Rising Star LARA LEE

FOUNDER, KIWI & ROO

Raised in Australia but bursting onto the scene in London with her acclaimed Antipodean-inspired catering business Kiwi & Roo, Lara Lee is a Chinese-Indonesian and Australian chef and food writer. Her first book Coconut & Sambal was released in 2020 and is followed by her latest out 27th April - A Splash of Soy: Everyday Food from Asia. A regular contributor for the New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit and the Guardian, we caught up with Lara to chat beginnings, books and being punched in the face by food!

What were the key steps in your development and career?

My hospitality career started when my friend Fi and I set up a food stall in an East London market called Kiwi & Roo, where we sold an epic Antipodean and Asian-inspired steak sandwich. The buzz was instantaneous, and we quickly generated a fan base, so I decided to pack in the day job and enrolled at Leith’s School of Food & Wine. After graduating, I completed stages at The Fat Duck and The Ledbury before Fi and I branched out into supper clubs, and then catering at weddings and other larger events. We soon became a preferred caterer at the Australian High Commission, and catered events for Qantas, the Natural History Museum, the Royal Academy of Arts, and even cooked for Harry & Meghan twice.

Describe your cooking style?

Electrifying, accessible Pan-Asian food that punches you in the face. There is always lots of chilli, ginger, lime leaves, shallots, and lemongrass. I love good home cooking. I used to do a lot of fine dining when I catered at Kiwi & Roo, but that’s not my style at home.

What ingredients are you loving right now? What should we be trying?

Avocados, and I don’t just mean on toast. I’m talking sweet smoothies, desserts and ice cream. They work beautifully in sweet applications because of their creaminess and light flavour, and they're used extensively in Indonesian dessert culture. Avocados are definitely worth some experimentation in 2023.

What about cooking techniques?

It’s all about fire for me in 2023. Get the barbecue ripping. The smoke and flames do magical things to vegetables, meat and fish.

Tell us about the new book

They are the kind of recipes I can cook any day of the week, whether it's after a long day at work (or parenting!) or the days when I'm full of energy. It also shares the rich stories and history behind the recipes, like how cheese and kimchi became a popular pairing or the importance of larb in Thailand and Laos.

Who would you most like to cook for?

It has to be Barack Obama. He spent parts of his childhood in Jakarta and he loves Indonesian food. I would cook him and Michelle gado-gado and bakso, an Indonesian meatball soup, which is his favourite childhood food.

Do you have a favourite seasonal recipe for May?

For the late spring, the recipe I recommend from my new book is my Lemongrass Pork Burgers. Seriously punchy and great for a barbecue. My husband calls it the best burger he has ever eaten (and he is a burger fiend!).

Ingredients

• Pork patties

• 500g pork mince

• 1 lemongrass stalk, woody outer layers removed, finely chopped, or 1 tbsp lemongrass paste

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, or 4 tsp garlic paste

• ½ small onion or 1 medium shallot (60g), peeled and finely chopped

• 1 egg, beaten

• ¼ tsp ground white pepper

• 2½ tsp fish sauce

• 10g fresh ginger, peeled and grated, or 2 tsp ginger paste

• pinch of fine sea salt

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 2½ tsp caster sugar

• ½ long red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

by Louise Hagger @laraleefood

• 2 tbsp flavourless oil (such as sunflower or grapeseed) or coconut oil

TO SERVE

• Cucumber, garlic and chilli pickle

• 4 brioche buns or hamburger buns, halved

• 2 eggs

• sriracha, to taste

• tender lettuce leaves, such as cos or baby gem

• 1 tomato, thinly sliced

• 4 tbsp Kewpie or ordinary mayonnaise

• ½ long red chilli, thinly sliced, deseeded if you prefer less heat (optional)

• crispy fried shallots

• handful of tender herbs, such as coriander leaves, Thai basil leaves or mint leaves

• bamboo skewers or cocktail sticks

Method

1. Combine the ingredients for the pork patties, except the oil, in a large bowl and mix well with your hands for 1–2 minutes, or until the liquid has been fully absorbed. Dampen your hands and divide the mince into 4 patties, about 2–3cm thick; they should be the same size as the burger buns.

2. Toast the burger buns, cut-side down, in a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat for 1–2 minutes until golden, then set aside.

3. Heat the oil in the pan on a medium heat. Add the patties, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for around 7 minutes on each side, or until browned, caramelised and cooked through. Remove from the heat and set aside. Fry the eggs to your liking.

4. Drain the pickle, then assemble the burgers. Squeeze a generous amount of sriracha on the bottom of each bun. Lay the lettuce on top, then a burger, tomato, fried egg, some pickle, chilli, fried shallots and herbs. Spread 1 tablespoon mayonnaise on the top half of each bun and place on top. Pierce each burger through the centre with a skewer (trimmed if necessary) or cocktail stick to hold it together. Serve immediately, with any remaining pickle on the side.