Australia's culinary landscape is as vast and diverse as its terrain—and at the heart of this uniqueness lies bush tucker, the traditional foods used by Indigenous Australians for tens of thousands of years. From native fruits and seeds to herbs and spices, bush tucker is more than just a trend—it's a rich part of Australia's cultural heritage that’s transforming the way we cook and eat.
Do you enjoy indulging in Asian cuisine? Have you ever thought about cooking it at home? With the right knowledge and tools, creating delicious Asian dishes at home is easy and affordable. In this blog post, we will share some simple tips that you can use to cook your favourite Asian meals right in the comfort of your own home.
When it comes to cooking Asian cuisine, having the right cookware and utensils is key. Woks are a popular choice for cooking Asian dishes, as they distribute heat evenly and allow you to cook your food quickly. Non-stick frying pans are also useful for cooking stir-fries and other dishes. Investing in a good set of chopsticks, bamboo steamers, and a rice cooker can also make your cooking experience more enjoyable.
Stocking up on essential ingredients is a must when cooking Asian cuisine at home. Some of the essential ingredients include soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. You should also have an array of spices and herbs such as ginger, garlic, chili flakes, and lemongrass. Keeping these ingredients in your pantry will allow you to whip up delicious Asian meals anytime.
One of the best things about Asian cuisine is the variety of vegetables and proteins used in dishes. Don't be afraid to try new vegetables and proteins and experiment with different textures and flavors. Mushrooms, bok choy, eggplant, edamame, tofu, and shrimp are just a few examples of ingredients that you can use to create delicious meals.
Stir-frying is a traditional Asian cooking technique that involves cooking food in a wok or frying pan over high heat. It's a great way to cook vegetables and proteins quickly while retaining their nutrients and flavors. To ensure your stir-fries are a success, cut your ingredients into small, evenly sized pieces and cook them in batches. This technique allows the food to cook evenly, without becoming mushy.
Lastly, don't be afraid to experiment with different Asian cuisines. There are so many delicious flavors to discover. Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisines are just some of the many options available. Try different dishes and techniques, and find the ones that you enjoy the most.
Cooking Asian cuisine at home is much easier than you think. With the right cookware and utensils, essential ingredients, and a little creativity, you can prepare a variety of delicious Asian dishes from the comfort of your own kitchen. Give it a try, and you'll be surprised by how quickly you can become a pro.
Cooking is more than just a daily necessity—it's a cultural experience, a bonding activity, and a life skill that connects people across the globe. Whether you're preparing a weekday meal or celebrating a special occasion, food plays a central role. But for many, learning how to cook international cuisines can be challenging—where do you start, and who do you learn from?
That’s where Otao Kitchen steps in. Based in Melbourne, Otao Kitchen offers a unique solution for food lovers and travellers alike by providing hands-on cooking classes that celebrate multicultural cuisine and culture. More than just a cooking school, it’s a space where authentic food traditions are preserved, shared, and celebrated.
Otao Kitchen offers a wide variety of cooking classes—from Vietnamese, Thai, and Japanese to Greek, Indian, Mexican, Korean, Spanish, and even dumpling-making workshops. Their classes cater to individuals, groups, tourists, and even corporate team-building events.
The pandemic reshaped the way we live, learn, and connect—especially for children and teens. With extended lockdowns and months of disrupted schooling, many families struggled to find meaningful ways to keep kids engaged at home. At Otao Kitchen on Victoria Street, we saw this challenge as an opportunity to do something truly special: teach young people to cook—online, interactively, and joyfully.
We all know how important the right kitchen knife set can be. But then comes the question of which set to get: Sharp Japanese steel that makes quick work of meal prep or a cheaper one? We have been using these items in our cooking school for the last few years.
To help you find the best kitchen knife set for your needs, we’ve turned to reviews from actual customers who have purchased and used these knives for themselves.
When it comes to Asian household, everyone will have one of these. Cheap and Cheerful. The cleaver is mostly used to slice boneless meats, chop, slice. It is an excellent tool for smashing garlic and ginger and also use it to transfer food from cutting board to wok or frying pan. You can use for cut meat such as chicken, beef for making minced meats. It is multi-purpose kitchen knives. This Thai cleaver looks much like the butcher cleavers familiar in butcher shops in the west, but thinner. Made from high quality stainless steel. The blade is around 20 cm long, 28 cm height and 15 cm wood handle. Product of Thailand.
Buy On Amazon Fr $33.92
Santoku means three virtues is a blade-style perfect for chopping, mincing and dicing vegetables. This 16.5 cm Wasabi Black is the handy knife you'll turn to again and again in your kitchen. This Wasabi line of knives is made in the traditional Japanese blade styling. To reduce food sticking, the blades are sharpened on a single side or sometimes being slotted. Although it has a traditional blade-style, it is paired with a uniquely modern handle material, polypropylene blended with bamboo powder, and impregnated with an agent for super clean food preparation.
Buy On Amazon Fr $48.97
The cut resistant gloves let you handle your grater, knives, and mandolin slicer while worrying less about bandaging a finger or worse. Great for the kids too.
Made of food-safe ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, glass fibre and Spandex, these gloves have been designed to resist cuts from even the sharpest blades. We use these gloves for clients to make a salad so they don't cut themselves. Different Size.
NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves with Secure-Grip Microdots and Level 5 Cut Protection. Comfort-Fit. Food Grade, Size Medium. Includes Free eCookbook!![""]("//ir-au.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=otaokitchen-22&l=am2&o=36&a=B01FQXLSLA")
When your kitchen knives are being used during every service you'll need to revive the blade to keep it sharp.
Just a few minutes using the 400 grit side and you'll restore dull blades. A few more minutes on the 1000 grit side and that edge will be sharper than before.
Wet the whetstone's surface to float away from the swarf. The silicone base keeps the whetstone in place, so you can keep a consistent angle.
Buy On Amazon from $26.99
