fresh garnishes (ranging from lemon/lime wedges and chopped cilantro and mint leaves to julienned ginger and chopped green chillies) and naan bread or other flatbreads. In Pakistan, this dish is traditionally cooked all night and eaten for breakfast with hot, freshly made naans. The name nihari comes from the Arabic "nahaar" (meaning morning), implying that this dish was meant to be eaten as the first meal of the day, purported to be served after Islamic morning prayer.
You don’t have to make the nihari spice mix from the scratch, but it is truly so much better than any you can buy from the store. The fresh homemade nihari spice mix definitely takes this dish to the next level of flavour.
Nyonya Pineapple Tarts
Monday, February 16, 2026| |
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Buttery, melt-in-mouth pineapple tarts with a sweet and tangy pineapple filling are paticularly popular in Southeast Asia, esp. Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia , during the Chinese New Year. They can be open cookies or made enclosed in round, square or rectangular shapes. It’s quite a tedious task to cook down pineapple to a thick paste, which might take 2-3 hours to prepare just 400-500 grams of pineapple filling. If you can find some ready made, use it, I won’t judge.
These tarts gained significance during Chinese New Year because in Hokkien and Cantonese, the word for pineapple, "ong lai," is a homophone for "fortune come," making the tarts a potent symbol of good luck, wealth, and prosperity.
The pineapple tart originated back in the 16th century from the Peranakans, descendants of the Chinese immigrants who went to the Malay Peninsula, particularly Malacca, and married the locals. Their culinary approach was greatly influenced not only by the local Malay cuisines but also by the Portuguese when they conquered Malacca in the 16th century.
Burmese Fried Chicken
Tuesday, January 27, 2026| |
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Burmese Fried Chicken is a popular street food known for its seasoning of turmeric, ginger and chilli, and it is often served with a tangy dipping sauce. But a sweet chilli sauce would work really great too. Ok, not really authentic, but delicious all the same. I am using chicken thigh strips, but you can use 10-12 skin-on, bone-in drumsticks or wings, use more spices if necessary. And for those of you not keen on deep-frying, spray the airfryer with a little of oil and airfry the chicken at 180C/350F for 10-12 minutes.
One Pan Butter Chicken and Rice Bake
Saturday, January 24, 2026| |
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One-pan Butter Chicken with Rice is the dinner you make when you don't feel like cooking! This delicious chicken-rice casserole could not be easier to make and has an authentic Indian flavour. Whether you are serving this as a family meal or just craving something comforting, this butter chicken and rice bake is guaranteed to satisfy. If you love classic butter chicken, then you need to try this twist on this classic dish! Long-grain white rice works best in this recipe, but brown rice will work just as great.
Burmese Chicken with Mint
Sunday, December 28, 2025| |
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This Burmese Chicken with Mint is so simple yet so delicious and flavourful! It's a quick Burmese chicken stir-fry with spices and fresh herbs that can be made in 20 minutes. If you like Thai chicken laap, you are going to enjoy this one too. What makes this Burmese-Chinese version of minced chicken recipe unique is the use of sambal oelek, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds and lots of fresh mint leaves. Whole garlic cloves are fried first, then mixed in for texture. The authors, Tan and Leahy, of Burma Superstar suggested that the chicken should be minced by hand as the texture of ground chicken from supermarkets is more paste-like. Enjoy it with steamed rice or use it as a filling for lettuce leaves.
Tomato Kasundi - Indian Tomato Chutney
Friday, October 31, 2025| |
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Tomato Kasundi, an Indian condiment that’s sweet, sour and spicy, is perfect for a bounty of fresh ripe tomatoes from your garden or farmer markets. It is made with lots of wonderful Indian spices, apple cider vinegar, sugar (I used coconut sugar), and hot/mild chilli peppers. You can also eat it straight out of the jar with naan bread. Or serve this chutney with samosas, curries, vegetables, cheese, or as a sandwich spread, or with daal and basmati rice. There are many varieties of kasundi made with different vegetables and fruits, but a common ingredient is mustard seeds, either brown or black.
Chicken Bhuna
Saturday, August 02, 2025| |
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Chicken bhuna is a thick Indian curry cooked in it's own juices. The name Bhuna means ‘fried’ and describes the technique used to prepare the Bhuna chicken. The first step is to heat up the garlic, chillies and spices in ghee. This allows them to develop a slightly smoky, particularly strong flavour. Once they are fragrant, add the onions and tomatoes and braise until they formed a thick, aromatic base. The chicken is then cooked directly in the sauce to soak up the spices. And if that doesn't sound delicious, I don't know what will. This easy, healthy chicken bhuna recipe is great for a weekend treat and is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
For ease and quick cooking time I have opted for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but you can definitely use bone in skin on thighs.
Thai Salmon Green Curry
Tuesday, July 29, 2025| |
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Try this creamy, warming one pan salmon for your next curry night! Either use store-bought green curry paste or make your own, you'll be tucking into this delicious, flavoursome dish in no time at all. I used pak choi, but sugar peas, asparagus, broccolini, or zucchini ribbons would all work great. Sweet coconut cream tempers the fiery pungency of green chillies, but feel free to deseed the green chillies if you prefer less heat.
Thai Corn Fritters with Sweet Chilli Sauce
Saturday, July 19, 2025| |
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This is one of those classic appetizer recipes that works at any time of day. It's absolutely delicious and yet so simple to whip up. They're crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and pair perfectly with a homemade sweet chilli sauce, which will keep for about a month in the fridge. You can also freeze the sauce in small portions in ice cube tray. I have added a mini paprika (or 1/3 of regular red paprika) to the sauce for a fruity note.
Star Anise and Ginger Braised Chicken
Friday, June 27, 2025| |
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Star anise is used to give a licorice flavour to this succulent, aromatic braised chicken, ready in under an hour. If you don’t have it, use 1 teaspoon of anise seeds instead. You can prepare it with any cut of chicken, although I always prefer bone-in, skin-on chicken legs. Serve with a light cucumber salad, steamed rice or bao if desired. It makes for a delicious midweek meal everyone will rave about.


