When former MasterChef champion Diana Chan gets together with her family and friends there's one topic guaranteed to be on the agenda.
"When Asians get together, especially Malaysians, when we get together, we're always talking about food, 24/7, if you're not a foodie, you might feel a bit left out," she says.
And that's exactly what she's done for season two of Asia Unplated which premiered on SBS Food on January 28 at 8pm - gathered family and friends to talk about food.
The series follows Chan as she explores the fresh, aromatic flavours of Asia in the company of special guests.
Across 10 episodes, she cooks up simple but authentic, home-style Asian dishes.
From the sweet, sour and salty flavours of Cambodia, to the fragrant spices of Sri Lanka, to her personal favourite, Malaysian street food, the series is full of new and exciting recipes that are guaranteed to surprise.
Along for the ride are chefs Jerry Mai, Jacob Leung and Ross Magnaye and Masterchef alumni Khanh Ong, Sarah Todd and Karlie Verkerk among others.
"It's perfect to have this mix of professional chefs and home cooks, they come in as guests and everyone brings a very different offering," she says.
"The chefs might approach it from a technical point of view and then the home cooks will get nostalgic, talk about what their parents and grandparents did, what's been served in the family for years.
"When people watch these shows, it's just very relatable because somehow you will find that sort of common ground when you're either listening to the guest or to myself, and we talk about the history and why we do certain things a certain way, how it's done in different places."
Chan grew up in Malaysia and has always loved cooking but when she came to Australia to attend university her interest grew as she discovered the farmers' markets and all Melbourne had to offer.
She was working as an accountant for Deloitte, climbing the corporate ladder, and would feed her foodie passion by entertaining her friends. At the insistence of these well fed friends, she entered MasterChef in 2017 as "a bit of fun".
She ended up winning, beating Ben Ungermann by one point, and life was never the same.
"I did go back to my accounting job for about three months but it all got a little hectic and I knew what path I wanted to take," she says.
During the series Chan explores the cuisines of the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Lao, India, Thailand and Vietnam.
"Asian cuisine is so broad, it's the biggest continent in the world, it's got so many different countries, from the west to the east, north, south, it's all very different," she says.
"And then you break it down into regions, like Southeast Asia, which itself has got so many different cuisines.
"Thailand and Vietnam, they're right next to each other but they're so different in so many ways, and so similar in so many ways.
"The premise of the show is just explaining that sort of difference and how it's sort of all intermingled, integrated together at the same time.
"The laksa is a perfect example, a lot of people seem to think there's only one kind of laksa, in Malaysia alone there's about nine ... there's such a difference in variety, even within the one country."
She's been lucky enough to travel widely throughout Asia, sampling different cuisines along the way, visiting markets, talking to cooks, but she's happy to admit she doesn't know everything about Asian cooking.
"I know Southeast Asian cuisine pretty well but I'm still not an expert," she says.
"I do a lot of research and having the guests come in, I learn so much."
Cambodian and Laotian cuisines were ones she wanted to explore more.
"I have travelled there but I didn't know too much about them. But having Jerry Mai to help me with those episodes was incredible," Chan says.
"She has family connections there still and to get that understanding was a real treat."
She said the home cook shouldn't be afraid to experiment with Asian cuisines they were unfamiliar with either.
"Australians love Asian food, there's a long history, but look into ones you might not be familiar with and who knows what you might discover," she says.
- Asia Unplated with Diana Chan, series two, airs Thursdays at 8pm on SBS Food.
Mum's Malaysian fried rice
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable or peanut oil
15-20 curry leaves
4 whole dried chillies
100 g dried shrimp
4 eggs
1 large shallot, sliced
4 cups white rice, cooked then chilled overnight
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp kecap manis
2 tsp fried garlic
1 bunch coriander roots, finely sliced
Coriander leaves, roughly chopped, to serve
Method
1. In a large wok over medium high heat, add the oil and allow it to heat up. Add the curry leaves and fry until they stop crackling. Remove the leaves from the oil and place on a paper towel.
2. Using the same oil fry the dried shrimp and whole dried chillies. Fry until the shrimp are golden and crispy. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel.
3.Using the same wok, add the eggs and scramble. Once cooked, add the rice and break it up. Then add back the curry leaves, chilli and shrimp.
4.Mix in the soy sauce, kecap manis, shallots and garlic. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
