Asian food has experienced a bit of a resurgence recently, with it being one of the most popular cuisines people were cooking at home over lockdown.
If your tastebuds are still tingling for a taste of the Far East, try out these recipes from top chefs Gordon Ramsay and Donal Skehan.
They come straight from their new recipe books, available now.
Keen to discover more tasty dishes? You’ll find plenty of inspiration from our previous recipes.
Japanese tuna katsu sandwich
Serves 2
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 egg
- 60g panko breadcrumbs
- Dash of milk
- 2 x 170g thick tuna steaks
- 180g white cabbage
- 60g pickled ginger, plus a splash of the pickling liquid
- 4 thick slices of white bloomer loaf, crusts removed
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the tonkatsu sauce:
- 125ml tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- Pinch of chilli flakes
To serve:
- ½ green apple (optional)
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds or untoasted black sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Method
- Place a heavy-based frying pan (skillet) over a high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of oil.
- Put the flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs into three separate bowls. Season the flour with black pepper.
- Add a little milk to the egg and beat with a fork.
- Dip each tuna steak in the flour, making sure it is well coated. Shake off any excess, then dip it in the egg followed by the breadcrumbs.
- Place the steaks in the hot oil and cook for one minute on each side.
- Meanwhile, finely slice the cabbage with a mandolin or the blade side of a box grater and combine in a bowl with the pickled ginger and pickling juice.
- Make the tonkatsu sauce by combining the ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and mirin in a bowl. Grate in the garlic, add the chilli flakes and stir well.
- To assemble each sandwich, spread the tonkatsu sauce on two slices of bread and top one of them with the cabbage slaw. Place the tuna steak on the slaw and sit the other slice of bread on top.
- Finely slice the apple (if using) with a mandoline or sharp knife, then sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).
- Cut each sandwich in half and serve with the apple salad, lime wedges and any leftover tonkatsu sauce on the side.
Ramsay In 10 by Gordon Ramsay is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £25. Photography Jamie Orlando-Smith.
Korean fried chicken bowls
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 250ml buttermilk
- 8 free range chicken thighs (bone in and skin on), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 100g cornflakes
- 85g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- Spray of sunflower oil
For the sauce:
- 8 cloves of garlic, finely grated
- 1 large thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated
- 6 tbsp light soy sauce
- 70g gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
- 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
For the bowls:
- 250g sticky rice, cooked
- ½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 6 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced
- Handful of radishes, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- A good handful of coriander leaves
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
- In a large bowl, mix the buttermilk with a generous season of sea salt and ground black pepper.
- Add the chicken to the bowl and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Pour the cornflakes in a large freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin to a coarse powder.
- Add the flour, chilli and garlic powders to the bag along with salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake the mix until combined.
- Pour the dry mix into a large wide shallow bowl. One by one using tongs, dip each marinated chicken piece (shaking off any excess) in the dry mix until coated on all sides.
- Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spritz with sunflower oil spray.
- Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and crispy, turning halfway through to make sure they’re golden on all sides.
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan whisk together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and brown sugar.
- Place the saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a low simmer, cooking until the sugar is just dissolved – about three minutes. Set aside.
- Once the chicken has cooked, brush with the sauce.
- Assemble serving bowls with the sticky rice, cabbage, spring onions, radishes, chicken pieces, sesame seeds and plenty of coriander. Drizzle with more of the spicy sauce as needed.
Recipe from Everyday Cook by Donal Skehan, published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £25.