There's no bigger buzz kill than perusing a recipe for a quick meal, finding something that looks perfect,  then seeing those fateful words – 'marinate overnight' – and your plans have to make a screeching U-turn.

So we asked some famed chefs for their favourite quick wins – tasty dishes that can be whipped up in  a jiffy.

Quick lunch

Chicken and rice is a tasty staple made even tastier with this fresh and zingy take from Ben Shewry from Attica.

Ben Shewry's brown rice diet salad

100gm freshly cooked brown basmati rice, warm

150gm kimchi (try the raw kimchi from the Fermentary in Daylesford)

1 Granny Smith apple, shredded

1/4 wombok cabbage, shredded

1 bunch coriander, shredded (including stems)

1 organic and free range chicken breast, gently poached and shredded

1 small clove garlic, finely minced

1 slice of ginger, finely minced

100ml kimchi juice

40ml light soy

40ml GMO-free canola oil

Juice of one lime

salt to taste

Method

In a bowl combine garlic, ginger, kimchi juice, lime juice, light soy and canola oil and mix well. In a large bowl add all other ingredients and toss gently with the dressing. Eat right away!

Vegan soul food

Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse of Fitzroy's Smith and Daughters, as well as Smith and Deli, make some of the tastiest vegan dishes in town. 

For a quick, simple meal full of explosive flavour, they suggest pan-friend peppers (any kind – traditional padrón peppers are the best, poblanos also work well but capsicums will do too.)

Smith and Daughters' pan-fried peppers with crispy garlic

Serves 4–6

60ml (¼  cup) extra-virgin olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, finely sliced 

4 red bullhorn peppers

4 Hungarian peppers

salt flakes

parsley, finely sliced (optional)

Method

Heat oil in a large frying pan with a lid over low heat.

Add the sliced garlic and cook slowly for about 1 minute until golden brown (don't burn it!). Fish out the garlic and set aside for later.

Add the whole peppers (stems and all) and toss through the oil with a large pinch of salt flakes. Cover and cook, without stirring, for about 2 minutes, then turn the peppers over, replace the lid and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove the lid and continue to cook until the peppers begin to collapse and become very soft – a little bit of colour on the peppers is totally fine. Transfer the peppers to a heat-proof serving dish and pour over the warm oil directly from the pan. Scatter with the crispy garlic, parsley (if using), and an extra sprinkling of salt flakes.

This dish is best eaten warm or at room temperature (definitely not cold), with loads of bread to soak up all that incredible oil. 

This recipe is from 'Smith & Daughters: A Cookbook (that happens to be vegan)' by Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse, published by Hardie Grant Books.

Late-night dinner

If you've had a long, long day, the last thing you feel like doing is making an epic, complex meal. Casey Wall, chef at the stellar Bar Liberty in Fitzroy, suggests a hearty bowl of Chilaquiles (loosely described as a nacho soup or braised tortilla chips) which you can make in five minutes – although he's got it down to two! 

Casey Wall's chilaquiles (nachos soup)

1 cup salsa verde (store bought is fine)

2 handfuls tortilla chips

2 eggs, beaten

To serve: Queso fresco, pickled jalapenos, diced onion to top

Note: additional topping suggestions include black beans, sour cream, jack cheese, braised meat, coriander, fresh lime or bacon

Method

Heat the salsa verde in a pot, warm and slightly reduce to thicken.

Add beaten eggs into the salsa and cook until they ribbon through the salsa.

Add the tortilla chips and lightly fold them into the salsa, coating all the chips but being careful not to smash them all up. (You don't want it to become a polenta type dish. The chips should be 50 per cent crunchy and 50 per cent soggy. It is a delicate balance and very personal in regards to preference.)

Place them into a bowl and top with queso fresco, pickled jalapenos, and diced onion. Or, just eat them out of the pot (fewer dishes to do). 

Spur-of-the-moment cocktail party

Sometimes those sunny afternoons can make cavalier types hungry for a spontaneous cocktail party. Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahamowitz of Sydney's famed Bodega and Porteno know their way around a good time, and this TCB (Taking Care of Business) Punch can be knocked together as quick as the pop of a cork.

Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahamowitz's TCB punch

1 watermelon 

2 x 750ml bottles vodka

1.25 litre bottle of Passiona

1.25 litre bottle of lemonade

1.25 litre bottle of ginger ale

2 litre mixed fruit juice

500g tinned mixed fruit in syrup

250g strawberries 

150 g raspberries

Method

Cut open the watermelon from the top ensuring that the opening is big enough for a ladle.  Core out the melon, keeping the flesh and juices to add to the punch later.

Mix all the liquid ingredients in a large separate jug or container, then add the tinned fruit and its syrup.

Slice the strawberries. Dice the watermelon flesh. 

Add some fruit and plenty of ice to the watermelon shell, then pour in enough vodka mixture to fill. Top as needed. 

Image from 'Recipe for a Good Time', by Elvis Abrahamowitz and Ben Milgate, published by Murdoch Books