How To Use The Keep Warm Setting On Your Cooker For Sous Vide Cooking

I mentioned in the past that the keep warm setting on your electric cooker - eg. your rice cooker, slow cooker or Instant Pot - could theoretically be used if you're too cheap (I'm kidding) for a sous vide unit. I had the chance to test it out with my Lao-style grilled ox tongue recipe that I published recently >> » Read More

How To Cook Lao-Style Grilled Ox Tongue

Lao-style grilled ox tongue is one of my favourite dishes in the world, but the traditional method of tenderising the ox tongue using shredded green papaya has never really turned out to my satisfaction (to be fair, I only tried it a couple of times). I finally decided to use my sous vide unit and the result is perfect. If you don't have a sous » Read More

How to Cook Sihanoukville Cuttlefish

A Wok Around Asia Recipe from Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort, Cambodia I didn’t get a chance to visit Sihanoukville during my first Wok Around Asia jaunt, but I had the opportunity to taste one of its well-known dishes, Sihanoukville Cuttlefish, at Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort’s Lok Lak Restaurant. This recipe is courtesy of Chef » Read More

How to Make Spicy Lamb Skewers with Cumin

I first got a taste of spicy cumin lamb skewers during what was meant to have been a satay feast at my parents' house in Sydney's southwest. In amongst the hundreds of Malaysian satays that were cooked up that day, there  were also some Xinjiang-style lamb skewers; apparently it was a dish introduced to them by their new northern Chinese friends » Read More

How to Make Chicken or Beef Bak Kwa (Barbecued Minced Meat)

I grew up in the part of Malaysia where this is known as “long yoke” (Cantonese & Hakka), and for a long time after coming to Australia, I had no idea what other people were talking about when they made reference to “bak kwa” (Hokkien) - more evidence of how gloriously splintered Malaysia can be when it comes to food, language and » Read More

How to Cook Indonesian Ayam Bakar (Barbecue Chicken) – Asian BBQ Series

One feature of Indonesian cooking is that the chicken is commonly cooked in its marinade before it's grilled or fried. This is a brilliant way to prevent under-cooking your chicken on the barbecue, and it also allows you to prepare a day or two in advance and keep the cooked chicken refrigerated until needed. INGREDIENTS: 2 kg chicken » Read More

How to Cook Malaysian Otak-Otak (Fish Cakes) – Asian BBQ Series

There are two broad versions of Otak-Otak in Malaysia; the otak-otak in Penang are wrapped in banana leaves, folded in square parcels and steamed; the otak-otak in the Southern states of Johor and Melaka are wrapped in coconut leaves and grilled. This recipe splits the difference in that I use banana leaves but grill the fishcakes. Indonesia has » Read More

How to Cook Vietnamese Barbecue Prawns with Papaya Salad – Asian BBQ Series

This Vietnamese-inspired barbecue prawn dish is served on a bed of shredded green papaya, but young mango would work just as well, and would add a nice tangy note to the dish. In the absence of either, I would suggest thinly shredded cabbage. Adapted from Luke Nguyen's "Indochine". INGREDIENTS: 600g prawns, peeled 2 Tbsps oyster sauce 1 » Read More

How To Cook Indonesian Ikan Bakar (Barbecue Fish) – Asian BBQ Series

While Barbecued or Grilled Fish is popular throughout Southeast Asia, the use of kecap manis (aka kicap manis in Malay) gives an Indonesian flavour to this recipe. This is more traditionally cooked with whole fish, where the marinade is not only basted on the fish, but also stuffed in its stomach cavity. If using fish fillets that are delicate in » Read More

How to Cook Thai Crying Tiger (Seua Hay Rong) – Asian BBQ Series

One of my favourites to order when I dine out at Thai restaurants, I had the opportunity to attempt making this myself using my Ziggy barbecue unit. This recipe is based on David Thompson's "Thai Food", and is part of my series of Asian BBQ Recipes. FYI because I'm a bit of a wimp with chilli, the heat level in the sauce that accompanies the dish » Read More