Get Started Cooking Asian Food

 

Bill Granger has had quite a remarkable background. Today he is a successful restaurateur and well recognized chef. His books have an international audience and he appears regularly on television in many countries. His smile and casual manner are seen in his cooking and in his approach to food.

 

According to his webpage, Granger was "Born in Melbourne into a family of butchers and bakers, Bill moved to Sydney when he was nineteen. As an art student with a passion for food, he worked part-time as a waiter and gradually his focus shifted from the easel to the kitchen. In 1993, at just 22 years old, he opened the original bills in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst..." 

 

The unique thing about this first venture was that the only meal you could get at Bills was breakfast. Though that  seemed an odd thing to do in Sydney at that time it was a runaway success. His approach to food has always been straight forward: simple food prepared with the very freshest ingredients. Let the quality of your ingredients create the flavours.

 

This book is for those who love the flavours of Asian food and want to cook those dishes at home. The recipes cover many cuisines and many countries and include classic dishes such as pad Thai and Hainanese Chicken rice,  to street foods found all over Asia.

 

In the introduction Granger lays out a simple philosophy to cooking these recipes, creating authentic flavors at home with the minimal number of ingredients. One thing he does say is that if you want to go hunting for those hard to find ingredients go for it. But he also wisely gives everyday western ingredients which can be used instead. The reason is that he doesn't want the difficulty of finding an ingredient keeping the home cook form diving in and trying the wonderful flavours.

 

This is a great book and one I would recommend to anyone who loves Asian food or would like to start cooking Asian food is not not sure where or how to get started.

 

 

 

Place 500gms prawn meat

2tbs cornflour

2tsp sesame oil

In a bowl for 10 minutes

 

Heat oil in a wok and add

1 red onion cut into wedges

1 yellow pepper cut into strips

2 Red chillies thinly sliced

Thinly sliced ginger (3cm)

4 crushed garlic cloves

 

When cooked add the prawns

 

Whisk together

3tbs mirin

4tbs soy sauce

2tbs sugar

2 tsp sesame oil

3tbs ketchup

 

Add and stir through

 

Serve with rice and garnish with coriander leaf and nuts