Australian chefs on the after-school meals they cooked as kids: ‘I still eat this dish today’

For hungry children coming home from school, afternoon tea trumps breakfast as the most important meal of the day. And while the average primary school student might be satisfied with a Vegemite sandwich, when Australia’s top chefs were young they were feasting on sardines or perfecting a dish that is now a top seller at a Sydney restaurant.

Instant noodles with crustacean oil

Junda Khoo, chef and co-owner of Ho Jiak restaurants in Sydney

Junda Khoo’s favourite instant noodle dish from childhood has become a bestseller at his Sydney restaurants. Illustration: Victoria Hart

When I was 16, my brother and I moved to Australia for school. Being boys on our own, we always woke up late, rushing to school with no breakfast. We often went without lunch too, so by the time we got home we were starving.

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We’d share five packets of instant noodles and that was breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one. I experimented a lot, but our favourite brand was Indomie. I’d blanch the noodles, then fry them with aromatics and crustacean oil made from cheap Woolies lobster tails.

Fast forward to Ho Jiak Strathfield; I made the noodles for staff meal. Everyone said we should put it on the menu, but I thought there was no way people would pay for instant noodles in a restaurant. It’s been one of our bestsellers ever since.

Poached chicken and mango salad

Palisa Anderson, chef, writer, organic farmer and owner of Chat Thai and Boon Luck Farm

Mango gave a sweet kick to Palisa Anderson’s salad with fish sauce, mayo and lime. Illustration: Victoria Hart

On Fridays I had dance class, and sometimes I missed the bus to go help at my mum’s restaurant. One night I went to the BP to buy something for dinner. It must have been a pretty ritzy BP because I found a mango and chicken fillets.

I went around our garden pretending to be my mum, picking herbs and lemongrass. I poached the chicken and made mango salad with fish sauce, mayo and lime.

I was proud, so I saved some for my mum after work. I remember how she tasted it, then gave a big smile and said, “This tastes just like aeroplane food.”

Spam and egg fried rice

Jung Eun Chae, chef and owner of Chae in Melbourne

Fried rice became Jung Eun Chae’s signature dish for an after-school feed. Illustration: Victoria Hart

When I was growing up my parents worked full-time, so they weren’t home when I arrived from school. The only dish I could cook was my mum’s fried rice, with crisp, golden cubes of kimbap ham, egg and plenty of chillies.

My mum taught me the key to good fried rice is controlling the heat, cooking the eggs so they’re fluffy to prevent the rice clumping, and using day-old rather than fresh rice. When I got it right, it was so satisfying.

It became my signature dish and I often made it for friends. To this day, my childhood friends remember that dish.

Tinned sardines with Thai salad

Rowena Chansiri, co-owner of Ama and Ickle Coffee in Sydney

‘Canned sardines in tomatoes were a staple meal for us,’ says Rowena Chansiri. Illustration: Victoria Hart

My sister and I were raised in Bangkok before we moved to Australia. We had a single mum who was always at work, so we looked after ourselves.

Canned sardines in tomatoes were a staple meal for us. My sister used them in chilli basil stir-fry, but I prefer spice and big flavours, so I made salad to go with my sardines, served with rice on the side. I chopped eschalots, mint, coriander, spring onion and made a dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, chilli, crushed garlic and sugar.

I still eat this dish today. You can’t find it in street food stalls; it’s nostalgic home food.