A wok is a great thing to get children interested in cooking. You could use a deep frying pan, but it is well worth getting a wok. You will get a lot of use out of it and it is a great tool for rustling up quick, nutritious meals that the whole family will enjoy.

The crispy fried rice with prawns is an ideal way to use up leftover rice – or you could use the pouches of pre-cooked rice from the supermarket if you are really pressed for time.

There is nothing nicer than fried rice, and I love it with prawns. If you don’t eat fish you could us leftover chicken, you could use crab, or you could keep it vegetarian.

Nam pla is a Thai fish sauce what they use in place of salt in Thai cooking. There is an Asian twist to this, with ginger and garlic and a little bit of chili, which is optional. You could also use a sweet chili sauce. My brother Kenneth, who works on demos all over the country, is a great Asian cook

This sesame chicken recipe is also packed with flavour and the seeds give it a great texture. Mirin is a dry-tasting sherry. Instead of the skinless chicken fillets you could do this with turkey or pork. Good hot oil and garlic and ginger are the foundation with the toasted sesame seeds.

The sesame seeds, when sprinkled over steamed broccoli, are delicious. We serve it as a vegetable accompaniment in the restaurant. In the recipe it says bean sprouts but you can use any vegetable in season. Broccoli is good, or asparagus and courgettes are very plentiful at the moment.

Crispy fried rice with prawns & green beans

Serves two

2 tbsp vegetable oil

150g (5oz) peeled raw tiger prawns

75g (3oz) green beans, trimmed and halved

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

2.5cm (1in) piece fresh root ginger, grated

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lime

One red chilli, halved lengthways, seeded and thinly sliced

400g (14oz) cooked jasmine rice

handful of roasted peanuts or cashew nuts, roughly chopped

small handful of fresh coriander leaves

  • 1 Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Once it is smoking hot, add the prawns, green beans, garlic, ginger, soy, fish sauce, lime rind and juice and most of the chilli and stir-fry for two to three minutes, until the prawns are almost cooked through. Keep everything moving all the time so as not to burn the garlic.
  • 2 Add the rice to the wok and mix thoroughly. Spread the rice over the base of the wok and fry for one minute, then toss together. Repeat this process a few more times until the rice begins to crisp.
  • 3 Divide among plates and serve immediately, garnished with the rest of the chilli, the nuts and coriander leaves.

    • Sesame chicken with spring greens

    Serves two

    1 tbsp vegetable oil

    2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

    25g (1oz) fresh root ginger, grated

    250g (9oz) skinless and boneless chicken fillets, sliced into strips

    1 tbsp dry sherry

    1 tbsp mirin

    1 tbsp soy sauce

    1 tbsp sesame oil

    pinch of caster sugar

    Two spring onions, thinly sliced

    150g (5oz) spring greens, shredded

    2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

    Steamed long-stemmed broccoli and Jasmine rice, to serve

  • 1 Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking, then add the oil. Tip in the garlic and ginger and toss for a few seconds to release the flavours.
  • 2 Add the chicken and leave to brown for 20 to 30 seconds, then flip over and cook for another minute or so.
  • 3 Add the sherry and mirin and toss again for a few seconds, then season with the soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar.
  • 4 Toss well to combine and add the spring onions and spring greens and toss again to mix. Then continue to stir fry for a minute or two until wilted.
  • 5 Transfer to plates and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve immediately with the steamed broccoli and rice.