Asian favourites

If there was a hit parade for food, surely Asian food would feature in the top

10, at least in Ireland. We just can’t seem to get enough of the stuff, be it Chinese, Japanese, Korean and, of course, Thai.

It’s no wonder really. Asian food generally is aromatic, flavoursome and often full- bodied and, depending on the cuisine, it can be as chili-hot or cool as you like. It’s also a dream if you can’t eat dairy or wheat. Asian food gets its base-note flavours from ingredients like lemon grass, garlic, ginger, shallot and chili, as well as fresh herbs like basil and coriander. Coconut – in milk, cream or desiccated form – is another key ingredient, bringing a creamy richness to curries and soups.

Put off by often long lists of ingredients, some of us can be a bit shy about cooking Asian food from scratch at home, except for the near-ubiquitous stir fry. But if you make sure you have a well-stocked arsenal of the right ingredients (fish sauce, soy sauce, chillies, lemongrass, coconut milk, noodles etc), it is often pretty simple to prepare and cook Asian dishes in your own kitchen.

If it helps at all to decide to do so, it’s good to know that it tastes even better the next day, so people are less inclined to moan about getting the same thing twice. It is also worth bearing in mind that things like lemongrass and chillies are stashed in my freezer, which means they are never-forgotten ingredients.

I love Asian cuisine, partly because it offers hundreds of one-pot wonders, which make for minimal washing up and also because, if you’re off carbs, it’s just as nice without rice or noodles. The emphasis on vegetables makes it a firm favourite; you can practically feel the goodness going in.

But it is meat, not vegetables, that is the star of the two Asian recipes here. The chicken curry is a leaner, much more fragrant version of the classic oh-so-creamy green curry. The key is to blitz the paste until it is as smooth as you can get it, as lemongrass can often be a bit woody. I accompanied it this time with no-carb “rice”, made by blitzing a whole head of cauliflower to breadcrumb consistency, then cooking it with a little butter water with a lid on for about five minutes. Then drain and you can season and keep warm.

The second recipe takes a bit of time as the joint of pork used (belly) needs to simmer till the meat is soft and almost falling apart. Once torn off, it gets a dousing in a sticky sauce and is grilled to umami crispness before being tossed in a crunchy salad of Chinese cabbage and carrot.