HOW I EAT AT HOME
RECIPES JEREMY PANG
Fridge essentials? Usually, the veg drawer is very full. I keep lots of chillies in my freezer and traditional Asian ingredients like lime leaves and lemongrass.
PHOTOGRAPHS KRIS KIRKHAM
Secret weapons? Light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sesame oil. Fish sauce to add a Thai/Vietnamese flavour, and rice wines to balance: Japanese sake and mirin, and Chinese shaoxing. Crispy onions: whizz up and add to your spices for a curry. Kitchen stalwarts? If I’ve got my wok, cleaver and a wok ladle, I can cook pretty much whatever I want.
Midweek meal? I cook a lot at home. It’s not always Asian cuisine, but often it is, because my kids love it. The other night I made a mini bento box with crispy mackerel, pan-fried in tempura batter, with a quick teriyaki sauce, chopped veg and rice. Simple, but fresh food.
Panang chicken curry
Regular breakfast? On weekdays, I try and trick myself into fasting for half a day. Weekends: fluffy pancakes with maple syrup, or a fry up; my son is into bacon these days.
Weekend adventure? If the weather’s good I get the barbecue out: maybe miso aubergines and lemongrass chicken wings. I might make dumplings and get the kids involved. If I have time I’ll buy what looks freshest and just play.
Growing up, feasting was an everyday ritual, with two hungry sisters and a constant influx of random family friends joining us for last-minute dinners. We were taught that the biggest respect we could give the food was to get stuck in while it was piping hot, especially if it was a freshly stirfried lobster, whole steamed fish or crispy chicken that would lose its crispiness with every additional minute it waited on the plate. Feasting is ingrained in Asian eating culture no matter what part of the continent you look towards. A spoonful of noodles or a clump of sticky rice perched on the end of your chopsticks are seen as the foundation from which to create a variety of combinations – perfectly placed to mop up the silky, sweet, salty, savoury sauces from steaming hot flakes of fish or melt-in-the-mouth morsels of slow-braised meat. Drawing inspiration from each main culinary tradition and practice found across the continent, chapter by chapter, my new book Simple Family Feasts presents a wide variety of dishes to delight family and friends, with the caveat that each dish will work equally well served on its own with a bowl of rice or noodles. Get stuck in!
JEREMY PANG
Naxi fried fish
Serves 2
Hands-on time 30 min