Simply Chinese: Recipes from a Chinese Home Kitchen

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She loved food and was so passionate about cooking," says Suzie about her mother, who passed away suddenly when she was just 16. Cantonese food is another string to that whole Chinese story. It's mainly Hong Kong so right by the seaside and there's seafood and other very fresh food." Sometimes when you open a cookbook, as much as a recipe looks beautiful, there's 100 ingredients and you feel that you won't be able to make that. It's also pared down to food that my kids enjoy too so it's not difficult at all." Since winning Best Home Cook in 2020 Suzie has presented two cooking shows on BBC NI (Image: BBC NI )

The Queen's University economics and management graduate is a strong advocate for reducing food waste and offers tips on where you can substitute and re-use ingredients and how to make dishes last longer. After her mother died, Lee’s confidence in the kitchen grew – largely because she was forced to take on the cooking role, feeding her 15-year-old brother and seven-year-old cousin.

She wasn’t one for gushing and telling us everything was amazing, but she’d really helped me to dig deep and make that big meal for the family. It was the last time we were all together as a family in that way.” Read More Related Articles

Her Hong Kong-born parents, Peter and Celia, moved to Northern Ireland in 1980 and food has always played a big part in family life. The couple opened a Chinese takeaway - the Man Lee in Lisburn - which is still going strong and where Suzie helped out through much of her youth. Sadly Suzie’s mum died suddenly on February 8 2000 during a flight from Hong Kong to Heathrow and just six weeks earlier on the last Christmas they spent together, 16-year-old Suzie cooked a traditional turkey dinner, under the guiding eye of Celia. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan (skillet) over a high heat. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and fry for a few minutes until fragrant, being careful to prevent the vegetables Ever since my mum passed away I do live my life to the full, and with no regrets, because you don't know what might happen tomorrow," Suzie says. She started exploring all kinds of different cuisines (many of which she would go on to showcase on Best Home Cook) but she admits she initially steered clear of Cantonese food. “I found it quite hard to go down that route,” Lee admits. “Because my mum was my idol, in a sense. She was the best [at Cantonese cooking]. And I thought I hadn’t learned enough from her, whereas all the other cuisines I could explore on the internet, buy cookbooks, magazines, whatever, and play around with – but traditional Cantonese cooking, for me, my mum held that up there – and I was like, I can’t replicate that.”Suzie is also keen to showcase the uniqueness of Cantonese cuisine, compared to other regions in China.

Her mum worked 14 hour shifts so no wonder she didn’t want to slave over a hot stove for another day but Suzie asked her to show her how to do it. Suzie first shot to fame after winning BBC national cookery competition, Best Home Cook (Image: BBC) Cantonese cooking is all about playing around with simple and fresh ingredients. It's about making use of all those flavours and letting the dish do its thing. It's not as complicated as people think - everyone should give it a try," she enthuses. She also wants to showcase the uniqueness of Cantonese cuisine, compared to other regions in China. “Cantonese food is another string to that whole Chinese story. Cantonese, it’s mainly Hong Kong, so it’s right by the seaside. So there’s fish, and it’s all about very fresh food,” she says. You think 'oh wow I've produced this' and as much as it's lovely and beautiful, you wish she was here to share it."

Add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce and oyster sauce and mix, then add the peas and pineapple and mix well. Taste and season. The book is aimed at the home cook, with the majority of ingredients available from your local shop or supermarket. I never thought I would say this, but I would really love to do more TV. It’s been so enjoyable and brought out another creative side of me I never thought I had.”

I have to laugh about it because the turkey was huge and there I was in the middle of it. The thing weighed about 30lbs, and I remember thinking to myself, 'I can do this, I can do this'. Her grandparents ran such a café in the courtyard of their home, in the seaside village of Tai Mei Tuk, and one of her childhood memories is waking up and eating a spam and egg sandwich. Suzie shares the recipe in her new book, explaining how the addition of condensed milk and evaporated milk gives the tea its characteristic super-creamy taste.That meant it was something completely new in terms of challenging my brain and I'm really happy with the end result - it has exceeded all my expectations." Suzie first shot to fame after winning BBC national cookery competition, Best Home Cook (Image: BBC ) In her teens, when her sisters had left for university, Suzie enjoyed the treat of going to cafés with her mum to sample new foods and then trying to recreate them at home.