Barbecues are an increasingly popular way of cooking food in the summer. Gone are the days of somewhat primitive rickety contraptions and now manufacturers such as www.weberbbq.co.uk offer a wealth of sophisticated gas grills, making life even easier for the outdoor cook.


by victoriapeckham

If you’re looking for a change from the usual sausages and burgers that are served at barbecues why not add an Asian touch to your food?


Instead of your favourite marinade you could add flavour to your chicken or pork with teriyaki or hoi sin sauce. Alternatively spice rubs, such as five spice or a tandoori mix can be rubbed on to your meat to add extra flavour. Either rub the spices on dry or mix with a small amount of oil to make a thick paste.

Spareribs are great on a barbecue and there are recipes galore on the internet. One of my personal favourites contains black beans, chillies, soy sauce and brown sugar.

If you like your food to have a kick then look out for jars of Szechuan peppercorns which, combined with chilli in a marinade, gives your food a hefty kick. Lamb cut into chunks and marinated for a few hours can be threaded on to skewers and alternated with jalapeno peppers before barbecuing. Serve with a yogurt and cucumber dressing to temper the heat if you feel you may have been heavy handed with the spices!

The Asian influence needn’t stop with your meat either: instead of a green salad, potato salad or coleslaw you could prepare a noodle salad, a Chinese potato salad with chilli paste and sesame oil or a coleslaw made with bok choy instead of your usual cabbage and a rice vinegar dressing. If you like Indian food you could make a batch of spicy basmati rice or a side dish of aubergines cooked with tomatoes and a selection of spices, as accompaniments to your main dishes.