Nipcooks

19/12/2025

Dambulla market, Sri Lanka.

The kind of place where produce is piled high, time moves slower, and life just… happens. Betel leaf sellers, afternoon naps on vegetable sacks, card games you weren’t meant to see, and milk tea breaks that hold the whole day together.

Markets like this don’t just feed people, they shape taste, memory, and the way you cook long after you’ve left.

18/12/2025

Singapore Fish Head Curry

Cook time: 45–50 mins
Serves: 2–3

Ingredients

2 medium fish head (snapper ideal)
Water, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp turmeric

Spice Mix

1/2 tbsp fenugreek powder
1/3 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1.5 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1/2 tbsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt

Curry

3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/3 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 green chillies, sliced
1 tbsp ginger–garlic paste
3 red onions, thinly sliced
Pinch of salt
2 tomatoes, diced
200 ml water
1/2 tbsp tamarind extract
100 ml thick coconut milk
Handful of okra
Handful of small eggplants, halved

Method

Soak fish head in water with lime juice and turmeric. Set aside.

Heat coconut oil in a wok over medium heat. Add whole spices, then curry leaves, chillies and ginger–garlic. Add onions with salt and cook until soft and lightly caramelised (7–8 mins).

Add tomatoes, then the spice mix. Cook until fragrant and the oil starts to separate (about 5 mins).

Add water and tamarind, simmer 2 mins. Stir in coconut milk and cook 8 mins until the curry thickens.

Add fish head, baste well and cook for 15 mins, flipping halfway. Season to taste. Add okra and eggplant in the last 5 mins.

Serve hot on a banana leaf with rice. Eat properly.

Thanks for introducing this dish to me.

12/12/2025

I love the raw intensity of markets across Asia. From my home island of Sri Lanka to the deep south of Vietnam, markets just make me feel alive, I fu***ng love that feeling. Even walking through an ethnic suburb in Sydney gives me the same rush.

This memory from earlier this year is from a massive fresh market in the heart of Sri Lanka, probably one of the biggest that never really makes it onto the tourist trail. It’s offbeat, chaotic, and real. You see the culture up close. Stalls pumping out a thousand milk teas, workers resting on sacks of veg, drivers dozing off in truck seats, people eating bread and curry, quiet illegal gambling in the corners, and the freshest fruit and veg from the island all in one place. Most hotels and businesses come here to buy their produce. I remember coming here once as a kid, it’s a vague memory but coming back here now as a cook… yeah man, it hit completely different.



Shot by

10/12/2025

My Favourite Way to Make Shin Ramyun

Ingredients

1 packet Shin Ramyun
250 ml water
1 egg
300 ml chicken bone broth
4 prawns, cleaned & deveined
2 tbsp chopped kimchi
1 tsp gochugaru (Korean red chilli flakes)
1 spring onion, thinly sliced (whites + greens separated)

Method

1. Bring 250 ml water to a rolling boil.
2. Carefully add the whole egg, cover, and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Add the noodle cake, seasoning sachet, and vegetable sachet. Cook for 1 minute.
4. Add: Spring onion white part, Chicken bone broth, Prawns, Kimchi, Gochugaru
5. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes, until the prawns are just cooked and noodles are perfect.
6. Remove the egg, peel it, and let the noodles cook for a final 30 seconds uncovered.
7. Transfer everything to a bowl.
8. Top with spring onion greens, slice the egg, and add it on top.

07/12/2025

Morning eggs on a stainless steel pan.

3 eggs, pinch of salt, whisked smooth.

Slowly heat the pan on medium heat,do the water bubble test (when the droplets dance, you’re ready).

A k**b of butter in, eggs straight after. Let it set for 10–12 seconds, then gently move it around.

30–40 seconds total, still soft, still a little runny. Off the heat, crack of black pepper.

Just how I like my eggs every single morning.

04/12/2025

Crazy how a cheap packet of instant noodles became my first lesson in cooking, survival, friendship… and creativity.
Here’s to the dish that started everything.

02/12/2025

02/12/2025

FILIPINO MANGO FLOAT (my pop-up version)

Ingredients:

1 large ripe mango
600 ml thickened cream
Half a can of sweetened condensed milk
2 packets Nice biscuits
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Half a cup grated or flaked coconut

Method:
1. Scoop out the mango flesh and slice it thinly.
2.In a bowl, whip the cream and condensed milk together until soft peaks form.
3. Add the vanilla and salt, then whip again briefly.
4. Start layering in a tray: a thin layer of cream, then biscuits, cream, mango, biscuits, cream, mango. Finish with a final layer of cream on top.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight to set.
6. Before serving, crush some of the biscuits into crumbs and lightly toast the coconut.
7. Sprinkle both over the top, scoop, and serve cold.

This has to be the dessert of the summer.

30/11/2025

Whipped Burrata with Rockmelon (Cantaloupe) Acharu

Acharu is the Sri Lankan style of prepping fruit. It’s salty, sweet, spicy, refreshing. This is my fusion take, whipped burrata as the creamy base, topped with a juicy, spicy rockmelon acharu.

Recipe (Serves 2–3)

1. Make the Rockmelon Acharu
Dice ¼ of a cantaloupe into medium cubes.
Toss with:
•a pinch of salt
•1 teaspoon black pepper
•1 teaspoon hot chilli powder
•1.5 teaspoons sugar

Mix well and let it sit for 15 minutes so it softens and releases its juices.

2. Whip the Burrata
Add 300–350 g burrata into a food processor or bowl.
Add a glug of olive oil + 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
Whip until creamy and smooth.
(Use a food processor, hand mixer, or stick blender, all work.)

3. Assemble
Spread the whipped burrata onto a platter.
Spoon over the rockmelon acharu.
Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Serve immediately.

Amazing with toast, crackers, or on its own.
Super simple, bright, and something even kids can put together.

28/11/2025

Nip’s Chili Oil

Ingredients

3 cups olive oil (plus a bit more)
½ large red onion, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (sideways coins)
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
½ cup dried baby shrimp
1 cup Sri Lankan red chilli flakes
Pinch of MSG
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Heat about two-thirds of the olive oil on low heat until gently warm.
2. Add the sliced onions and fry until brown. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the garlic to the same oil and fry until almost golden and crispy. Remove and set aside.
4. Add the curry leaves and let them crisp up. Remove immediately.
5. Add the dried baby shrimp and fry for about 10 seconds. Remove and set aside.
6. In a heatproof bowl, add the chilli flakes, MSG and salt.
7. Pour the hot oil over the chilli mixture. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise and sugar. Mix well.
8. Let it cool completely.
9. Once cool, add all the fried onions, garlic, curry leaves and shrimp back into the oil.
10. Add black pepper and top up with the remaining olive oil.
11. Let it sit for a day before using.

28/11/2025

Some snaps from earlier this week. Still buzzing from it. Sydney, you were unreal.

It was honestly so much fun hosting everyone at this heritage-listed spot. Proper vibe.

And that’s officially a wrap for this year’s events. Every service, every prep day, every late-night cook…it’s been one hell of a ride.

Next year we’re taking nipcooks experiences to Brisbane, Perth and Hobart, and we’re also lining up LA, London and Toronto. Big year loading.

If you want us to bring this to your city, let me know.
Enjoy the pictures. 🙏🏽

27/11/2025

My Sydney kitchen takeover earlier this week was bloody amazing. Far out, what an unreal turnout. Thank you, truly.

Bringing an experimental menu of Sri Lankan–inspired share plates to you was honestly so much fun. The feedback… man, it was awesome. This menu was a reflection of me as a cook right now, evolving, learning, pulling inspiration from different cuisines, working with the best produce I can get my hands on, but still keeping that Sri Lankan soul stitched into every single dish.

Got to work with some incredible brands on this one too, massive thanks to them.

Shout-out to the entire team for all the hard work and support throughout the night.

Sydney, thank you again, enjoy these little video postcards from the night.

See you soon next time.

And Melbourne… should we bring this to you next? 👀

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