To Cook
Cook the chicken fat over medium heat and wait for it to turn crispy. Keep the crispy fat to garnish the noodles.
Soak the shiitake mushrooms for about 2 mins. Heat up a pan and add the cooking oil and garlic, frying for about 30 secs. Add the ginger and fry for about 30 secs.
Add the chicken and cook for 1 min. Add the mushrooms, 1 cup
of chicken stock and seasonings and bring to a boil before lowering the heat to simmer for 15 mins.
Season to taste. Add the hard boiled eggs to the sauce and leave for one day so that the eggs absorb the flavour and turn brown.
Cook the noodles based on the package, rinsing with cold water after cooking.
Blanch the bok choy until it has become soft and rinse with cold water. Then, set roughly chop it and leave it to the side.
Remove any fat from the chicken and cut the chicken into small portions. Dice the fat and cook it on low-medium heat, waiting for the fat to ooze out. Take out the crispy chunks and save them.
Place the 3 cups of chicken stock in a small sauce pan and let it simmer gently and season with salt and sugar to taste.
Remove the hard-boiled eggs from the sauce and cut into desired portions.
Add 1 tsp of the chicken fat/oil and 2-3 tbsp of the chicken stew sauce to one bowl with some noodles. Divide the noodles, chicken meat and mushrooms among the bowls. Top the bowl with green onions, fried shallots, egg and crunchy pieces. Pour some chicken stock in a smaller bowl with some spring onion as garnish.
Serve while hot.
Boil
Korean Spicy Beef Soup (Yukgaejang)
To Make Stock
In a large saucepan, add skirt steak and water. Bring it to a boil. Skim off any impurities that float to the top. Add onions, cloves of garlic and black pepper. Simmer stock for about 1½ hrs.
Discard onion, garlic and black pepper from stock. Take meat out and let it cool. Shred or cut meat into 5cm shreds. Set meat side. Set drained stock aside.
To Cook
Heat oil and chilli oil in a large saucepan. Add chilli powder and garlic, sauté over a gentle heat for about 2 mins, taking care not to burn chilli powder. Turn off the heat.
Add meat and then all the remaining ingredients (except stock, noodles and eggs). Mix well and let sit to marinate for at least 15 mins.
Add stock to the seasoned meat and vegetables. Bring this to a boil, then simmer for about 5 mins. Add in the noodles, then pour in the eggs in streams. Season with salt. Remove from heat and serve hot.
Tips – How to Cook Braken
Soak dried bracken at least overnight in cold water.
Boil rehydrated bracken for about 5-10 mins.
Drain bracken and soak again in cold water for about 1 hr. Drain until ready to use.
Osmanthus Jelly
To Prep
Combine gelatin powder with 100ml water, mix well and set aside.
To Cook
Pour 600ml water and dried osmanthus, if using, in a pot and bring to boil, then lower to medium heat.
Optional: use a mesh strainer to remove some of the osmanthus for a smoother texture.
Mix in the rehydrated gelatin and stir until dissolved.
Pour in the rock sugar and stir until dissolved.
Add in the goji berries and osmanthus jam or honey. Mix well and remove from heat. Let cool.
Pour into a mould and refrigerate for at least 4 hrs.
Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Crusted Tofu
To Prep
To begin, combine the breadcrumbs, sesame seeds and optional chilli flakes in to 1 bowl and the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and kecap manis in to another.
Dip tofu in to the soy vinegar mixture and then in to the breadcrumb mixture; ensuring that the tofu is well coated. Set aside the remaining soy vinegar mixture for later.
To Cook
In large saucepan, boil the soba noodles according to the packet instructions.
Towards the last minute of boiling the soba noodles, add the julienned carrots and cut snow peas to blanch them.
Drain the soba noodles and vegetables and rinse them under cold water to stop them from overcooking and to remove the extra starch from the noodles.
In a pan, heat up 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over a medium heat. Cook the tofu slices in batches, frying them until they are golden brown.
Transfer the cooked tofu slices on to a plate with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
Wipe off the excess oil from the frying pan before adding a tablespoon of oil and heating over a medium heat.
Fry the ginger until it becomes fragrant and then add the white part of the spring onions and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the leftover soy vinegar mixture and bring it to a boil before reducing to a simmer and continuing to cook until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Add the red cabbage to the noodles and other vegetables and spoon in some of the sauce. Mix the noodles until they have been coated evenly.
To serve, place some of the soba noodles on to the plate and top with the tofu and the green part of the spring onions. Drizzle with the extra sauce.
Sweet Osmanthus Taro
To Cook
Boil water in a steamer or wok, place the taros over a rack and steam for about 10 mins. Remove and peel the skin, then cut into 2cm cubes.
In a small pot, boil 1L water and add in the taro cubes. Cook for 1-2 mins and add bicarbonate soda, rock sugar and brown sugar. If you are using the dried osmanthus, add them in too. Stir gently until the sugar are dissolved, about 1-2 mins.
Dilute the lotus root/potato starch in a small bowl of cold water, about 200ml, mix well. Add the solution into the soup, stir quickly for 1 min.
Add in the sweet osmanthus jam or honey, stir to mix well and turn off the heat. Serve in a small bowl, garnish with some dried osmanthus.
Miso Konjac (Konnyaku Dengaku)
To Prep
Score the konnyaku with small diagonal cuts on both sides of the slab, then cut into bite-sized cubes.
To Cook
In a small pot of boiling water, boil the konnyaku cubes for 2 mins. Strain and let cool.
In a clean small pot, add in all the Sauce ingredients and cook over medium heat. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
On a serving plate, place the konnyaku pieces and pour the miso sauce over the top. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and serve.
Shiratama Dango
To Prep
In a mixing bowl, mix shiratamako and sugar evenly. Add 2 tbsp water and mix with a spatula until well combined.
Press the mixture with your hand to knead into a ball. Slowly add more water to form the ball or wet your hand slightly to incorporate the water into the dough.
Use the dough to pick up the crumbs and knead until soft and smooth, like “earlobe”.
Roll into a ball and form a log. Pinch off dough to make 2cm balls. Flatten the balls slightly into disks and press to make an indent at the top center.
To Cook
In a pot of boiling water, cook the shiratama dango for 2 mins or until they start to float.
Remove and soak in ice water to let cool.
Serve within 30 mins. Alternatively, store in water and keep in the fridge. To serve, cook in boiling water again to soften.
Thai Style Butterfly Pea and Coconut Jelly
To Make Butterfly Pea Jelly
Boil the butterfly pea water, add sugar and agar-agar powder. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour 50 ml of each syrup into different mixing bowls. Set aside.
To Make Coconut Jelly
Boil the coconut milk in a pot over low heat. Add sugar, salt and agar-agar powder into the pot. Stir continuously until the mixture is well mixed.
Pour the coconut jelly on the top of butterfly pea jelly.
Place the filled jelly moulds in the fridge until the jelly is set. Serve.
Grilled Banana Wrapped in Sticky Rice (Chuoi Boc Nep Nuong)
To Prep the Bananas
Peel bananas and place in a bowl. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar and toss to coat. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 mins.
To Prep the Rice
Drain the soaked glutinous rice and toss in a pinch of salt.
Cook the glutinous rice with 60ml coconut milk, 60ml water and 2 pandan leaves. The liquid amount should just barely cover the rice.
When the rice is cooked, add 1 tbsp sugar and mix well.
While the rice is still hot, divide into 4 equal portions, transfer each portion onto a cling wrap-lined cutting board and knead the rice with a rice ladle until they stick together.
Layer another piece of cling wrap on top and press until rice is about 10×10 cm in size and 0.5 cm thick. Remove the top layer of cling wrap and sprinkle some shredded coconut on rice.
Place a small banana in the center of the rice. Lift up the edges of the cling wrap and carefully roll rice around the banana. Twist the cling wrap edges and shape into a log. Then, wrap around the parcel lengthwise with a pandan leaf.
Grill the rolls over a barbie or in the oven at 250°C for about 20-30 mins.
To make the coconut sauce, add 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt and ½ tsp cornstarch. Stir to combine well and bring the sauce to boil.
When the glutinous rice layer is lightly golden, remove the pandan leaves and cut into bite-size pieces. Drizzle with coconut sauce and serve.
Fish Sauce Caramel
To Cook
Turn on the saucepan to a medium heat. Add 2 cups of sugar into the pan, then add ½ cup of fish sauce. Stir through to melt the sugar. This is a dish about balance so taste as you go. Careful as the caramel gets very hot. Melt it down and cook until it intensifies. Taste when it cools down a bit and add more fish sauce to taste.
Next add 3 star anise, 1 stick of cinnamon, 1 bird’s eye chilli cut in half length ways, 1 shallot sliced thinly. Mix altogether and cook until sauce thickens out, sugar is completely melted and it develops a deeper colour. This will take about 10-15 mins on a medium heat.
Let cool then strain off the fish sauce caramel to remove all of the aromatics. Add the juice of 1 lime and set aside.
Heat a fry pan with olive oil. While the pan is heating chop 1 large bunch of broccolini in half. Place into the pan and fry quickly. At the end add sugar snap peas that have been cut into thirds to warm them through.
Take the pan off the heat and coat with 2 or 3 tbsp of the Fish Sauce Caramel. Mix this through so it is shiny and coated with the sauce. Add more as needed.
Plate into a large bowl and add a light drizzle on top for garnish. Chop 1 long chilli diagonally and a sprinkle of fried shallots for garnish. Enjoy!
Hong Kong Style Spam and Egg Macaroni Soup
To Cook
In a frying pan, add in the spam slices and pan-fry until crispy. Remove and set aside.
In a medium pot, bring the chicken broth to boil. Add in the macaroni, frozen vegetables and spam. Cook until all ingredients are heated and cooked.
Add in the soy sauce, salt, black pepper and sesame oil.
Ladle the macaroni soup into a serving bowl and place an egg on top. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Agedashi Fish
To Prep
Mix plain flour, baking powder, egg white and soda water to prepare tempura batter.
To Cook
Heat vegetable oil to 175°C.
Coat each slice of fish with tempura batter, deep fry each piece for approximately 6 mins or until cooked and batter turns crispy and brown. Set aside.
Combine Wafu Curry ingredients in a pot, boil until curry blocks are dissolved and turn off the heat. Put vegetables in the pot and mix well.
Arrange fish tempura on a serving plate, pour the cooked sauce over the fish. Garnish with spring onions and black sesame seeds.