Tatiana, the Afro-Caribbean restaurant at New York's Lincoln Center, is one of the toughest reservations in the city, thanks in part to dishes like tender Wagyu short rib and head-on shrimp drenched in Creole butter.

But when cooking at home, its chef-owner, Kwame Onwuachi, who also runs restaurants in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas, takes a more laid-back approach.

"People get it twisted, I'm not really pulling out a blender on a Tuesday," said Onwuachi, 36, who splits his time between New York and the Los Angeles area, where he recently bought a house in the San Fernando Valley. "I don't want to do dishes. I just want to eat quickly."

Onwuachi included many of his easy weeknight recipes in his latest cookbook, "All Hours," out this month. The chef grew up in the Bronx, rural Nigeria and Louisiana. The flavors of each influence the book's dishes, which also include more elaborate creations like a Hawaiian whole-roasted duck.

Here, Onwuachi shares a recipe for some seriously zhuzhed-up instant ramen, how his mother's influence shows up in his cooking and the culinary advice he plans to give his 1-year-old daughter.

My pantry is always stocked with: homemade sauces and seasoning blends. My House Spice, which I use on pretty much everything, is my mother's recipe, a Creole and Cajun spice blend with salt, pepper, granulated onion and garlic, cayenne and paprika. I add a little Worcestershire powder for acidity.

My must-have kitchen tools include: salt cellars-one for all the salt I use and one for my House Spice. They're both right there at the ready. I like All-Clad or Made In pans. A good knife is a sharp knife. Some in my collection are Middleton Made Knives, handmade in the U.S., and Misono Knives from Japan.

A recent addition to my tool kit is: Goya sazón packets with cilantro and achiote-so much flavor. I've used them my whole life but they haven't been a staple until recently. I went to the Dominican Republic and I saw them using that in oxtail and moro. I also use it in my Chopped Cheese recipe.

I was drawn to the kitchen at my new house because of: how big it is. My mom blessed the kitchen first. She made a feast of steamed mussels with coconut cream sauce, rib-eye, chicken, rice and sautéed mushrooms.

When I want to unwind I like to make: oxtail. It's a labor of love. You have to marinate it for a day and then clean it properly to make a sauce and simmer it. Making something braised feeds my soul. It's so meditative.

I grew up eating: Top Ramen instant noodles. The flavor is unmatched, but adding a little bit more oomph to it with aromatics, whatever protein you like and some chili oil can turn it into something special. I'll make it on a weekend if I'm just chilling and want to watch Netflix all day.

My cooking has been influenced by: my mom, who is a chef and had a catering company that she operated from the house. We all had to help out to keep the lights on. My mom's side is Creole and I spent a lot of time in Louisiana eating that food. Being Creole, all we do is eat. My other side is Nigerian and every meal takes a whole day to make. In Nigeria, I helped raise livestock and cultivate vegetables. I learned to appreciate where my food came from and how to utilize every ingredient and part of the animal. It shaped how I eat and cook today and it's the reason why I have this profession.

Being in the spotlight is: difficult at times. It helps when I understand that I'm just cooking dinner. It's not that serious. Real pressure is being a brain surgeon and somebody's family is in the lobby.

The culinary advice I will give to my daughter is: to continue to use cooking as a vehicle to amplify your culture. We like to romanticize cooking and call it an art. Well, if it's an art, it's the only art form that actually sustains someone and gives someone nourishment. So have fun with that and make it about your guests, not so much about yourself.