Asian Inspirations

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Cantonese Wonton Noodle Soup

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To Prep
Combine all filling ingredients.
Place 1 heaped tsp of filling in the centre of a wonton wrapper. Brush top half of diamond-shaped pastry with egg.
Fold top half down and seal both edges together by pressing hard with fingers.
With the point facing you, brush egg onto left-hand point, then fold right-hand point over left-hand point.
Lift up two points to form boat shape.
Short cut: Place 1 heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre. Brush upper edges, fold to form triangles.

To Cook
Cook wheat noodles according to packet instructions; set aside.
Bring clear chicken broth to the boil. Add wontons, boil for 3 mins. Add choy sum and boil for a further minute.
Divide noodles among 4 serving bowls. Add wontons, broth and choy sum.
Drizzle 2-3 drops of sesame oil into each bowl. Serve.

Noodle and Prawn Dumpling Soup

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To Prep
Roughly chop the prawns and fish together until well-combined and almost a paste.
Add bamboo shoots, chives, corn flour, pepper, soy sauce, salt and Shaoxing wine. Mix well.
Place 1 tsp of the mixture into the centre of the wonton wrapper.
Brush water on the edges and seal.

To Cook
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the noodles. When loosened, boil for 3 mins and drain.
Cook dumplings in a saucepan of boiling, salted water for 2 mins.
Bring stock to the boil, and divide between four large soup bowls.
Add noodles and dumplings.
Garnish with mint and spring onion.

Betel Leaves Wrap (Miang Kham)

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To Prep
To prepare the palm sugar dressing, pound shrimp paste, galangal, shrimp floss, toasted shredded coconut in pestle.

To Cook
In a saucepan over high heat, caramelise sugar with 50ml water. Then, add pounded ingredients from Step 1 to the saucepan together with 100ml of water and fish sauce. Reduce heat to a simmer for 1-2 mins, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To serve, place palm sugar dressing in a small bowl and arrange ingredients (betel leaves, shallots, ginger, dried shrimp, toasted shredded coconut, lime and chillies) on a serving platter.
To enjoy miang kham, roll the betel leaf into a cone, fill it up with the various ingredients and top with sweet and tangy sauce.

Panaeng Curry with Prawns

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To Cook
Combine panaeng curry paste and 200ml of coconut milk; gently stir over low heat until fragrant.
Add remaining coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar; stir over medium heat.
Gently bring mixture to the boil, add prawns, green beans, capsicum, and lime leaves. Cover and simmer for 3 mins or until prawns and vegetables are cooked and remove from heat.
Garnish with red chilli and serve with rice and vegetables.

Easy Straits Laksa

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To Cook
Prepare rice vermicelli as instructions on the packaging. Drain and divide equally into four serving bowls.
Boil the chicken breast until cooked then shred the chicken breast and set aside. Blanch the prawns until cook and set aside.
Heat a pan with 1 tbsp oil and stir-fry  laksa paste until fragrant.
Then gradually add coconut milk, chicken stock (or water) and light soy sauce and bring contents to boil. Add salt to taste. Add sliced shallots then turn off the heat.
To serve, divide laksa soup evenly into the four serving bowls prepared earlier. Top with blanched bean sprouts, shredded chicken breast, blanched prawns and enjoy!

Mango Sticky Rice (Kao Nieo Mamuang)

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To Prep
Wash rice well in running water, then soak in cold water overnight.

To Cook
Strain rice in a colander and place in a steamer. Cover and cook for 45 mins. Remove and allow to cool.
Skim 100ml of coconut milk from the top of the can. Keep aside to finish dish. Add remaining coconut milk to cooled rice, with dissolved pinch of salt. Add sugar syrup. There is no need to chill rice if you are using it on the same day.
If using fresh mango, cut in half and discard seed. Peel each half, slice and ‘fan’ decoratively on plate.
Top with the coconut cream and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

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To Cook
Combine coconut milk and water in a saucepan and place over high heat until boiling.
Add galangal, chicken, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar.
Allow to boil for a few minutes before adding lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.
While boiling, add mushrooms and boil until just cooked before removing from heat.
Garnish with red chilli and coriander before serving.

Assorted Sushi Rolls (Nori Maki)

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To Prep
Stir through the rice using a paddle to separate and cool the rice a little. When rice is cool to touch, add 3 tbsp sushi rice seasoning and mix well. Set aside.
Prepare the sushi by placing 1 sheet of nori (shiny side down) onto the bamboo rolling mat, moisten your hands with water and take a handful sushi rice.
Spread the rice evenly over the surface of the nori, to within 1cm of the edge.
Add the desired amount of wasabi along the middle of the rice.
Add your preferred fillings in the middle and on top of the rice.
Begin rolling up the mat over the ingredients – stop when you get about 2.5cm from the edge of the nori. Lift the mat and roll forward again to join the edges of the nori – keep applying a gentle pressure to make the roll firm.
Use a sharp knife to cut the completed rolls in half, place the halves side-by-side and cut into thirds. Each roll makes 6 pieces of nori maki.

Japanese Chicken & Egg Rice Bowls (Oyakodon)

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To Cook
Cut the onions in half lengthwise, from top to bottom. Cut each half into ¼ inch slices and cutting lengthwise.
Combine the onions, mirin, chicken, soy sauce, sake and dashi in a saucepan and place over high heat. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Mix the ingredients occasionally as they cook.
To prepare the oyakodon one serving at a time, break 2 eggs into a bowl, and lightly beat the eggs. You want part of the yolk and whites to be lightly mixed, while the other parts are still separated.
Transfer one fourth of the chicken mixture (about 1½ cups chicken, onions and broth) to a small skillet. Place the skillet over high heat. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat so the broth is simmering.
Pour three-fourths of the egg mixture over the chicken, onions, and broth, Do not mix. Cook for about 1 minute, and then add the remaining one-fourth egg over the ingredients in the skillet. Cover the skillet and cook for 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat, and let the oyakodon rest, covered, for 1 minute.
While the oyakodon is resting, scoop the cooked rice into a serving bowl. When the oyakodon is ready, uncover and slide the entire contents out of the skillet to rest over the rice. Tilt the skillet and use a spatula if necessary as the oyakodon should slide out easily. Garnish with nori, mitsuba and scallions. Add shichimi togarashi to accentuate the taste. Serve immediately and repeat this preparation for the remaining servings.

Chicken Congee

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To Cook
Place chicken drumsticks and a teaspoon of salt in six cups of boiling water and bring back to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.
Remove chicken and set aside to cool down. Add cooked rice to the broth and boil until rice thickens into porridge, stirring the whole time.
Chop up the white section of the spring onion and thinly slice up the green part.
Saute the chopped onion and the white spring onion with oil until fragrant. Add julienned ginger and continue to saute until onion is caramelised. Turn off heat.
Remove meat from chicken drumsticks and coarsely chop up chicken. Return chicken pieces to rice congee. Add extra water to congee if it becomes too thick.
Taste test. Add remaining salt as necessary. Add pepper, stir through and remove from heat.
Serve congee garnished with caramelised onion, ginger and sliced onion.

Pandan Glutinous Rice Balls with Palm Sugar (Onde-Onde)

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To Cook
Put 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour (from the 200g) in a pan with 4 tbsp water over heat and stir until transparent.
Mix all the ingredients together except the water and coconut. Slowly mix in the water until dough forms.
Divide into 15gm balls, flatten dough and insert cubed gula melaka. Wrap them into a ball.
Cook the balls into a pot of boiling water and when they float, remove and coat with grated coconut.