To Cook
In a pot, stir-fry the green curry paste with oil on medium heat until fragrant.
Add 100ml coconut milk, keep on medium heat until the oil splits then put the beef in.
Add all remaining ingredients except fish sauce and basil leave; bring to boil.
Continue cooking for 3-4 mins, add fish sauce and mix through.
Garnish with basil leave, served with steamed rice.
Boil
Crispy Pork Belly (Moo Krob Nam Ma Prow)
To Cook
In a large pot, stir-fry the coriander roots, garlic and white pepper with oil on medium heat until fragrant.
Add pork belly and all the remaining ingredients except baby carrot, hard-boiled egg and broccolini and bring to a boil; lower the heat and let it simmer.
In the meantime, pre-heat oven to 230°C fan forced.
Then place pork belly in cente of baking dish, skin side up and gently pour liquid from the pot into base with pork skin above liquid. Cook for 10 mins, until skin starts to dry and liquid is hot.
Remove from oven, cover with 1 layer of baking paper and seal tightly with aluminium foil. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C and cook for 35-40 mins.
Remove from oven, uncover pork and increase oven temperature back to 230°C.
Return pork to oven for a further 20-25 mins until pork skin is crispy and slice into 3-4cm pieces.
Blanch carrot and broccolini, place in bowl along with the sliced crispy pork and halved hard-boiled egg.
Serve with steamed rice.
Lotus Paste Jelly Mooncake
To Prep Jelly
Combine agar-agar powder, sugar, salt and water in a saucepan. Add the knotted pandan leaf and bring contents to boil until sugar dissolves. Then add milk and orangey-red food colouring, and stir well to mix.
Pour into small, round ice-cube moulds and gently knock out the ‘yolks’ when set.
To Make Lotus Paste Filling
Blend cooked lotus seeds and coconut cream in food processor and blend until finely pureed. Strain to remove excess liquid, then add agar-agar powder, salt and water.
In a heavy-based saucepan, cook sugar over a medium-low flame until sugar has caramelised. Be careful not to burn the sugar. When the sugar melts and turns slightly golden brown, remove the saucepan from the fire and pour in a small amount of lotus seeds paste mixture. Stir well to incorporate the caramel, and then pour in the rest of the lotus seeds paste. Keep stirring then add the pandan leaves. Cook until mixture comes to a simmer. Add in thickening and stir well.
Pour mixture into patty tins (or muffin pan). Put one ‘salted egg yolk’ into the centre of each filling. Leave to set then unmould. Cut out neatly with a 5cm round cutter and set aside the fillings for use later.
To Prep Skin
In a pot, add water, pandan leaves, sugar, agar-agar powder and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until it comes to a boil.
Add coconut milk, whipping cream, and food colouring (any colour of your choice). Stir well, and continue to cook for 1 min or until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is fairly thick. Discard the pandan leaves and remove pot from heat.
Spoon a tablespoon of agar-agar mixture into a wet plastic jelly mooncake mould. Set aside for 1 to 2 mins.
Place a filling in the centre of the mould and add more agar-agar mixture to fill up the mould. Set aside to cool and then place in the refrigerator to chill and set completely.
To serve, cut jelly mooncake into wedges and serve with a pot of freshly brewed Chinese tea. Best eaten chilled.
Slow-cooked Pork Belly (Moo Sam Chun Tom Khem)
To Cook
In a large pot, stir-fry the coriander roots, garlic and white pepper with oil on medium heat until fragrant.
Add all the remaining ingredients except baby carrot and broccolini and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat, put a lid on and continue to cook for 25 mins.
Add carrot and broccolini, and continue to cook with the lid off for another 25 mins.
Serve with steamed rice.
Basic Congee
To Cook
Rinse and drain the rice to clean the grains and remove the excess starch. Repeat until the drained water is clear.
Transfer the rice in to a pot and top with 9 cups of water. Cover the pot with lid and heat over a high heat until the water reaches a boil.
At this point, reduce and let simmer while partially covered for at least 25-30 mins or until the congee has reached a thick and creamy consistency. If the congee becomes too thick, add water back in to the pot.
When the congee is at your desired level of consistency, remove from the heat and get ready to plate.
To Serve
Spoon some of the congee in to serving bowls. Garnish with sesame oil, green onions, ginger and yew char koay. Serve with soy sauce and white pepper on the side.
Mee Soto
To Prep
Blend together the shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and lemongrass using a blender until you get a thick paste. Make sure to only use the softer, white portion of the lemongrass stalks.
Saute the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, and cardamom pods until fragrant.
Then, add in the finely blended paste, followed by the anise powder, cumin powder, and white pepper.
Saute the mixture until the oil rises, then add water and mix them well.
Allow the soup to come to a boil before adding in the chicken quarters and chicken bouillon cubes.
Bring the soup back up to a boil, before reducing the heat to low allowing it to simmer.
When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the soup and remove the cooked meat from the bone. Shred the meat into small pieces and reserve 250g for the Bergedil.
To Cook
Wash and peel the potatoes before slicing into thin pieces to let them cook faster.
Fry the sliced potatoes until golden brown, then mash them with a potato masher.
Mix in the chicken, fried shallots, coriander leaves, scallions, and pepper. Add salt to taste.
Mix until all the ingredients are evenly spread. Then, shape into 3cm wide medallions.
Beat the eggs with some salt.
Dip the Bergedils in the egg wash and fry until golden brown.
Place the cooked Bergedil on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess oil and allow to cool.
To Assemble
Blanch your choice of noodles and place into a bowl.
Put a few Bergedils. bean sprouts, and a hard-boiled egg (halved), and some shredded chicken into the bowl of noodles.
Ladle the soup over the noodles and garnish with fried scallions and coriander leaves.
Minced Pork with Century Egg and Salted Egg Congee
To Prep
Rinse and drain the rice to clean the grains and remove the excess starch. Repeat until the drained water is clear. Set aside.
Make the garlic oil by combining the vegetable oil, sesame oil, and minced garlic in a small pan and heating over a low heat.
Continue to cook the garlic until they turn golden. Take care not to burn them as the oil will become bitter. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine the minced pork, soy sauce, ¼ tsp ground pepper and stir until well combine. Set aside and let marinate.
To Prep Salted Eggs
If salted eggs are coated in salted charcoal, thoroughly remove and clean the black substance. In a saucepan, boil the salted egg in water for 15 mins.
Drain the eggs and let cool slightly before removing the shells and then cutting in to small pieces.
To Prep Century Eggs
If century eggs are coated in a caustic mixture of mud and rice husk, clean thoroughly before cracking them open. Cut the eggs into small pieces and set aside.
To Cook
In a large pot, combine the rice with 10 cups of water and add the ginger in to the pot.
Cover the pot with lid and heat over a high heat until the water reaches a boil. At this point, reduce and let simmer while partially covered for at least 15-20 mins.
Transfer the marinated pork in to the pot and break the pork in to smaller chunks. Cook for 5 mins.
Add in the salted eggs, century eggs, salt, and the last of the pepper into the pot. Return to a simmer and continue to cook for another 10 mins or until the congee has reached a thick and creamy consistency. If the congee becomes too thick, add water back in to the pot.
When the congee is at your desired level of consistency, remove from the heat and get ready to plate.
To Serve
To serve, ladle congee into bowls. Garnish with the garlic oil, green onions and ginger.
Rice Stick Soup with Fish Balls
To Prep
Prepare rice sticks as per pack instructions.
In a food processor, blend fish, cornflour, black fungus, egg, pepper, coriander, soy and fish sauce.
Wet hands, roll 1 tbsp mixture into a ball. Repeat until all mixture has been used.
To Cook
Bring stock to the boil, drop in fish balls. They are cooked when they float to the surface (approximately 3 mins).
Divide noodles among 4 serving bowls, top with stock and fish balls.
Garnish with sprigs of Vietnamese hot mint and serve.
Indonesian Pandan Crepe with Sweet Coconut Filling (Dadar Gulung)
To Cook
Make the Coconut Filling by bringing the sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture turns syrupy. Add all the other ingredients and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 to 15 mins, until the mixture dried up. Remove from the heat, discard the pandan leaf and set aside.
To make the crepe, combine the flour, eggs, coconut milk, salt and pandan juice/paste in a mixing bowl, and whisk into a smooth batter that has a pouring consistency. Strain to remove any lumps.
Lightly grease a non-stick wok or skillet and heat over low heat. Stir the batter and ladle 1 scoop (about 3 tbsp) onto the pan and turn the pan to obtain a thin round layer, about 18cm in diameter. Cook until the crepe sets and begins to brown, then flip it over and cook for a few seconds, and remove from the heat. Continue to make the crepes until all the batter is used up.
To Assemble
Place a crepe on a flat surface and top with 2 tbsp of the coconut filling. Fold one side of the crepe over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll up tightly into a cylinder. Assemble the remaining crepes in the same manner.
Note: The crepes and Coconut Filling can both be made in advance and refrigerated. Allow to warm up to room temperature before assembling.
Wakame Cucumber Salad (Sunomono)
To Prep
To rehydrate wakame, soak in water for 10 mins. Drain well and transfer to a bowl.
Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Then, peel the cucumber by alternating 1.5cm strips lengthwise, leaving strips of the skin intact. By doing this, the cucumber slices will have decorative green accents and retain some extra crunchiness. Then, thinly slice the cucumber to about 0.3cm thickness.
Sprinkle salt over the cucumber slices and rub them. Set aside for a few minutes, and squeeze out excess water from cucumber. Then, transfer cucumber into the bowl (Step 1).
To Cook
In a small saucepan, add in all the dressing ingredients and cook over high heat until sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside to cool.
To serve, pour dressing over cucumber slices and wakame, and mix well. Spoon sunomono into individual dishes and garnish with ginger.
Nobu-Inspired Miso Cod
To Prep
In a saucepan, combine the sake and mirin together and heat over a medium flame till they begin to boil. Boil for 30 secs before turning the heat down to low and adding in the miso paste.
Allow the miso to dissolve before adding in the sugar and continuing to cook till the sugar has dissolved too.
When the mixture has been well combined, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
Dry the fish using paper towels before placing in to a zip lock bag and covering with the miso mixture. Squeeze the bag to coat the fish and let marinate overnight.
When the fish has marinated, remove them from the zip lock bag and wipe off the excess marinade.
To Cook
In a non-stick pan over a high heat, add oil and place the fish skin side down to sear until the skin begins to slightly blacken.
Flip the fish and continue to cook the other side for about 2 mins until the flesh has cooked through. Remove and set aside.
To Serve
Serve topped with a small serving of pickled ginger and rice!
Glutinous Rice Cakes with Palm Sugar (Wajik)
To Prep
Wash the glutinous rice multiple times in water, stopping when the water becomes clear. Leave to soak overnight.
Line a streamer basket with a cheesecloth and equally distribute the glutinous rice on the cloth. Steam the rice for 15 mins, then turn and fluff it up with a fork and steam for 10 more mins until cooked.
To Cook
In a saucepan, bring the sugar and water to boiling point over medium heat and then simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the syrup has reduced to half, taking about 15 mins. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Continue to simmer for 3 to 5 more mins and remove from the heat.
In a large saucepan, combine both the glutinous rice and coconut milk mixture, mixing well. Then cook over low heat, stirring form time to time, until the mixture thickens and becomes sticky. After 10 to 15 mins, remove the mixture from the heat and discard the pandan leaf.
Move the cake to a lightly greased shallow cake skillet or plate (around 17cm over), smoothing the surface with the back of a wet spoon, and put aside to cool. Slice the cake into squares or jewel shapes and serve at room temperature.
To speed up the soaking process, pour boiling water over the glutinous rice after rinsing and allow it to stand for 1 hr. Drain, then pour more boiling water over the rice and soak for another 30 mins.