With her Asian-Australian heritage, love of bold flavours and a repertoire of clever kitchen tricks such as how to cook rice the Thai way, 5 time-saving kitchen hacks and how to nail deep-fried ice cream, Marion Grasby's recipes are packed with smart shortcuts, clear cues and are dependable crowd-pleasers.
Here are some of the the best recipes from Marion Grasby to bookmark – and cook on repeat.
Beef mince caramelises in a chilli-garlic paste and a quick stir-fry sauce, then homemade chilli fish sauce (prik nam pla), fresh basil and a crispy-edged egg topping bring extra flavour dimensions. Any leftover chilli fish sauce will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
This Marion Grabsy recipe channels Bangkok wok shophouses, and is a great for using up rice. Toss day-old grains in a wok with pork and a bunch of easily accessible Asian aromatics. Fresh cucumber and lime bring brightness to the savoury notes.
Thai curry meets Sunday roast! Fall-off-the-bone lamb shanks simmered in a velvety Massaman curry – this is slow-cooked comfort with a Thai twist.
Bean thread vermicelli noodles bring texture to juicy pork mince, sweet shredded cabbage and a slew of fragrant seasonings in Marion Grasby's family's favourite spring roll recipe. A vibrant carrot-vinegar dipping sauce balances the shatteringly crisp fried pastry. Make ahead and freeze for an instant party appetiser.
Regular salt is swapped for white miso, adding savoury depth and a salty edge into buttery caramel – ideal for drizzling over ice cream, pancakes and desserts, and as a spread in layer cakes. A simple hack for a dinner party dessert surprise.
Entertaining-worthy yet straightforward: short ribs cook until meltingly tender in a soy sauce and nashi pear purée, then accented with star anise and black pepper and served sprinkled with pine nuts and sesame seeds.
For a spin on your regular roast chicken, try Marion's version – a mayonnaise slather over the chicken bastes the bird for crackly skin, then cut and served with a five spice-scented gravy and golden potatoes. A perfect balance of juiciness, crunch and aroma.
Faster to make than ordering takeout! The secret? A rotisserie chicken. This ensures the toasty, smoky depth-of-flavour imparted otherwise by a tandoor.
A few clever shortcuts deliver a full-flavoured bowl of ramen in a fraction of the time. Marion makes a nutty sesame soup paste, uses leftover roast chicken bones for the broth. Shredded chicken is mixed with doubanjiang chilli bean paste for the topping, and binds it all together with a rich soy-milk broth to deliver the addictive creamy burn that keeps you slurping until the bowl’s bare.
When you're craving a rich and vibrant bowl of laksa but want minimal effort? This one’s ready in under 30 minutes and using pantry staples like stock cubes, fish sauce and curry paste.
Starting in Italy and finishing in Asia, Marion incorporates soy sauce and star anise into her bolognese for an extra salty umami punch and intriguing spice notes.
Charmingly slippery pork parcels swim in Marion’s sauce of chilli oil, black vinegar and soy, mirroring Chengdu street snacks. Keep a stash of these in your freezer – you'll thank yourself!
Impress friends and family with this homemade pho – clear, fragrant, and deeply soothing. Making the bone broth may take a little patience, but the payoff is worth every simmered hour.
Marion's slow-baked ribs are lacquered in sticky gochujang sauce, served with a zingy satay-dressed slaw that balances Korean heat with fresh cabbage crunch – party-ready perfection.
Star anise, a cinnamon stick, fresh ginger, white peppercorns and coriander mingle with soy sauce to dial up the flavour in this Chinese comfort-food classic.
Borrowing from Bangkok’s Chinatown legend Uncle Xia, these kanom jeeb fold pork mince, dried shrimp and shiitake into wonton wrappers. A quick steam, a shower of crispy garlic and a dunk into some mustard and dipping sauce deliver punchy street-cart nostalgia at home
This has all the markings of clean and nourishing Asian comfort food: aromatic poached chicken, rice flavoured with garlic and chicken fat, and a sweet-salty-punchy dipping sauce.
A light soy-and-star-anise stock carries tender shredded chicken, chewy rice noodles and fresh Asian greens. Ready in about 30 minutes, it’s a light yet flavourful alternative to heavier coconut-based soups.
Roast pork belly until the rind shatters, tuck it into baguettes with pâté and quick-pickled vegetables – Australia’s lunchtime legend, no queue required.
Recreate suburban takeaway nostalgia at home: crisp battered chicken coated in sesame-studded honey glaze that stays sticky but not soggy – pair with steamed greens for balance.
These fish cakes are of the puree rather than chunky kind, deep fried until bouncy inside and golden outside. Served with a bright dipping sauce, these are an enduring finger-food favourite.
These chicken thighs get a double hit of flavour: a gently spiced marinade of white peppercorns, fish sauce and sweet soy sauce, and a slathering to serve of a Thai take on chimichurri that's bright with coriander and lime.
The beloved flavours of mango sticky rice – sweet fresh mango and tropical coconut – are reimagined into pavlova form. Note that you'll need to chill a can of coconut cream overnight, to get a firm, silky texture for the filling.
In this version of the beloved Thai dish, Marion honours the fiery soul of tom yum with aromatics like lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaf, adding evaporated milk to bring extra creaminess.
Find out how to turn a mixture of rice flour, tapioca, salt and warm water into ribbons of tender, springy rice noodles that are perfect to soak up sauces in dishes like Marion's pad see ew.
Similar to Chinese congee or Japanese okayu, Thai jok delivers a hug in a bowl. Jasmine rice is 'broken' as it simmers until creamy, then topped with pork mince balls, garlic oil, chilli vinegar, white pepper and a pile of fresh herbs. Each spoonful is gentle and restorative.
Sweet-sour tamarind sauce, chewy rice noodles and wok-seared prawns come together in Marion’s version of this classic stir-fry, finished with roasted peanuts and garlic chives for pure Bangkok street-cart flavour.
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