Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Deep-Fry

Salt and Pepper Prawns (Tom Rang Muoi)

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To Prep
Clean the prawns and then cut off the whiskers and horn with a pair of scissors.
Without removing the shell, take out the veins by using a toothpick placed under the shell and then slowly pulling up. If the vein breaks, you should be able to pull out the remainder with your hands.

To Cook
In a pot, heat oil to 180°C.
While the pot of oil is heating up, dry roast the salt and pepper in a pan until the pepper becomes fragrant.
Once the pepper has become fragrant, remove from the heat and add the sugar, mix and set aside.
Coat a batch of the prawns in corn starch and shake off the excess before frying in the oil.
Cook for about 1-2 mins before transferring to a plate with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Continue to cook the remaining prawns in batches until finished.
In a wok, heat up 1 tbsp of oil and add the chilli, onions and garlic.
Sauté until fragrant before adding the deep-fried prawns and the salt and pepper mix.
Toss lightly until combined and then serve!

Vegan Salt and Pepper Tofu

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To Cook
Remove tofu from packaging. Line a plate with several layers of paper towels. Place tofu on the plate and top with a 2-3 more layers of paper towels. Place a heavy cutting board (or other objects) on top of the tofu and set aside for 15-20 mins to drain and release water.
Slice tofu into 3cm cubes and pat dry with paper towel.
Combine cornstarch, white pepper and salt in a ziploc bag, add the tofu cubes and shake to coat evenly.
In a frying pan, heat about 3cm of oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, fry tofu pieces in small batches. Fry until all sides are crispy and pale gold. Repeat until all the tofu is used up.
Plate up the tofu and garnish with sliced chillies, chopped spring onions and ground black pepper.

Salt and Pepper Prawns

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To Cook
In a large bowl. add flour, salt, 2 tsp black pepper and mix well.
Coat prawns in flour mixture. Shake off excess flour from each prawn.
Fill a frying pan 2-3 cm deep with oil and heat over high heat. Fry prawns in small batches for about 2-3 mins or until crisp. Transfer prawns to a plate lined with paper towel and set aside to drain.
Combine salt flakes with remaining black pepper in a small bowl.
Plate up the prawns and sprinkle with the salt and pepper mix. Serve on its own, or with rice.

Fried Shallots

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To Cook
Place the shallots in to a saucepan and fill with enough oil to cover the shallots.
Turn on the stove and set it to a high heat, stirring occasionally.
Once the shallots start to turn brown, reduce the flame to low and continue to cook them until they turn golden brown.
Once the shallots have turned golden brown, remove them from the oil and allow them to drain on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
Season lightly with salt and serve.

Tempura Crabsticks

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To Make Dipping Sauce
In a saucepan, combine all Dipping Sauce ingredients and bring to boil.
Lower heat to simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside.

To Prep
Heat oil in a wok or saucepan for deep frying.
Sift the plain flour 1-2 times into a bowl.
Add the egg into the ice-cold water and whisk vigorously until well incorporated. Scoop out the foam on the surface and discard.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour slowly, using chopsticks to mix gently. Allow some lumps in the batter and do not over mix.
Sit the bowl in another bowl with ice bath to keep the batter cool.

To Cook
When the oil is hot, dip each crabstick into the batter and place in the oil. Deep fry in batches to avoid cooling the oil too much.
When the tempura crabsticks turn golden brown, remove and drain well. Repeat until all crabsticks are done. Serve with dipping sauce.

Hunan-style Lamb Ribs

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To Prep
Combine the marinade ingredients and set aside.

To Cook
Combine the water, Shaoxing wine, sliced ginger, soy sauce, star anise, sugar and the cinnamon in to a large saucepan and bring to a simmer before adding the lamb ribs.
Reduce the heat to low and cook the lamb until the meat is starting to become tender. Roughly 90 mins.
Remove the ribs, drain and place in a fridge for 180 mins to become firm.
Add the firmed lamb to the marinade and coat well. Return to the fridge to marinate for another 60 mins.
In a large wok, heat 5 tbsp of oil and transfer the marinated lamb to the wok to cook.
Cook the lamb in batches to ensure they are evenly cooked. After frying the ribs, remove them from the wok to drain off the excess oil.
Once the lamb has been cooked, fry the finely chopped ginger, chillies, garlic, spring onions and Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant before returning the lamb back in to the wok to finish.
Coat the lamb with the mixture and then transfer to a plate to serve.

Vegan Tempura Sushi Burger

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To Cook
Add sauce ingredients into a bowl and mix together until fully combined. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring to avoid burning. Take off heat when sauce is reduced by half. Set aside to cool.
Add sushi seasoning to cooked brown rice, mix and sit for 15 mins.
Add vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Add in ½ cup flour and salt, and toss until coated thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, prepare the tempura batter by incorporating the remaining plain flour, potato starch and ice water. Then add the batter with vegetable mix, tossing to combine.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok. Spooning bits of the vegetable batter into the oil, using a chopstick to shape it into a round form.
Remove from oil when golden and place on wire rack or drain on paper towel.
To shape sushi buns, spoon 2-3 tbsp of sushi rice into an egg ring and press to mold into shape. Place sushi buns on heated pan to sear the surface.
Assemble the burger by adding wasabi, pickled ginger, cucumber and desired amount of sauce before topping off black sesame seeds on top of sushi bun.

Spiral Yam Mooncake

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To Prep Water Dough
Mix ingredients in a large bowl and knead until well combined.
Divide into 3 equal portions and allow to rest for 20 mins.

To Prep Oil Dough
Mix ingredients in a large bowl and knead until well combined.
Divide into 3 equal portions and allow to rest for 20 mins.

For the Filling
Place egg yolks in a steamer on medium-low heat for 10-15 mins. Set aside to cool when finished.
Sprinkle salt onto yam before steaming for 20 mins on medium heat. Once finished, mash with a fork or in food processor.
Mix the yam paste with half of the cooking oil (40ml) in a non-stick pan on low heat until oil is fully absorbed. Turn off the heat while yam paste is still hot, add caster sugar, wheat starch and remaining oil to combine. Allow to cool and divide into 70g portions.
Flatten out yam portions and place steamed yolk in the middle. Wrap and gently use hands to shape into a ball. Repeat for the rest.

To Assemble
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper
Shape and roll/flatten out one portion of water dough. Then wrap the water dough over a portion of rounded oil dough on. Seal and shape into circles. Repeat process as needed.
Using a rolling pin, roll the ball into even and thin rectangular shapes. With the shorter side pointing at you, roll the dough away from you like a Swiss roll. Flatten with rolling pin and repeat again.
Cut rolled dough into 4 equal portions. Repeat with remain dough.
Flatten dough slices thinly with a rolling pin into a disk. Place yam filling in the centre, and cover with dough. Trim off any excess dough. Repeat with rest of dough and filling, and bake for 30 mins or until golden brown.
Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Lemongrass Fried Chicken

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To Prep
Mix chicken wings with Marinade ingredients evenly and leave in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
Combine the plain flour and corn flour, mix well.
Remove chicken wings from fridge and toss in flour mixture to coat evenly.

To Cook
Heat cooking oil in a wok on medium, making sure that the amount of oil covers the chicken wings completely when deep frying.
Deep-fry the sliced lemongrass until golden brown and set aside. Remove residual from oil.
Add in the chicken wings and deep-fry until cooked thoroughly. Remove and drain.
Serve on a plate and sprinkle with deep fried lemongrass. Garnish with stalks of fresh lemongrass (optional).

Modern Fried Bok Choy Dumplings

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To Prep
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or pan and stir-fry bok choy and shiitake mushrooms until fragrant. Set aside in a bowl to cool. Add mashed shrimp to the bok choy and shiitake mushrooms and combine with seasoning mix. Stir until the mixture has thickened.
Spread the mixture over bean curd skin. Cover with another piece of bean curd skin.
Steam bean curd skin over high heat for 5 mins until cooked. Set aside to cool then, cut into 6 pcs of dumplings.
Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing both ingredients together. Set aside.
Coat dumplings with batter. Heat oil to 180°C and fry until golden browned. Drain and serve with dipping sauce.

Chilli Garlic Cheese Triangles

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To Cook
Cut each spring roll wrapper into 4 triangles to obtain 16 small triangles in total. Cut cheddar cheese and white bread into 8 small triangles respectively.
Put a piece of bread on a piece of spring roll wrapper. Put ¼ tsp Lee Kum Kee Chilli Garlic Sauce on the bread. Cover with a piece of cheese. Brush the three edges of spring roll wrapper with beaten egg. Cover with another piece of spring roll wrapper and press the edges firmly. Repeat to make 8 triangles.
Deep fry chilli garlic cheese triangles in oil over low heat until golden and crisp. Drain. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Fried Fish in Double Deluxe Fruity Sauce

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To Cook
Mix fish with marinade and dust with corn starch.
Deep fry fish in hot oil until golden brown and cooked through. Drain and place on a serving plate.
Bring sauce mixture to a boil, stirring to combine well.
Turn off the heat and stir in green grapes, strawberries, and peaches. Pour over fried fish. Serve.