‘Travel inspires my food': how a globetrotting influencer brings the flavours of the world home

The Guardian

a day ago

I travel for food. It's usually the first reason I'd want to go to a destination – maybe I've seen a dish, some cuisine or produce that I'm intrigued by. It inspires me to research the place and build up an itinerary based on what I want to eat. For example, I've got some family in Hong Kong, so I often go on trips there. I love wonton noodles and I'll plan a whole day around trying different noodles all across Hong Kong.
What to eat is everything. My background is Cantonese and I've always interpreted love and the reason for living through my stomach. I grew up in a Chinese takeaway in a tiny village on the south coast of England. My parents worked super long hours, six days a week. On their day off, they always made sure that we had a family meal out to try different cuisines. My curiosity comes from learning about food with them at an early age, being inquisitive about different cultures. I'm so grateful to them for that. My parents aren't the type to ever verbally express love, so that was their way of making sure we knew we were loved and felt taken care of.
Everyone can communicate through cooking – there might be common ingredients or techniques that connect us and transcend language barriers. Food is a beautiful way of being able to travel from the comfort of your home. Travel is such a privilege and one not everybody has. Being introduced to different flavours and seasonings helps you feel transported to a place without having to physically be there.
When I find myself in between holidays, my groceries become my travel plans. I add slow-roasted peppers or 'nduja to take me to southern Europe. Or maybe some chimichurri if I want to pop over to Argentina. It's a way to introduce your taste buds to the flavour palette of that cuisine or region, using bits you can find on Ocado. If I'm feeling particularly adventurous (or ravenous) I might combine regions, and travel the world in one sitting. An around-the-world tapas, if you will. Ocado has a huge variety of globally inspired products so it's my go-to shopping destination when I fancy a culinary adventure. It really is a dream travel buddy.
I went on a girls' trip to Okinawa in Japan with my mum and my two sisters a year and a half ago. I had some of the best-tasting vegetables I've ever eaten. Okinawan food culture is similar to Cantonese – very minimal seasoning. Every dish was delightfully light but also so full of flavour, and that goes for their barbecued and grilled food too, which I love. The meat is just so fresh and they pair really beautiful fruits with meat. Like taking bitter gourd, a really bitter kind of melon, and then combining it with fatty slices of pork belly seared on the barbecue. Delicious!
There's a massive barbecue culture in both Japan and Korea. The focus is on the quality of the beef and pork. Take Japanese wagyu – the fat and marbling gives it a unique, tender texture and flavour. Over in Korea, you have incredible marinades, which can be a lot sweeter and stickier than what we might typically have at British barbecues. For my holiday at home tapas, I would use spicy Korean chilli paste (gochujang) to marinate skewers of pork belly with cherry tomatoes and courgette.
I use such a wide range of ingredients that gathering what I need for recipes can be time consuming, but with the range at Ocado I can pretty much find anything I need and add it alongside all my usual groceries.
As you can tell, when I'm taking a culinary adventure to either Japan or Korea, I very much have a grilling on my mind …
M&S Collection Master Grill 2 wagyu burgersM&S Korean style dipM&S Collection slow-cooked Korean style BBQ rib rack by Tom KerridgeLittle Moons vegan passionfruit & mango mochi ice-creamOcado organic British cherry tomatoes on the vine Ocado organic British courgettesOcado British pork belly slicesCJ Taeyangcho red pepper gochujang paste
Another of my favourite countries for food memories is Greece. I just got back from an island-hopping holiday where I got engaged (in Santorini!) so it's a very special place for me. A lot of my love for Mediterranean and southern European food is in the sun-soaked ingredients, like olive oil and olives, that are so integral to the cuisines of the various cultures. Think sweet, slow-roasted tomatoes with a glass of sparkling wine or a local crisp white wine with seafood.
In southern Europe and the Med, you have time to properly relax over sundowner drinks and small, snacky plates of whatever's fresh that day. You can feel the attitude towards life in how they enjoy the food and drink. I'm reminded of Mallorca, Malta, Lisbon, Faro: all places where it's about enjoying a slower pace of life …
M&S olive & antipasti sharing platterM&S semi-dried tomatoes & Italian mozzarellaDaylesford Chateau Leoube sparkling Provence rosé
Whenever I speak to any of my friends who have been to South Africa, they always talk about three things: safari, the quality of the meats and the quality of the wines. The way peri peri, the spicy chilli sauce, is incorporated into South African cuisine is fascinating – the flavours are used generously across South African grills and barbecues. I researched the history behind the sauce and discovered that peri peri has travelled the world. There's inspiration from Angola and Mozambique – those spices and bold flavours. Here in the UK, peri peri is associated with a cheeky Nando's. Sometimes we can take a dish for granted and we don't think about the journey it's made across centuries to land on our plate. But when you learn about it, it's fascinating. I pair peri peri sauce with the cool creaminess of Ocado's onion and garlic dip – try slathering on a burger bun, you won't be disappointed …
Ocado onion & garlic dipOcado large seeded burger bunsOcado peri peri chicken grills
Whenever I think of Latin America, I think of the vibrancy, the bold flavours – fresh, spicy and steamy. All of the countries are so different from one another, but they share a focus on fresh flavours. They create the most incredible marinades and seasonings using chilli peppers and limes to make it citrusy and bright. It's a region I would love to see more of – to go to Argentina and Brazil and try all the meats and chimichurri. In Mexico I embarrassed myself – I thought that you simply downed a tequila shot. But I was humbled and learned that's just what Brits do. You're actually meant to savour it and sip it. When I want to bring the Latin American vibe to my kitchen, Ocado has everything I need, from tequila to tortilla chips. I thought of making an elderflower margarita as a nice way of combining the flavours of Britain and Mexico …
Casamigos Reposado tequilaSt Germain French elderflower liqueurChimilove mild chimichurriGran Luchito lightly salted tortilla chipsM&S Grill 4 king prawn skewers with nduja marinade
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