Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

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Fish Ball Mee Pok

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To Prep
Add the minced pork, light soy sauce, white pepper powder, corn flour, and sesame oil in a small bowl and allow to marinate for at least 10 mins in the fridge.

To Cook
Bring soup stock to a simmer, and add fish balls and fish dumplings. Cook for a few mins until the fish balls float to the surface. Keep the soup bubbling at a low heat.
Add Chinese fish sauce, black vinegar, hot stock, sambal tumis, crispy lard pieces, and lard oil in a serving bowl. Stir and mix it well.
Add one ladle of hot stock over the bowl of marinaded pork. Set them aside.
Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to boil. Cook Mee Pok for about 30-45 secs until just cooked. Rinse the noodles in tap water for a few secs, drain and add to serving bowl.
Blanch fish cake slices and bean sprouts in a slotted ladle for 30 secs. Drain and transfer to serving bowl.
Put the bowl of marinated pork in hot stock back to the soup pot. Cook the pork for a few secs and separate the pork to smaller pieces with wooden chopsticks. Drain the pork and top the serving bowl.
Garnish with lettuce and spring onions. Ladle a small bowl of soup to go with the Mee Pok. Serve with a sauce of sliced chilli padi in soy sauce.
Mix the noodles thoroughly with the sauce before eating.

Nasi Lemak

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To Prep
Wash the rice until the water runs clear.
Saute the lemongrass, pandan leaves, ginger, and shallots in a pot until fragrant.
Add the water and coconut milk to the pot and bring to a boil. Add a couple pinches of salt and mix thoroughly.
Pour the cleaned rice into a rice cooker pot together with the ingredients mentioned above.

Preparing the Sambal
Deep fry the half anchovies until crisp and golden.
In the frying oil on low heat, add in the chilli paste, minced onions, and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent.
Add in the sugar and mix thoroughly.
Next, mix in the tamarind paste and the rest of the anchovies and allow the sambal to cook over low heat.
Finally, add salt and sugar to taste.

To Assemble
Prepare a hard-boiled egg.
Scoop the cooked rice into a rice bowl, then cover with a plate. Then, flip over the plate and remove the rice bowl. Place the egg on or next to the rice.
Add a tbsp each of the fried anchovies, fried peanuts, and sambal. Garnish with a few slices of cucumber. Serve hot.

Japanese Braised Pork Belly (Buta No Kakuni)

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To Begin
Cut pork belly into 5cm chunks.
Cook in a pot in batches until brown on all sides.
Cover with rice water and add ginger, onion and salt. Bring to a boil and cover with drop lid or cartouche. Simmer for 4 hours, drain liquid and allow meat to cool.
Combine braising stock ingredients in the pot and return pork to pot. Bring to a simmer and again cover with drop lid or cartouche. Simmer for an hour over low heat.
Add boiled eggs to pan and remove from heat.
Slice spring onions into batons and place into iced cold water to curl.
Serve in a bowl on top of cooked soba noodles.
Garnish with curled spring onion.

Thai Yellow Curry with Prawn

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To Make
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and boil for 3 mins. Add cauliflower and boil for a further 2 mins. Add capsicum and cook for another 2 mins. Drain and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat and slightly pan-fry the tofu on all sides. Set aside.
Add 1 tbsp oil to the frying pan and slightly pan-fry the prawns and drizzle with 5ml Squid Brand Fish Sauce on both sides until cooked. Set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the pan and fry the yellow curry paste until bubbling.
Add coconut milk and stir until well combined. Add in the remaining Squid Brand Fish Sauce and sugar, and continue stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Toss in the tofu and vegetables. Stir for 2 mins until all ingredients are completely coated with curry sauce. Add prawns and stir until well mixed.
Serve hot. Garnish with chillies and basil.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

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To Make the Chicken
In a large stockpot that can fit a whole chicken, add water enough to cover the whole chicken together with pandan leaves and salt. Bring water to a rolling boil.
Next, wash the chicken, drain well, and stuff ginger and scallion into the chicken’s cavity.
Submerge the whole chicken in the stockpot, breast side down. Bring to a full boil and then lower the heat to a gentle simmer, lid on, for 10 minutes only.
After 10 minutes, turn the heat off, and let the chicken remain in the pot of water for 40 minutes with the lid on.
After 40 minutes, remove the chicken and place gently into the bowl of water with ice for 10 mins. Retain chicken stock*.
Drain the chicken, discard ginger and scallion from the cavity and set it aside to cool before chopping it neatly into desired serving size.

To Make the Rice
Heat oil in wok, fry chopped shallots, garlic and ginger until fragrant and golden in colour. Add rice and stir well. Transfer the rice mixture to the rice cooker.
Add in chicken broth stock, pandan leaves and salt into rice mixture. Mix well and press ”cook”. When rice is cook. Fluff rice with a ladle.

To Make Chicken Rice Soy Sauce
In a small bowl, mix all ‘Chicken Rice Soy Sauce’ ingredients together.

To Make Chicken Rice Chilli Sauce
In a small bowl, mix all ‘Chicken Rice Chilli Sauce’ ingredients together.

To Serve
Place a bowl of rice on a plate and line the serving plate with cucumber slices.
Arrange chicken pieces on top of the rice, and pour the prepared Chicken Rice Soy Sauce over. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve alongside the side soup* and chicken rice chili sauce. Your Hainanese chicken rice is ready!

Tips
Any left over chicken broth can be served as side soup, garnish with chopped spring onions or coriander.