cooking for the soul and the season | what two people who love to cook eat in a week

Cooking our way into the warmer weather. As always, recipes below. Thank you to @Japanesefoodcraftsman for kindly gifting us a nakiri, which we’ve wanted for so long. It’s been such an amazing addition to our kitchen. If you’re interested in your own handcrafted Nakamura Hamano Nankiri knife, you can use our affiliate link and the code KATH&ARUN10 for 10% off: https://shop.japanese-food-craftsman.... CHAPTERS: 00:00 (Market Run) 02:13 (Market Haul) 04:37 (Saturday Prep - Marinating Chicken, Making pickles & Soy Sauce eggs) 06:16 (Sunday Night - Gai Yang) 08:49 (Tuesday Night - Spring Pasta) 11:37 (Wednesday Lunch - Soba Noodles & Soy Sauce Eggs) 13:07 (Wednesday Night - Idiyappam, Prawn Sothi & Sambal) 15:16 (Friday Night - Chicken and Leek Pie & Banana Bread Cookies) RECIPES PICKLES (adapted from The Japanese Art of Pickling and Fermenting) Ingredients: 1 daikon, peeled and julienned 2 carrots, peeled and julienned 100ml vinegar 25g sugar 2g salt 15ml lemon juice Method: Sprinkle vegetables with 2 tsp salt and leave for 10 min. Squeeze out excess liquid. Mix remaining ingredients until sugar dissolves. Pack vegetables into a sterilised jar, cover with liquid (top up with water if needed) and refrigerate for a few hours. SOY EGGS (adapted from Chae: Korean Slow Food for a Better Life) Ingredients: 6 eggs 125ml soy sauce (we’d use ~100ml next time) 1 tbsp honey ½ tbsp sesame oil ¼ cup water ½ onion, chopped 1 spring onion, chopped 1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped 1 tbsp minced garlic ½ tsp sesame seeds Method: Boil eggs for 7 min, then chill in iced water. Mix remaining ingredients to make the marinade. Peel eggs, place in a jar, cover with marinade and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. GAI YANG Ingredients: 1 whole chicken, butterflied Marinade: 12 coriander sprigs, including stalks 6 garlic cloves 2 bottom segments lemongrass, chopped 2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp each ground white pepper and ground coriander 2 tbsp fish sauce 2 tsp dark soy Method: Blitz marinade ingredients into a paste and coat chicken. Place skin-side up on a foil- and baking-paper-lined tray, cover and marinate for ~24 hours.Bring to room temperature for 30 min, rub skin with olive oil and roast at 180°C for 35–45 min. NAM PRIK NOOM (from THAI by Nat Thaipun) Ingredients 5 green chillies 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled 2 Asian shallots, unpeeled 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp lime juice ½ tsp brown sugar 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander Method Grill chillies, garlic and shallots at 200°C for 10–15 min until charred. Peel garlic and shallots, remove chilli stems and blitz into a paste. Add fish sauce, lime juice and sugar, then blitz again. Stir through coriander. PRAWN SOTHI (adapted from Dishoom’s Prawn Moilee) Ingredients: 3 green chillies, deseeded and quartered 2 tsp mustard seeds 1 sprig curry leaves, plus extra to garnish 1 white onion, sliced 1 tbsp each garlic and ginger paste 2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp ginger, cut into matchsticks 300–400ml coconut milk 200ml water 1 large tomato, cut into wedges 200g peeled raw prawns Method: Heat 1 tbsp oil. Pop mustard seeds for 30 sec, then add curry leaves and onion. Cook on low for 10 min. Add garlic and ginger pastes, salt, pepper and turmeric; cook 3 min. Add chillies, ginger, coconut milk and water. Simmer for 20 min. Add tomato and prawns; simmer for 5 min until cooked. Garnish with fried curry leaves if desired. SOBA NOODLES Ingredients: Cold soba noodles Sliced cucumber Sautéed carrot Sesame-peanut sauce: 2 tbsp ground roasted sesame seeds 1 tbsp peanut butter 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp honey Method: Mix sauce ingredients and toss through noodles and vegetables. CHICKEN & LEEK PIE Ingredients: 600g chicken thighs White part of 1 leek, sliced 3 garlic cloves, crushed ¼ cup white wine 2 carrots, finely diced 3 celery ribs, finely diced ½ cup frozen peas ¼ cup flour 2 cups chicken stock ⅓ cup cream (or more) Fresh thyme, salt and pepper Method: Season chicken and sear in olive oil over high heat for 5–7 min per side. Remove and shred. Lower heat; cook leek and garlic for 5 min. Add wine and reduce, then add carrot and celery; cook 2 min. Stir in chicken, peas and flour; cook 2 min. Add stock and simmer for 5–10 min until thick. Stir in cream, season and reduce to your preferred consistency. Add thyme. Spoon into a pie dish and cool completely. Top with puff pastry slightly larger than the dish and brush with egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 tbsp milk). The puff pastry recipe we followed, which was amazing: https://food52.com/recipes/82576-best... BANANA BREAD COOKIES - We use Tuyen’s wonderful recipe: https://lifewithtuyen.com/2025/11/25/... 🔊 Music from Epidemic Sound Affiliate link: https://share.epidemicsound.com/igh3t0