5 time-saving kitchen hacks Marion Grasby swears by
Marion Grasby in her studio kitchen And despite the busyness, she still loves cooking for her family – as she revealed in an takeover chat. So, who better to ask for time-saving kitchen hacks that don't skimp on flavour? Here's how the cook, TV personality, and entrepreneur gets on the table, fast.
Then, the magic continues: the leftover bones go straight into a pot to make stock. 'It doesn't have to take a long time. You can simmer those bones for 20 minutes and you've got a great broth,' she promises. Grasby likes to plan a few meals ahead, but not too many, because she often cooks based on what inspires her that day. 'The freezer is your best friend when it comes to meal planning, especially if you've got kids and family,' she says. 'I will usually make batches of a curry, but I won't put the vegetables like the carrots or the potatoes in because that doesn't freeze very well.'
Cooking with kids sounds chaotic (and let's be honest, it often is) but Grasby swears it's worth it. 'Getting them involved in making the food can often really help them to actually get excited and want to eat,' she says. 'So, I get my kids to help make . They love that. I get them to help chop up the vegetables for fried rice or whisk the eggs to make an omelette.' Less dinner-table drama, no need to cook separate meals, and the added bonus of training your own mini sous-chefs? We're sold.
In the Grasby household, is practically a food group. She makes huge batches to stash in lunchboxes or freeze for later.
Keep frozen portions of plain rice on hand too to adapt the dish to what you feel like eating that day. Keep frozen plain rice on hand, too, which is great for adapting fried rice to whatever you're craving that day. 'My Thai chicken fried rice has tomatoes, Asian greens and Chinese broccoli in it. So, it becomes something that's quite healthy for the kids to eat as well,' she says. 'You can put lots of different things in there. I'll often swap the chicken for little cubes of salmon or swap the broccoli for finely chopped-up baby spinach.' And if you don't have day-old rice (which is ), Grasby's trick is simple: spread freshly cooked rice on a tray, pop it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, and it'll be cool and ready for the wok.
Grasby's pantry is never without a lineup of powerhouse condiments: different types of soy sauce , fish sauce, and (a Korean fermented chilli paste that adds instant depth to marinades and stir-fries). 'I think of my soy sauces as Asian salt. I use fish sauce and soy sauce, for example, in my bolognese,' she reveals. When it comes to spices, she always has garam masala, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and black pepper at the ready, essentials that instantly lift any simple dish. With a few clever shortcuts and a well-stocked freezer, Marion proves that weeknight meals can still be full of heart and flavour.
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Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
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Sydney Morning Herald
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Dion Georgopoulos Yum Yum Bakery You know it's a great-value feed when the tradies turn up. They're seated in a booth between a group of well-dressed women and some old friends gossiping over T2 tea. It's a rainy weekday, the wood-fired oven is blazing and this revamped 35-year-old Lebanese cafe is pumping. There are fun menu additions, such as fried filo-wrapped haloumi, but the classics still hit. The big breakfast is a generously proportioned 'wow' moment, colourful with fresh herbs, puffy fried bread, perfect fried eggs and so much more. Good to know: The hospitality is as outstanding as the food. 273 Guildford Road, Guildford, Good Food's Essential Sydney Cafes and Bakeries of 2025, presented by T2, celebrates the people and places that shape our excellent cafe and bakery scenes and includes more than 100 venues reviewed anonymously across 11 categories, including icons, those best for food, tea, coffee and matcha, and where to get the city's best sweets, sandwiches and baked goods. Download the Good Food app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store to discover what's near you. Continue this series Explore Good Food's Essential Sydney Cafes and Bakeries Up next The roasters and baristas are doing it better at these 10 venues. There's a cool basement CBD cafe, a next-gen spot with caffeinated raves and many smooth flat whites. These cafes cater to kids without compromising on quality. We love the spot with ace Brazilian cheesy bread rolls and a casual hangout with an excellent chip butty. 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The Age
04-06-2025
- The Age
Please slurp your noodles: Dos and don'ts of eating out in Asia
If you ever dine with locals in China, Japan or South Korea for business or pleasure, you'll have the chance to connect in a relaxed setting. A few rules of etiquette, however, will make for a better experience and impress your hosts. You wouldn't want to appear greedy or hungry, would you? Both may be taken as a sign of poverty or lack of refinement. If invited to someone's house, politely decline food the first time it's offered. Not to worry, you'll be given a second (and third) chance to eat. In restaurants, especially in China, consideration and respect is shown by plucking fine morsels from communal dishes and placing them in your companions' bowls. Again, you might make a polite protest. So will your fellow diners, but don't take them at their word. Try again. It's also polite to refill other diners' teacups, glasses and soy-sauce dishes before your own. This is especially true in Japan, where nobody ever pours their own drink. When someone offers to pour your drink, lift your glass up with one hand supporting it from below, then take a small sip before setting it down. In Japan toasts are proposed at the start of meals; in China they'll be ongoing. Whoever hosts should be first to offer a toast, and will probably order the food without consultation. Meals can be convivial except in South Korea, where too much chatter shows lack of respect for the food and occasion. Anywhere, polite Australian conversational fillers about the weather or traffic will cause bemusement. Talk about the food, however, will be welcomed. Brace yourself: few topics are off limits. The Chinese might quiz you about your age, religion, marital status, salary, rent or the cost of the clothes on your back. Awkward, but take it as a great opportunity to turn the tables and find out more about your hosts. And so to the food. While chomping is universally considered uncouth, slurping soup or noodles can be a sign of appreciation in Asia. Such dishes are also 'inhaled' to cool them as you eat. Only hungry peasants fill up on rice, so don't ask for it if hosted. You'll get a small bowl of rice towards the end of the meal in China. In Japan, rice is eaten between courses and never mixed with food.
