When I was growing up, if I was asked to name a Chinese dish, Chow Mein was possibly the only dish I could come up with. It featured on every Chinese take-away menu, still does today. It's the irresistible salty combination of soy sauce and crunchy vegetables, often with chicken, prawns or beef that has made this a staple.
The idea of a dressing is to enhance the flavour of the food you are eating. The acid from the vinegar contrasts with the sugar, salt and oil to heighten the pleasure we get from eating. Dressing hot, cooked vegetables is just as gratifying as dressing cold salad leaves, almost more so.
It's so exciting to think that one fifth of the way through the 21st century and here in the UK, we are still making new food discoveries. I was first introduced to chimichurri sauce by a friend of mine a few years ago. Beaming with excitement, he proclaimed, 'you're gonna love this', as he slathered the thick, herby sauce over a freshly cooked steak. Of course, like most new food discoveries, there is nothing new about chimichurri sauce. It's been an Argentinian staple for generations.
Unless you are an aficionado on Mexican food, some of the different dishes can be a little confusing - enchiladas, chilapitas, quesadillas, gorditas, chilaquiles, sopes, tamales, tostadas, empanadas. One thing is for sure, each and every one of them will be packing a serious amount of flavour, I guess that's why traditional Mexican cuisine is protected by UNESCO.
Everybody loves a good curry and our centuries old love affair with Indian food is as strong as ever. I've met quite a few Western trained Indian chefs who have all told me how tricky it is the master the art of great Indian food. Balancing out the flavours requires such skill.
Orecchiette is a pasta shape that hails from the Southern Italian region of Apulia and is perfect for this beautiful pasta dish. Pangratatto is effectively just fried breadcrumbs but it's a great addition to this dish as it adds a brilliant texture. There are lots of different squashes now widely available from good green grocers. We got ours from a fantastic local organisation called Root Connections www.rootconnections.co.uk - a charity that helps homeless people. They have a small farm where volunteers and residents grow fabulous produce to supply homes and restaurants with the fruits of their labour, check it out, it's amazing.
The Japanese understand seasoning better than anyone. People talk about 'umami' as the 5th sense of taste, elevating savoury flavours to a new level. Umami literally translates as 'yummy' and was first discussed in Tokyo in the early 20th century.
Pad Thai is one of Thailand’s iconic dishes with flavours of tamarind, palm sugar, fish sauce, roasted peanuts and zingy lime juice, it’s a real favourite along Bangkok’s famous famous Khaosan Road.
Just the other day, I was very lucky to be given a box of the most amazing king prawns by a foodie friend (thank you Caroline). Determined to do them justice, I used one of our brilliant Alejandro spicy chorizos, our Spanish saffron and smoked paprika and a box of Riso Torro Arborio Rice. Ok, ok I know that Arborio rice is not classic, but paella rice and Arborio rice are pretty close. We've recently listed a great quality Spanish Saffron, it comes in a 1g container and is half the price of the saffron you find in the supermarkets - I love it's earthy flavour and it's great in so many other dishes.
There is something primal about making your own pasta, a bit like making your own bread. I don’t always have time to do this (or the organisational ability), but when I do, it's deeply rewarding and tastes just SO GOOD. You need just two ingredients for this recipe...00 Pasta flour and fresh eggs.
It’s widely said that at least three-quarters of Mexican’s will eat on the Streets at least once or twice a week. And why not? Here, vendors sell everything from snacks and beverages to massive sandwiches and full platters of food.
Tacos are one of the most popular street snacks. They are commonly filled with pork, beef or chicken but can also contain beans, cheese, cactus, potato or fish. Salsas are always on offer and every taco stand will have one red and one green salsa and often salsas made from avocado, roasted chillies plus a mixture of chopped onions and sour cream.
Both my kids love Wagamama, for a multi-site restaurant group, they do a really great job. Chicken Katsu is an absolute favourite on their menu, it's pure comfort food. Crispy breaded chicken breast slathered in a luscious, silky curry sauce served with rice and salad, yes please.
This recipe is really simple to make and is a total joy to eat, our Katsu Curry paste does all the hard work for you. Panko breadcrumbs are used extensively in restaurants but often over looked in the home. The way they're made gives you a much lighter, crisper crumb than just blitzing up fresh bread - try it and you'll never go back.
You could easily be mistaken for thinking that a Poke bowl is a Japanese invention, but actually it's one of the national dishes of Hawaii. Slap bang in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hawaiian cuisine has lots of influences from the Orient.
When I first worked in London, there was a Kebab shop close to us in Soho that we would often frequent after a few post-work beers. Although the kebab meat was carved from a large rotisserie, it didn’t resemble the processed 'elephant leg' that often gives kebabs a bad name.
Chilli con carne is a huge family favourite of ours and although this is really more of a Tex-Mex dish, the array of Mexican ingredients that we have will transform your everyday chilli into the most delicious meal.
Although it’s the national dish of both Malaysia and Singapore, Laksa can be found right across South East Asia, it’s basically comfort food. The fragrant, noodle soup has hundreds of variations but it’s always so popular and my version is really quick to whip up on a busy midweek evening.
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