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Asian recipes

Dish in Focus: smoked butter chicken at Leela

Every Indian restaurant has a rendition of murgh makhani – Michelin-starred chef Manav Tuli talks through his version, which you can even order cooked with Laphroaig whisky, flambéed tableside.

19 Nov 2024 - 12:30PM

Hot stuff: 5 chilli sauces to try with as much complexity as kick

24 Jul 2024 - 4:14PM

Profile | The Indian cookbooks preserving ‘a legacy’ by recording old family recipes

11 Dec 2023 - 11:20AM

How old Chinese cookbooks helped a Hong Kong chef modernise her food

The head chef at Hong Kong contemporary Cantonese restaurant Ho Lee Fook, ArChan Chan Kit-ying, reveals how reading a collection of old Chinese cookbooks from the 1950s changed the way she cooks.

25 Aug 2023 - 5:15PM

“30 Years in the Kitchen” (1956), a collection of cookbooks by Chan Wing. Photo: ArChan Chan Kit-ying

How fried chicken became the subject of Susan Jung’s new cookbook

Former long-serving Post food editor Susan Jung recalls making fried chicken in her grandmother’s kitchen growing up in California. It was a natural subject for her first cookbook since leaving the Post, she says.

30 Apr 2023 - 11:15AM

Why is the egg so important? Crack open Taschen’s new book to find out …

Crack open The Gourmand’s Egg. A Collection of Stories & Recipes to learn about eggs in art, history and culture, then how to use the ingredient in delicious dishes

13 Apr 2023 - 2:00PM

The story of India’s iconic Chinese-inspired chicken Manchurian dish

Chicken Manchurian was created in the 1970s in Mumbai, by chef Nelson Wang, and today is the most popular ‘Chinese’ dish in India, found on every Indian Chinese restaurant menu.

12 Apr 2023 - 12:45PM

Chicken Manchurian was created in the 1970s in Mumbai, by chef Nelson Wang, and today is the most popular “Chinese” dish in India. Photo: Manish Uniyal

Mouthing Off | Bacon is delicious but it’s overused and boring – let’s use bak kwa instead

Bacon’s deliciousness has led it to be overused by chefs, so it’s time to explore other porky treats. Bak kwa, the Chinese sweet-salty snack similar to pork jerky, would surely make a more interesting alternative.

22 Feb 2023 - 11:45AM

‘We should cultivate our roots’: Asia’s best young chef on heritage cooking

Ian Goh recently won first prize in the Asian edition of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Awards. The Singaporean explains how his Hainanese heritage inspired his competition-winning dish.

11 Nov 2022 - 11:15AM

‘A dish that works for everyone’: how Indian butter chicken went global

Butter chicken started as a roadside culinary experiment, and quickly grew into arguably India’s favourite dish. Today, Indian-born chefs are spreading this comfort food around the world.

9 Nov 2022 - 4:15PM

Chef Saransh Goila’s butter chicken. The comfort food is arguably India’s favourite dish. Photo: Saransh Goila

Explainer | What is mapo tofu and where did it get its ugly name?

Meet the Hong Kong chefs putting an inspiring spin on a centuries-old classic and celebrating mapo tofu’s ‘symphony of flavours’

28 Jun 2023 - 3:09PM

Mapo tofu features a delicate balance of spicy, numbing, salty, sweet and umami flavours.

Daughter finds handwritten hoard of mum’s recipes, writes a cookbook

When Hong Kong-born Dominica Yang found her mother’s handwritten recipes, she wrote a cookbook based on them, Mum’s Kitchen – Back to Basics, dedicated to her mum and her late sister.

14 Mar 2022 - 4:15AM

How to make Thai crunchy fish, a dinner party favourite

Take some firm, mild-tasting fish, slice, coat with Goji powder and slow-fry. Fry sliced shallots and cashews. Mix tamarind paste and fish sauce, add water. Fry, add chillies and shallots, coat fish and serve.

11 Mar 2022 - 4:15AM

How to make lechon kawali – deep-fried Filipino-style crispy pork belly

This pork belly recipe from the Philippines should be started the day before; the belly is simmered, dried for eight hours in the fridge, then deep-fried twice.

25 Feb 2022 - 4:15AM

This deep-fried pork belly dish (lechon kawali) is a version of the Filipino whole roast pig dish. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A Chinese recipe for lamb chops – spicy, numbing and bursting with flavour

Cooked with a variety of chillies and Sichuan peppercorns, as well as cumin and black beans, these lamb chops have distinctive flavours.

18 Feb 2022 - 9:19AM

Grilled lamb chops with stir-fried vegetables spicy numbing and full of freshness. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Filipino-American’s true life as a chef began with her grandma’s recipes

Angela Dimayuga realised her culture’s food could be as sophisticated as European cuisines after she turned to her grandma for lessons. She includes some of her lola’s recipes in a cookbook.

1 Jun 2022 - 3:56PM

How to make Thai raw prawn salad – sweet and fiery – and fried shrimp heads

Thailand’s classic hot, sweet and sour flavours are enhanced by bitter melon in a cold yet fiery raw prawn dish. Fry the prawn heads separately following our second recipe.

11 Feb 2022 - 4:15AM

How to make Chinese sizzling vegetable pot, a simple, flavourful dish

This sizzling dish is made with shrimp paste and Chinese lettuce, although the sturdy Chinese broccoli or kale is more forgiving.

28 Jan 2022 - 9:09AM

Chinese sizzling vegetable pot, or jer jer choi: kale in clay pot with garlic, ginger, shrimp paste and semi-dried shrimp. Photo: Jonathan Wong

How to make Lunar New Year dishes to bring luck, happiness and money

Chinese Feasts & Festivals describes in detail how to make dishes traditionally served at Chinese festivals such as Lunar New Year.

24 Jan 2022 - 4:15AM

How to make Buddha’s delight, a vegetarian Lunar New Year dish

This Lunar New Year dish, meant to bring prosperity, is a mix of fresh and dried ingredients, and many alternatives can be substituted if you can’t find them in the shops.

21 Jan 2022 - 4:15AM

How to make vegetarian mapo tofu: mushrooms so good you won’t miss the meat

Mapo tofu is easy to convert into a vegetarian dish and mushrooms add to its texture so much you won’t miss the meat.

14 Jan 2022 - 10:03AM

A meat-free mapo tofu - mushrooms add plenty of texture and bean curd provides the protein. Photo: Jonathan Wong

How to make butadon – Japanese rice bowls with pork and onion

Japanese rice bowls – donburi – can have many toppings. Butadon has sliced pork belly and onions, topped with an egg yolk.

10 Jan 2022 - 11:48AM

Butadon (pork belly rice) is a simple but hearty Japanese dish. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Explainer | What’s the best way to cook lap cheong, the humble Chinese dried sausage?

Easily transported and cooked, and today made with a variety of meats, the much-loved staple food has travelled with Hong Kong’s diaspora to the farthest corners of the world

13 Dec 2021 - 12:12PM

How to make pork pie with chestnuts and Chinese sausage, a holiday treat

This is nothing like your English pork pie – it’s pretty, delicate and light. Serve it as a starter at a holiday meal or add it to your holiday buffet.

10 Dec 2021 - 4:15AM

How to make Hong Kong-style waffles: two recipes for a local favourite

Hong Kong waffles, served with peanut butter and condensed milk, are an old street snack that is mostly found in cafes today, and you can easily make your own.

3 Dec 2021 - 4:15AM

Hong Kong-style waffles. We offer two recipes for this street food favourite, one quick, one overnight. Photo: May Tse

Meat-free Asian recipes? This sauce-maker has 116, from pizza to kebabs

Simran Savlani, author of A Spark of Madness – an Amalgamation of 116 Vegetarian and Vegan Asian Staples, has ‘never followed a recipe line for line’ and wants others to also ‘freestyle in the kitchen’.

29 Nov 2021 - 4:15AM

Thai pesto pizza from Simran Savlani’s A Spark of Madness – an Amalgamation of 116 Vegetarian and Vegan Asian Staples. The sauce-maker’s recipes have influences from all over the region.

How to make strawberry sweet and sour pork, a no-ketchup recipe

This take on a Chinese favourite uses strawberry jam for the sweet and vinegar for the sour. Use Thai tempura powder to coat the pork, or make your own.

26 Nov 2021 - 9:15AM

How to make Hong Kong-style curried beef and tendon

This Hong Kong classic can be done low-and-slow or in a pressure cooker – beef cheeks cook more consistently than brisket, and tendon adds texture to the sauce.

19 Nov 2021 - 8:01AM

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Asian recipes

From India to China to Indonesia, senior food and wine editor Susan Jung tells you how to prepare delicious Asian dishes such as curry puffs, XO sauce, beef rendang, kimchi, and shrimp toast. Learn how to make these and dozens more dishes on this page.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

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