Recipes

  • Vietnamese-style Prawn & Mango Salad with prawn crackers

    by Jessica Nguyen
    A Vietnamese-style summer starter perfect for the festive hosting season.

  • Crunchy Noodle Salad

    by Jessica Nguyen
    This is a salad I would bring if I was asked to ‘bring a salad’. It’s perfect for the warmer weather, it’s substantial enough to have it on its own for lunch or dinner, or serve as a side salad alongside a larger spread.

  • Vietnamese style fried fish with rice, slaw and tamarind dipping sauce

    by Jessica Nguyen
    Fried silver whiting in a makrut lime batter, served with a kohlrabi and sugar snap pea slaw and a tamarind dipping sauce. Give it to me fried with a whole lot of punchy aromatics, some rice and a fresh slaw and sauce and I’m in heaven.
    Posted in fish, sauces, vietnamese

  • Roast potato and green bean salad with romesco and salsa verde

    by Jessica Nguyen
    A spicy spring salad with roasted potatoes, green beans, a romesco sauce and salsa verde
    Posted in beans, potato, salad

  • Pork & Fennel Bianco Ragu Two Ways over Two Days

    by Jessica Nguyen
    This recipe is inspired by two Italian recipes Maiale al Latte- Pork in Milk and Finnochio con Latte al Forno- Fennel baked in Milk, but I’ve blended the two and created an easy ‘one pot throw it all in and slow cook it’ version. 
    Using milk as the main ingredient to slow cook the shoulder gives makes the meat rich and tender in the same way you would with wine or stock, but you get this gorgeous and creamy sauce that during the cook splits and looks like you’ve ruined the dish, but with the magic of an immersion blender, you whizz it all up and get this thick and creamy sauce that you can either serve with chunks of pork a top some cheesy polenta or shred the meat and turn it into a ragu pasta that I served with mafaldine.
    Posted in pasta, pork, slow cooker

  • Japanese Chicken Curry with Rice (Kare Raisu, カレーライス)

    by Jessica Nguyen
    A comforting Japanese golden curry easy enough to make for a weeknight meal or make a big batch to freeze and have across a few meals and months.
    Posted in Asian, chicken, curry, Japanese, rice

  • Beef Short Ribs, Three Ways over Three Days

    by Jessica Nguyen

    This is one of my ‘cook smarter not harder’ recipes because truthfully, it’s how I’m cooking these days as a mum with a baby but also as I get lazy/cosy over winter. Currently, I physically and mentally can’t cook everyday, but I also don’t want to eat the same thing everyday.

    I’m taking one big pot of slow cooked beef short ribs, but showing you how to serve it three different ways over three days, by layering over a few different ingredients each day to make the meals slightly different, still interesting and hopefully family friendly. I chose a ragu too because they only improve in flavour over time and multiple days, so the sauce just gets better and better.

  • Raspberry Mille Feuille

    by Jessica Nguyen
      A triple decker dream with layers of puff pastry, custard and topped with fresh raspberries. You can make the components the day before or ahea...
    Posted in dessert, fruit, mille feuille

  • Vietnamese Ginger Chicken - Gà Kho Gừng

    by Jessica Nguyen
      A fast yet flavourful Vietnamese homestyle dish where chicken thigh is braised in a caramel sauce with lots of ginger.   Ingredients Chicken ...
    Posted in Chicken, Vietnamese

  • Stuffed Roasted Capsicums

    by Jessica Nguyen
      This under $20 dish is mince stuffed capsicums served with jasmine rice, fresh cucumber slices and dressed with my Vietnamese dipping sauce. It’...

  • The Perfect Grilled Cheese Toastie

    by Jessica Nguyen
    How to perfect a cheese toastie as well as what I’ve put in mine for a spicy kick. I always love using mayonnaise for my toasties because I al...
    Posted in Brunch, Cheese, Lunch, Toastie

  • Vietnamese Grilled Squid Salad- Gỏi Mực Nướng

    by Jessica Nguyen
    This is such a beautiful salad recipe that is perfect as a starter for a summer lunch, it comes together quite quickly and is served with...