Eat Drink Asia

Jjapaguri, or ram-don, as it is known in the Academy award-winning movie Parasite, is a super easy and cheap dish that simply mixes two kinds of instant noodles together. In this episode of Eat Drink Asia, we look into the food references in the film and how a dish only known to Koreans quickly became something global audiences salivated over.

Vicky Cheng, chef and owner of one-Michelin-starred VEA tells us how to turn a humble pack of instant noodles to a glorious okonomiyaki — a classic Japanese pancake.

As popular and ubiquitous as curry is around the world, the word ‘curry’ doesn’t actually exist in India. In this episode we look into butter chicken – not curry – a dish that balances the smokiness of the meat and the silkiness of the sauce like no other. We traced it back to the grandson of the inventor of this iconic dish, who told us its origin story of hard work, resilience, and hope. Sound effects from Klankbeeld, digifishmusic, SoundLover16 on Freesound.org.

This is a quick coconut fish stew recipe that will make you look like the chef of the house. It's shared by chef Palash Mitra, who helms the Michelin-starred restaurant New Punjab Club in Hong Kong. How to make it: Cut the fish into manageable pieces and season with salt, turmeric, crushed peppercorns, and curry leaves (optional). Heat some coconut oil and add in mustard seeds, chopped shallots, tomatoes, and a bit of ginger. Sautée till transparent and add the fish, lightly fry and…

Listen to top chefs in Hong Kong describe how they cook their favourite comfort dishes at home. Today's recipe from chef Barry Quek only requires three ingredients: instant noodles, an onion, and a hard cheese, like cheddar or parmesan. How to make it: Slice about half an onion into thin slices then heat oil in a pot and saute the onions until they turn light brown, about 10 minutes. Add the seasoning packet from the instant noodles and stir for about a minute then add enough water to cook…

When it comes to fried chicken, almost every country has their own take on it. The Philippines has Jollibee, South Africa has Nando’s, Japan has Karaage... but no country has made the competition more intense than South Korea. So for today's episode, we are going to take a look at two equally iconic KFCs — Kentucky fried chicken and Korean fried chicken. How are they made? How did they influence each other?  And we are looking further than that — to the Korean war, the first cookbook…

The dish was born in a time when Vietnamese weren’t even allowed access to wheat flour, making it hard to imagine the sandwich would become world famous.

American icon became popular during the war and managed to stick around.Your junk email is named after the canned meat, by the way.

We tried KFC’s spicy chicken mooncakes so you don’t have to.From the end of the Yuan Dynasty to modern Hong Kong, mooncakes have been the bearers of political messages.

Bernice Chan and Alkira Reinfrank analyse the cultural appropriation, and fascinating history, of Sichuan cuisine. They delve into the chemistry of the Sichuan pepper and unpack the components of a traditional meal.

It turns out that early sushi was not about rice. And it originated from the Mekong, not Japan.

Plot twist: The rooster sauce was created by a Vietnamese refugee, but is American-made, and Thai-inspired.

The complex origin and nationalist agenda behind the iconic Thai noodle dish.

A journey into the history and culture of dim sum – why it’s served on trolleys, what the path to becoming a dim sum chef is like, and the painstaking work behind a simple har gau.

Where did bubble tea begin - and why has it become so popular - we deep dive into this chewy drink made for Instagram.

Michelin announcement sees fine dining French restaurant Caprice get back its third star, and the British chef gives us some quick dinner solutions.

An in-depth chat with career bartender (and 2017 American Bartender of the Year) Jeff Bell from the famous PDT bar in New York, upon opening the Hong Kong edition of PDT at the Mandarin Oriental; and Singaporean-born Swiss chef Gray Kunz, who has been cooking and operating restaurants in Hong Kong since the 1980s, talks about telling the story of Singapore and Asia through his food at Cafe Gray Deluxe in the Upper House in Hong Kong.

Sit down with Bernice Chan and Alkira Reinfrank for an in-depth chat with Gordon Ramsay, perhaps better known as the profane, short-tempered TV chef on reality programs like Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef and Kitchen Nightmares. Upon the opening of his latest restaurant in Hong Kong he talks about his aborted football career, the influence of his mother upon his cooking, and his pride in guiding the careers of young chefs.  

In this episode Bernice Chan and Alkira Reinfrank visit Hong Kong's own 'Koreatown' and taste local versions of classic Korean street food; talk about the pressures of running the hottest restaurant in town with James Ward, owner and operator of Francis in Wan Chai; and Bernice continues her mission to educate Alkira about Hong Kong's local cuisine - this week it's a feast of pig's blood, intestines and liver. Guest producer: Kyungmin Cho Follow us on Twitter: Bernice Chan @beijingcalling …

Bernice Chan and Alkira Reinfrank talk about what Anthony Bourdainmeant to Hong Kong and Asia; sample Cantonese favourites chicken feet and tripe; talk with a Chinese tea sommelier, drink milk tea in Sham Shui Po and discuss fine dining with chef Julien Royer, head chef and owner of Odette in Singapore. Follow us on Twitter: Bernice Chan @beijingcalling Alkira Reinfrank @alkirareinfrank