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I am one of those people who always overcommits. Especially when it comes to anything food related. Then 7 out of 10 times, I find myself in a flurry at the last minute because I promised to bring something sweet for lunch with the girls, or to make something for my friends’ son’s school bake sale because she works full time and doesn’t have the time to bake something. So it’s super handy to have a few really fast sweet recipes up your sleeve and this is one of mine....

This is a cookbook exclusive recipe! This recipe is exclusive to my debut cookbook Dinner which includes a how-to video for every recipe. Just scan the QR code! Just to explain…. I know, it’s confusing! You’re so used to getting recipes on my website – there’s over 1,200 of them, after all. And here you are looking at a tasty recipe video and I haven’t provided the recipe. 🙀 I’m not just doing this to torture you, I promise....

Party Pies “Classic Aussie meat pies – in mini form made in muffin tins!” In the lead up to Australia Day on 26 January 2015, I’m going to share a series of classic Aussie fare. And I can’t think of anything more quintessentially “Aussie” than meat pies. Meat pies are to Australians what hot dogs are to Americans. You can’t go to a footy game here without being surrounded by blokes (and some lasses…....

Made with ground pork, this recipe is a simplified version of the popular Szechuan Stir Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork. Don’t skip the charring of the beans, it’s the defining feature of this stir fry! Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans If you’ve ever been to a Chinese Szechuan restaurant, you might be familiar with a green bean and pork stir fry which is a firm favourite among spicy Asian food lovers....

This recipe is made using one of my master sauce recipe, this Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries. Like my All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce, it can be used for any stir fry or noodles using a “formula” (provided in the recipe) and forms the basis for many recipes I’ve shared over the years! Quick Peanut Stir Fry I love being proven wrong over good food. I can usually read a recipe and have a good sense for what it will taste like....

The traditional chow mein sauce contains oyster sauce (as well as meat). This vegetarian/vegan version of chow mein is very close to the traditional version, but I have created a sauce without oyster sauce in it. I’ve included directions to make the sauce from scratch as well as the directions for making this using my Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce (Vegetarian version) which, if you have a stash of it on hand, makes this super quick to make because you already have the sauce ready made!...

Delicious eaten plain. Magical used in this Ottolenghi Cauliflower Salad! Welcome to Day 15 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, where I’m sharing 30 salads in a row through to Christmas Eve. Something different to the usual sugar-loaded baking countdowns!! Though not technically a salad as such, this is a good life skill to have and a precursor to a wonderful cauliflower recipe I’m sharing tomorrow: Roasted Cauliflower I’ve always said that cauliflower is one of the greatest vegetables to roast, transforming from dry and tasteless to soft, sweet and juicy with terrific caramelised edges....

Roasted Cauliflower Ester Restaurant in Chippendale has been one of the hottest restaurants in Sydney for a couple of years now. I went there recently with low expectations, thinking that it would be another “trendy” restaurant that was big on cool factor but mediocre on delivery. I love being proved wrong! (Eerm, well, for something like this!!) I was floored by how fantastic it was. Modern western food with a very subtle Asian twist which seems appropriate given the restauranteur, Mat Lindsay, is the former head chef of Billy Kwong (Kylie Kwong’s restaurant)....

This quick Rosemary Salt recipe was created as a seasoning for homemade French fries which I also published today. But its uses extend far beyond just fries! Sprinkle on Focaccia, use for poultry, lamb, steak, add into salad dressings, use for cheese muffins. Basically, you can use it in place of plain salt to add more flavour to things. Rosemary salt is best made with fresh rosemary so you get really good rosemary flavour....

I serve this as a side with all cuisines. Yes, even Asian food – read on! Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic I have a surprising number of recipes starring green beans on this website. From sides to mains (Sichuan Green Beans with Pork, anyone??), it turns out that green beans may just be my favourite vegetable. Second perhaps only to potato which, as my mother would quickly point out, doesn’t have great nutritional value and thus qualify as a vegetable whose vast intake you ought to boast about....

Asakusa is one of the most popular areas for visitors to Tokyo! Centred around the famous Sensoji temple and Nakamise shopping street with its colourful stalls, this is a great place to just walk around to absorb the vibe, watch Japanese snacks being made by hand (and try them!) and enjoy the traditional atmosphere. Even though we’ve visited Asakusa dozens of times, we still go back every time we visit Tokyo – just because we love it!...

This is a cookbook exclusive recipe! This recipe is exclusive to my debut cookbook Dinner which includes a how-to video for every recipe. Just scan the QR code! Just to explain…. I know, it’s confusing! You’re so used to getting recipes on my website – there’s over 1,200 of them, after all. And here you are looking at a tasty recipe video and I haven’t provided the recipe. 🙀 I’m not just doing this to torture you, I promise....

A couple of weeks ago I posted Ham & Cheese French Toastie Roll Ups. French toast you can eat with your hands and tastes like ham and cheese toasties. After those roll ups turned out so well, I simply had to come up with a bacon version. Because…..you know…..bacon. The smell of sizzling bacon in the morning is the best thing in the world, especially if you had too much wine last night....

BONUS: this all happens in one pan, it’s 100% perfect for make ahead and freezing, and makes its own barbecue sauce (and it might be the best you ever have in your life!). Slow cooked BBQ Beef Ribs Beef ribs are the king of all beef cuts for slow cooking (pretty sure I said that in my Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce too). They are juicier than brisket and chuck (there’s always a few lean-ish patches, that’s just the way that cut is)....

Top tip: These are excellent to grill on the BBQ, or even better, over charcoal for a truly authentic Thai experience. Thai Beef Satay When I eat out at Thai restaurants, I tend to default to Chicken Satay skewers because I know chicken is hard to get wrong. Beef Satay, on the other hand, can be terribly hit or miss. Bland, chewy and dry beef is an all-too-common refrain. To experience Beef Satay the way it’s meant to be, better to make it yourself....

And this is how they make it. (It’s easy!) Chinese Crispy Pork Belly recipe In my humble opinion, the Chinese are the undisputed king of two things: crispy duck and crispy pork belly. It’s unlikely that I will ever share a proper Peking Duck recipe because it’s too hard to make properly in an ordinary home kitchen. Pork belly, on the other hand, is totally doable. That juicy, seasoned flesh....

When you see how easy this is to make, you won’t ever be tempted to use a shortcut version again. After all, if we’re going to make a chocolate pie, let’s do it right! 🙂 Chocolate Cream Pie I have serious self control issues around homemade baked goods. I never buy cakes or bars or even muffins in my normal day to day life. I never have. I just never feel the urge....

You’ll love the creamy broth (but no cream!), and how the tender beans absorb the flavour. Leave some of the ham tender and juicy, pan fry some to make it crispy. It’s the best of both worlds! Leftover Ham Bone Soup! Ham bones are highly coveted in my circle . Each year, I gather as many as I can and stash them in my deep freezer. The Christmas just gone, I went one step further and gifted several Glazed Hams under the guise of being a thoughtful friend....

With sweetness from carrots and peas, a sprinkle of cashews and a garlic flavour base, this is a rice side dish that will jazz up any meal. Or serve it with crispy fried eggs for a super quick meal! Curried Rice – think of the possibilities! Just 2 hours ago, I left 8 big containers of this Curried Rice with the wonderful team at my local veterinary clinic (one of the regular places to which I take surplus food) along with a note that went along the lines of this: “Curried basmati rice, not too spicy, fab rice side but can also eat plain....

Egg Foo Young – terrific quick dinner idea! I know most of us think of omelettes as a breakfast thing and no matter how often I endorse it for dinner, I feel like it will never stick. But trust the Chinese to come up with a way to plant omelettes firmly in the dinner rotation!! What is Egg Foo Young? Egg Foo Young is a Chinese omelette – egg mixed with vegetables and usually some type of protein (prawns / shrimp or pork are common) then smothered in a Chinese stir fry sauce....