28 share plate meals for family festivities

Big family gatherings are the soul of life, especially when they're a breeze to pull off. The secret to minimal fuss is maximum share plates.

Using cornstarch in Chinese cuisine brings together the whole dish. Source: Adam Liaw

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It's daunting for some, a mere trifle for others, but definitely wonderful for all. Yep, bringing the family together around a long table is always a good idea. What's less pleasurable is the organisation required. We're talking the next-level, military-style strategical operations required to pull off a family event with relaxed ease. Oh the irony!

Here's the thing: making your dishes the kind you can set in the middle of the table and have everyone help themselves to is key. No fancy plating required. Just big, shareable dishes, full of colour and memorable flavours.

Tips for stress-free share plates

1. Do the maths on your recipe to ensure you'll have plenty to go around. It's best to work out the sums before you start to cook because things can quickly get complicated on the go.

2. Make sure you have platters and bowls that are large enough to take your dish with room to manoeuvre. Filling bowls to the brim makes it difficult for your guests to pass them around.

3. Set out plenty of servers - more than one set per platter if possible. This makes it easier for more than one person to tuck in at a time.

4. Don't be afraid to allocate your dishes - sharing is caring and people are generally very happy to 'bring a plate'.

Now, onto the fun part: menu planning. All of these recipes will have everyone reaching for the dish again and again.

The whole fish

Serving fish whole ensures you get the best flavour, succulence and value. Source: China Squirrel

Serving a whole fish or two at your banquet is always a show-stopper. You can pre-carve it, or leave for guests to shred and pick. This steamed fish with pandan and lemongrass is a fresh, fragrant recipe to start with.

Ricely done

Kabsah is a fragrant rice and meat dish popular in many places in the Persian Gulf. Source: Chris Phillips / Jimmy Shu’s Taste of the Territory

Rice dishes make excellent sharing plates because quantities can be increased with ease. You can quietly bulk out a dish like this tasty lamb kabsah with nuts, rice and vegetables to keep to budget, too. No compromise on flavour required.

Meaty share

This recipe is simple to adapt to suit your numbers and goes quickly from wok to table. Source: Adam Liaw

A big platter of tasty meat served alongside plenty of vegies makes for an easy banquet. Billy Kee chicken is a much-loved dish that hails from 1950's Sydney, not China as you might expect. The red wine and tomato sauce ingredients are dead giveaways... While the dish is usually made with chicken, Adam Liaw's pork version is extra-delicious.

Curry on

When you're serving up a curry, don't forget to offer plenty of flatbreads for scooping. Source: Essence of India

Curry is possibly the king of share dishes (though pasta may have something to say about that - see below). And if you're serving a curry to share, the universally-adored butter chicken is a very safe bet. This cauliflower curry does the same trick for vegetarians.

Pasta pleaser

Vary your pasta platters to include a creamy dish, a spicy dish and a tomato-based dish like this one. Source: Chris Chen

A giant platter of pasta is just as much chef-pleaser as guest-satisfier. A dish like Bucatini all’Amatriciana is so easy to make, but still packs in plenty of festive impact. Serving up a few big pasta dishes makes catering a dream.

Little things

These crisp fritters are a specialty of the Cádiz province in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. Source: Chris Chen

Tapas-style food is brilliant when your guests are happy to bring a plate. Everyone can make something different to add to the table. It makes catering for dietary preferences easy as well. Fritters like these tortillitas de camarones are a great way to satisfy a crowd. Everyone loves a fritter.

Well skewered

Fragrant, tender and super easy to make, skewers are just the thing for your summer celebration. Source: Smith Street Books

Things on sticks like these Thai chilli-coconut surf and turf skewers are great at parties - either served cocktail-style or on a large platter at the centre of the table. They are the perfect grab-n-go meal and kids simply love them. For a happy family get-together, do keep an 'eye' on them with all those sticks, though.