Some people find cooking stressful and a chore to be avoided at all costs — Poh is not one of those people. For Poh, cooking is all about nurturing and sharing, and she loves inviting friends into her kitchen to her her refine her unique cooking style. In this series, Poh welcomes internationally-renowned chefs in to her kitchen, where together they create succulent, mouth-watering dishes. Meet Thai cooking guru, , Australia's , French-trained chef Emmanuel Mollois and Indian curry queen Ragini Dey. They share their tips and techniques with Poh, and explore different styles of cooking. Poh also travels across Australia and to her native home Malaysia, to follow her family ties and share traditional family cooking secrets.
, season 1 to season 3, premieres on Tuesday 20 November at 8.30pm. The series airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on SBS Food (Channel 33). After they air, episodes will stream at .
Season 1
Episode 1: Family favourites with Emmanuel Mollois
Poh catches up with Emmanuel Mollois, a pastry chef trained in Paris who proudly carries forward the torch of tradition. Emmanuel is highly amused by Poh’s "wild" approach as they both prepare delicious desserts they remember loving as kids in Malaysia and France.
Episode 2: Green curry with David Thompson
Poh is a huge fan of Thai cuisine and when she discovers that Thai food guru, , is in town she pulls out all stops to get him to drop by the kitchen. David is more than happy to come and share a recipe for a classic green curry, and especially more than happy to pursue his favourite pastime of making people eat chillies. How does Poh fare?
Green curry of beef (geng gwio wam neua)
Coconut milk
Episode 3: Almonds with Emmanuel Mollois
Poh visits a heritage almond grower and tastes some heritage almonds but is entranced by finding out about green almonds and takes a bag of them back to her kitchen to experiment with. French chef Emmanuel Mollois is her guest and shows her the best way to cook salmon and accompanies it with almond milk, as Poh cooks recipes using all kinds of almonds and even impresses Emmanuel with an exotic almond cocktail.
Episode 4: Woking with Neil Perry
Poh is on a quest to find out more about ’Wok cooking’. She’s no stranger to this ancient culinary art, having two wonderful mentors in her Mum and Aunty, but when it comes to cooking with high heat and lots of flame, it still presents a challenge. So Poh meets renowned Sydney chef, . Neil is a trail blazer of Australian cuisine and one of the best when it comes to both Asian and wok cooking.
Epsiode 5: Meringues and eclairs with Emmanuel Mollois
Poh loves all areas of cooking but she particularly loves baking, and she knows that you can never stop learning about the mysterious art of pastry, and this is one of the reasons she always welcomes good friend Emmanuel Mollois to her kitchen. Emmanuel is a first-class pastry chef who trained in France, and he prepares some "French-sized" chocolate èclairs, while Poh surprises him with some amazing fried meringues.
Episode 6: Traditional Cooking with David Thompson
Last time Thai food guru, was a guest in Poh’s kitchen he took great delight in having Poh road test more than one hot chilli! However, despite the chillies Poh welcomes back this cheeky chef-cum-scholar to share with us an ancient Thai recipe. David is also more than a little impressed with Poh’s traditional Malaysian stir-fry.
Episode 7: Cooking Chinese with Neil Perry
Poh is cooking Chinese, a cuisine, which given her Malay/Chinese background is not unfamiliar to her, but when it comes to Modern Asian cookery she feels she needs a little advice and invites Sydney chef back to her kitchen.
Episode 8: Kormas with Ragini Dey
National award-winning Indian chef Ragini Dey joins Poh to explore the ancient secrets of Indian kormas. Together they cook two very different kormas both with richly layered spice combinations — rich and creamy in taste but surprisingly easy to make. To add textural elements of crunch and freshness to the creaminess of the kormas they make lentil parathas and a surprising tandoori broccoli stuffed with homemade paneer cheese, fruit and nuts.
Episode 9: Fish with Neil Perry
Poh wants to refine her fish technique so this week she's invited one of Australia's finest fish cooks into her kitchen, . Neil was one of the chefs who helped to carve out the culinary style now known as 'Modern Australian' and there isn't much he can't tell you about how to catch, handle, and cook delicious fish.
Episode 10: Barbecue with Neil Perry
In chef ’s apartment overlooking beautiful Sydney harbour, Poh makes on an old family recipe, traditional Malaysian satays. Strips of beef and chicken are marinated in a deliciously spicy mix of coriander, cumin, lemon grass and turmeric and then served with a succulent peanut sauce. Neil meanwhile has fired up the barbecue, eager to show Poh how he cooks meat, using this classic Aussie method.
Episode 11: Margaret River with Ian Parmenter
Poh's on the road thanks to an invitation from one-time TV chef and long-time good food lover, Ian Parmenter. These days Ian's backyard is Western Australia's wonderful food Mecca, Margaret River, and he delights in showing Poh the region. The paella they cook together in the town's farmer's market shows off the local produce and is a visual and taste sensation that's simple to recreate and guaranteed to please a crowd.
Episode 12: My place with Ian Parmenter
After a week as Ian Parmenter's guest in Western Australia's Margaret River, has Poh finally become a country girl? She certainly mixes it up with the local Alpacas and proves a dab hand at catching freshwater marron! On Ian's verandah, with his vineyard as a backdrop, they cook up wonderful local produce including the marron, pink grapefruit from the garden, farmed rabbit and zucchinis from the local primary school.
Epsiode 13: Macarons with Emmanuel Mollois
In this week's program Poh and Emmanuel explore colour and taste from two different cultural perspectives with French chef Emmanuel Mollois sharing one classic and one brand new recipe for Parisian macarons. Poh cooks a Malaysian version of French macarons — brightly coloured Malaysian snacks with some surprise fillings — one that she remembers making as a child and nick names 'sticky marbles'. Emmanuel gives Poh the challenge of making a Poh's Kitchen macaron and food matching with tea — a wonderful way to complement or contrast food flavours with a cup of tea!
Episode 14: Meat with Neil Perry
What's the secret to cooking the perfect roast? Poh has mastered many exotic dishes and cooking styles, but she's strangely intimidated when it comes to something as straightforward as meat and three veg. She's determined to master the art of roasting, so her guest in the kitchen is the master of meat, Neil Perry. Poh knows that only the best ingredients will satisfy Neil, so she jets off to Tasmania in search of remarkable produce.
Episode 15: Indulgence with Emmanuel Mollois
Give your guilty conscience a night off! This program's all about indulgence, letting your hair down, forgetting the kilojoules just once and cooking something utterly decadent for a special occasion. Poh's love of food is well-known, but she doesn't just think about and cook it — she loves eating it and inspired by the excitement of the Fringe Festival Street Party and some decadent desserts afterwards, she decides to cook a very labour intensive and traditional Indonesian layer cake that uses 15 egg yolks and is grilled layer by layer in the oven.
Episode 16: Duck and wasabi with Neil Perry
Poh and Neil love cooking together and Poh's always eager to grab tips from one of Australia's best chefs. As Neil guides Poh through his recipe for taro crusted duck with Mandarin sauce he demonstrates that complicated recipes don't have to be intimidating if you break them down into simple steps. Of course, Poh is no slouch in the kitchen herself and this week she's eager to impress Neil with an old family favourite, steamed taro cake, plus a slightly bizarre creation straight from the mind of Poh, wasabi ice-cream.
Episode 17: Sweet and savoury with Emmanuel Mollois
Poh is exploring sweet and savoury from two very different perspectives and she's invited French chef Emmanuel Mollois to join her to add some twists to the souffle. Poh wanted to call this episode 'Taste first: Think Later' because the Asian love of sweet meats and salty desserts seem a bit 'wild' at first but the absolutely delicious recipes in this episode will win over the faint-hearted... and Emmanuel's hot and cold soufflès add a twist to traditional favourites.
Episode 18: Simply Italian with Antonio Carluccio
'Tasting Australia' is one of the largest food festivals in Australia and is held annually in Poh's home state South Australia. This year Poh enjoys the privilege of being part of the festival and takes the opportunity to borrow one of its main attractions, Italian food legend, . In the kitchen Antonio demonstrates quintessential Italian peasant cuisine. His first dish is beautiful lamb cutlets cut and stuffed with cheese, Parma ham and sage and then crumbed and pan-fried.
Episode 19: Poh in Kuala Lumpur
Poh moves out of her kitchen and heads off overseas — to Malaysia, the country where she was born. She is on a three week trip to find out more about her heritage and about the traditional dishes that come from Malaysia. In the first week of her trip, Poh visits Kuala Lumpur, her hometown. This is a city known for its street food and immediately after she arrives, Poh's out on the street looking, eating and meeting a number of local chefs including chef Ismail Ahmad. The dishes she learns about in this episode include her Great Aunt's Popiah and chef Ismail's jackfruit curry.
Episode 20: Poh and Nonya cuisine
Poh continues her Malaysian adventure, heading south from Kuala Lumpur to the historic port of Melaka. Once a vibrant maritime trading centre at the heart of the international spice trade, this UNESCO listed heritage site boasts a rich historical and culinary history. It's the 'Baba & Nonya' culture that most interests Poh. The Babas and Nonyas are descendants of Chinese settlers who arrived in Melaka around 600 years ago and intermarried with the local Malay people. The interweaving of these two cultures has given them a unique and increasingly popular cuisine, commonly known as 'Nonya'.
Episode 21: Poh in Penang
As Poh's Malaysian adventure continues, she heads north to the island of Penang. As Poh discovers, Penang is a food lover's paradise and boasts some of the best and cheapest street fare in Asia, many Malaysians holiday here just to sample its unique cuisine. When it comes to choice, there's almost too much. To help her on her journey Poh meets up again with Malaysian chef's Florence Tan and Ismail Ahmad, who have offered to be her culinary guides.
Episode 22: Breakfasts of the world with Emmanuel Mollois
Visiting Malaysia recently, Poh noticed that people eat all sorts of amazing and spicy things in the morning, and this has got her thinking: why do we eat what we eat for breakfast? To find out more about breakfast traditions around the world Poh shares amazing meals with her Indian friend Ragini Dey and Moroccan restaurateur Mohamed Bartaouch. She also invites Emmanuel Mollois into the kitchen to demonstrate the French art of dipping bread into hot chocolate.
Episode 23: Food traditions with Emmanuel Mollois
This episode is all about food traditions from the ancient city of Peking (Beijing) and the French countryside — and it’s not just the recipes and how they’re cooked, but how they’re eaten that guarantees taste combinations that are perfectly balanced and an honour to experience. When Poh finds that Emmanuel, whose passion is food history, has never had the full Peking duck banquet experience she treats him to the 600-year-old tradition that's still practiced today.
Episode 24: More meat with the Butcher Boys
An episode for meat lovers as Poh offers her service as an apprentice to butchers, Jason Bradly and Bill Smith to demonstrate how one cut of meat can produce two very different dishes. Poh prepares a traditional roast leg of lamb while the 'butcher boys' make Greek-style lamb gyros.
Episode 25: Modern Thai with Martin Boetz
Poh's guest is Martin Boetz, whose cooking has been described as a singular blend of Thai and modern Australian food. Martin prepares two fish dishes, while Poh cooks kuih koci, a Malaysian dessert to complement his curries.
Episode 26: Chicken with Ragini Dey
In Malaysia recently Poh was reminded of the depth and complexity of Nonya culture, and this inspired her to master an old classic, Nonya chicken curry. The dish has always been a firm favourite in Poh’s family, but Poh was slightly intimidated by all the spices in the recipe. To find out more about the mysterious and intriguing world of spice Poh has invited Indian chef Ragini Dey back to share some of her amazing knowledge.
Episode 27: Franco-Russian with Emmanuel Mollois
Poh goes Russian and makes pirozhki and borscht, while guest in the kitchen, Emmanuel Mollois, stays French and prepares a gateau Napoleon and a fish soup from his home area on the Atlantic coast of France.
Episode 28: Paris with Emmanuel Mollois
This episode features the cakes and pastries of Paris, from traditional recipes to exciting and innovative creations. Emmanuel travels to Paris to catch up with family and friends, as well as the latest food trends. Feeling inspired, Poh creates one of her most beautiful desserts — rhubarb lily tart. It just has to be seen to be believed.
Episode 29: Darwin with Jimmy Shu
Poh is in Darwin to work with international chef, Jimmy Shu so come and bask in the warmth of a dry season day in the top end. Glorious fresh produce, wonderful people and stunning environments provide a colourful backdrop to the tropical recipes. Jimmy guides Poh through a number of dishes which include paw paw salad and pad Thai.
Episode 30: Gnocchi with Andre Ursini
This week Poh invites her friend into the kitchen. Andre, a friend Poh made through their mutual love of cooking, has just opened his first restaurant and like Poh has reconnected with his family background through food. It wasn’t until Andre went back to Italy that he found out that the dish he makes today, gnocchi, not only translates as ‘dumpling’ but also ‘stupid one’ — a nickname his grandmother always had for him when he was young.
Episode 31: Back to Malaysia
Poh is taking us on one last trip to Malaysia to share more of the colourful experiences from her recent visit. She meets up again with two of Malaysia's most experienced and entertaining chefs, Florence Tan and Ismail Ahmad.
Episode 32: Truffles with Emmanuel Mollois
This week’s episode is all about the seriously decadent Australian-grown, black French Perigord truffle inspired by the Mundaring Truffle Festival in the Perth hills 40 minutes east of Perth. It’s here that Poh and Emmanuel take part in cooking demonstrations, truffle tastings, a truffle degustation dinner and the world’s longest truffle themed lunch and where 40,000 people are lucky enough to sample one of the most expensive edible commodities in the world.
Episode 33: Darwin with Jacko Angeles
Poh is back in Darwin soaking up the sun and enjoying delicious fresh seafood, all in the company of great friends. Local cook, Jacko shows Poh how Darwinites cook some of their local 'fishy' fare.
Episode 34: Sauces and stir-fries with Emmanuel Mollois
Poh and French chef Emmanuel Mollois examine the art of sauces and stir-fries. They share some great tips including how to cut vegies for a stir-fry and to prepare a sauce that will make kids eat their vegetables.
Episode 35: Polenta with Andre Ursini
gives Poh some background on his favourite ingredient — polenta. He shows Poh how it can even be made into ice-cream. Poh makes Andre Chinese-inspired pork and cabbage dumplings cooked in two different ways.
Episode 36: Salted fish with Emmanuel Mollois
On this week’s program Poh and Chef Emmanuel Mollois, immerse themselves in the world of salted fish. This method of preserving has been around for millennium and is common across many cultures, providing a cheap and effective alternative to fresh fish, without loss of flavour or versatility. Using salted mackerel from her local Asian grocer, Poh cooks two delicious dishes, salted mackerel with chicken and salted mackerel with noodles.
Episode 37: Filipino food with Dennis Leslie
Poh’s Kitchen has received many requests for Filipino recipes and in tonight’s episode Poh brings us executive chef Denis Leslie who draws on his Filipino heritage to treat us to a traditional tangy soup and “melt-in-the-mouth” chicken dish. Poh also has a surprise for Denis, a savoury Nonya soup that features watermelon rind.
Episode 38: Slow cooking with Emmanuel Mollois
The Chinese have a great tradition of slow cooking and tonight Poh cooks dong do pork as well as a very quick entree of savoury egg custard. It’s chef Emmanuel Mollois who’s back in the kitchen with Poh and his slow-cooked recipe is a lamb shoulder confit with spices and it’s a dish full of tradition and memories. Emmanuel serves this French-Moroccan dish with a couscous salad and a traditional French ratatouille.
Episode 39: Breakfast with Bill Granger
This week Bill visits Poh’s Kitchen to share two of his stylish yet simple breakfast dishes (and share his scrambled eggs secrets) and Poh cooks a breakfast dish from her childhood and another that’s a weekend favourite — chicken congee.
Episode 40: Joyeux Noel with Emmanuel Mollois
Whatever your beliefs, or background, it’s hard not to get caught up in the Christmas spirit and that’s exactly what Poh and Chef Emmanuel Mollois are doing this week on the final episode of Poh’s Kitchen. As an alternative to the heavy Christmas pudding, Poh bakes a Yuletide chiffon cake, while Emmanuel, crazy about chocolate makes a traditional, French Christmas log.
, season 1 to season 3, premieres on Tuesday 20 November at 8.30pm. The series airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on SBS Food (Channel 33). After they air, episodes will stream at .
