Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Deep-Fry

Cucur Badak

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Boil and mash the sweet potatoes and set aside.
Add the salt and plain flour, and then mix well until soft dough is obtained. Set it aside.
Blend the shrimps, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, dried chilies, spices, turmeric and galangal with 1 tbsp of oil.
Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a wok.
Sauté the blended ingredients for about 10 mins.
Add in shredded coconut, salt, and sugar to taste.
Stir for another 10 mins until the mixture is well mixed. Then, transfer to a bowl and leave it cool.

To Cook
Take a portion of the dough and flatten it on your hand. The dough should be about ½ cm thick, and about the size of your palm.
Place a ball of filling into the middle of the dough and bring the edges together.
When the ball has been sealed, roll it in your palm to get a nice sphere.
Repeat until all the dough has been used.
Deep fry them over medium heat until golden brown. Drains on the paper towels and serve.

Kuih Keria

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Boil and mash sweet potatoes and set aside.
Add the salt and plain flour, and then mix well until you get a soft dough.
Take a small portion of the dough, form a ball and then slightly flatten before making a hole in the middle, and shaping the dough to form a donut shape.
Heat up oil over medium heat in the pan. Deep fry them until they turn a golden brown color. Next, drain them on the paper towels.
Place sugar and water over medium heat in another pan.
Add the donut when the sugar has boiled and thickened, add in the donuts. Stir until the sugar is fully coats the donut. Serve.

Boxing Chicken

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Rinse and clean drummettes. Pluck and remove any remaining feathers.
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut around the smaller end. Stand the fatter end on the chopping board and use the knife to push the skin and meat down (to the fatter end). The drummet will now look like a ‘boxing’ hand. Repeat with the rest.
In a bowl, add all ingredients for marinade and the drummettes. Mix to coat well and set aside to marinade for 2-3 hours.

To Cook
Heat oil in frying pan over high heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, dip the tips of a bamboo chopstick into the oil. Oil that is ready for frying will bubble around the chopstick tip.
In a separate bowl, mix all ingredients for coating. Coat each drummet, and carefully slide them into the frying pan. Cook until golden brown then drain on paper towel before serving.
Best served hot with chilli sauce on the side.

Rice Crackers with Minced Chicken Dip (Khaw Tang Na Tang)

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Heat oil and fry rice crackers a few pieces at a time over medium flame till crispy and golden in colour. Set aside and drain.
Pound together chilli, coriander root, garlic and peppercorns till fine.
Heat coconut milk in a pot but do not bring to a boil. Add pounded mixture, minced chicken and prawns. Stir to avoid lumps.
Add sugar and fish sauce. When cooked, add peanuts and shallots.
Garnish with parsley before serving.

General Tso’s Chicken

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
In a bowl, add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, water, sugar and 1 tsp cornstarch and mix well. Set aside this sauce mixture for later.
Add your chicken to the 1 tbsp cornstarch and mix. Make sure the pieces of chicken are covered evenly with cornstarch.

To Cook
Heat up some oil in a pan on medium high heat. When the oil is hot enough, add the chicken to the pan and fry until golden brown and crispy.
Remove the chicken from the pan and add the chilli flakes, ginger, and garlic.
Stir fry until fragrant then add the chicken back to the pan and toss to mix.
Then add the sauce mixture to the pan and mix well. Make sure all the chicken is coated with the sauce.
Cook while stirring for about a minute, until the sauce has thickened.
Plate the dish and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with cooked white rice.

Soybean Paste Deep Fried Fish

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
You can use any type of fish you like that is good for frying. Pat dry your fish to make sure it is dry, then deep fry until golden brown. Make sure the fish is done as you won’t be cooking the fish further in this recipe.
Heat up some vegetable oil in a wok over medium high heat and stir fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
Add the taucu and mix with the garlic before adding the water.
Next add the soy sauce and sugar, taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Add the deep fried fish to the sauce and toss to coat the fish with the sauce.
Transfer on to a serving plate and garnish with the spring onions and chilli. Serve hot with some cooked white rice.

Indonesian Corn Fritters (Bakwan Jagung)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Separate corn kernels from the cob and transfer into a bowl.
Combine all the remining ingredients. Mix well and set aside.

To Cook
Heat oil and then scoop in corn batter, a tablespoonful at a time. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side and transfer on a wire rack to drain excess oil.
Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce, vinegar dip or tomato sauce.

Chicken Karaage

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Use paper towels to pat dry the chicken and transfer to a bowl. Add in the sake, soy sauce, ginger juice, sesame oil and marinate for 1 hr or overnight.

To Cook
Transfer the chicken pieces out of the marinade on to a plate and coat them evenly with potato starch. Shake off the excess potato starch.
Heat up a wok/pot of cooking oil. To test that the cooking oil is hot enough, insert a pair of wooden chopsticks into the oil and when you see bubbles appear around the chopstick, it’s hot and ready. When the cooking oil is hot enough for frying, drop the chicken into the oil and quickly deep fry them until they float. Transfer them out onto a plate and wait for a couple of minutes.
Put the chicken back into the oil and deep-fry again until golden brown and crunchy. Dish out to a plate or bowl lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Serve hot with a slice of lemon and mayonnaise.

Belacan Fried Chicken

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
In a pestle and mortar, grind the belacan, white pepper, coriander powder, sugar and oil to form a paste. Transfer in to a large bowl and add the chicken wings.
Mix the paste thoroughly in to the chicken wings and leave to marinate for 1 hr or overnight.

To Cook
Heat up oil in a deep wok and deep fry the chicken wings for around 15 mins, until light brown, remove and set aside.
Turn the heat up and add the chicken wings to fry again for 5 mins.
Once the wings are golden brown, remove and drain.

To Serve
Transfer the chicken wings on to a plate and garnish with coriander leaves. Enjoy!

Thai Pork on Toast (Khanom Pang Naa Moo)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Cut the sandwich bread into quarters, and leave them out to dry for at least a couple of hours. Flip the bread squares over one halfway through the drying process.
When the bread is ready, we’ll prepare the pork. In a mixing bowl, combine the pork, soy sauce, cornstarch, pepper, garlic and coriander stems. Mix well to evenly combine all the ingredients. Alternatively, you could just process them in a food processor until smooth.
Using a spoon, spread some of the minced pork mixture over the bread squares. Make sure not to spread the pork too thickly, you’ll want the layer of pork to be the same thickness as the bread at most.
Place a coriander leaf onto each pork toast, and firmly press so that the leaf sticks to the minced pork.

To Cook
In a wok or deep pan, pour enough oil to be 2-inches deep and set the heat on medium high. Check if the oil is hot enough by dipping a wooden chopstick into the oil. The oil is ready when there is a steady stream of bubbles rising from the tip of the chopstick. If you have a deep fryer, set the temperature for 170°C.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly. Dip the bread, pork side down, into the egg wash and quickly transfer into the hot oil (also pork side down).
Flip the pork toast over after about 2 minutes – the pork should be cooked and a golden brown color. Allow the bread on the underside of the pork toast to brown and remove from the hot oil with a slotted spoon. Place the pork toast on some kitchen towels to remove any excess oil.
Repeat until all the pork toasts are done. Allow to slightly cool before serving the your dipping sauce of choice.

Japanese Pork Meatballs (Niku-Dango)

by Leave a Comment

To Make the Meatballs
Excluding the oil, place all other meatballs ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
Scoop 1 tbsp meat mixture to make 3.5cm meatballs and place on a cutting board or a large baking pan. Repeat.
Roll each meatball with wet hands to form rounded meatballs.
Heat oil to 170-180°C. The depth of oil should cover the meatballs.
Place a few meatballs gently into the oil.
Deep-fry for approximately 3-4 mins or until the meatballs are cooked through. Transfer to a tray lined with kitchen towels.

To Make the Sauce
Excluding the cornflour, place the rests of the sauce ingredients with water into a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat.
When the sauce starts boiling, reduce heat to low and add in the cornflour solution. Stir well until the sauce is thickened. Turn off the heat.

To Serve
Place the meatballs on a serving plate and pour the sauce on top, covering all meatballs. Garnish with julienned spring onions.

Butter Cereal Chicken

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Marinate the chicken pieces with soy sauce and turmeric powder for at least 30 mins.

To Cook
Heat-up oil in a pot or wok. Coat some cornstarch over the chicken pieces. Deep fry till golden brown. Drain off the oil and set aside.
In a wok, melt a tablespoonful of butter and stir-fry the oats until it turns crispy and golden-brown. Remove from wok and set aside.
Melt the rest of the butter in a wok. Stir-fry the shallots until fragrant and golden brown. Then add the curry leaves and bird eye chillies (optional).
Add the fried chicken pieces to the wok and mix well. Arrange the cooked chicken on a serving plate and top with crispy oats cereal (from Step 3).
Serve hot with steamed rice.