Asian Inspirations

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Trio of Mushroom Sushi Burger with Lotus Chips Nori Salt

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To Cook
Place sushi seasoning ingredients in a small pan and simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Rinse rice until the water runs clear and place in a saucepan with the water. Cover and let it simmer until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Set aside to cool for 5 mins.
Place rice in a glass bowl, add sushi seasoning and stir with a rice paddle, fanning until the rice is cool.
Put a cookie mould or egg ring on a tray lined with baking paper. Press the rice into the moulds to form 4 burger shapes, sprinkling black sesame seeds on two of the shapes. Chill until needed.
Mix the flours, baking powder, salt and water to make the fritter batter. Chill until needed.
Place the pickling ingredients in a small pan and let it simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let the mixture cool.
Finely julienne the carrot and thinly slice the radish before adding both to the pickling mixture. Drain before serving.
Trim the enoki mushrooms, to separate, chop the shiitake mushroom finely. Place 1 tbsp of flour (extra) in a freezer bag, toss the enoki mushrooms till coated, fold the shiitake mushrooms and coated enoki mushrooms into the prepared batter.
Heat oil in a heavy based frying pan and spoon batter in, forming 2 patties. Fry until golden and cooked through.
Mix the Kewpie Mayonnaise, Kewpie Dressing Roast Sesame and wasabi paste together and pour into a serving bowl.
Slice the lotus root thinly and place in a bowl of water while heating the oil. Drain, pat dry and fry the lotus root until crisp and golden.
Process the nori sheet until it forms small crumbs, add the ground salt and stir to combine.

To Serve
Place a sushi circle on the serving plate, top with lettuce, avocado, pickled carrot, garlic chives & cucumber, place a mushroom fritter on top, add the pickled radish and a few shimeji mushrooms. Drizzle with a little sesame and wasabi mayonnaise. Place the remaining sushi circle on the top to form the burger.
Sprinkle the lotus chips with nori salt and serve with the remaining sesame & wasabi mayonnaise to dip.

Vegie Inari Sushi

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To Cook
Cut the 3 sheets of fried bean curd in half and very carefully open the two sides of the sheet from the site of the cut, to make it look like an envelope without separating at the sides. Be very careful not to make any holes and separate only slightly.
Put the sheets in a pot and bring to boil for 5 mins to extract excess oils.
Strain the pot and then add 1 cup of water, as well as the sake, soy sauce and the sugar. Simmer for 20 mins. Let the contents of the pot cool.
Wash the white rice and add the white and black rice to a rice cooker. Add one and a half cups of water to the rice and set to cook.
Once the rice is cooked, while still hot, add the sushi vinegar and mix well and let it cool.
Using the carrot, cut a few small flowers using a small knife. Do the same for the lotus root. Cut the cucumber to your liking and slice the radish thinly to garnish. Separate the edamame beans from the shell.
Squeeze the excess stock from the fried bean curd sheet once it has cooled down and gently open each of the half sheets that were separated prior to boiling. Open them further to create a bag or pocket shape. Spoon the rice into each of the bags that you have created.
Add the carrot, lotus root, scrambled egg, cucumber, edamame, and radish neatly across each of the parcels as you please. Additionally, use a teaspoon to add the desired amount of cod roe to the parcels.

Year of the Dog Mitarashi Dango with Sweet Soy Sauce

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To Cook
To prepare the soy sauce glaze, add the ingredients for the glaze into a small pot. Cook the mixture over low heat and stir continually until it thickens. Be careful not to burn the glaze. Set aside until needed.
Mix the black glutinous rice flour and rice flour together. Add a few drops of water and stir. Add more water until the mixture comes together.
Place the glutinous rice flour, rice flour and sugar into a bowl and mix.
Add the water a little at a time and knead the dough until it becomes smooth. If it’s too watery, add more flour.
Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Shape one ball into a long log and cut into small pieces (for the eyebrows).
Shape the remaining balls into dog heads and flattened round balls (paws).
Using the glutinous black rice mixture, shape the dough into the paws. Attach using a little bit of water.
Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add the dumplings to the water. When they float to the top, let them continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes. Scoop up and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Skewer the dumplings with the bamboo sticks.
Using scissors, cut out mouths and noses from the nori sheet.
Brush the dango with the soy sauce glaze. Using a toothpick, add the black sesame seeds for eyes and the cut out noses and mouths.
Enjoy your new year mitarashi dango!
NOTE: You can grill your dango before brushing on the soy sauce glaze. Grill the dango until it is slightly charred on either side.

Happy New Year Lucky Bag

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To Cook
Heat up the olive oil in the fry pan or wok to 150°C, then add all the ingredients in the first part and fry together. Add Lee Kum Kee Stir Fry Essential Hoisin and stir well.
Mix the egg, milk, flour and salt together. Using a small pancake pan, spread a little bit of olive oil or butter on it. Spread one soup spoon of the mixture on the pan, making sure it is thin and even. Ensure the pan is at around 130-150°C. When it becomes solid, take it out of the pan. Please cover the pastries with wet cloth to keep it soft and wet after they are made.
Depending on the size of pastry, put the proper quantity of filling in the pastry and use the boiled chives or spring onion to tie the Lucky Bag.
Use scissors to cut the rabbit ears on the quail egg and stick the chopped red capsicums for eyes.

Thai Vegetarian Yellow Curry

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To Cook
Heat a wok over medium heat and add half a jar of the Valcom Yellow Curry Paste. When fragrant, add the carrot and cook for a further 2 mins.
Pour in coconut cream and stir to combine. Add the fish sauce and the palm sugar. Once bubbling, reduce to simmer for 5 mins.
Add puffed tofu and cook for a further 2 mins.
Add bok choy and serve on top of a bowl of rice.
Top with lemon wedges, a handful of coriander, pinch of chopped fresh chilli. Sprinkle with fried shallots for some extra crunch!

Dumpling Laksa

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To Cook
Heat oil in a wok and add laksa paste for a few minutes, then add coconut milk and 1 cup of water. After a few minutes, add the vegetarian dumplings and the tofu puffs.
Meanwhile, heat egg noodles in a bowl with hot water. Once both dishes are ready, transfer the egg noodles to bowls and pour in the laksa and dumplings. Garnish with bean sprouts and lime wedges.”

Toshikoshi Soba

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To Cook
Make the dashi stock by combining 1.5L of water with 8 tbsp of dashi granules into a large saucepan.
Add the mirin to the dashi stock and bring to a gentle simmer, then add the tamari sauce.
Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and continue to simmer until the broth is ready to be served.
Cook the soba noodles by bringing a saucepan of water to boil and then adding the soba noodles.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the noodles to cook for approximately 4-5 mins.
While the soba noodles are cooking, add the asparagus and mushrooms to the dashi broth and cook in the simmering liquid.
Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water and set aside until ready to serve.
Scoop the asparagus and mushrooms from the broth and set aside.

To Serve
Pour the broth into bowls.
Add the noodles.
Add the tofu, asparagus and mushrooms.
Garnish with sliced chives and toasted nori flakes.

Vegan Unagi (eel)

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Rice
First thing to do is to cook your rice. Follow the “absorption method” directions on the back of the rice packet and by the time your rice is done, so will your delicious unagi.

Teriyaki Sauce
Mix the cornflour and water together first and then combine with the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar in a small saucepan.
Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly. Once the sauce turns dark brown and thickens take it off the heat immediately and put it aside.

Unagi
Cut the nori sheet into little rectangles about 5cm long by 2.5cm wide and set aside.
Peel and coarsely grate the sweet potato. Squeeze out any excess moisture.
Put grated potato into a mixing bowl and season with a bit of salt and pepper, then sprinkle the flour over and toss gently so that all the grated potato is lightly and evenly coated with flour but stays nice and loose.
Take a little rectangle of seaweed sheet and place it with the shiny side down. Gently press a small amount of the sweet potato mixture onto each rectangle to cover the seaweed. The small amount of moisture in the grated potato with the flour should make it sticky enough so that it stays attached to the seaweed quite firmly. There is no need to be too neat and delicate with this, it’s fine if there are little strands of potato hanging over the edges of the seaweed.
In a non stick pan, heat the oil so it’s nice and hot and shallow fry each unagi, seaweed side first, for 2.5 mins, then turn them over and fry for a further 2.5 mins or until they are golden brown and crispy on the edges. Be sure not to crowd them in the pan or they stick together and won’t get crispy!
Drain on paper towel and be sure to keep them warm in the oven till they are all cooked.

Finishing
Use a pastry brush to coat each unagi liberally on both sides with the teriyaki sauce.
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve with the steamed rice.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Soto Ayam)

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To Cook
In a large pot, pour in the water and add the chicken cutlets, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and salt. Bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 mins. Skim any excess foam as needed.
Wash the eggs and place into the stock for the final 10 mins of cooking to hard boil. Remove, peel and set aside.
Prepare the spice paste while the chicken in simmering by crushing together the ingredients in a mortar and pestle or food processor into a paste.
Remove the chicken and pour the stock into a jug or bowl. Set aside.
Pull away the skin and bone, leaving big chunks of meat. Set aside.
In the same pot that the chicken was cooking in, add peanut oil and gently fry the spice paste on medium heat for 5 mins.
Place the rice vermicelli into a bowl and cover with cold water for 15 mins. Drain and set aside.
Return the chicken stock to the pot, pour in the can of TCC Coconut Milk. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 10 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the rice vermicelli and the chicken between 4 bowls. Ladle over the soup.
Garnish with the bean sprouts, hard boiled eggs, fried shallots, fresh coriander and wedges of lime. Serve with Yeo’s Sambal Oeleck. You can either eat it as is, or with fluffy white rice.

Chicken Laksa

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To Cook
Prepare the noodles as per packet instructions in a bowl. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large saucepan (or wok) over low heat, fry ½ jar of laksa paste until fragrant.
Add the chicken and stir fry until cooked.
Add coconut milk and a little water if desired, and bring to a boil.
Drain and place noodles in bowls. Top with laksa soup.
Place beansprouts on top and garnish. Enjoy!

Chicken Red Curry

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To Cook
Heat up cooking oil in a pan on high and add half a jar of Valcom Red Curry Paste. Keep stirring for 2 mins until fragrant.
Add one can of coconut milk and mix in with the paste.
Once hot, add the chicken thighs and let simmer for 5 mins.
Add the other can of coconut milk.
Get the broccoli and beans and add to the mix. Let it simmer under a lid for another 5 mins, or until the chicken is cooked.
When ready, remove from heat and serve on top of rice. Add sugar snaps, chilli, lime, coriander and fried shallots to garnish.

Northern Thailand Curry Noodles (Khao Soi)

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To Cook
Put the 200ml coconut cream in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat. Add a red curry paste, turmeric powder, curry powder and garam masala. Cook and stir constantly for about 2-3 mins until oil separates on the surface. Then, add all the chicken and stir until all the chicken is coated with coconut and chilli paste.
Add a further 200ml of coconut cream with 2 cups of water. Stir all the chicken until all the curry sauce is mixed through then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10 mins.
Add chicken stock powder, ABC sweet soy sauce, brown sugar and fish sauce into the pot then stir until mixed through. Simmer and cover for 15 mins or until chicken is cooked through. Taste and add more seasoning to suit your taste.
Cut wonton skin into small strips and separate into individual pieces. Put vegetable oil in a small pot or pan and put on the stove top. Turn the gas to medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the wonton in a small amount each time until light golden crispy. After the wonton is cooked, take them out and put them on a plate with kitchen paper towel to drain any excess oil. Cook until finished.
Before serving, put about 6 cups of water in a medium pot then cook the noodles in boiling water following the packet directions. Drain and refresh under cold water. Divide noodles into individual serving bowls.
Ladle curry and chicken over noodles. Top up with crispy wonton noodle, coriander/spring onion, sliced red chilies, diced shallots and chilli in oil (to suit your desire). Serve with lime wedges.
Enjoy your creamy northern Thailand style curry noodles.