Main Ingredients
Cut pork belly into 5cm chunks.
Cook in a pot and in batches until the meat is brown on all sides. Cover with rice water. Add ginger, onion and salt. Bring to a boil and cover with a drop lid or cartouche. Simmer for 4 hours. Drain liquid and allow meat to cool.
Combine the braising stock ingredients in the pot and return pork to pot, bring to a simmer and again, cover the pot with a drop lid or cartouche. Simmer for an hour over low heat.
Add boiled eggs to a pan and remove from heat.
Slice spring onions into batons and place into ice cold water to curl.
Garnish with curled spring onion. Serve in a bowl on top of cooked soba noodles.
Boil
Noodle with Meatball (Mie Bakso)
Handmade meatball recipe
Finely chop all the garlic and put it in a big bowl, mixing it together with the mince, tapioca flour, baking powder, 1 egg white, salt, sugar and white pepper.
Using your hands and gloves, mix it properly for 3-5 mins.
Boil 2 eggs until well-cooked, peel the skin off and leave it cold. Wrap it with batter/mix.
Make small/medium round meatballs with the batter until it’s all used up.
Boil the meatballs in a pot of boiling water for 5 mins. You can use this boiling water for the soup base or, use bones to boil a soup base.
Method for Noodle Soup
Boil the egg noodles and vermicelli for 3 mins in boiling water.
Put 1 tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp of soy sauce in the bowl with egg noodle and vermicelli then pour in the soup base (adjust to your taste – add more or less fish sauce and soy sauce or, maybe a bit of vinegar)
Note
You might put additional ABC Sweet Soy Sauce and Sambal Bakso for extra sweetness and spiciness. You can also add bok choy, coriander or pork crackling to your bakso.
Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry
To Cook
Prep all vegetables.
In a heated pan, add coconut oil and fry garlic, onion and shallots.
Add the curry powder, tomatoes, coconut milk and bay leaves – bring to a boil.
Add the pumpkin and chickpeas – reduce to a low heat and cover with a lid for 20-30 mins.
Serve with white rice and some fresh coriander for presentation.
Harajuku Brunch Bowl
To Cook
Place the egg in a small saucepan of hot water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4 mins. Then using a slotted spoon, remove the egg from the water and place in a bowl of iced water to cool. Once cooled, peel and slice in half.
Add the soba noodles to the simmering water. Simmer for 4 mins, then refresh under cold water.
Chop the broccoli into small florets. Spiralise the zucchini and slice the radish into thin discs.
Refill the saucepan with water, bring to a boil, then cook the broccoli for 2-3 mins until bright green and tender. Add the peas to the saucepan during the last minute to cook through. Drain and refresh under cold water.
Chop the avocado in half and scoop out the flesh. Paint half the cut side of avocado in Kewpie Mayonnaise. Combine the seeds in a small dish and press the cut side of the avocado into the seeds so they adhere to the mayonnaise.
To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small glass and whisk to combine.
Combine the noodles and zucchini, then arrange all the ingredients into a bowl. Scatter with micro herbs and serve with the dressing on the side.
Kindai Ramen Noodle Soup
To Cook
Mix stock, garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, 5 spice, chilli powder and 300 ml water in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins. Taste the stock, adding soy or sugar to your preference.
Put 500ml water in a pot and bring to a boil. Put noodles in and boil for 2.5 mins until ready.
Drain noodles and divide into bowls. Share spinach and pork equally between bowls.
Strain stock into a clean pan then bring to a boil once more. Take the pan off boil and divide between bowls.
Place nori sheet behind pork and add spring onion to bowl once the spinach has wilted. Serve.
Ginger Poached Chicken
To Cook
Bring chicken stock and ginger to boil, then add chicken.
Boil water for egg noodles. Cook the noodles, drained and set aside.
Add coconut cream and bamboo shoots to the stock and simmer.
Add fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar and salt to taste
Put cooked egg noodles in a bowl and add the mix on top.
Serve with a garnish of coriander, red chilli and lime wedge
Shanxi Pork
To Cook
In a bowl, soak the black fungus in boiling water until it has softened.
In a separate bowl, combine pork, Shaoxing wine, sugar, 1 tbsp light soy and cornflour. Coat the pork thoroughly. Let it marinate for 5 mins.
Cut the spring onion and celery into 5cm batons and chop the garlic chives.
In a wok, add 1 tbsp oil and sauté ginger and spring onion until the mixture becomes aromatic. Add pork and cook until browned (about 4 mins) before removing from wok.
Put 1 tbsp of oil into wok and add black fungus. Stir fry until heated. Add the remaining light soy and oyster sauce and combine. Add the pork mixture back to the wok with vinegar, sesame oil, chicken stock powder, celery, spring onions and garlic chives.
Cook for 2 mins before serving.
Okonomiyaki Tofu Burger Set
Gyoza
Combine the water and spinach in a blender and blend until smooth. (You may need to add a little more water to help the process). This should make 60ml of liquid at the bottom of the blender, if not, add a little water to make it equate 60ml.
Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add in half of the hot water and all of the spinach liquid. Mix until a crumble forms, then add the rest of the water. Combine together until a rough dough forms and the dough can hold its shape.
Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead dough for about 2-3 mins until it is smooth. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts, then wrap in glad wrap, let it rest for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
Whilst dough is resting, you can make the vegetable mixture. In a bowl combine: cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushrooms, white pepper, soy and sesame oil, mix well and set aside.
Once rested, roll the dough into a log shape, about 2.5cm width, then cut into 1.5cm pieces. Roll each disc into 8cm round circles.
Fill each gyoza wrapper with the vegetable mixture, being careful not to fill it too much. Seal the wrapper with water and press firmly.
Heat some vegetable oil in a pan to a medium heat, arrange gyoza in pan, then quickly add water and put on the lid to allow the gyoza to steam. Cook for 6-8 mins, remove from pan.
Okonomiyaki
Place the flour in a bowl, making a well in the centre and gradually at the water whilst whisking. Combine until smooth. Cover with glad wrap and place in the fridge for 30 mins.
Once rested, add the egg to the batter whilst whisking, then add the cabbage and the spring onion and mix well.
In a fry pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil, then place the mixture into the pan, creating 3 or 4 medium sized okonomiyaki to suit the size of your burger. Cook for 3 mins, then flip and cook for another 2 mins.
Remove from pan and decorate with kewpie mayonnaise and hoisin sauce.
Tofu Bun
Using a large circular cutter, cut a disc of firm tofu about 1cm thick.
In a fry pan, heat vegetable oil to a medium heat and lightly cook the tofu about 2 mins each side, remove.
Place sugar, soy and sesame oil in the pan and heat to medium heat. The mixture should start to thicken as the sugar caramelises. Once it starts to thicken, place the top of the burger bun into the pan for the caramelisation. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from pan.
To construct the burger, place the burger bun onto a plate, the place lettuce, okonomiyaki, complete with the sauce, carrot, seaweed and the burger top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and finely chopped nori.
Serve with seaweed salad.
Japanese Jelly Flower Pots
To Make the Yoghurt Jelly
Add thickened cream and coconut milk in a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat and stir in second batch of gelatin, mixing in well until completely dissolved.
Mix together the yoghurt, maple syrup and lemon juice in a large bowl. Pour in the cream mixture and mix together well.
Pour the yoghurt jelly mixture into your mould, filling them up halfway. Set aside in the fridge to set.
To make the sake jelly
Heat the sake in a saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from heat and sprinkle over caster sugar and add in one portion of the bloomed gelatin. Stir mixture until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Add in water and mix well.
Pour the sake jelly mixture over the yoghurt jelly, leaving room at the top. Working quickly, press blueberries and flowers until the surface of the jelly. Place back in fridge, leaving to set for a minimum of 1 hour, depending on the size of your mould.
Malaysian Bak Kut Teh Herbal Soup
To Cook
Prepare a pot of boiling water and blanch the pork belly and pork ribs for 5 minutes. Remove pork and discard the water.
Fill pot with 2.5lt water, allow it to boil over high heat. Add whole garlic and 2 inner sachets of store bought Bak Kut Teh prepacked herbs. Bring to boil on high heat for 10 minutes.
Once boiled, add in pre blanched pork belly and pork ribs, soy sauce, Malaysian thick caramel soy sauce and let it boil on high heat for a further 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer for at least 1 hour. Taste test and add salt to your liking.
Add in any of the following optional ingredients – enoki mushrooms, fried beancurd sheets, beancurd puffs and shiitake mushrooms into the pot. Let it boil for another 5-10 mins.
Scoop Bak Kut Teh soup into a serving bowl, along with a few pieces of each ingredient. Top with some cos lettuce pieces and coriander and it is ready to be served with a bowl of steamed rice.
Bak Kut Teh is typically served with a side of Chinese doughnuts that are cut up. The Chinese doughnuts are then dipped into the piping hot soup for a couple of seconds and then consumed immediately. Chopped fresh garlic and sliced red chillies are also served in a small saucer with some thick caramel soy sauce and soy sauce.
Fragrant Oil Rice (Yau Fan)
To Cook
Heat oil in a wok over medium heat.
Add in shallots and saute until lightly browned without burning them.
Add in uncooked rice that has been washed, and stir fry. Add salt and mix well, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the rice into the rice cooker to cook.
The yau fan (oil rice) is typically served with Malaysian Bak Kut Teh.
Korean Hangover Soup (Haejang-Guk)
To Prep the broth
Add all the ingredients except the cabbage leaves and bring to a boil. Stir the ingredients together to mix well.
Remove the kombu from the broth when it begins to boil and discard it.
Blanch the cabbage leaves in the boiling broth for a couple of minutes, then remove from the broth and place in a bowl. Set the cabbage leaves aside for later.
Simmer the broth for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Then strain the broth and discard the broth ingredients. Reserve the broth for later.
To Prep the sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure all the ingredients are mixed well.
Split the sauce into 2 even portions. Mix one portion with the beef.
Cut your cabbage leaves into 2-3cm wide strips and mix with the other half of the sauce.
Make sure that the beef and cabbage strips are evenly coated with the sauce and set aside for later.
To Prep the Soup
Heat up a pot on high heat and add the beef and Korean radish. Stir fry for a couple of minutes before adding the broth and cabbage leaves into the pot.
Allow the soup to start boiling, then reduce the heat to medium and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Lastly, add in the bean sprouts and spring onions to the pot and continue to let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and serve the soup with some steamed white rice.