Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles (涼麵, Liang Mian)

Cold Sesame Noodles

A simple noodle dish garnished with egg, cucumbers, and carrots with a sesame sauce, Liang Mian is a popular dish sold from casual eateries, street food stalls and convenience stores across Taiwan. This recipe is from Made in Taiwan by Clariss Wei, published by Simon and Schuster. Read our detailed book review of Made In Taiwan. ... Read more »

Vietnamese Quick and Lazy Drenched Cold Noodles

Quick and Lazy Drenched Cold Noodles

This quick and simple cold noodle recipe is immensely satisfying and perfect for a quick lunch or dinner when you’re short on time but craving great flavours. It’s also a handy way to use up ingredients from your fridge or store cupboard. Read our full review of Vietnamese Vegetarian by Uyen Luu. This is a ... Read more »

Firinda Makarna (Cypriot Beef and Bechamel Pasta Bake)

Firinda Makarna

Firinda Makarna is not a dish I’d heard of until reading Hasan Semay’s Big Has Home cookbook, but his description of it as being somewhat like an Italian lasagne was helpful, in that it features minced beef, pasta and a cheesy bechamel sauce. However, in this dish, the minced beef is fried with onions, parsley ... Read more »

Tibetan Vegetable Thukpa (Noodle Soup)

Tibetan Vegetable Thukpa (Noodle Soup)

You might think that a recipe featuring home-made noodles would be fiddly but the noodles in this delicious vegetable soup are really straightforward and easy to make. They are served in a nourishing soup of vegetables and broth flavoured with Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, soy sauce and Chinkiang black vinegar. Serve with sepen (hot chilli dip) ... Read more »

Spaghetti with Almond Cream, Fresh Crab, Chilli and Marjoram

Spaghetti with Almond Cream, Fresh Crab, Chilli and Marjoram from Ben Tish' Sicilia

Nut-thickened sauces are popular in some regions of Sicily including the Aeolian Islands where Ben Tish first came across them in a dish of spaghetti with almond sauce and mussels. For his cookbook Sicilia, Ben Tish  combines a similar almond cream sauce with fresh crab, chilli, marjoram and lemon juice for a rich and summery ... Read more »

Chinese Chicken Chow Mein by Kwoklyn Wan

Chicken Chow Mein

I rarely order a Chinese takeaway without including a chow mein; who can resist the signature smokey flavour that wok frying imparts to savoury fried noodles? This chicken chow mein from Kwoklyn Wan’s Chinese Takeaway in 5 is straightforward and quick to make – the perfect Chinese fakeaway recipe. Indeed it’s one of the recipes ... Read more »

Dan Dan Noodles

Dan Dan Noodles

You can make this delicious recipe for Dan Dan Noodles from Dumplings and Noodles by Pippa Middlehurst with either homemade ramen noodles, or ready-made ones. The recipe leads you through making both the spicy ground beef and the addictively nutty sauce that are key to a great bowl of dan dan mian. Find out more ... Read more »

Travelling By Way Of My Belly | Favourite Recipes From The Middle East, Central & South Asia

Persian Tahcheen-e morgh (Baked Yoghurt Rice with Chicken)

I know I’m not alone in missing international travel, which is naturally hugely affected by this awful Covid pandemic we are experiencing all around the world. A great way to travel in one’s imagination is to cook and eat dishes from other countries, celebrating international cuisine and travelling by way of our bellies. Here, I ... Read more »