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17 recipes

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Brown Stew Shrimp and Sweet Potato Grits

Brown Stew Shrimp and Sweet Potato Grits

A Caribbean-Southern crossover that works because both traditions cook in a similar register: butter, peppers, alliums, slow heat, savoury depth. The brown stew base on top of the dish is Jamaican, bell peppers, carrot, Scotch bonnet, ginger, browning sauce, that mahogany-coloured gravy with the unmistakable allspice-and-thyme signature, and the bed underneath is from Lowcountry Charleston, where sweet potato grits enriched with butter, half-and-half and gouda are a long-running modern Southern restaurant standard. The shrimp themselves are quick-cooked and sweet, picking up the brown stew sauce. Two textures stacked: silky-rich grits, brothy stew on top with bite from the diced peppers and carrot. Smell is sweet-onion-and-browning-sugar over the corn-sweet base of the grits. Not difficult but it's two pans running at once, so timing matters; the grits hold on a low warm setting while the shrimp cook quickly. A modern fusion rather than a traditional dish, popularised by Black American chefs in the 2010s exploring the points of overlap between Lowcountry and Caribbean cookery.

Jamaican 1 hour Serves4
Chingri Malai Curry

Chingri Malai Curry

Chingri malai curry is one of those rare Bengali dishes that crosses the river: equally beloved in Kolkata's bonedi households and in the coastal kitchens of Khulna and Chittagong. The name is often misread as a reference to Malaysia (Malay), and there is a folk tradition that the dish came back with Bengali traders from the Malay Peninsula, but in practice malai here simply means cream, in this case the rich first-pressed coconut milk that gives the gravy its body. The prawns must be large, ideally tiger prawns or the freshwater bagda chingri, kept whole with heads and tails on for maximum flavour. The cooking is short and the spice profile delicate: a tempering of whole garam masala in ghee and a little mustard oil, a base of finely ground onion paste rather than chopped onion, a gentle bloom of ginger and turmeric, and then the prawns barely poached in coconut milk so they remain juicy. Sugar plays a quiet but important role, just enough to round the salt and amplify the coconut's sweetness. The result is a curry that is luxurious without being heavy, fragrant without being sharp. It is rich enough to be served with plain basmati or gobindobhog rice and nothing else, though a small wedge of lime on the side is welcome. Overcooked prawns are the only real danger; once you have mastered the timing, this is one of the easier showstoppers in the Bengali repertoire.

Bengali 50 minutes Serves4
Kung Pao Shrimp

Kung Pao Shrimp

Kung pao (gongbao) shrimp is the seafood cousin of the classic Sichuan gongbao jiding, named for the 19th-century governor-general Ding Baozhen whose title was Gong Bao. Where the chicken version uses diced meat, the shrimp version keeps the prawns whole or halved so they curl into bright pink commas around the chillies and peanuts. The flavour profile is the signature Sichuan "lychee" balance: a touch of sweetness from sugar, sourness from black vinegar, salt and umami from soy, and the warm tingle (ma la) of toasted Sichuan peppercorn paired with the smoky bite of dried er jing tiao chillies. This is a fast dish, fundamentally a wok exercise: every ingredient must be prepped and lined up before the heat goes on, because once the chillies hit the oil you have maybe ninety seconds before everything is overcooked. Difficulty is moderate for a home cook with a working wok and high burner; the trick is keeping the chillies dark red and fragrant without scorching them black, and pulling the shrimp out the moment they curl. Served over plain rice it is one of the most rewarding ten-minute meals in the repertoire.

Chinese 28 minutes Serves3-4
Mala Dry-Pot (Ganguo)

Mala Dry-Pot (Ganguo)

Ganguo, literally "dry pot", is the dry sister of hotpot. Where hotpot is a communal soup simmered at the table, dry pot is a wok composition: each ingredient pre-cooked separately, then everything tossed together at the last moment in a fragrant mala sauce based on Pixian doubanjiang, fermented black beans and chilli oil. The result lands somewhere between a stir-fry, a casserole and a giant heap of bar snacks. The dish is usually credited to Chongqing in the 1990s and exploded into nationwide popularity in the 2000s; it now anchors the menu of countless ganguo restaurants where you point at ingredients on a fridge and they appear minutes later in a single-handled wok at your table. Difficulty for a home cook is low if you accept the rhythm: blanch the vegetables, sear the proteins, then build the final dish from already-cooked components. The trick is restraint with the sauce, generous heat under the wok, and the willingness to commit to a long ingredient list. The recipe is endlessly flexible: lotus root, potato, cauliflower, mushrooms, squid, chicken wings, beef, fish balls, tofu skin, whatever you have, in any combination, totalling 1-1 ½ kg.

Chinese 50 minutes Serves4
Miang Kham

Miang Kham

The sauce (the technical heart of the dish) reduces palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind paste, water, ginger and dried shrimp to a thick, glossy, dark amber syrup. The fillings, diced lime (skin and all), diced ginger, sliced shallot, chopped roasted peanuts, dried shrimp, small chilli, and toasted shredded coconut, are arrayed in small mounds on a serving platter. Fresh young betel leaves go alongside. Each diner takes a leaf, layers a tiny pinch of each filling, drops a quarter-teaspoon of the sauce on top, folds and pops the whole thing in one bite.

Snacks 40 minutes Serves4
Prawn Balchão

Prawn Balchão

Prawns are seasoned briefly with turmeric and salt. A balchão masala is built from soaked dried Kashmiri chillies, garlic, ginger, cumin, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon ground with palm vinegar. Onions are caramelised in oil to deep gold, tomato is added, the masala paste fried until the oil separates, then sugar and a second hit of vinegar make this a pickle rather than a curry. The prawns go in late so they stay juicy. The dish thickens to a jam-like consistency.

Goan 50 minutes Serves4-6
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
Tandoori King Prawn

Tandoori King Prawn

Tandoori King Prawns are elegant, restaurant-quality appetizers or mains. The prawns undergo two rapid marinades: first, an oil-based bath with garlic, ginger, and turmeric to season quickly; second, a creamy, spiced marinade with yoghurt, cream cheese, and fresh herbs for silky texture and depth. The double approach respects the delicate nature of prawns while ensuring flavor on all sides. The brief cooking (5-8 minutes) preserves succulence. Serve with lemon and herbs. This is luxurious seafood preparation made simple.

Sides 43 minutes Serves4