To Cook
In a stock pot, bring water to boil and add in the monk fruit. After 3-5 mins, break the monk fruits to pieces using the back of a ladle or spatula.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to boil again. Lower the heat to simmer covered for 1 hr. Serve hot or warm.
Boil
Blanched Bok Choy with Soy Sauce
To Cook
Bring a pot of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, drizzle some oil into the pot and blanch the bok choy for 1 min. Remove and drain.
Place bok choy onto a plate and drizzle the soy sauce and sesame oil over it.
Garnish with red chilli and serve.
Pearl Milk Tea Popsicles
To Cook
In a saucepan, bring water to boil over high heat. Reduce to medium low, add tea and simmer for 5 mins. Cover saucepan with lid, remove from heat and set aside for 10 mins.
Add condensed milk to a measuring cup/jug. Use a small sieve to strain tea over, pressing excess liquid from tea leaves. Use a whisk/fork to mix together.
Using a fork/slotted spoon, add 5-6 pearls to the bottom of popsicle mould. Pour milk tea mixture to fill halfway. Freeze for 1-2 hrs or until almost frozen.
Add remaining pearls into each mould and fill to the top with remaining milk tea mixture. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until solid.
To serve, run mould under hot water for several seconds. Gently pull popsicle stick to remove. Serve immediately.
Pandan Juice with Jelly
To Prepare Jelly
In a pot, mix water with agar agar powder. Heat the pot over low heat and stir constantly until agar agar powder is dissolved.
Add sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat, stirring until jelly is cooled down slightly.
Pour the jelly mixture into a square mould. Place in the fridge until jelly is set.
To Prepare Juice
Heat the water in a large pot over medium heat.
Wash the pandan leaves. Squeeze them before carefully placing them into the pot, and bring the water to boil over medium heat.
After 10 mins, remove the pandan leaves. Turn the heat off and add sugar, pandan extract and salt. Stir until the sugar and salt is completely dissolved.
Strain the pandan juice through a cheesecloth into a jug. Move pandan juice into the fridge to chill completely.
Cut the jelly into small rectangular pieces and add 1-2 tbsp into each glass. Pour over pandan juice, add ice and serve.
Indonesian Glutinous Rice Balls in Ginger Syrup (Wedang Ronde)
To Make the Ginger Syrup
Combine the ginger, lemongrass, pandan leaves, sugar and 500ml of water in to a saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
After 15 mins of simmering, remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the syrup to remove the larger ingredients.
Set the syrup aside.
To Make the Rice Balls
In a food processor or blender, mix the roasted peanuts and sugar together.
In a separate mixing bowl, place the glutinous flour and slowly pour in the water while kneading the flour.
Continue to pour the water until the dough has a started to take a play dough like consistency.
Divide the dough in to about 20 small balls. If you want to add colours to the dough, do it now while dividing the dough.
Roll out one of the balls in to a flat disc and place about a teaspoon of the peanut filling in to the centre.
Curl up the sides around the filling and roll the dough to return it to a ball shape and then repeat with the rest of the dough.
To avoid the rice balls from drying out, cover them with a damp towel.
To Cook the Rice Balls
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then gently drop each ball in to it.
Cook the rice balls until they begin to float and then remove them from the pot.
To serve, place a few of the rice balls in to a bowl and ladle over some of the ginger syrup.
Pork Ribs, Lotus Root and Peanut Soup
To Cook
Blanch the pork in boiling water for 5 minutes and remove it from the water. Clean off any impurities and set them aside.
Put all the ingredients into a pot and add water. Ensure the water covers all the ingredients by 4-5cm, otherwise, add more water to the pot.
Bring the water to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 3 hours or until the pork is tender.
Alternatively, if using a slow cooker, bring the ingredients and water to boil. Then, transfer pot contents to a slow cooker to cook at low for 5-6 hours.
Season with salt and serve.
Meatballs in Thai Egg Drop Soup
To Prep
In a large bowl, combine minced pork thoroughly with soy sauce, sesame oil, corn flour, salt and white pepper. Add minced mushrooms, carrots, garlic and shallots. Mix thoroughly until well combined. Marinate the meatball mixture in the refrigerator for at least 3 hrs or best, overnight.
To Cook
Remove from the refrigerator and mix again. Using hands, press the mixture together so that the ingredients will bind well. Preheat oven with fan at 205°C. Place aluminium foil over baking tray and lightly oil the surface of the aluminium foil. Roll meatball mixture into balls of 3-4cm in diameter and place onto the well-oiled aluminium foil. Bake for 20-25 mins until browned.
While baking the meatballs, heat up sesame oil in a pot and add in minced ginger and chillies. Stir fry until fragrant. Then add chicken stock, water, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice. Allow to boil over medium heat. Give the soup a taste and further add fish sauce and lime juice by 1 tsp intervals according to your liking.
Turn the heat to low and slowly stir in eggs to create ribbons. Put in carrots, spring onions and coriander. Give a quick stir and remove from heat.
Ladle egg drop soup into serving bowls. Gently drop the meatballs into the soup and serve.
Kimchi Meatball Stew
To Prep
In a large bowl, combine minced pork with soy sauce, sesame oil, corn flour, salt and white pepper. Add minced mushrooms, carrots, garlic and shallots.
Mix thoroughly until well combined. Marinate the meatball mixture in the refrigerator for at least 3 hrs or best, overnight.
To Cook
Remove from the refrigerator and mix again. Using hands to press the mixture together so that the ingredients will bind well.
Preheat oven with fan at 205°C. Place aluminium foil over baking tray and lightly oil the surface of the aluminium foil.
Roll meatball mixture into balls of 3-4cm in diameter and place onto the well-oiled aluminium foil.
Bake for 20-25 mins until browned.
While baking the meatballs, mix together kimchi, yellow onion, fried tofu, enoki mushrooms, spring onions, gochujang, sugar, salt and water into a pot.
Over medium heat, bring the stew to boil. Then, bring down to low heat and allow to simmer for 15 mins.
Remove meatballs from the oven and add into the stew. Continue to simmer for 1 min.
Ladle kimchi meatball stew into serving bowls and top with an egg yolk. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Hokkaido Soup Curry
To Cook
In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Then add in ginger, garlic and onion. Cook until softened. Pour in flour and mix well. Stir in curry powder, garam masala and cayenne, mix well. Gently pour in chicken stock, sake, soy sauce and mirin. Throw in bay leaves and bring up the heat to allow the soup to simmer vigorously.
Add in chicken legs and readjust the heat to allow soup to simmer gently. Leave to cook with lid partially covered for 45 mins until chicken is tender.
Meanwhile, cook rice and heat up oil over medium heat for deep frying in a wok or heavy bottomed pot. Ensure vegetables are dry before putting them in. Fry in batches until lightly browned and crisp. Dish out and drain off excess oil on kitchen towels.
To serve, ladle some soup into individual serving bowls. Place 1 piece of chicken leg at the bottom of each bowl. Then, top each bowl with fried vegetables equally. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Korean Spicy Beef Soup (Yukgaejang)
To Cook
In a large pot, submerge the brisket in water and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that floats in the water. Then bring the heat down to medium low and simmer for 1½ hrs until brisket is tender, where a fork easily penetrates through the meat. Meat should be easily shredded by hand. Remove the brisket and allow to rest and cool.
Once cooled, shred the meat into small pieces and place into a large bowl. Add in soy sauce, chilli powder, sesame oil, salt, sugar, garlic, garlic powder, sesame seeds and black pepper. Mix thoroughly until well combined. Throw in some spring onions and mix once through again.
Put the seasoned brisket and remainder of the spring onions into the broth. Bring the soup back to a boil over medium high heat. Boil for 10 mins and add in beansprouts. Lower the heat to a simmer and continue cooking for 30 mins. Halfway through simmering, run a taste test and add more salt or chilli powder if needed.
Serve with steamed rice.
Vegetarian Thai Tofu Soup (Kaeng Jued Taohu)
To Cook
Bring 1L of water to a boil in a pot, and then add 1 vegetable stock cube, and stir until it has fully dissolved in the water.
Add 1 sliced carrot and let it cook in the broth for about 5 mins.
Then add the sliced Chinese cabbage leaves and stir. Let the cabbage leaves simmer in the broth for a couple of minutes.
Add 38g of glass noodles and 1 cup of egg tofu, and let the soup simmer for about 5 mins whilst stirring gently so as not to break up the tofu.
Next add 1 tbsp of soy sauce, stir and let the soup simmer for a final 2-3 mins until the glass noodles are cooked. They are cooked once they turn clear.
Spoon the soup into a bowl and garnish with chopped spring onion, coriander and garlic oil. Serve and enjoy!
Creamy Coconut and Pandan Jelly
To Prepare
Boil the pandan leaves in a pot of water for about 10 minutes to draw out the flavour. Add 2-3 drops of green food colouring into the pot and stir. Transfer the water to a bowl and set aside.
Boil the coconut water over high heat in a pot. When the coconut water starts to boil, add the 1 tbsp of gelatin powder and stir until the gelatin powder has dissolved fully.
Add 2 tbsp of the boiled pandan water and 1⁄2 cup of white sugar and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Pour the mixture into a jelly mold or any container and fill ¾ of the selected mold/container. Place the mold into the fridge.
Add a cup of water to a pot on high heat, then add 1 tbsp of gelatin powder and stir until fully dissolved. Add 1 tbsp of corn flour, 1 tsp of salt and ¼ cup of coconut milk. Stir until the mixture has combined well.
Add ½ cup of sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Add ¾ cup of coconut milk and stir. Wait until the mixture has cooled down before taking out the green pandan jelly from the fridge. Pour the new mixture onto the previous container of pandan jelly. Return the mold/container to the fridge to set.
After the jelly has fully set, it is ready to be served.