This doesn’t really require much of an explanation.
Lamb leftovers – toasted Pita bread, hit with store bought Tzatziki for zero effort and you’re off to the races.
Fair to say that normal texted image quality has been resumed.
Author: Greg Holman
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Greek Roast Lamb Leg with some English touches
Yes these are all text messaged recipes, but occasionally, just occasionally, I manage to be in town to enjoy the finished product.
Thats what’s happened this weekend. My brother has taken the base recipe from Scrummy Lane, selected a nice leg of lamb and kicked on.
Cooking starts the day before with prepping and marinading, and in this case also cooking up some Yorkshire Puddings. The next day the roast is in the oven for about 7 hours from 5am.
Screenshot 
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As I was dropping by to offer him a ride to our folks, I got to take a photo of the bees hard at work on the flowering rosemary he used for the marinade.
The end result was delicious, although in my final photo I didn’t have the gravy on which was amazing.
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Sop Buntut – Indonesian Oxtail Soup
This is a slow-cooked Indonesian soup that will taste very different in Indonesia depending on which area of the country you have it.
It’s also delicious and one of my brother’s favorites, both to eat and cook.
He tends to prefer to quickly grill the oxtail before adding it to the broth, which in Indonesia would be Sop Buntut Bakar. It is also perfectly acceptable to just slow cook it in the broth.
They give slightly different textures and flavors, so you can experiment.
Be ready to substitute the oxtail for osso bucco or whatever cut of meat is available and good value. Oxtail is not very common outside Asia. If you do, osso bucco will tend to taste slightly meatier and less fatty, but delicious also.
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Indonesian Rendang
I’ve lived in Asia for many years, and love a good Rendang. You can get them in Australia too, but my brother often enjoys making his own and has spent a lot time tweaking his.
His base recipe is here.
Now I’ve never eaten his. Just seen the photos. My favourites in Jakarta are:
- Sari Indah
- Pagi Sore
- Sederhana
Pro tip – go to the trouble of finding white pepper. It makes a difference!
Service with rice.
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Hot Sauces
My brother grows his own chilies and has a pretty wide repertoire of sauces from the sweet to the outright lethal.
His main go-to’s seem to be from the site www.chilipeppermadness.com. There are lots and the mango habanero is on speed dial.
The other close favorite is this Trinidadian one.
I’ve made both of these and they are excellent.
The clever part is using it to supercharge flavour into some otherwise ordinary meals like sandwiches.
Plus its a fun process and offers a great deal of scope for creativity.
His pro tip – almost always add a carrot!
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Slow cooked Pulled Pork
My brother will do this every few months. Low and slow cook, the base recipe is here although he’s also used the spice pre-blend here which is convent if you can find something like it.
As long as you’ve got the time this is super cheap, and freezes well and can turn up in everything from tacos to pasta during the week.
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Air Fryer KFC
Everyone in my house seems to love KFC but it’s not especially healthy for you.
The air fryer version isn’t super healthy, but it’s a bit better and keeps the same flavours.
The base recipe is from Babish although in this version he fries it conventionally. This alternative from Big Man’s World also looks good, but I don’t think my brother has tried it before, but it has a good description of the air frying part.
He’s made this many times, and from our conversations, it seems like this recipe, more than others he’s shared, requires practice. Right amount of breading for the chicken and your air fryer.
He often added supermarket sides like premixed slaw as a way of reducing cost and making it easier.
You take a shot at the Colonel … you better not miss
Give it a try. Even if it’s not perfect the first couple of times, it’ll still be delicious with all these spices.
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Chile Colorado
Chile Colorado is a Mexican-style beef stew I’d never even heard of before my brother told me about it. These are the long big batch cooks that my brother excels at. No need for fancy expensive cuts of meat, time and effort with the spices will get all the flavor for you.
His base recipe is from Lemon Blossoms.
From there is slow working the peppers into a marinade, which in turn becomes a sauce.
Results? Spectacular.
Yes, it has some heat, but you don’t have to go crazy.
He tends to smash it straight into tacos with friends while watching the UFC.
Tip add a can of Mexican Beans last 15 minutes. More flavour. Some Fibre.
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Cheat Code Pizza
Making your own dough is very easy, but if you didn’t make it the night before and don’t have the time to do the kneading method over a few hours, then there are two other ways, and my brother uses them both.
First is just a store-bought dough. Delicious and cheap. Often at least as good as your own homemade effort. Then sauce and toppings as usual.
Second is even easier. Supermarket cooked but chilled pizza (not frozen) that you just need to reheat, but you put a few of your own fresh ingredients to kick the flavor up a notch. Some fresh herbs like basil on the top.
Cheat Code Entered.
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Pizza From Scratch
I never used to make much homemade pizza. I love it, and in Asia, the style isn’t what an Australian might be accustomed to, but it seemed like too much work.
My brother found the no-knead method from a few people, at first Babish’s pan-pizza recipe and now Serious Eats’ version. No, I don’t know why he switched over.
He did it often enough he convinced me to try, and it is stupidly easy.
Just stir together the dough the night before and leave it covered to ferment.
He uses a small red pan when cooking pan pizza for himself or just a pizza tray when going for a thinner style with the same dough.
He doesn’t have a fancy high-temp oven, but it works just fine so it will for you too.
Read below for top tips on whether the ingredients go on top of the cheese or under it!
My Brother Cooks 