In season

May produce

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Doenjang Jjigae

Doenjang Jjigae

A quick anchovy-and-kelp stock makes the broth backbone (the Korean kitchen standard, taking 10 minutes). Doenjang (about 3 tablespoons) whisks into the hot stock with a small spoonful of gochujang for warmth, never aggressive heat. The vegetables go in by sturdiness: potato first, then courgette and mushrooms, then onion and chilli, finally cubed tofu and clams (or anchovies) at the end. Simmers for 12-15 minutes total. A little minced garlic stirs in at the very end so it doesn't dull. Brought to the table in the cooking pot, still bubbling.

Korean 40 minutes Serves4
Kanom Jeeb

Kanom Jeeb

A filling of minced pork and chopped prawn binds with coriander root (pounded with garlic and white pepper into the traditional Thai "rak pak chee" paste), oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and a beaten egg. The mixture chills for 20 minutes to firm. Square wonton wrappers go around the filling cupcake-style: filling in the centre, edges pulled up and pleated open around the meat, top brushed with a tiny smear of beaten egg and topped with a thin slice of carrot. Steamed in a bamboo basket over boiling water for 8 minutes. Dip is black soy sauce with sliced chilli and rice vinegar.

Snacks 40 minutes Serves4
Lo Bak Go

Lo Bak Go

Dried shrimp and dried shiitake soak in warm water until plump; the soaking water is reserved. Chinese sausage dices fine; shallots, soaked shrimp and shiitake chop separately. All these flavourings fry together in oil until aromatic. Grated daikon is added with the shiitake-shrimp soaking liquid; cooked for 10 minutes covered until softened. Rice flour whisks with cold water into a smooth slurry; pours into the daikon mixture; cooks for 2 minutes, stirring, until thickened into a batter. Tipped into a greased loaf tin; smoothed; steamed for 60 minutes in a wide pot. Cooled fully, refrigerated, then sliced 1 cm thick and pan-fried in oil until crusted gold on both sides. Served with chilli oil and a dipping sauce of light soy and rice vinegar.

Snacks 2 hours Serves8
Sichuan Hot Pot

Sichuan Hot Pot

Two pots if you have them: a spicy red broth and a clear chicken broth. The red broth fries doubanjiang and chilli bean paste in beef tallow, adds Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, star anise, cassia, bay, ginger and garlic, then stock; simmers for 30 minutes. Diners cook their own ingredients in the simmering pot and dip in a small bowl of sesame oil + chopped garlic + coriander. The mala (numbing-hot) sensation comes from green Sichuan peppercorns + dried chilli together.

Chinese 1 hour 30 minutes Serves4-6
Tom Kha Gai Soup (Chicken, Galangal and Coconut Soup)

Tom Kha Gai Soup (Chicken, Galangal and Coconut Soup)

Tom kha gai is a popular spicy coconut soup. The tasty broth is more important than what you put into it as a main ingredient, which in this case is chicken, although you could substitute prawns (shrimp) to make tom kha goong, or meaty white fish. You could also leave the meat out and make it into a vegan soup, adding whichever vegetable you like or even fried tofu. If you want to have this as a main dish, you could add other ingredients such as noodles to make the soup more filling.

Soups 20 minutes Serves4-6
Tom Yum Gai Soup (Hot and Sour Chicken Soup)

Tom Yum Gai Soup (Hot and Sour Chicken Soup)

When you go out for Thai food this is sure to be on the menu. I love the spiciness of this soup, you get a good hit of spice but it doesn’t linger. Some chefs add sugar to it but, for me, this is a spicy, savoury and tart soup with only a hint of natural sweetness from the fried shallots and tomatoes. Do, of course, taste the soup and adjust the flavour to your liking, adding sugar if you want. It makes a delicious starter but you could bulk it up by adding other ingredients such as noodles to make it a light main. The word ‘gai’ means chicken, so this is a chicken tom yum soup. You could substitute prawn (shrimp) stock and prawns to make a delicious tom yum goong, or go vegetarian and use water and tofu.

Soups 30 minutes Serves4-6