Sam Young isn’t afraid of mixing it up. Manning the kitchens of some of Sydney’s top restaurants (Mr. Wong, Totti’s and Lotus are all on his resume) and now cooking for private parties or at his new Castlecrag neighbourhood diner S’more, Young has become known as a connoisseur of hybrid flavours.
But for this collection of Cantonese dishes, the chef has drawn inspiration from a recipe writer he would never remix – his mother. Take the recipe for egg custard: “This is my mum’s recipe,” Young explains. “Our family meals usually consisted of three dishes and one soup each night. There was always one vegetarian, one meat and one seafood dish. This dish was a hero when Mum was on a budget, or if we needed an extra dish. It put a smile on my face every time.”
There’s also Mum’s mapo tofu, and sweet & sour pork (a childhood favourite with a surprise ingredient), along with another recipe with heart – char siu chicken wings.
