To Make
Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced.
Season beef with salt and pepper in a bowl. Add flour and toss to coat, shake off excess.
Heat 1½ tbsp of oil in a large heavy-based, casserole pan over medium-high heat. Sear beef for 4-5 mins each side or until browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-low on the same pan, add the remaining oil. Stir through onions, garlic, ginger and cinnamon stick and cook for 3-5 mins, or until fragrant then add ABC Sweet Soy Sauce Kecap Manis, oyster sauce, fish sauce, stock/water, coriander and basil, mix well.
Add beef and bring to boil for 2 mins then remove from heat. Place lid and cook in oven for 1½ – 2 hours.
Remove lid, increase oven temperature to 200°C and cook a further 8-10 mins or until sauce has reduced by half and beef has a rich dark crust.
Plate beef, pour sauce over and garnish with coriander and basil. Serve with broccolini and steamed rice.
Boil
Cold Sesame Noodles with Edamame and Vegetables
To Cook
Cook noodles according to the package directions, then drain and run under cold water.
In a large salad bowl combine the noodles with the rest of the ingredients. Add in the dressing and toss well. Garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy right away.
“Swimming Rama” Thai Peanut Sauce with Spinach & Pork (Pra Ram Rong Song)
To Prep
Marinate pork tenderloin with sugar and salt.
Cut water spinach in bite size and separate the leaves and the stems.
Cook rice vermicelli / rice following the package instructions.
To Cook Sauce
Bring coconut cream to boil.
Add curry paste then mix well.
Wait till it boils again, add all remaining ingredients (save a bit of sesame seed and peanuts for garnish).
Bring to boil again then set aside. During the time, get ready for a pot of boiling water for blanching.
To Serve
Cook rice vermicelli first to avoid getting colour from vegetable. Blanch the stems of water spinach first, then blanch the leaves. Set aside.
Blanch the marinated pork for 45-60 secs.
On a plate, place the rice vermicelli or rice at one side, then add the pork and water spinach around the noodles or rice. Ladle the sauce over the pork, garnish with chilli and sprinkle some sesame seeds and peanuts on top. Serve.
Yuzu Mayonnaise Chicken Yakisoba
To Cook
Mix soy sauce, mirin, olive oil, cooking salt, pepper in a small box until combined.
Cook the noodles in rapid boiling water for 3 minutes, discard water and put noodles in ice bath to avoid further cooking. Drain and set aside.
In a pan, gently cook garlic and red chilli in oil until fragrant. Stir fry chicken for 3-4 minutes, add mushrooms and asparagus until cook through. Add noodles and sauce mixture.
Cook, stir and mix through. Topping with Yuzu mayonnaise and serve.
Summer Veges with Wasabi Beetroot Dip
To Cook
Cook tomatoes, cucumber, red capsicum, yellow capsicum, baby cos lettuce, baby corns and asparagus. Massage okras with salt until lightly pickled. Wash off salt and drain excess liquid.
To make the dip, preheat oven to 180°C. Cut beetroot into ¼ wedges (skin on). Coat with olive oil. Wrap in aluminium foil and roast in oven for 30 mins or until cooked through. Peel beetroots skin. Blend with wasabi mayonnaise and salt in a food blender.
Nicely plate the vegetables and serve with the dip.
Juicy Fried Pork Belly with Wasabi Mayonnaise
To Cook
Add pork belly, soy sauce, sugar, cooking sake, water and ginger into a pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Pour enough oil into a large saucepan or wok to come 4cm up the side. Heat over medium-high heat (oil should reach 180-200°C). Add cornflour to the pork. Toss to coat. Deep-fry pork, in batches, for 5 minutes or until light golden and just cooked through. Using tongs, transfer to paper towel to drain.
Serve with wasabi mayonnaise in Japanese soy sauce. You can also skewer the pork for better presentation.
Mille Feuille Nabe
To Make Dipping Sauce
Divide scallions into 4 small bowls, cover with ponzu sauce and add a few dashes of shichimi togarashi. Adjust amount to your preference, set aside.
To Make Mille Feuille Nabe
Wash wombok and drip dry.
Stack about 5 wombok leaves alternate with sliced pork belly. Cut each stack crosswise to the height of the pot.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MFN-3-Large.jpg
Arrange wombok-pork slice stacks in a circle until the entire pot is filled up.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MFN-4-Large.jpg
Stuff in some enoki mushrooms in the centre.
Slot some thin carrot slices in between the wombok for a vibrant outcome.
In a jug, mix dashi with water, sliced ginger, sake, light soy sauce and salt.
Pour over the arranged wombok in the pot. Cover and boil till bubbling.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MFN-5-Large.jpg
Using a skimmer, skim away any scum that floats on the soup.
Let it continue to boil for 5 minutes or till wombok is soft.
Serve with dipping sauce.
Moon Viewing Udon Soup (Tsukimi Udon)
To Prep
Using a damp kitchen towel, wipe the kombu. Cut in half and soak in water for 2 hrs.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tsukimi-2-Large.jpg
To Cook
To make dashi/soup, pour the soaking water and kombu into a pot and cook on medium heat till bubbles start to appear on the wall of pot. Remove kombu. Do not let it boil.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tsukimi-4-Large.jpg
Toss in the dried shiitake mushrooms, cover pot and let boil for 15 mins.
Add in the sliced carrots, fresh shiitake mushrooms and kamaboko, cook for 5 mins. Remove everything and set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tsukimi-5-Large.jpg
Add wakame and boil until they expand, remove and set aside.
Season the dashi with shoyu, sake, sugar and salt.
In another pot, boil water and cook udon according to package instructions. Divide into 2 bowls.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tsukimi-7-Large.jpg
Scoop broth over udon and arrange carrot, kamaboko, shiitake mushrooms, wakame and spring onions on top.
Crack egg and place on top of udon. Serve immediately.
Boiled RD43 Rice with Prawns (Khao Tom Goong)
To Prep
Make soybean paste ginger sauce by combining all ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
Prep condiment to be ready to serve. Set aside.
To Cook
Rinse 250g of RD43 long grain rice until the water runs clear. Add RD43 long grain rice, water, pandan leaf and salt into a pot. Turn on medium heat and cook for about 25 mins till the rice are cooked. Turn off the heat and set aside.
To cook the broth, add all stock ingredients together in a big pot on medium heat. Simmer until chicken are cooked through. Keep removing the froth from top of the broth. Making the clear broth takes about 15 mins.
Use a big strainer to remove all ingredients from the pot and keep the clear broth.
To Serve
Use a small strainer to scoop a single portion of boiled rice into a serving bowl.
Add 3 peeled cooked Vannamei prawns.
Add about 250ml clear broth.
Top with some fried garlic, chopped Chinese celery and some white peppercorns. Serve with soybean paste ginger sauce.
Durian Sticky Rice (Khao Niew Durian)
To Prep Thai Glutinous Rice
Soak Thai glutinous rice in cold water for 3 hrs.
Prepare the coconut cream mixture by combining the coconut cream, sugar and salt into saucepan.
On medium heat, stir the coconut mixture to dissolve the sugar without bringing it to boil. Turn off the heat and set aside.
After 3 hrs, drain off excess water from glutinous rice. Steam the rice for 15 mins. Half way through steaming, you may open the steamer to turn the rice once.
Put the cooked glutinous rice into a large mixing bowl, add the coconut cream mixture and stir to mix well. Cover the bowl with a tea towel, after 5 mins stir the rice mixture once more and cover again with tea towel then set aside.
To Prep Coconut Cream with Durian
Add 500ml of coconut cream, palm sugar and salt into saucepan.
Turn on the heat and bring coconut mixture to simmer till sugar dissolved. Remove from heat. Set aside till cooled down to room temperature.
Add fresh durian into coconut mixture. Break durian flesh into chunk piece. Ready to serve.
To Serve
Place glutinous rice portion size into serving bowl, then top with durian coconut mixture, making sure some durian chunks are on top of the rice.
Serve immediately.
Fried Brussel Sprouts with Miso Glaze
To Cook
Pre-heat deep fryer or a large pot of oil with vegetable oil to 160°C.
Add cut sprouts to the oil and begin to fry.
Add all remaining ingredients to a stainless steel pot and gently bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat.
Continue to fry the sprouts until tender inside, golden brown and crunchy.
Drain sprouts on absorbent paper.
Add Miso glaze to the fried sprouts, add flaked salt to taste. Stir well to ensure the sprouts are coated in the glaze.
Serve while warm.
Boiled Potato and Green Bean Salad with Wasabi Mayonnaise
To Make Salad
Mix mayonnaise and wasabi paste in a bowl.
Drain excess liquid and cool down the cooked vegetables to room temperature.
Add vegetables to the bowl of wasabi mayonnaise and marinade with your hands so the vegetables get an even coating.
Serve in desired bowl.
You may change the ratio of mayonnaise and wasabi to your liking. Broccoli also works well too.
Tip
Do not overcook the vegetables as it will become too soft and wet. Use a skewer to pierce potatoes to check if it is cooked through. If the skewer goes through easily without breaking the potato, perfect.