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One Pan Spicy Veg
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 25m
G
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 25m
G
Etta head chef and food writer Rosheen Kaul doesn't do boring in the kitchen, whether at work or at home. She took time off during a busy few weeks cooking at the restaurant and this year's Melbourne Food and Wine Festival to share her wisdom with SBS Food.
What ingredients do you recommend keeping at home to upgrade weeknight meals?
It's great to have pantry items and long-lasting fridge items that can serve either as the star or supporting act to simple dishes. Ingredients like some good-quality tinned fish, canned chickpeas or other pulses, kimchi, a little piece of guanciale or dried chorizo and definitely some good tinned tomatoes. Seasoning sauces and oils are super important too - you can make so many incredible dishes with a little bit of soy sauce or fish sauce and a splash of sherry vinegar. Yum.
What are your go-to easy meals at home?
I love a rich, delicious egg fried rice or a soy sauce braise. The latter fills the house with the most gorgeous, warm spice aroma and is super easy to put together. The key, really, is patience. The more time you can let your sauce braise, the better.
Is there a cuisine that you tend to go back to when you want something easy and delicious?
Chinese, for sure. Simple ingredients can be made so delicious with the application of Chinese techniques. I love it particularly because a well-stocked pantry is key, and you don't need to buy lots of raw ingredients, yet you can somehow make a dozen different dishes with only a few basic seasonings.
And what about your essential kitchen appliances?
I love my wok; it's the perfect size and does everything – from stir-frying to getting a magnificent char on meat and veg, braising, steaming and simmering broths. It's the ultimate all-purpose cooking tool and it's so easy to clean.
Where do you shop for ingredients and produce?
I love going to markets. Looking at and touching produce is one of my favourite activities; I find it very grounding and inspiring. I go to markets all over Melbourne during my week in search of lovely ingredients for the restaurant, like live seafood or tropical fruit.
We've talked about your family before. Do you find time to cook for them?
We do family dinners every Sunday. Sometimes we go out to eat, or my dad will cook delicious Kashmiri food, or my mum will make a roast chicken. Other times I will cook, and I take requests from the other members of my family too. It's a non-negotiable event and I really look forward to it every week, as weekends are always particularly gruelling in the restaurant – physically and mentally – and spending a Sunday afternoon preparing and having a meal with my family after a long week is really recharging for the soul.
And what about cooking for your toddler niece?
My baby niece, Stevie, is so very special (can you tell I'm head over heels as her aunty?) and she's yet to meet a food she doesn't like. She eats chilli too! In the beginning, when she was starting to eat solids, we would omit salt and chilli from her portion of food for Sunday dinners. It turns out that she loves a bit of spice in her meals and even asks my sister to add chilli flakes to her food. She even loves eating lemon slices and snacking on roasted Korean seaweed. She's tried caviar and lobster and eaten both with gusto. She isn't even two years old yet! We don't do much different for her, she particularly loves my dad's cooking and chows down on lamb bones like there's no tomorrow. She has a wonderfully broad palate, better than many adults I know.
