Pandan, a type of screwpine, is an essential ingredient in Asian cooking. With its sweet, fragrant, grassy aroma, it is widely used in both savoury and sweet dishes. First published March 2012. Updated May 2019. Pandanus amaryllifolius is the culinary pandan that we know. It is a tropical plant that grows freely in many parts of […]
Kangkung Belacan (Quick and Easy Water Spinach Stir Fry)
Kangkung Belacan is a very traditional and popular vegetable stir fry found in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the surrounding countries. (First published September 2011. Updated April 2019.) It is, quite possibly, my favourite vegetable dish. Ever. So colour me flabbergasted when I discovered the vegetable on Ocado, in their “What’s New” section. Ocado is an […]
How to Cook with Coconut Milk
Fresh coconut milk is always best but many of us outside of Asia, unfortunately, do not have this luxury. As with any ingredient, get the best that you can afford, the same goes for coconut milk. Get the one that has the least added ingredients – just coconut milk and water is the best. If […]
What is Green Papaya?
Green papaya is just the younger, unripe version of the orange fleshed variety that you are probably used to. Unless you have a good Thai or South East Asian supplier nearby, a green papaya is not going to be easy to come by. But hey, in this modern world of online shopping, hardly anything is impossible to […]
Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe (ส้มตำ), Som Tam
This Thai Green Papaya Salad, is one of my favourite South East Asian salads! I know, I know, I’ve said that before! What can I say, I love South East Asian food! It is, where I’m from, after all. To say that the green papaya salad is refreshing, is putting it mildly. It invigorates your […]
An Amuse-Bouche of Tom Yum Goong and Shichimi Onigiri
Here is a look at a very popular amuse-bouche that I serve new clients. It’s a Thai-Japanese fusion dish. If you’ve been following me a while, you’ll see a pattern there! Thai this and Thai that! We have a shot glass of Tom Yum Soup, a large prawn (shrimp) and a ball of rice called […]
