Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

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Shanghai Smoked Fish

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To Prep
Wash and then dry fish steaks thoroughly with kitchen paper.
Chop the steaks in half, chopping just to the side of the spine bone.
Mix salt, five spice powder and white pepper, then sprinkle all over the fish steaks. Let marinate for 10 mins.

For the sauce
Add all ingredients for the sauce into a small pot and stir over low heat until the rock sugar is melted.
Pour into a bowl big enough to fit all the fish and let cool to room temperature.

To Cook
Heat up 2 cups of oil in a small pot.
Slide the fish into the hot oil, a couple of pieces at a time, and fry until the fish is a golden brown.
Remove to kitchen paper covered plates to let excess oil drain off. Repeat for all pieces of fish.
When the fish has cooled, add them to the sauce, making sure the pieces are submerged into the sauce and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours before serving or cover and let it marinate overnight in the fridge.
Place the fish on to a serving plate and drizzle with the sauce.

Japanese Pork and Vegetables Miso Soup (Tonjiru)

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To Cook
Heat 1 tsp oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat and sauté pork belly slices until the surface of the pork is slightly browned. Toss in onions and sauté until fragrant and softened. Add in all the vegetables and fry until well mixed, about 5 mins.
Add in konnyaku cubes and stir gently until combined. Pour in dashi stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 mins until vegetables are cooked through.
Once ready, stir in miso paste until dissolved. Gently place in tofu cubes and stir to mix. Sprinkle in spring onions and give a quick stir to combine.
Serve hot. Garnish with more fresh spring onions and Japanese spice mixture if desired.

Seafood Korean Knife Cut Noodles (Haemul Kalguksu)

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To Make
Place water, dried anchovies and kelp in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. At the same time, bring another small pot of water to boil to cook the noodles. Simmer the broth for 15 mins. Boil the noodles until cooked, about 2-3 mins. Drain the noodles and run through with cold water. Set aside.
Discard dried anchovies and kelp from the broth. Season with soy sauce and salt and bring to a boil. Put in shiitake mushrooms, zucchini and carrots and cook for 2 mins. Add pipis and prawns and boil until cooked through, about 1-2 mins.
Add cooked noodles into the broth and gently stir. Boil for 1 min to warm up the noodles.
Transfer noodles to individual bowls and serve with spring onions.

Sichuan Cold Noodles

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To Begin
Cook noodles until al dente according to packaging instructions. Drain and immerse in iced cold water for 1 min until the noodles are cool to touch. Drain and transfer noodles to a bowl. Mix in oil until well combined and cover with cling wrap. Leave to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hr before serving.
Prepare garlic ginger water by mixing garlic, ginger and water in a bowl. Set aside for 1 hr. Discard garlic and ginger before using.
Prepare sauce by mixing all sauce ingredients in a bowl except peppercorn powder. Stir in garlic ginger water and mix until well combined.
Divide cold noodles and carrots into four individual bowls. Pour a quarter of the sauce into each bowl and sprinkle with ¼ tsp of peppercorn powder into each bowl. Add more chilli oil according to preference and garnish with spring onions. Serve immediately.

Shanghai Stuffed Sticky Rice Balls (Ci Fan Tuan)

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To Begin
Place short grain rice and sweet rice with 1½ cups water into a rice cooker. Cook.
If using frozen Chinese crullers, refry until crispy.
Line a sushi rolling mat with cling wrap and spread ½ of the rice across the mat into a thin layer. Top with a piece of fried Chinese cruller in the middle and sprinkle ½ the pork floss and ½ the zhacai.
Roll the rice using the sushi mat to cover the filling, squeezing the mat to ensure the roll is compact. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Cut into half if desired and serve.

Sichuan Hot and Sour Sweet Potato Noodles (Suan La Fen)

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To Cook
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté garlic until fragrant.
Prepare two individual serving bowls with all seasoning ingredients and split the garlic oil between both bowls.
Cook sweet potato noodles according to packaging instructions. Drain and divide the noodles equally between both individual serving bowls. Top with roasted peanuts, spring onions, coriander and pickled vegetables. Serve.

Homemade Korean Knife Cut Noodles (Kalguksu)

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To Make
Place flour, salt, oil and water into a mixing bowl and mix until dough forms. Sprinkle the dough generously with flour and knead the dough until smooth. Add more flour or water when necessary. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rest for at least 30 mins or up to overnight.
Knead the dough for 2 mins before use. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet then fold the dough over several times into layers.
Cut the dough into roughly ½ cm thick. Dust them with more flour and unfold the noodles into separate strands.

Sweet Sticky Corn in Coconut Milk (Kaow-Pod Piek)

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To Cook
Boil a pot of water over medium heat, add the corn kernels. Continually stir until they are cooked.
Add sugar into the pot and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
In a small mixing bowl, mix the tapioca flour and 2 cups of water. Stir until the mixture is well combined.
Slowly add the flour mixture into the pot and then stir until the flour mixture turns thick and clear. Remove from heat and set aside to cool down.
Boil coconut milk and salt in another pot over low heat and stir continuously. When the mixture starts to boil, remove from heat.
When everything is well mixed, transfer the corn kernels to serving bowl. Top the corn kernels with coconut milk. Serve.

Chrysanthemum Garland Soup (Canh Tan O)

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To Prep
Place chicken carcasses in a large pot. Fill with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 1 hr, regularly removing scum and fat from the surface.
Meanwhile, combine pork mince, shallot, fish sauce, salt, pepper, chicken powder and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 mins.
From marinated mince, roll small, bite-sized meatballs and set aside.
Once broth has boiled for 1 hr, remove chicken bones. Reduce heat to medium-low and season with sugar and salt to taste.
Add in meatballs and cook for 5-10 mins or until cooked. Turn off heat and add in chrysanthemum garland, allowing to wilt slightly. Serve immediately.

Blue Butterfly Pea Rice Salad (Nasi Kerabu)

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To Cook
In a rice cooker, add in rice, water, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and salt. Strain blue butterfly pea flowers, reserving the blue water. Add blue extract into the rice cooker and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.
To make the sambal, blend the chillies together with sugar. Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle. Transfer into a small bowl. Season with salt and lime juice to taste. Cover and set aside.
For the fish and coconut floss, blend together the red onion and lemongrass into a fine paste. In a dry pan, add the onion and lemongrass paste with the mackerel and shredded coconut. Cook on medium heat until the mackerel dries and turns into a floss. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl for the salad, combine the ingredients.
To assemble, line a plate with banana leaves. Place blue rice in the centre of the plate, and arrange sambal, fish and coconut floss, salad, fried chicken, fish sausage, prawn crackers and salted egg around. Serve immediately.

Blue Butterfly Pea Nasi Lemak

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To Cook
Start by preparing the coconut rice. Wash the rice and place in a large saucepan and add the salt, ginger, pandan leaves, coconut milk, and water. Cook all the ingredients in a rice cooker.
When the rice is done, discard the garlic, ginger and pandan leaves, and then fluff up the rice. Divide into 2 equal portions. Add My Blue Tea Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Powder to one and mix well. Combine both rices together.
For the sambal, blend the chilli paste, garlic, ginger, shallots, and ¼ cup water in a blender to a smooth paste.
Heat the peanut oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the sambal paste and stir fry for 10 mins, or until fragrant and the oil separates. Add the onion and cook for another 5 mins or until soft. Add the tamarind paste and remaining ½ cup water and mix well to combine with the paste.
Taste the sambal and add more sugar or salt if needed. Remove from heat.
To serve, line a plate with a banana leaf. Place about 1 cup of the cooked coconut rice in the middle of the leaf. Place about 3 tbsp of sambal, a few slices of cucumber, half a hard-boiled egg, 1 tbsp of peanuts and fried anchovies around the rice. Serve warm.

Dry Bak Chor Mee

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To Cook the Mushrooms
In a small pot, add mushrooms with the remaining mushroom ingredients and simmer for 30 mins until tender. Set aside.

To Make Soup
Add the dried anchovies stock/hot water and meatballs into pot and bring to boil. Lower the heat to simmer for 5 mins and keep the soup bubbling at low heat.

To Cook the Pork
Marinade the minced pork, pork livers and pork slices with the respective ingredients separately for 10 mins. Divide into 2 portions.
Ladle hot soup into each pork portions, set aside for 1-2 mins, then return them into hot soup pot through a slotted ladle and cook for a few secs. Use chopsticks to separate the minced pork into smaller pieces. Drain.

To Serve
In a serving bowl, add the sauce ingredients, noodles and bean shoots, mix well. Top with braised mushrooms, minced pork, pork liver, pork slices, fish cakes and lettuce. Garnish with sautéed spring onions and lard croutons.