With the much cooler weather (and a little bit of drizzly rain is fine), I’m out with my tongs and my baster, relishing the fragrant heat and smoke from my outdoor barbecue. Mostly, I grill chicken and vegetables - we aren’t big consumers of sausages and burgers - and when the pull of childhood flavours beckons, a good chicken satay hits the brief.

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Unlike with baking, I am not fastidious with recipes when I cook, particularly with familiar, comfort foods like satay. Sometimes, fragrant lemongrass is pounded and added to the satay marinade, but often I’ll use a simple mix of dried spices and a good amount of seasoning which must include a bit of sugar to achieve the savoury sweetness that is the hallmark of Malaysian satay. (In honesty, a lot of satay vendors in Malaysia are too heavy-handed when adding sugar to their marinade, which is why I prefer to make my own).

Needless to say, the longer the chicken sits in its marinade, the more flavourful and tender the satay. However, my only rule when making chicken satay is to use dark meat. A little chicken skin and fat left on is fine as the melting fat would help to baste the chicken meat as it cooks, but never will you find me using chicken breasts to make any type of chicken skewer. It is too easy to overcook on the grill and I have not met anyone who enjoys stringy, dry chicken.

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Courgette & Chicken Satay Skewers

In Malaysia, chicken satay is served with chunks of cucumber and raw onion alongside a small bowl of peanut sauce. Here, I’ve assembled the chicken satay with pieces of courgettes, then served them with a Cucumber, Carrot and Tomato Salad (recipe below) and some homemade spinach flatbreads to create a balanced meal. Although I always make my satay sauce from scratch, I decided to share a quick and easy version which is ideal for when the weather changes again and you don’t want to spend too much time in a hot kitchen.

Serves 4

• 500g boneless and skinless chicken thighs

• 1 tbsp ground coriander

• 1 tbsp ground cumin

• 2 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

• ½-1 tsp fine salt

• 1½ tbsp palm sugar (or light brown sugar)

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Riled up by FOMO, I raided the kitchen and started assembling a Korean-inspired lunch. My Ready, Steady, Cook meal ended up as a fusion take on classic East Asian dishes seasoned with bold, Korean ingredients:

• doenjang and gochuchang replaced doubanjiang in a Korean-style mapo tofu;

• a portion of the mince from the mapo tofu was saved to make gochujang aubergine rolls; and

• a seaweed and cucumber salad served as a refreshing banchan alongside some leftover daikon kimchi.

My family devoured the meal with glee, thrilled that delicious food was available with no need for queueing. I shan’t pretend that the meal was in any way authentic, but it did hit the spot. Sometimes, a little FOMO can lead to some pretty tasty things.

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Korean-style Mapo Tofu

Where we live, the supermarkets are more likely to stock Korean ingredients than Chinese doubanjiang (spicy fermented bean paste) so this is a good alternative to a classic Mapo Tofu. To give the dish the typical hot and numbing (mala) flavours, add a teaspoon of ground Sichuan peppercorns as you’re frying the mince.

Serves 4

• 1 pack of firm tofu (220-300g)

• 2 tbsp vegetable or light olive oil

• 300g minced meat (chicken, pork or plant-based)

• salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

• 3cm knob of ginger, finely grated

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 red, yellow or orange pepper, deseeded and chopped

• 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water to create a slurry

• drizzle of toasted sesame oil (or perilla oil)

• 2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

• 1 red chilli, finely sliced on the diagonal (optional)

For the sauce:

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp doenjang (or Japanese miso paste)

• 2 tbsp gochujang

• ½-1 tbsp gochugaru (or either fine or coarse chilli flakes), to taste

• 120ml water

Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces (about 2cm dice). Set aside. Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.

Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over high heat. Add the mince and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Break up the mince with a spatula or wooden spoon then leave to cook for a few minutes before stirring. Stir-fry until the mince is no longer pink.

Add the onion, ginger and garlic and reduce the heat to medium-high. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add the pepper and pour in the sauce. Cook for a few minutes before adding the tofu. Stir gently to coat the tofu in the sauce. If the sauce appears too thick, add a little more water. Simmer the tofu for 4-6 minutes by which time the vegetables should be tender.

Stir the cornstarch slurry and add to the wok. When the sauce has thickened, drizzle over a little sesame oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. If you like a thinner sauce, add a splash of boiling water. Finally, transfer to a serving plate and garnish with the spring onions and chilli before serving.

Seaweed & Cucumber Salad

This salad may be simple to assemble but it has layers of flavour, from briny seaweed to cooling cucumber to the occasional sweet burst from ripe tomatoes, all of which are married by a balanced dressing delivering savoury, sweet, hot, and tangy notes.

Serves 4

• 20g dried wakame

• 1 large cucumber (or 4 small Persian cucumbers)

• handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered

• 1-2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 tsp coarse chilli flakes

• 1 tsp light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp mirin

• drizzle of perilla or toasted sesame oil

• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Put the wakame into a bowl and pour over just boiled water to cover. Leave to soak whilst you prepare the cucumbers.

If using a large cucumber, trim the edges then slice into half lengthways. Use a teaspoon to scoop out and discard the seeds. Thickly slice each half on the diagonal, to about 5mm thickness. Put into a bowl and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Toss a few times then leave for a few minutes, to let the salt draw out excess moisture from the cucumbers. (If using Persian cucumbers, there is no need to remove the core/seeds. Simply slice them on the diagonal).

Rinse the cucumber to remove the excess salt, then drain and pat dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. Put into a mixing bowl, then add the tomatoes and the drained, reconstituted wakame. Add the remaining ingredients and toss well to coat. Transfer to serving bowl when ready to enjoy.

Gochujang Aubergine Rolls

These stuffed aubergine rolls look impressive enough for a dinner party. Even my daughter, who normally detests aubergine, was able to overcome her aversion and found the rolls quite enjoyable.

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We all know the three tenets to wellness is sleep, nutrition and movement, however, it is a little harder to manage all three well over the festive season. Once-a-year indulgences are what makes festivities even more special - those many rich and delicious treats factor greatly into our anticipation for the holidays, particularly so for my family.

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For me and my husband, a well-made panettone is our kryptonite. With abandon, we could possibly devour half a loaf each at a sitting, but having batch-baked panettone for client orders, I do my best to practise self-restraint and moderation, having learnt intimately what goes into making them, and how they will have a not-so-positive impact on our long term health (though they do satiate the soul). Panettone is typically our breakfast of choice on Christmas morning (see video below for our Xmas breakfast spread) but this year, my family and I also managed to curb a blood-sugar spike (and inevitable crash) by doing one thing: fibre-loading.

The concept is not novel but it is simple - consume high fibre foods before eating high carb/high fat indulgences so that the fibre can buffer and decelerate digestion and glucose absorption. Foods containing both soluble and insoluble fibre are beneficial and I like to use a combination of both whenever possible. When combined with water, soluble fibre (e.g., oats, legumes, apples, citrus fruit) dissolves and becomes gel-like which slows the movement of food down the digestive system, thereby preventing rapid spikes of glucose into the bloodstream. Insoluble fibre (e.g., wholegrains, nuts and seeds, skin of fruit and veg) provide both food for the gut microbiome and bulk to promote bowel regularity - crucial for maintaining a healthy metabolic system.

Beginning a meal with a high fibre starter/appetiser (even for breakfast) is not only a great way to achieve your daily plant count, but it also works wonders in satisfying rapacious appetites. Fibre helps to tone down impulses to over-indulge in nutrient poor foods, such as panettone or sugary cinnamon buns which, when consumed outside the bounds of moderation, may put you out of festive spirits by the day’s end. The idea is neatly summed up in a word, ‘displacement,’ meaning less nutritious food is replaced by healthier ones, generally leading to a greater diversity in the diet.

One of my favourite ways to break the night’s fast is with my everything muesli. A delicious and nourishing bowl to wake up to, it is packed with vitamins, minerals, good fats and fibre, and no added sugar. It takes minutes to stir up and you don’t have to leave it to soak all night, though it will save you time in the morning if you do. Perfect for January when we are all craving a feeling of lightness and wellness. I wish you all a healthy new year!

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Everything Oat Bowl

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With only four…

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Even though the Vikings had made their way to our emerald isles, hygge is a relatively new idea to the Brits. We have our own secret weapons for surviving winter…the anticipation of Christmas and booze! So with hundreds of fairy lights all over the house, we retreat to our warm kitchen and prepare for festive feasting. Mincemeat would have been soaked in booze (i.e. brandy, port, rum, sherry, you name it) a month or two ahead. Christmas cakes and puddings would be made weeks earlier so they can be repeatedly drenched in even more booze. And brandy-soaked mince pies are ubiquitous because they are deliciously long-lasting, go well with mulled wine, and are yet another excuse to indulge in butter, sugar and booze. I jest, but you get the picture. (What we do for post-Christmas, January blues is another story for another time).

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I myself have been chained to my oven as I baked hundreds of mince pies over the last few weeks to fulfill orders. With Michael Bublé, Arianna Grandé and Sade for company (not literally…I wish!), twinkling lights on my eco-tree, and the sweetly spiced, buttery scent of Christmas bakes wafting throughout, I could say the force of hygge is strong in my house, and my mood is good. And so, if you feel a tinge of the winter blues, might I suggest a therapeutic session of baking? Butter, sugar and spice have a wonderful way of elevating dopamine levels, even just the sweet smells alone can lift me up. And there’s nothing better than witnessing family and friends enjoy the boozy fruits of your labour. To that end, I’m sharing my ever popular mince pie recipe that keeps me ticking along every festive season. I’m sure it will bring you comfort and joy. Happy hygge!

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My ultimate homemade mince pies

For the uninitiated, modern day mince pies do not contain minced meat, though the very original ones were savoury pies made with mutton or lamb with lots of spice and dried fruit. (You can read about the history of mince pies here and here). Since moving to England, I have been truly converted and think a well-made mince pie topped with sherry cream or brandy butter is an utterly indulgent and marvellous treat to enjoy once a year.

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A little bit of history…

Predating Guy Fawkes’ failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, parkins were enjoyed by the Northern working classes for whom oats, rather than wheat, were the staple grain. Parkins (and their savoury griddle cake cousins, tharf cakes) had special significance at Celtic and Pagan harvest festivals during the first week of each November, with celebrations centred around bonfires and the enjoyment of ritual cakes. Guy Fawkes’ foiled plot gave the English church an excuse to have their own bonfire celebrations which continue on three centuries later.

Honey was the original sweetener for the cakes but it was subsequently replaced by molasses or black treacle, a byproduct of sugar production, during the 17th century. Unlike the Yorkshire classic, Lancashire parkins are sweetened with golden syrup and made without oats, which some Yorkshiremen equate to a less tasty cake.

For more interesting trivia on Bonfire Night, check out food historian, Neil Buttery’s blog.

In my constant quest to create healthier recipes, my quick and easy parkin does include oats (or high-fibre oatbran) and a little black treacle but instead of sugar, the cake is naturally sweetened with medjool dates and chopped apples. To keep the cake texture, I have included some self-raising flour but you could try substituting the flour with ground almonds for a higher protein, gluten-free bake. I have not tried this out myself but should you wish to experiment, I would suggest adding a tablespoon of psyllium husk (hydrated with a few tablespoons of water) for a less crumbly cake.

‘Baking’ the cake using a rice cooker makes the recipe somewhat foolproof as there is no need to watch over the oven, but it does mean that you can only make round parkins, which in my house, is a non-issue when the cake is as enjoyable as this is. The hardest part of making any parkin is leaving it to mature for a few days as it really improves with age, becoming more moist and sticky with time.

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Date & Apple Parkin

This makes an 3cm/~1 inch tall, 18cm/7 inch wide cake using my rice cooker but whilst the dimensions will differ with various models of rice cookers, I believe the timings should still be similar as the cake will be simultaneously baked and steamed. You can also substitute the butter with avocado or extra virgin olive oil though the cake will then lack the toffee-like flavour that butter provides. If you wish to serve the cake as an after dinner pudding, serve with a dollop of whipped cream or Greek yoghurt drizzled with date syrup.

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On this auspicious day symbolising the victory of light over darkness, we are enjoying a superb amount of dark clouds, cold winds and incessant rain causing wet autumnal leaves to plaster our luscious green landscape with bright tones of ochre, scarlet and rust, all set against a backdrop of endless grey. Viewed fro…

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Although available year round, aubergines are best during the peak months of July, August and September so we have a good month left to enjoy them fully. Like many children, my own included, I didn’t quite enjoy the texture of aubergines growing up but I absolutely adore them now and I really appreciate their ability to act as a blank canvas, ready to absorb flavours and sauces.

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Long purple Asian aubergines (we called them eggplants in Asia) are my preferred variety, mainly because they don’t have as many large seeds as the Western globe aubergines. Globe aubergines can also be bitter, particularly larger, more mature ones, so I stick to buying firm, medium ones which have smaller seeds and a less fluffy core.

Many recipes will ask you to salt aubergines to draw out their bitterness but this is unnecessary with my roasted aubergines. All they require is a little prod with the tip of a knife before they go into the oven or preferably, an air-fryer. The flavoursome sauce is essentially a one minute stir-up dressing that is completely addictive. I’ve made the dish twice this week and am now contemplating if I should get my daughter a mini air-fryer, just so she can make this at university.

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Velvety Soft Aubergines with Spicy Fermented Bean Dressing

This flavourbomb of a dish has become my favourite way to cook and serve aubergines. To save energy and time, I roast them in an air-fryer but a regular oven will also do the job. You could also grill the aubergines on the barbecue or under a hot grill but the aubergines will need to be turned occasionally to ensure even cooking. Grilling will impart a smoky flavour to the aubergines and add another dimension to the dish, but I prefer the easier, mess-free option of roasting in an air-fryer. Both methods are explained below.

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We have been munching our way through Mexico and Peru for the past few weeks and absolutely loving the food and variety of ingredients used in each region. Of the many weird and wonderful dishes we sampled (think agave worm salad, grasshopper salt and many a fermented drink), one ingredient I was excited to see an abundan…

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It’s been a while since I’ve written and for that I do apologise. Would you forgive me if I said it was my milestone birthday? June being the last month of our school year is always manic with a frenzy of activities, but with a few local friends all celebrating the same milestone - let’s just say it’s more cake and bubbly than I have consum…

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