“I like to use a mix of colours for the tomatoes here, but use what looks and smells good. As for balsamic vinegar, I prefer those from the Modena region of Italy. If you can’t crack it open and smell it before you buy, then be guided by price…

Fellow members of the chili crisp fan club will revel in these umami-packed cookies where sweet and savory battle deliciously for attention. These are gooey, mottled with melty pools of dark chocolate, and wrinkled with crunchy golden ridges. Brown butter makes them toasty, nutty, and extra chewy…

Coconut and pandan might as well be soulmates. They belong together. It’s a partnership revered across Southeast Asia and one I re-create again and again throughout this book…

When the pandemic officially began, I took refuge at my childhood home in the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina. In a matter of weeks, banana bread was in the midst of a resurgence. Everyone was baking it and everyone was talking about it…

“This is the kind of pie that gets me. The kind I fall head over peel in love with. The buckwheat crust is the ‘edible bowl’ I love and the earthy, toffee sesame crunch is the pie accessory you never knew you needed…

“If you ever see me at the supermarket, chances are I’ll have a caramel mud cake in my basket. It is my favourite massproduced treat and resolutely non-guilty pleasure. Alas, so many attempts to re-create it left me disheartened – until I dabbled with chicory, a caffeine-free coffee substitute…

“Brownies are like socks. Stay with me here … They are mostly functional, but when you get a really, really good one, you really, really know it and you become deeply loyal to those socks/that brownie. Brownies are also a deeply personal bake – no nuts, fudgy, cakey, edge piece or centre piece…

A classic Chinese dish from the cookbook Bao Family by Céline Chung. These tasty dumplings are simple to make and well-loved…

A popular dish from the cookbook Bao Family by Céline Chung. Granny Smith apples are a great choice, as they’re firm and slightly tart, which balances out the sweet sugar coating…

A popular Chinese dish from the cookbook Bao Family by Céline Chung. Tasty, simple to make, and packed with flavour…

“White pomfret was Amah’s favourite fish to eat, but it was really expensive. I knew every time we ate it something special had happened: maybe my dad had closed a business deal, maybe one of us got straight As at school or maybe it was for Lunar New Year. It was precious…

“Malaysian roast chicken has crispy, dark skin and lots of flavour from the five-spice and salt rub. Back in primary school, when my mum was working and it was just us boys and Dad, he would often ask, ‘Chicken rice tonight?’ It was always a big yes from us, and we’d go to the chicken rice shop near our house where…

“The quality of beef in Malaysia sucks, and my grandparents never ate beef because of their religious beliefs. One of the few times we ate it was at Kayu Nasi Kandar, a shop in Petaling Jaya that serves rice with a choice of curries on top. The rendang gravy at Kayu was delicious, but the beef was so tough and chewy…

“This recipe makes wings similar to the type you find at izakaya and kushikatsu (fried skewers) restaurants. After being fried, the wings are dipped into a sauce, which, naturally enough, slightly softens the crispness. The wings are at their absolute best eaten within 10 minutes of being fried and dipped but are delicious…

“If you’ve eaten KFC – Korean fried chicken – chances are high that the first version you tasted was the sweet and spicy Dakgangjeong or Yangnyeom. The two are very similar, but my Korean friends tell me that Dakgangjeong is sweeter and sticker, while Yangnyeom is spicier…

This is one of my all-time favourite ways to prepare seasonal vegetables – an absolute classic of Japanese home cooking, and with good reason: it’s ridiculously delicious…

I love the silky texture and fresh, sweet flavour of raw salmon, but of course I also love the dense, meaty flavour of grilled salmon – this delivers the best of both worlds, with tangy ponzu and hot green chillies to offset the richness of the fish…

We couldn’t do a cookbook without one of our all-time fave dinners in it. We have this at least once a week. It is utterly divine — soul food at its best. The mac is a great way to use up any random bits of cheese in the door of the fridge. We usually serve this with a tangy garden salad (for balance)…

These delectable crunch-parcels are one of the most popular toppings for udon and soba in Japan, and it’s easy to understand why. They start off crunchy and sweet, and over time the batter absorbs the broth to make for fabulously juicy mouthfuls…

This showstopper of a dish originates from the Chittagong district, and is traditionally served to welcome a new groom into the bride’s family. Mellow, lightly spiced and creamy, the skinless chicken is melt-in-your-mouth and flavoursome throughout thanks to slow cooking and bhagar or tempering of golden fried onions…