To Cook
Add water to the twigim mix. Mix lightly using chopsticks.
Add the vegetable ingredients to the batter and mix.
Heat oil in a wok or saucepan and fry the battered vegetables in small batches, dropping about 2 tbsp of mixture at a time. Take twigim (Korean tempura) out of the oil when they turn pale gold or when the vegetables have started to soften. This should take about 2 mins.
Drain fried vegetables on paper towel. Leave it to cool. Re-fry twigim or tempura in moderately hot oil, until it turns golden and crisp. Drain well on paper towel before serving with dipping sauce.
Note: If not using the Korean tempura flour, substitute with ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup of cornflour, 1-2 tbsp rice flour, 1 egg and ½ tsp salt. You can substitute sweet potatoes or potatoes with other root vegetables.
Deep-Fry
Cereal Butter Prawn
To Prep
Clean prawns by trimming off legs and feelers with a pair of kitchen scissors. Cut along the back of the prawn and devein them. Wash, pat dry and marinate the prawn with salt and cornflour.
To Cook
In a wok, heat up enough oil to deep fry the prawns. When the oil is hot, deep fry the prawns for 1-2 mins. Set aside.
Heat up wok in medium heat and melt butter in it. Add in the curry leaves and chilli if you want a bit of a kick. Stir fry until fragrant.
Return prawns into the pan and add in the cereal mixture. Stir fry for about 2 mins, ensuring the prawns are well coated with the cereal.
Serve immediately.
Beehive Cookies (Kuih Rose/ Kuih Loyang)
To Prep
Add coconut milk, eggs, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and whip until well combined and all sugar has dissolved.
Sift all-purpose flour and rice flour into the mixture. Whisk until the mixture has the consistency of pancake batter (Add a little water if too thick).
To Cook
Heat up oil in a wok on medium heat.
Place brass moulds in the hot oil, about 2-3 mins. (The moulds have to be hot enough for batter to cling on them).
Dip hot mould into batter for 10 secs. Make sure batter coats only the bottom and sides of mould, never over the top.
Slowly lift it up and dip mould back in hot oil. Shake to release from mould and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Remove from hot oil, and let it cool over paper towel.
Repeat until all batter is used up. Store in air-tight containers.
Yam Basket (Fatt Putt)
To Prep
Skin off the yam skin, cut into pieces and steam until soft.
Transfer yam (hot) into bowl and combine wheat starch, sugar, five spice powder, cooking oil and salt. Mash the yam and knead it until it forms a pliable dough – add additional wheat starch if it is too sticky; if it is too dry, increase amount of cooking oil.
Place the yam paste in a ziplock bag and seal the opening. Compress until it forms a thick piece and place in freezer for about 20-30 mins.
Once the yam paste is slightly firm (but still pliable), open the ziplock bag. Cut into 3 equal parts of about 5cm wide each.
Take one part and connect both ends together. Pop it back into the freezer until firm for deep frying. Just remember to defrost the ring slightly before deep frying.
To Cook
In a wok, put 1 tbsp of cooking oil and stir-fry the shitake mushrooms. Add the other ingredients and have a quick stir. Dish up and set aside.
Put all the sweet and sour sauce ingredients in the bowl, stir until well mixed. Pour the sweet and sour sauce ingredients in and use medium heat to cook the sauce until it thickens before adding the vegetables. Turn off the heat and stir until well mixed. Set aside.
Heat up adequate oil to cover the whole yam ring under medium heat. Then, deep fry the vermicelli. Once it starts to float upwards, drain and set aside.
Put the yam ring onto a ladle with holes and slowly immerse onto the hot oil (medium heat) until yam ring is submerged. Fry until golden brown and crispy.
After draining, place the yam ring on the serving plate. Pour the vegetarian fillings on the yam ring and the deep fried rice vermicelli surrounding the yam ring. Garnish with roasted cashew nuts, pine nuts and coriander.
Cereal Prawn
To Cook
Combine the egg white with the plain flour and corn flour to form the marinade. Add salt and pepper to preference. Add prawns and set aside for 15 mins.
Heat a wok with oil to 170℃ and deep-fry until it has turned a light golden colour.
Once all your prawns are cooked, remove them from the wok. Melt 3 tbsp butter in the wok. Add the curry leaves and chilli until it has become fragrant. Add the egg yolk and stir for 10-15 secs.
Reduce the heat and add the oats, milk powder, chicken powder and sugar. The mixture is done when the ingredients are crispy but not burnt.
Take off the heat, add prawns and mix thoroughly.
Serve hot by itself or with rice.
Thai Spicy Stir Fried Crispy Pork Belly with Beans
To Cook
Place the whole piece of pork belly in boiling water and simmer until tender. Pierce the skin with a fork. Allow to cool, then fry in hot oil until crispy. Allow to cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Discard all but 1 tbsp oil.
Blanch beans in boiling water until tender, then refresh in ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.
Heat the reserved oil over low heat. Add Valcom Red curry paste and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the pork, beans, palm sugar, Valcom Kaffir Lime Leaves and water and stir through. Remove from heat.
Mini Spicy Prawn Rolls
To Prep
Soak the dried shrimps in water for 10-15 mins until they soften. Drain and place into food processer to process until finely chopped. Set aside.
Peel shallots and garlic and finely chop them separately in the food processor. Spoon out and set aside.
Soak the dried chillies in warm water until they soften. Chop them up roughly, remove the seeds and blend with 1-2 tbsp water until a paste is formed.
To Cook
Add 3 tbsp cooking oil into a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add chopped shallots and garlic, and fry until it’s fragrant. Add chilli paste and stir-fry for 2-3 mins, or until the liquid has dried up. Add the chopped shrimp and continue cooking for another 10-15 mins until the mixture darkens and becomes dry. Dish out and set aside to cool.
Carefully separate the spring roll wrappers and evenly divide and cut each piece into 9 small squares.
To wrap the mini spring rolls, place a small amount of shrimp mixture in the middle of the wrapper. Fold on the left and right corners, followed by the bottom corner to for a parcel. Then, roll upwards to enclose. Use your finger to dab some beaten egg on the last corner of the wrapper to seal the roll. Repeat until all the wrappers or filling is used up.
In a frying pan, add 2-3cm of oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough, add the mini rolls to the frying pan to cook for about 2-3 mins, or until they are golden brown. Fry in small batches for better control of the heat. Strain the mini rolls using a spider or a strainer, and drain well on paper towels.
Set aside to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Sweet and Sour Pork
To Prep
Add all marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add pork and mix to coat evenly. Set aside to marinade for at least 30 mins or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
To Cook
Add about 5cm of oil into a large pot and heat oil over high heat. To test if the oil is ready, dip a bamboo chopstick tip into the oil. If it bubbles vigorously around the chopstick, then the oil is ready.
Combine plain flour with cornstarch. Dredge pork pieces in flour mixture and gently lower the pieces into the oil to fry in batches. Fry for about 3-5 mins until they are lightly browned. Remove the pork pieces and drain over wire rack.
Once all the pork pieces are fried and drained, double fry the pork pieces for another 1 min or so until golden brown. Set aside to drain over wire rack.
To Prep Sauce
In a bowl, add constarch and water. Stir to combine until cornstarch is fully dissolved. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple syrup, vinegar and ketchup. Mix well and set aside.
In a wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add in onion and sauté until onion is translucent. Then add garlic and sauté till fragrant. Add capsicum and pineapple. Keep cooking until capsicum softens slightly.
Add slurry into the wok. Bring wok contents to boil then simmer until sauce thickens.
Lastly, add in the pork pieces and coat them evenly in the sauce. Dish out onto a serving plate, top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds, and serve!
Chinese Lunar New Year Cake (Deep Fried Nian Gao with Egg)
To Cook
Slice the Nian Gao into thin square pieces.
In a bowl, whisk eggs, flour, cornflour (or baking soda), water and salt until the batter reaches a smooth consistency.
Heat a pan with oil. Dip Nian Gao slices in egg batter and pan-fry in batches (add more oil if needed), until lightly browned on both sides. Serve warm.
Deep Fried Nian Gao with Sweet Potato and Yam
To Prep
Mix flour, oil and water until mixture is smooth. Set aside for 30 mins.
To Cook
Sandwich a slice of Nian Gao in sweet potato and yam. Then, coat with batter.
Deep fry in a wok over medium to low flame till golden brown and crispy.
Serve warm.
Beer Batter Fish Tempura with Yuzu Kosho Mayonnaise
To Prep
Portion fish into bite size.
Combine all beer batter ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
To Cook
Heat vegetable oil in a wok or deep pan to 165°C-170°C. Coat fish fillet with Obento Tempura Batter Mix, tap excess flour off and coat with beer batter. Place gently in oil and cook until crispy and cooked through.
Remove from heat and place onto paper towel to remove excess oil.
Mix all yuzu kosho mayonnaise ingredients in a bowl.
To serve, place fish fillet in a sharing plate and serve with yuzu kosho mayonnaise.
Karaage Amazu Chicken
To Cook
Marinate the chicken thigh with soy sauce and set aside.
Combine mirin seasoning, rice wine vinegar, salt, water and sugar in a pot and bring to the boil. Turn to medium heat and cook until the liquid thickens.
Cool the mixture until cold, add lemon juice, coriander, long red chilli and crushed peanuts, mix well.
Coat the marinated chicken thigh fillet with tempura batter mix and tap off excess flour. Heat vegetable oil to 175°C and fry until crispy and cooked through.
To serve, place chicken fillet on a sharing plate and pour over sauce. Serve hot.