Why homemade stir-fry sauces are always better than bought in ones | Kitchen aide

Most stir-fry sauces are sweet, dense and cloying. Any lighter, fresher alternatives?Louis, Falmouth If Julie Lin, author of Sama Sama: Comfort Food from my Malaysian-Scottish Kitchen, were to hazard a guess, it would be that Louis is buying shop-bought sauces: “They’re always sweet and dense,” she says. “There’s a phrase we use in Malaysia, agak agak, which means to season until you know that it’s good for you.” And that’s only ever going to come from making it yourself, which for Lin often means her “master wok” sauce. To make a bottle, she combines 75g white sugar, three teaspoons of MSG, and 75ml rice-wine vinegar, and whisks until the sugar dissolves

‘Don’t ever assume there’s anything to eat!’ 29 tips for perfect vegan holidays, from where to go to how to order

Nowhere should be out of bounds just because you have a plant-based diet. Seasoned travellers explain how to stay happy and hunger-free, whether you’re trekking in Thailand or on a mini-break in BerlinThis spring, I spent five weeks travelling around Mexico – my longest time away from home since becoming a vegan two and a half years ago. It was a learning experience: lots of incredible vegan food, gallons of fall-back guacamole and the odd cheese-related disaster. This is what I found out about being a vegan on holiday, and the advice I received from more seasoned vegan travellers.“I have been completely blown away by the difference in attitude and progressiveness of places,” says Alexis Gauthier, a Michelin-starred vegan chef

Georgina Hayden’s recipe for red curry chicken and courgette burgers

I present to you my new favourite summer burger, which has been on our menu at home ever since its arrival in my kitchen. It’s one of those recipes where the ease is almost embarrassing. How can something so delicious be so straightforward? The burgers themselves are a simple food processor job; if you don’t have one, use chicken mince and make sure you really mix in the curry paste and courgette by hand. The accompaniments are also key: the lime-pickled shallots, the abundance of herbs and the creaminess of the mayo all work so well together. Turn up to a barbecue with a tray of these and I guarantee you’ll be dishing out the recipe in no time

Five beef patties, four cheese slices, bacon, lettuce, tomato … Burger King’s sumo of a burger enters the ring

Japan can legitimately claim to be home to some of the best food on the planet. But it usually has little appetite for supersizing it.That changed on Friday with Burger King’s gargantuan but curiously named Baby Body Burger, tipping the scales at nearly 680g (1.5lb). As part of a collaboration with the Japan Sumo Association, whose July wrestling tournament has just started, the burger checks in at 1,876 calories

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for cashew rice bowls with stir-fried tofu, broccoli and kimchi | Quick and easy

These were an absolute hit with my children, albeit minus the cashews, and as any parent with toddlers who refuse to let their food touch other food will know, that’s a breakthrough. It’s well worth making the whole quantity here, because any leftovers are perfect for fried rice the next day – just make sure you cool the rice after making it, then refrigerate immediately and reheat until piping hot the next day.Kimchi brings a lovely contrast, so if you have or can get some, do add it.Prep 15 min Cook 20 min Serves 4200g white or basmati rice4 garlic cloves, peeled, 3 finely grated, 1 left whole 75g cashew nuts2 tbsp sesame oil 7-8cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced1 small head broccoli, roughly chopped into 1cm pieces280g firm tofu, roughly chopped into 1cm cubes1 tsp flaky sea salt½ tsp turmeric Juice of 1 limeTo serveKimchiSliced red chilli (optional)First, cook the rice, and this is my magic microwave method: you’ll need a large Pyrex bowl and a plate that will neatly cover the top and act as a lid. Put the rice, 400ml just-boiled water and the whole garlic clove in the bowl, cover with the plate and cook on medium (that is, if your microwave’s maximum power setting is 1,000W, you want to cook it at 800W) for 11 minutes

Grilled sardines and tomato and anchovy pie – Irina Janakievska’s Balkan recipes for summer

Along the Adriatic coast, sardines are usually grilled over an open fire (na gradele) and served with lemon, excellent local olive oil and blitva, a side dish of young swiss chard, potato and garlic. Fresh sardines are key (they should smell of the sea) and do cook them whole (the heads add wonderful flavour and the small bones soften during cooking). On the Croatian island of Vis, two beloved pogačas (bread)– viška and komiška – tell a tale of friendly rivalry. Both are savoury bread pies (pogača being the word for bread and similar in both composition and etymology to Italian focaccia) filled with onions and salted fish (typically anchovies or sardines), a nod to the island’s ancient fishing and seafaring heritage. The key difference? Tomatoes