Nadiya Hussain is on a brand new journey of discovery…
Bake Off winner turned presenter Nadiya Hussain travels further than she ever has before in her brand new two-part series that sees her experiencing the tasty cuisine of Thailand, Cambodia and Nepal.
In this first episode, Nadiya learns the traditional art of making fermented fish paste in Cambodia’s famous floating villages, visits a Cambodian family sugar cane plantation and struggles to swallow silk worms, crickets and ant larvae in one of Bangkok’s newest insect restaurants.
But it’s Nadiya’s warmth towards the people she meets and her enthusiasm for their food that’s most inspiring…
Please note this programme airs in Scotland at 10.45pm.
TV Times rating: *****
In an exclusive interview with TV Times, Nadiya, 33, tells us more…
What dishes stood out for you in each country?
The flavours of Thailand are just amazing. It’s simple things like eating banana flowers with your pad thai. In Cambodia there’s prahok, which is fermented salted fish. I ate that during my childhood summers living with family in Bangladesh, so for me that was the smell of home.
The lentils and rice in Nepal were the best I’d ever eaten.
Did you discover any foods that you hadn’t encountered before?
The insects in Thailand! These were like proper insects with legs, eyes and antennae! I thought, ‘I’m here for the experience and I’m not going to shy away from anything,’ so I ate them – but I have to say the ant larvae caviar I tried was disgusting! I also ate silk worms, which were crunchy on the outside but gooey in the middle, and crickets, which were actually delicious!
What tips did you pick up that you’ll use in your cooking?
I learned how to make a Thai curry paste and I’ve taught my children to make it, too. We live in a society where things can easily come out of a jar but over there everything is made from scratch and it tastes so much better.
