Recipe-wise, Kaul was in the driver’s seat. “The only consideration for me was that every recipe in the book had to have a connection to either my life or Jo’s,” she says. “Every recipe in that book connects me to a time and place in my life.” Sometimes, the stories we want to tell of our lives are too long to be spoken, but they’re easily eaten.” I’ve chosen a recipe for you that seemed to me an excellent introduction to the food in this happy-making book: Burnt Spring Onion Oil Noodles, just perfect for when you need a simple but richly flavoured solo supper.

The founder of SAF, Alison Swan Parente, says the charity loves students such as Munoz who can act as a “multiplier”, extending the reach of a scholarship that, since 2017, has trained seven students from as far afield as Eritrea and Croatia. Scholarship students (their fees and living expenses funded by two charitable trusts) work alongside regular students. A trustee of Lewisham’s Refugee Cafe, Munoz is aware that money, language or family barriers often prevent refugees from developing new professional skills. When a refugee scholarship at the School of Artisan Food (SAF) was offered to the Refugee Cafe, it could not find anyone capable of committing to the six months of full-time study in Nottinghamshire that was required. Instead, aged 62, Munoz took up the advanced artisan baking diploma himself. “It’s never too late to learn,” says the former teacher. After he finishes the course next month, he intends to train Lewisham refugees in the professional baking techniques and business skills taught at SAF. Historically, Clement Ogbonnaya considered pubs to be “very white, very British, very unwelcoming”. Even during his student days as an avid clubber he says he “didn’t have the balls” to walk into one. Heat the lard or oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant, 10-15 seconds, then add the rice noodles and egg noodles. Stir-fry over high heat for around 30 seconds, then add the Chinese sausage, fish cake and prawns. Continue to stir-fry over high heat until the sausage fat begins to render and the noodles are lightly charred, 2-3 minutes. Add the star anise and cardamom to the oil and fry over low heat until fragrant. At this point, the oil should be very hot. Pour half the oil over the chilli mixture and stir. Wait 5-6 minutes for the oil to cool slightly, then pour the remaining oil over the chilli mixture.Food was a huge part of this journey - should they cling to the traditional comfort of their parents' varied culinary heritage, attempt to assimilate wholly by learning to love shepherd's pie, or forge a new path where flavour and the freedom to choose trumped authenticity? They went with option three. Using wet hands, roll the sausage mixture into four 2 cm x 10 cm logs and freeze for at least 1 hour to set. Whisk the eggs, salt, white pepper and cornflour slurry together thoroughly. Ensure there are no strands of egg white remaining and that the mixture is well combined. Add the white spring onion, cooked meat and seafood, and the julienned vegetables, then stir to combine with the egg mixture. Set aside.

Hu was born in the Hunan province in China before moving to Australia as a child, and Kaul identifies as Australian-Singaporean-Chinese-Kashmiri-Peranakan-Filipino. The recipes and stories span their lives – from their mothers’ favourites to a less traditional, Sichuan-inspired cheese fondue.Spaghetti at Zucco, the Italian restaurant that’s a “catalyst” of Meanwood’s food scene. Courtesy of Zucco, Leeds

Push the noodles to the side of the pan and add the beaten egg, bean sprouts and garlic chives. Fry for 30-40 seconds over high heat, until the chives begin to wilt. The intention of the first [cookbook] was to teach basic Chinese cooking techniques using pantry ingredients, with a couple of recipes that featured a Chinese soul but more Australian expression. People responded well to those cheeky Australian-Chinese recipes, and so this second book became a glorious mishmash featuring more unusual but traditional Chinese recipes.”To make the chilli paste, blitz all of the ingredients together in a food processor to form a fine paste and set aside. You will need 1 tablespoon of this chilli paste (or sambal oelek, if using) for each portion of noodles. Store the remaining chilli paste in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. To assemble, stir the sago and mango puree together to combine. Divide between two chilled serving bowls and drizzle with the coconut milk. Garnish with the extra diced mango and plenty of pomelo pulp. The Singapore-born chef has teamed up with illustrator (and former waiter) Joanna Hu, who hails from China's Hunan province. Together, they've produced Chinese-ish, a cookbook pooling all the Chinese-inspired recipes that have come into their lives, which they describe as not quite authentic but 100 per cent delicious. Amen to that. Char kway teow (pictured above) Continue to cook the rice over medium-high heat until the grains fluff up again from the steam. The key is to control the heat – don't let the grains burn or colour in any way. Be patient. In writing Chinese-ish, it was actually incredibly helpful to have a body of work to pull from and inevitably flesh out to make a more complete cookbook,” Kaul tells Broadsheet.