With more than 20 years of experience in four different continents of the world, Chef I Wayan Mawa is currently with Hotel Intercontinental

The Grand, Mumbai, where he has set up WOKS, the South East Asian restaurant. He specialises in Cambodian, Thai, Vietnamese, Burmese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese and Philippine cuisines, to name a few.

Read the names of these dishes on menu cards? Eaten them at restaurants? It's time now to make 'em at home... Chef I Wayan Mawa is here to guide you

Cha Gio

(Vietnamese Starter-Deep fried spring rolls)

Serves: Four

Time required: 15 minutes

For the stuffing:

500 g minced chicken

200 g minced shrimps

100 g crabmeat

2 cloves crushed garlic

3 pieces ear mushrooms, soaked in the water and julienned

50 g cellophane noodles, soaked in the water

1/2 medium carrot, shredded

1 egg white

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

For the wrapping:

20 pieces dried rice paper

water vegetable oil for deep frying

To prepare the stuffing:

In a large bowl, combine all the stuffing ingredients and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

To prepare the wrapping:

Cover the paper with banana leaf and sprinkle water over until flexible.

To prepare the Cha Gio:

Place a heaped teaspoon of the stuffing on the rice paper. Start folding the left and the right side of the rice paper simultaneously, upto the centre. Roll up from bottom edge away to the far end. Do not roll too tight, as this will cause the rolls to split. Repeat till you make 20 rolls.Heat the oil in a pan. Deep-fry the rolls over medium heat until golden brown.Serve hot with a sauce of your choice.

Ayam Limau Purut

(Malaysian spiced chicken flavoured with kaffir lime)

Serves: Four

Time required: 20 minutes

1 kg boneless chicken, cubed

4 tbsp vegetable oil

extract of 1/2 large coconut

a tiny ball of tamarind

1 thumb sized galangal

10 kaffir lime leaves

salt to taste

For the ground spice:

1 small-sized onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

6 dried red chillies, soaked in water and seeded

5 fresh green chillies, chopped

1/2 cm fresh turmeric, chopped

To prepare the ground spice:

Pound all the ingredients together and make a paste.

To prepare the purut:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the spice paste. Sauté for two minutes and add the chicken pieces and half the coconut milk. Stir for a few minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk, tamarind, galangal, and kaffir lime leavesStir well and add the salt. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring once in a while. Simmer until the chicken is cooked. Serve hot with steamed rice.

SOM TUM

(A Thai green papaya salad)

Serves: Two

Time required:15 minutes

For the sauce:

75 ml fresh limejuice

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp jaggery

salt to taste

freshly ground pepper

For the salad:

200 g green papaya, shredded

1/2 tsp chopped ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp finely chopped green chilli

20 g shredded carrot

4 cherry tomatoes

30 g dried shrimps, soaked in water

a few coriander leaves, finely chopped

a few mint leaves, finely chopped

a few local basil leaves, finely chopped

For the garnish:

1 tbsp crushed groundnut

To prepare the sauce:In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and whisk well. Set aside.To prepare the salad:In another bowl, combine all the ingredients for the salad. Add the sauce and mix thoroughly Sprinkle the crushed groundnut over. Serve cold.

Trop Dot

Cambodian eggplant with tofu

Serves: Two

Time required: 15 minutes

6 medium-sized eggplants

For the sauce:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

150 g tofu cubes

1 tbsp soya sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp corn flour, diluted in a little water

1 tsp sesame oil

Roast and peel the eggplants. Cut them lengthwise and set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok. Sauté the garlic and tofu cubes. Add the salt and pepper, along with the soya sauce. Thicken by adding the diluted corn flour.finally, sprinkle the sesame oil over. Remove from heat.Place the eggplant slices in a row. Pour the sauce over and serve hot.