--- The Cook Up with Adam Liaw airs weeknights on SBS Food from Monday April 19 at 7.00pm and 10.00pm. It will encore on SBS Food at 11am weekdays and at 3.30pm on SBS. SBS Food will air a marathon on Sundays at 2.00pm, and series will be made available after broadcast on SBS On Demand. ---
The popular cook, author and TV presenter is joined each night by two food loving friends for a half hour of good fun and conversation as they cook up a variety of dishes centred around a nightly theme. Whether it’s an ingredient, a style of cuisine or cultural inspiration, Adam whips up his dish first before his guests follow suit with easy to follow recipes and tips for viewers to follow at home in time for dinner.
There will be celebrities, culture, food, and lots of laughs in a series that will provide everyday inspiration for foodies and non-foodies alike.
Episode 1 | Family Dinner
Airs 7:00pm Monday 19 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Top chef Colin Fassnidge and much-loved tv and radio personality Yumi Stynes drop by The Cook Up kitchen to cook with Adam Liaw and show what they serve for their very own family dinners.
Episode 2 | Lemongrass
Airs 7:00pm Tuesday 20 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Adam Liaw is joined by Universal/Paramount’s Christine Manfield and Longrain’s Martin Boetz in The Cook Up kitchen to cook Asian inspired specialties with the herb lemongrass.
Episode 3 | Vanilla
Airs 7:00pm Wednesday 21 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Adam Liaw is joined by top chefs Mark Best of Marque restaurant fame and queen of cakes Katherine Sabbath in The Cook Up kitchen to see how they use the staple vanilla ingredient in their cooking.
Dessert extraordinaire, Katherine Sabbath puts a modern twist on a classic Aussie biscuit.
Vanilla sugar is an excellent way to use a vanilla bean after the seeds have been scraped. Pack it in a jar with about ½ a cup of sugar and leave it to infuse the sugar with vanilla perfume. If you don’t have time to wait, you can blend them together for a quick version.
Episode 4 | Sweet Comfort Food
Airs 7:00pm Thursday 22 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Australian food icon Lyndey Milan and Fabbrica chef Hugh Piper are in The Cook Up kitchen with Adam Liaw as they cook together and share recipes for their favourite sweet comfort foods.
Legend has it that this was invented when a baker forgot to add flour to an almond and chocolate cake ordered by some tourists at his bakery in the 1920’s. They liked it so much he decided to keep making it.
Episode 5 | Burgers
Airs 7:00pm Friday 23 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Adam Liaw invites the king of meat, Vic’s Meat’s, Anthony Puharich and food styling queen to the stars, Lucy Tweed, into the kitchen and they create their very own version of an Aussie must-have.
Episode 6 | Strawberry
Airs 7:00pm Monday 26 April, 2021 on SBS Food
What do you get when you cross a political satirist with 2 superstar cooks? You get some seriously good food. Adam Liaw, Delicious magazine’s Phoebe Wood and Mark Humphries are in The Cook Up kitchen putting the strawberry through its paces.
Not to be confused with the American rockstar band, these treats are the distant cousins of the classic brownie. Instead of rich milk chocolate, white chocolate is the hero of this dish.
The classic American strawberry shortcake is closer to what we would call a scone than a cake. In Japan it’s made with a soft and pillowy sponge that is quite unrecognisable from the rustic country kitchen American version. Whichever your preference, it’s not a bad idea to start with the original. For one, it’s a much easier cake to make.
This is my favourite flaky pastry recipe and it’s so versatile that I use it across sweet and savoury baking, swapping out the sugar for a herb or a spice if I’m making a savoury tart. Don’t be tempted to over work the dough or make the butter too small, the big chunks of butter will help to achieve the nice flaky result.
Episode 7 | Snack Food
Airs 7:00pm Tuesday 27 April, 2021 on SBS Food
TV and radio personality Yumi Stynes and creator of the “The Family Law” Benjamin Law, join Adam Liaw in The Cook Up Kitchen and cook up their favourite snack foods.
Episode 8 | Fillet Steak
Airs 7:00pm Wednesday 28 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Comedian Mickey Robins and one of Australia’s top chefs Mark Best create their favourite Fillet Steak dishes with Adam Liaw in The Cook Up kitchen.
Mikey puts a Mediterranean twist on a humble Aussie pub-feed classic. His tabouli infusion is a far cry from the standard four-leaf-mix.
Episode 9 | Beef Mince
Airs 7:00pm Thursday 29 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Sydney restaurant Fred’s head chef Danielle Alvarez alongside recipe creator and former Delicious editor, Warren Mendes are in The Cook Up Kitchen and they share their take on beef mice with Adam Liaw.
This has to be one of my favourite South African recipes because it brings together so many of the diverse flavours that make up the rainbow nation. It's a national dish of South Africa and their flavour packed version of a cottage pie or moussaka.
Episode 10 | Watercress
Airs 7:00pm Friday 30 April, 2021 on SBS Food
Want to know all about Watercress? Well, Adam Liaw is joined by Michelin star chef Nelly Robinson and Italian home cook Silvia Colloca to help take this herb to the next level.
This is a quick and easy side set to complement any robust main dish with its zesty flavours.
Episode 11 | Oats | Cheap and Cheerful
Airs 7:00pm Monday 3 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Bake Club’s Anneka Manning and award-winning science and technology journalist Rae Johnson join Adam Liaw in The Cook Up kitchen to kick off Cheap and Cheerful week and chat about a little Aussie staple, oats. There’s more than meets the eye with Adam’s masala porridge a granola and the family favourite Anzac biscuit.
I love oats with butter and sugar. The key is to add the fat later in the form of butter, and not at the beginning for a luxurious breakfast experience.
Full of crunch and flavour this granola will become a favourite for breakfast or brunch. Feel free to switch in nuts of your choice for the almonds and pecans and serve with whatever fruit you prefer – poached or fresh. For a vegan option, serve with non-dairy milk and/or yoghurt.
Mum has made these biscuits for as long as I can remember. In primary school I used to trade them with other kids for packets of chips (which we could never afford) - they loved them! Now? Give me one of Mum’s crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle biscuits over a packet of chips any day.
Episode 12 | Noodles | Cheap and Cheerful
Airs 7:00pm Tuesday 4 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Adam Liaw is joined in The Cook Up kitchen by political satirist Mark Humphries and Delicious magazines Phoebe Wood to share their take on noodles.
Noodles stirred together with oil and a savoury sauce are tremendously common throughout Asia, but dishes like mazemen, mee pok, Hakka mee and bak chor mee haven’t reached the popularity abroad that stir-fried noodles or soup noodles have achieved. Mores the pity because they are incredibly easy to make.
Episode 13 | Lentils | Cheap and Cheerful
Airs 7:00pm Wednesday 5 May, 2021 on SBS Food
DJ and chef Andrew Levins and Palisa Anderson, host of SBS’s Water Heart Food, are in The Cook Up kitchen with Adam Liaw to give their take on lentils. It’s a cheap and cheerful staple.
Some good things take time, and this classic Provencal lentil with roasted chicken drumsticks recipe is no exception. Taking only 10 minutes to prepare, sit back and relax as these incredible aromas flood your home.
A lot of people are baffled when they see my kids happily eating lentils for dinner. I’ve been feeding them this super quick and simple red lentil dhal recipe since they were babies. It’s pretty much baby food served with rice, except this baby food is delicious and packed with flavour. You can make this more interesting by adding more spices or stirring through tempered curry leaves and mustard seeds at the end, but this is a great base recipe that isn’t confronting for kids at all.
Episode 14 | $20 Family Meals | Cheap and Cheerful
Airs 7:00pm Thursday 6 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Need some cheap, cheerful and easy dinner ideas that don’t break the bank? Well, Every Night of The Week’s Lucy Tweed and Woodcut restaurant’s Ross Lusted join Adam Liaw in The Cook Up kitchen, to cook up their ideas for under $20.
Curried sausages have been an Aussie family favourite for decades, but have you ever tried them with a Japanese twist?
Ross presents a tart alternative to a regular rack of ribs for his Cheap and Cheerful contribution.
This is a favourite at home and relies on some pantry basics plus a few fresh things. I came up with this on a cold, rainy day, but I was craving the delicious tang and saltiness of a Greek salad. This dish has the elements of this, but with baked warm buttery rice - hence its name. It turns out, like most things we think we discover or invent, this dish has a name and rich history of its own. So this is a version of spanakorizo with a few extras.
Episode 15 | Cheap and Cheerful
Airs 7:00pm Friday 7 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Adam Liaw is with Mastermind host Marc Fennell and top chef Chase Kojima in The Cook Up kitchen to finish off the week of Cheap and Cheerful where they cook up their very own ideas on the best cheap and cheerful meals that everyone will love.
Originating in Quebec in The Great Depression, this economical pudding was once made just with sugar, water and flour. Modern versions have moved away from the cheap and cheerful beginnings and are now made with huge amounts of cream and maple syrup. This version goes a little way back to its origins, but still uses a bit of butter and milk to help it along.
Episode 16 | Scallops
Airs 7:00pm Monday 10 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Top Michelin star chef Nelly Robinson from Nel restaurant and Bondi Harvest chef Taylor Cullen are in The Cook Up Kitchen with Adam Liaw, to create their favourite scallop dishes.
Fresh half-shell Australian scallops, roasted with a slightly spicy, super umami butter and served with lemon - perfect for those Aussie summer barbecues
Episode 17 | Almonds
Airs 7:00pm Tuesday 11 May, 2021 on SBS Food
The Salloum sisters from Sydney’s Almond Bar are with Adam Liaw in The Cook Up kitchen creating their favourite almond dishes.
Mamoul bi lorz feature intricate designs that makes them as much art as biscuit. The centre is filled with crushed almond and both rose and orange blossom waters give them an aromatic floral flavour.
Episode 18 | Dill
Airs 7:00pm Wednesday 12 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Universal/Paramount chef Christine Mansfield and Bird Cow Fish chef Alex Herbert give their take on an underrated herb, dill, while in The Cook Up kitchen with Adam Liaw.
Episode 19 | Tofu
Airs 7:00pm Thursday 13 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Do you want to know how to master tofu? Join Adam Liaw, media personality Linda Marigliano and Yellow’s upcoming chef Nina Huynh as their share some easy ways to eat this tasty meat substitute.
These tofu doughnuts use the silken variety to make a sweet batter that's then deep fried and dusted with cinnamon, icing sugar or sweetened kinako (soybean) powder.
Episode 20 | Apple
Airs 7:00pm Friday 14 May, 2021 on SBS Food
TV and radio personality Yumi Stynes and author, journalist and actor Benjamin Law join Adam Liaw in The Cook Up kitchen to cook and chat all things apples.
This is the crumble I make every time a friend has a baby! I drop around a bag of the crumble topping, a tin of apple (or pear) and some delicious thick cream.
Episode 21 | Tarts
Airs 7:00pm Monday 17 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Cake queen Katherine Sabbath and top chef from Marque restaurant fame, Mark Best take on Adam Liaw to cook in The Cook Up kitchen together and see who can create the best tart!
The cayenne pepper adds ‘warmth’ and intensifies the flavour of the filling, rather than adding spiciness to this rich chocolate tart.
Episode 22 | Coffee
Airs 7:00pm Tuesday 18 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Author and journalist Anthony Huckstep and LP Quality Meats owner Luke Powell are in The Cook Up kitchen, with Adam Liaw, to show you at home the multiple ways you can use coffee in your dishes.
If you’re looking for a coffee hit on a hot day, this is the answer. The vanilla-bean cream cuts through the granita for a refreshing dessert.
Episode 23 | Lemon
Airs 7:00pm Wednesday 19 May, 2021 on SBS Food
When life gives you lemons, you make desserts. Adam Liaw, Fred’s head chef Danielle Alvarez alongside recipe creator and former Delicious editor, Warren Mendes, show off their lemon creations made in The Cook Up kitchen
A Chinese takeaway classic, Adam Liaw shares his version of lemon chicken, which includes a rice wine and ginger sauce and does away with the gluey marinade associated with the dish.
Episode 24 | Salmon
Airs 7:00pm Thursday 20 May, 2021 on SBS Food
The Lebanese Plate’s Lina Jebeile and chef Guy Turland are in The Cook Up kitchen with Adam Liaw cooking up a salmon storm, showing you the many different ways to hero salmon in your dishes.
Battata harra literally means ‘spicy potatoes’. This is traditionally a Lebanese potato salad that is eaten as a cold starter. This recipe takes the same flavours with the addition of salmon to make a perfect main meal.
Episode 25 | Sardinian
Airs 7:00pm Friday 21 May, 2021 on SBS Food
Adam Liaw, Pilu restaurant’s Giovanni Pilu and Acme famed chef Mitch Orr show you how to make their favourite Sardinian inspired dishes.
In Sardinia, this casual stack of flatbreads, tomato sauce and cheese is known as pane frattau and is a fantastic way to make use of bits and pieces of Sardinia’s famous flatbread – pane carasau.
