Ponytail Journal

This Sunday I’m pulling out my favourite recipe, my tastiest Burmese chicken curry that I discovered on a trip to Myanmar a couple years back. I watched a curry stall lady prepare this dish out back behind her side of the road curry stall where we communicated with smiles and many animated hand movements. I will always think of her when I have this super tasty stew that is wonderfully mellow from the addition of lemongrass to the turmeric and red onion based curry paste.

This week we’d like to give you a challenge to impress yourself with scrambled, poached, and boiled eggs. When done well, eggs are the most heavenly food on the planet. So how do your skills scratch up?

How to spruce up the humble fried egg, the Thai way. PTJ presents, ’Yum Kai Dow’. This is how its done.

Give Lauren’s very own recipe for a curried bitter melon dish inspired by her travels through South East Asia.

In celebration of Thai New Year, I’m bringing some spicy goodness to your kitchen with this Herb-y Spicy Northeastern Thai chicken soup. It’ll make you start dancing in your seat.

Presenting to you, the ultimate Japanese way to eat the best quality, freshest eggs - raw. Although this dish may not be for the squeamish, it is a simple pleasure that shows off the purest ingredients.

Nam prik gapi is almost a staple here in Thailand. It’s super versatile and adds a punch to seasonal vegetables, rice, egg, fish, and many other goodies. Here we show you how to make our quick version!

This Thai water chestnut dessert translates to ruby and boy are they a perfect festive dessert!

Steaming is a wonderful way to lock in goodness that your food has to offer. It’s also going to ensure that flavour is locked in, given that you don’t overcook your food in the steamer which is often why this method of cookery has had a bad rep in the past. We urge you to try your eggs in the morning steamed with a dash of soy sauce and perhaps some sesame oil drizzled on top. It’s best when the egg is cooked to a perfect medium, where the yolk is firm on the outside and gooey in the middle. So here we have made a simple steaming guide for you to practise with - whether you have a steamer or just a regular saucepan!

Khao yam is a Southern Thai dish that we think you need to get familiar with. It’s a rice salad that you’ll be able to throw in whichever seasonal vegetable that tickles your fancy! We’ve also included a vegan option for people like us who are concerned about the future of our oceans.

Vietnamese home style cooking is the bomb. Not only will you make your neighbours jealous, but with this recipe for lemongrass chicken, you’ll have an incredible dinner ready in under 30.

You’ll need this in your weekend breakfast repertoire.