To Prep
Place noodles in boiling water for about 3 mins. Loosen up noodles with tongs. Drain well and set aside.
Place warm water in a large bowl and stir through the coconut milk. Dip the rice paper in warm water and remove immediately. Place rice paper on a clean chopping board or plate.
Layer the tofu or meat, lettuce, cucumber, herbs, carrot, cucumber and vermicelli at the end of the rice paper closest to you, bring the end of rice paper over ingredients, then fold the two sides of the rice paper into the middle to enclose the fillings and roll up the rice paper roll tightly.
To make the sauce, place garlic, chillies and sugar in a mortar. Pound mixture into a paste. Add fish sauce, lemon/lime juice and water. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.
Serve rice paper rolls with dipping sauce and crushed peanuts.
Boil
Umeshu Plum Wine Granita
To Make
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Stir until sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil.
Lower heat and simmer for 8 mins. Set aside to cool.
Combine the sugar syrup with the umeshu and prune juice.
Pour into a metal container and place in the freezer.
After 2 hrs, or when mixture begins to freeze around the edges, use a fork to scrape the frozen sections into the mixture. Repeat every 30 mins until mixture has frozen with even-sized ice crystals.
To serve, spoon granita into serving bowls/cups and garnish with mint leaves.
Pickled Daikon Radish (Takuan)
To Prep
Wash daikon radishes, then leave out to dry for 4 days.
In a saucepan, add the water, sugar, salt, vinegar and turmeric powder. Bring to the boil, stir until well combined, then remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Remove the top of the radishes, peel off the brown spots and roots on the surface, cut into half lengthwise, then place radish and liquid mixture into a zip lock bag and seal. Press gently and turn the bag around until everything is well mixed.
Store in fridge for 1 month, massaging the pickle with the pickling liquid once a day.
To serve, cut into any shapes you like.
Tip: You can speed up the pickling time by cutting up the daikon into smaller pieces.
Peach Gum Dessert Soup
To Prep
In a pot, boil 1L of water. Meanwhile, place the peach gum in a heatproof bowl, then pour the hot water over it. Set aside and soak for 2 hrs or until softened.
Drain the rehydrated peach gum, then rinse peach gum. If there are impurities in the peach gum, use kitchen tweezers to remove.
Place in a colander and rinse again.
To Cook
Add the peach gum and pandan leaves in a pot, then bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, then simmer for 30 mins, stirring occasionally.
Add longan and red dates, and continue to simmer for 1 hr, stirring occasionally.
Add the rock sugar and simmer for another 30 mins, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
Add wolfberries and simmer for 2-5 mins, or until they have softened.
Discard pandan leaves, then serve hot or chilled.
Vegetarian Chinese Dumplings
To Prep
To make the chilli oil, place the dried chilli flakes in a heatproof bowl. Heat oil gently in a saucepan. Take off heat for about 30 secs and then pour over chilli flakes. Leave to cool.
To Cook
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in frying pan and sauté onion and shiitake mushrooms until onion turns translucent. Add spinach and cook to remove any excess liquid. Remove from heat and mix with the mashed tofu, vegan mince, cornflour, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, grated ginger, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to combine.
Place filling in the middle of pastry, slightly wet one half the pastry with a little bit of water, then fold pastry in half to enclose the filling and then crimp the pastry according to your style.
Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add about 15 dumplings to the frying pan at a time. Cook on medium-low heat for 1-2 mins until base of the dumplings are golden brown.
Add ½ cup hot water, cover with lid and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.
Remove lid and cook until the bases crisp up.
Serve with the dipping sauce, julienned ginger and chilli oil.
Note: To boil the dumplings, place dumplings in boiling water until they float to the surface. Add a cup of cold water and bring to boil. Remove dumplings from water and serve.
Fertilised Duck Eggs (Hot Vit Lon)
To Prep
Fill a pot with water, place the fertilised duck eggs and 1 tsp of salt into the water. Turn on the heat to high and cook for 20-30 mins.
In a saucer, mix the remaining salt and pepper, then squeeze in the lime juice and mix well.
When the duck eggs are done, remove from heat and serve together with seasoning sauce and Vietnamese mint leaves. Enjoy while it is hot.
Singaporean Hokkien Mee
To Prep
In a large pot, combine the water and chicken stock powder. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer to keep warm.
Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking, then add 1 tbsp oil. Add in the prawn shells and heads, and fry until fragrant.
Add the fried prawn shells and heads, pork bones and dried prawns into the stock. Boil over a medium heat for 45 mins.
Trim the excess fat on the pork belly, then add into the stock and boil for 45 mins. Remove and allow to cool, then slice into strips.
Blanch the prawns and squid in the stock. Use a spider or a slotted spoon to remove, then cut the squid into rings. Set aside.
To Cook
Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking, then add 1 tbsp oil. Add in egg and scramble.
Push the egg to the side, the add in the Hokkien noodles and vermicelli. Gently stir fry for a 2-3 mins, or until noodles begin to sear.
Add the garlic, fish sauce, pepper, sesame oil and ⅓ of the prawn stock. Fry until the stock has dried up, then add another ⅓ of the stock. Cover the wok with a lid, and reduce to medium-low heat. Cook for 5-7 mins.
Add the prawns, squid, garlic chives and stir through. Pour in the remaining stock, stir fry for 1 min.
Serve hot with sambal and lime.
Seafood Tom Yum Soup (Tom Yum Thale)
To Cook
Bring water or chicken stock to the boil in a saucepan.
Add tom yum paste, kaffir lime leaves, onions, chillies and lemongrass, boil for 2 mins.
Add prawns, calamari, ling fish, mussels, and mushrooms. Season with fish sauce and lime juice. Cover and simmer until cooked.
Garnish with lime slices. Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.
Miso Devilled Eggs
To Cook
Place the eggs in to a large pot and fill with water till the eggs are fully submerged. Place the pot on to the stove and heat over a high heat until the water begins to boil.
When the water has reached a rolling boil, remove the pot from the heat and let the eggs cook for at least 12 to 15 minutes.
When the eggs have boiled, drain the water and rinsing them under cold water to make them cool enough to handle and peel.
Peel the eggs slowly, making sure to try to keep the egg whites as intact as possible.
When the eggs have been peeled, cut them in half with a sharp knife and then remove their yolks. Set the egg whites aside and transfer the egg yolks in to a mixing bowl.
In the mixing bowl, mash the eggs yolks and then add in the mayonnaise, mustard and the vinegar.
Mix the yolks until they are well incorporated and then add in the soy sauce, miso paste and sriracha. Mix well again before passing the mixture through a fine sieve to ensure that the filling will be smooth.
Transfer the filling in to a piping bag with the desired tip. Pipe the egg yolk mixture back on to the egg whites.
Garnish the eggs with sesame seeds and chilli threads for some extra heat. Serve!
Honey Soy Tempeh Soba Noodle Salad
To Prep
Slice the tempeh in to small rectangular sections and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients together and mix well. Add in the tempe slices and mix to coat. Let the tempeh marinate for at least 15 mins.
Meanwhile, remove the kale leaves from the stems and rinse, drain and pat dry; ready to fry.
Fill a small pot with enough oil to deep fry over a medium heat until the oil reaches a temperature of about 180 °C.
Fry the kale in batches for about a minute to a minute and a half each batch. When they have cooked, remove them from the oil and let them drain on paper towels or a wire rack.
Season with salt and pepper as they drain.
To Cook
In a pot, boil enough water to cook the soba noodles. Cook the noodles as per the packet instruction and when they have cooked through, rinse and drain them before setting them aside.
In a frying pan, add half of the peanut oil and heat it over a medium-high heat. Add in the broccolini and stir-fry until it has become tender but still crispy.
When the broccolini has cooked, transfer them out of the pan and add in the remaining peanut oil in to the pan.
When the oil has heated up, add in the tempeh and fry for about 2 mins on each side. Reserve the leftover marinade and ensure that you pay attention to how quickly the tempeh will cook as the sides will caramelise quickly.
When the tempe is cooked, remove them from the pan and turn the stove off. Pour the remaining marinade on to the pan and let the residual heat warm it up.
To plate, arrange the noodles on to a dish and top with the broccolini, tempeh, kale and then drizzle with the sauce from the pan. Dust with shichimi togarashi for a bit of extra heat and serve!
Pickled Apple with Chilli
To Make
In a saucepan, bring water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt and dried tangerine peels to the boil. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then remove from heat and allow cool to room temperature.
Slice apples using chip cutter, place in a large bowl, add in lime juice and sliced chilli, then mix through gently.
Place the sliced apples into an airtight sterilized jar, then pour the pickling liquid into the jar to just cover the apple.
Store in the fridge for 1 hr and for up to 2 days.
Pork and Vegetable Ramen
To Prep Chicken Stock
Add all ingredients in a pot and bring to boil. Put the lid on and cook for 2-3 hrs over low heat.
To Prep Noodles
Cook as per pack instruction. Drain and set aside.
To Cook
In a small pot, cook soup ingredients and bring to boil.
In a frying pan, stir fry in garnish ingredients till cooked.
Place noodles in a bowl, followed by soup and with garnish on top.
Serve hot.