The Bite team recently spent a delicious day in the kitchen test-driving Sachie Nomura’s brand new meal kits.
Sachie, who shares recipes with Bite readers through her Asian cooking class column, is on a mission to make Kiwis comfortable with cooking Asian meals, and these kits are sure to do just that. They include most ingredients, such as pre-mixed sauces, pastes, rice, noodles, coconut cream, crispy shallots, etc. The cook just needs to pick up a few fresh ingredients to complete the meal.
Step-by-step instructions printed on the back of each kit are easy to follow and make it fun for family or friends to cook together. If you’re looking to serve something different on a busy weeknight, or any night when you just need things to be easy, look no further. Sachie’s Kitchen meal kits feed four and are available at leading supermarkets from today. RRP$9.99
Here's the verdict from the Bite team
Sachie's tips on Asian cooking
• My number one rule is to be adventurous. Don’t be afraid to give Asian cooking a go — it’s not as hard as it might seem. With my meal kits, all the hard work has been done for you, so all you have to do is get stuck in and have fun.
• If you still find yourself a little unsure about trying Asian cooking, start by slowly introducing new flavours and ingredients to your everyday recipes. Think about experimenting with ingredients like soy sauce, garlic, chilli flakes, shallots, and different herbs like coriander, basil and chives.
• Make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go before you begin cooking. You’ll need just a few extra ingredients to complete my recipes, all of which you can pick up at your local supermarket along with your meal kit. • Don’t get too caught up in the method. It’s there as your guide, but doesn’t have to be followed exactly. Asian cooking is quite forgiving — what matters is that all the flavours are in there and that it tastes delicious.
• Trust your own tastebuds — if you don’t like coriander, try garnishing my laksa with spring onion or leave it off entirely. If you think your Thai red curry needs an extra dash of coconut cream, go for it.
• Once you become more confident, feel free to experiment by swapping out and adding additional ingredients that you love — you can use any fresh seasonal produce you like in my summer rolls, or you could swap out chicken for beef in my Thai red curry. It’s really up to you.
• I love the idea of an Asian buffet dinner with friends — you could have everyone in charge of a different meal kit, meaning you end up with a delicious spread of Asian food. Why not make it a fun challenge and judge each other’s meals, cooking competition style?
Check Sachie's Facebook page facebook.com/sachieskitchen and website at sachieskitchen.com/kits for more tips and tricks and regular updates on how to make her meal kits.