Sebby Holmes never meant to become a chef. At 13, he was washing pots in Oxfordshire hotels, dreaming of becoming a food writer. After earning his journalism degree came a backpacking trip through Thailand in 2008 that changed everything.
Back in London, jobless and directionless, Holmes stumbled into The Begging Bowl in Peckham – and fell hard for Thai food. He worked his way up to sous chef under Jane Alty, got headhunted to run Smoking Goat in Soho, then did what any sensible 26-year-old would do: borrowed £4,000 from his granddad and started selling Thai food from the boot of his car.
That was Farang’s beginning in 2015 – the name means ‘foreigner’ in Thai, Holmes’ way of acknowledging he’s a British chef who’s never claimed authenticity, just loyalty to flavour. After street markets and pop-ups, his stepfather Marco offered him the lease of his old Italian restaurant in Highbury. What started as a six-month experiment has become one of London’s most beloved Thai spots, earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a past place in the National Restaurant Awards top 100.
Now in his 30s with over 20 years in professional kitchens Holmes has published two successful cookbooks – Cook Thai and Thai in 7 – and launched Payst with his brother Tony, selling the curry pastes that power Farang’s kitchen to home cooks across the UK. His motto? “More is More” – most of his dishes contain between 20 and 40 ingredients.
These three recipes capture Holmes’ approach perfectly: technically precise, properly spicy and full of the kind of details that turn good food into something memorable. They’re dishes that work equally well for a Tuesday night dinner or a proper weekend barbecue – exactly the kind of cooking that’s made Farang essential eating in the capital.
‘Gai Yang’, Marinated Whole BBQ Chicken
Sweet, salty, spicy grilled chicken is a very common Thai street food snack, and a meal in and of itself, too. Smokey and charred chicken straight from the barbecue is chopped up into bite-sized pieces and served with som tam salad, dipping sauces and sticky rice. For this recipe I have shown how to brine the meat before cooking. By soaking the meat in this salt solution, it allows for the flesh to hold more liquid, resulting in the meat being juicy and delicious, even after cooking on a high heat. Despite being a definite upgrade in terms of flavour and texture, it is not essential to brine the meat. If you like, skip this first step and go straight to the marinade.
Serves 4 (GF)
Ingredients
- 1 spatchcocked medium chicken, 1.5-2kg in weight
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground white peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
- 1 tablespoon red turmeric
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey, soft brown sugar can be used instead if you like (a separate 50g of sugar is needed if brining the meat)
- 100g table salt
Method
- Firstly, make the brine. In a saucepan add 1 litre of water, 100g table salt and the 50g brown sugar and then heat all together on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until all the solids have fully dissolved. This makes a 10% salt solution brine, which is quite strong, for example sea water is 3.5% salt. This intense solution allows for a quick brine, however I would recommend not tasting this one. Once the brine is ready, allow to cool and then submerge the chicken in the solution and leave in the fridge for 4 hours, you will want a tray to do this.
- Next, make the marinade. In a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic cloves, turmeric and white pepper to a coarse paste. Next add the coriander seeds, oyster sauce, fish sauce and honey to this mix and combine using the pestle to grind the marinade together. Taste a tiny bit, it should be sweet and salty. Add a little more sugar if you have a sweet tooth, bear in mind this will taste intense as its purpose is to flavour a whole chicken, not to be eaten alone. When happy, take the marinade and smother the spatchcocked chicken completely, making sure to rub the marinade into the meat. Wrap in clingfilm and then put in the fridge for a further 2 hours.
- Next, cook the chicken. Either light up the barbecue to a medium grilling heat or pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade. If barbecuing, place the chicken bone side down above the medium heat and leave to seal for 10-15 minutes. This allows the skin side to dry. When golden brown on the cooking side, flip the chicken skin side down and leave for a further 10-25 minutes until the skin is crispy and golden brown with a little char. Baste the meat in the residual marinade towards the end of the cooking process. If cooking in the oven, place the chicken on a baking tray skin side up and roast for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and crispy, baste in the residual marinade towards the end of the cooking process. You can test when the chicken is cooked either with a temperature probe or by checking the colour of the flesh. If you have a probe place it into the chicken leg, the bone makes it the last part of a chicken to cook typically so if the leg meat is cooked it is safe to say the rest is. If the chicken is 70 degrees centigrade or above, remove from the heat, rest for 5 minutes and then serve. If you don’t have a probe, make an incision to the bone on the leg and make sure that the meat is white and the juices are running clear, if this is the case then it is cooked.
- Lastly serve. Chop the chicken into 8 pieces, making sure to distribute the white and the dark meat evenly into 4 portions. Serve with sticky rice and some kind of sweet, sour and spicy salad or dipping sauce.
Makrut Lime & Chilli Salted Corn On The Cob, With Crushed Cashew Nuts
This must be one of the easiest things to pull out the bag ever. I’ve used coconut oil to lather the seasoning over the corn on the cob in this recipe to keep it vegan, however if you replace the coconut oil for butter it also makes for a delicious lunch. Despite this, using butter is not necessary alongside the added creaminess from the cashew nuts. I like it spicy as you can see from the amount of birds eye chillies used. For me the spice is important in this recipe to balance with the natural sweetness from the corn but if you like you can reduce the chilli at your own will.
Serves 2 as a side (VE/GF)
Ingredients
- 2 makrut lime leaves, finely sliced
- 4 corn on the cob
- 2 garlic cloves, diced or thinly sliced
- 4 birds eye chilli, finely chopped, less if you don’t like it spicy
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, gently melted to a liquid
- 2 tablespoons roasted cashew nuts, lightly pounded in a pestle or chopped
- 1 pinch flaked sea salt
Method
- This is more of an assemble than a method. In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil, lime leaves, garlic, kaffir lime leaves and chilli. Next, using your hands, massage the seasoning into the corn on the cob, taking your time and ensuring that every part is jammed full of the seasoning. Next sprinkle the salt evenly over all the corn on the cob, it should stick to the coconut oil with ease.
- Next cook the cobs. For best results roast them over a medium heat on the barbecue for 15-20 minutes, rotating regularly to ensure an even cook on every side. The corn will be golden brown in appearance and will soften when ready to eat. Alternatively, you can place these in an oven, pre-heated to 200 degrees centigrade for around 15-20 minutes until they are ready to eat.
- Once satisfied that the corn is cooked, remove from the heat and sprinkle with the cashew nuts and then serve. Bulk out with jasmine rice and salad for a more filling lunch.
Blistered Tomato & Lime Salad
Always store your tomatoes in a fruit bowl, never the fridge. This has been a pet hate of mine for years. Tomatoes are porous, and take on the flavours of the things around them, so if you leave them in the fridge they’ll end up tasting like your Camembert. It’s of particular importance in this recipe, which uses tomatoes both because of their deliciousness and their high water content. By blistering them on the BBQ the moisture within takes on a smoky flavour that turns this simple salad into something truly amazing.
This is great as a side salad with meat and fish, but if you want to make it a main meal serve with some rice.
Serves 2 as a side (VE/GF)
Ingredients
- 200g, vine cherry tomatoes
- 2 beef tomatoes, sliced into 8 chunks, big enough to put on BBQ
- 100g green tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or dark soft brown sugar)
- 2 whole limes, 1 juiced and 1 diced with the zest still on
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 50ml soy sauce
- juice of 1 clementine
- 2 long red chillies, stems removed
- 1 stick lemongrass, outer layer removed and very thinly sliced
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 50ml vegetable stock
- 15g coriander leaves, washed and picked
- 15g mint leaves, washed and roughly torn
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons sliced Thai shallots (or banana shallots)
Method
- First, grill all the tomatoes and the chillies on the BBQ. Ideally, this should be done over a wood fire, as the flavour is better, but if you have an electric or gas BBQ they will still take on a smoky flavour. Place them onto direct heat and cook for around five minutes on each side until they are blistered and charred all over and have softened slightly. As soon as they are cooked, put them straight into a mixing bowl so no juices are lost, as this all contributes to the salad dressing. Add the sugar immediately, so that it melts.
- Next add the lime juice, soy sauce and clementine juice to the bowl. Stir, taste and season a little if needed – it should be sweet, salty, sour and smoky.
- Lastly add the remaining ingredients, delicately toss together and serve.
And if you’re after the real thing, straight from the source, why not join us in Bangkok next, for a taste of the Thai capital’s famous street food? How about you get the plane ticket, and we’ll get the food when we arrive? How does that sound? Hello….?
