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:
Pro tip – go to the trouble of finding white pepper. It makes a difference!
Service with rice.
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!
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.
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.
Give it a try. Even if it’s not perfect the first couple of times, it’ll still be delicious with all these spices.
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.
Because he principally cooks for himself, my brother is quite the master of using left overs.
Lamb leftovers put to use in a Roast Lamb Yiros (aka Souvlaki) or sandwiches or…
Grab a supermarket Pita, a little lettuce and some sauce.
Zero time. Apparently delicious.
My brother doesn’t get to cook large steaks too often. Overkill for his needs.
I got to contribute some suggestions during the cook.
Basically crazy hot pan or grill for a couple of minutes each side for colour, then slow in the oven until its how you like your steak.
The meaty cousin to Yorkshire Puddings and for my money, the ultimate Comfort Food.
5 Minutes for the batter while you heat the oven. 35 minutes to cook. Flour, milk, eggs and sausage. Cheapest hearty meal you can make.
You can cook it for one in a single pan, or do large portion. You can also use the BBC Recipe my brother uses https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-yorkshire-puddings or my current favourite which is has a slightly better batter for large portions https://www.tamingtwins.com/toad-in-the-hole-recipe/
Packet gravy is super easy, but you can elevate with some slow cooked onions or do it from scratch also.
My Brother Cooks 
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