Recipe developer & writer
Maya has spent more than a decade cooking the food of East and Southeast Asia at home, then working out how to teach it clearly. Every recipe here is cooked repeatedly and written for everyday kitchens and supermarket-available ingredients. More about the kitchen →
Chinese
Juicy pork-and-cabbage dumplings pan-fried to a crisp golden base then steam-finished — the classic potsticker method, with a simple dipping sauce.
Korean
Chewy cylindrical rice cakes simmered in a glossy sweet-and-spicy gochujang sauce — Korea's most beloved street snack, ready in under half an hour.
Chinese
Diced chicken stir-fried with dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorn and peanuts in a sweet-savoury-sour sauce — a fast, balanced Sichuan classic with real depth.
Japanese & Ramen
Juicy pork-and-cabbage dumplings with a lacy, crisp base and steamed pleated tops — the home version of the izakaya classic.
Vietnamese
Strong, dark coffee dripped slowly through a phin filter over sweetened condensed milk, then poured over ice — rich, bittersweet and intensely refreshing.
Bubble Tea & Drinks
The original bubble tea — a strong black tea base, sweetened and softened with milk, poured over ice and chewy tapioca pearls.
Bubble Tea & Drinks
The bright-orange café classic — strongly brewed spiced black tea, sweetened with condensed milk and poured over ice with a float of evaporated milk.
Korean
The classic Korean kimchi stew — sour, aged kimchi simmered with pork, tofu and a deep gochugaru broth that tastes like it cooked all day but comes together
Japanese & Ramen
Crisp panko-crusted chicken cutlet over rice, blanketed in a glossy, lightly sweet Japanese curry sauce.
Korean
A fiery, silky Korean soft-tofu stew built on a fragrant gochugaru-and-garlic chilli oil base, finished with uncurdled tofu and a raw egg cracked in at
Thai
Thailand's best-loved dessert — warm glutinous rice steeped in sweet, salted coconut cream, served with ripe mango and a sprinkle of toasted mung beans.
Thai
The fast, fiery street-food stir-fry of minced chicken with garlic, chilli and holy basil, served over rice with a crispy fried egg.
Japanese & Ramen
Bite-sized chicken skewers grilled over high heat and lacquered with a sweet-savoury tare, plus a salt-only version for purists.
Chinese
Springy wheat noodles over a numbing-spicy sauce of sesame paste, chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorn, topped with crisp minced pork and preserved vegetable.
Vietnamese
Shatteringly crisp Vietnamese spring rolls with a pork and shrimp filling, wrapped in rice paper and served with herbs and nuoc cham.
Chinese
Silky tofu and minced pork in a glossy, numbing-hot Sichuan sauce built on doubanjiang and ground Sichuan peppercorn — a fast, deeply savoury weeknight classic.
Japanese & Ramen
Hand-shaped seasoned rice triangles wrapped in nori, with a savoury filling tucked inside — the portable staple of the Japanese lunchbox.
Korean
A bowl of warm rice crowned with seasoned vegetables, beef and a fried egg, all bound together with a sweet-savoury gochujang sauce and a slick of sesame oil.
Thai
Stir-fried rice noodles balanced on tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, with prawns, egg, tofu and a crunch of peanuts — the four-flavour classic in noodle
Thai
Thailand's iconic hot-and-sour prawn soup — fragrant with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime, sharpened with lime and chilli and ready in under half an hour.
Vietnamese
Quick stir-fried chicken in a fragrant lemongrass, garlic and chilli marinade with a savoury fish-sauce glaze — a bright, aromatic weeknight dish over rice.
Chinese
Day-old rice fried hot and fast with pork, egg and spring onion — the classic way to turn leftovers into a fast, savoury, restaurant-style one-wok meal.
Bubble Tea & Drinks
A bright, dairy-free fruit tea — fresh mango and a lightly brewed green tea base, shaken over ice for a refreshing, fragrant cooler.
Thai
Shredded green papaya pounded with lime, chilli, fish sauce and palm sugar — the bracing, crunchy salad at the heart of northeastern Thai food.
Japanese & Ramen
Short-grain rice cooked to glossy, tender, slightly sticky grains — the quiet foundation under almost every Japanese meal.
Bubble Tea & Drinks
A creamy, lilac-purple milk drink with the gentle nutty-vanilla flavour of taro root, blended smooth and served over chewy tapioca pearls.
Bubble Tea & Drinks
A pale-green honeydew melon milk tea, lightly creamy and floral, poured over chewy tapioca pearls — a cooling bubble tea to make at home.
Vietnamese
Smoky, caramelised grilled pork patties and belly served in a warm, sweet-and-sour dipping broth with cold rice vermicelli and a heap of fresh herbs
Bubble Tea & Drinks
Stone-ground green tea whisked smooth and layered over cold milk and ice — vivid, grassy and gently sweet, with no clumps.
Chinese
A silky, savoury chicken broth threaded with delicate ribbons of egg — a five-ingredient Chinese soup that comes together in under fifteen minutes.
Vietnamese
A shatteringly crisp baguette filled with savoury pork, quick-pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, coriander and chilli — the four-taste balance in a sandwich.
Thai
Wide rice noodles charred in a hot wok with dark soy, egg and Chinese broccoli — smoky, savoury and lightly sweet Thai comfort food.
Bubble Tea & Drinks
The dramatic tiger-striped drink — warm chewy tapioca pearls soaked in glossy brown sugar caramel, streaked down the glass and topped with cold fresh milk.
Korean
Thin slices of beef marinated in a sweet-savoury soy, garlic, sesame and grated-pear marinade, then seared hard and fast — the most loved of Korea's grilled
Vietnamese
A clear, deeply aromatic beef broth scented with charred onion, ginger and toasted spice, poured over rice noodles and raw beef and finished with a plate
Japanese & Ramen
Pan-seared salmon fillets glazed in a glossy four-ingredient teriyaki sauce reduced straight in the pan — a fast, weeknight-friendly main.
Thai
A mild, warmly spiced beef curry with potatoes and peanuts — slow-simmered in coconut milk with cardamom, cinnamon and tamarind for a rich, rounded depth.
Japanese & Ramen
A clear, savoury dashi broth loosened with miso, soft tofu and wakame — the five-minute soup at the heart of the Japanese table.
Korean
Seasoned rice and a row of bright fillings rolled in seaweed, sliced into neat rounds — Korea's classic picnic and lunchbox food.
Korean
Glassy sweet-potato noodles tossed with beef and a rainbow of seasoned vegetables in a savoury-sweet soy and sesame dressing — Korea's beloved celebration
Vietnamese
Soft rice-paper rolls packed with prawns, pork, herbs and vermicelli — served fresh and uncooked with a rich peanut dipping sauce.
Japanese & Ramen
A milky, collagen-rich pork-bone broth with springy noodles, chashu and a soft-set egg — the weekend ramen worth the wait.
Thai
A bright, fragrant coconut curry built on a fresh green chilli paste fried until it splits — with chicken, aubergine, basil and kaffir lime.
Chinese
Sticky, mahogany-glazed Cantonese roast pork with a sweet-savoury marinade and a honey lacquer, made in a home oven.
Korean
Double-fried for a shatteringly thin, glassy crust that stays crisp under a sticky-sweet gochujang glaze — the famous Korean take on fried chicken, made at
Maya Chen develops, tests and writes the recipes published here. The aim is a single, consistent voice across the site — someone who has cooked each dish enough times to know where it goes wrong and how to explain it clearly to a first-timer.
Each recipe is cooked repeatedly in a home kitchen, adjusted for the equipment and ingredients an ordinary cook is likely to have, and only written up once the method is reliable. Where a shortcut costs too much in flavour, the recipe says so; where one works, it is included.
Yes — requests and corrections are welcome by email at hello@letsomnom.com. Reader feedback on what was unclear or what could be improved feeds directly into how recipes are revised over time.