Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Deep-Fry

Thai Spicy Fried Pork Patties (Tod Man Moo)

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To Prep
Combine all of the ingredients for ajad in to a mixing bowl and mix well before leaving to stand overnight.
In another mixing bowl, mix the ground pork with the curry paste, then add the egg, water, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves and spring onions. Continue to mix well until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Roll the pork mince in to balls approximately 1 tbsp each, and then flatten into 3cm thick patties.

To Cook
In a wok, heat oil over medium-high heat and add the pork patties to fry until golden brown.
Remove, drain on paper towels and serve with pickled ginger and/or ajad on the side.

Thai Ginger Steamed Whole Fish (Pla Nung Khing)

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To Prep
Rub the fish with salt, sugar, oyster sauce and seasoned soy sauce, then place on a steaming dish.
Open the fish and stuff ½ cup ginger into the fish.
Sprinkle the remaining ginger over the fish.

To Cook
Steam fish for about 20 mins or until the fish is cooked. Turn off the heat.
Drizzle fish with some sesame oil, sprinkle spring onions and chillies over the fish before serving.

Thai-style Fried Omelettes (Khai Jiao)

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To Cook
In a large bowl, crack the eggs. Add lime juice and fish sauce to the eggs. Beat the egg mixture with a fork or a small whisk until light and airy. Then beat in the flour while making sure that it is free of lumps.
In the meantime, add vegetable oil to a wok and heat over high heat. Once the oil starts smoking, add the frothy egg mixture into the hot oil. Keep cooking for about 20 secs.
Dish out the omelette, and place in a serving dish. Serve immediately with steamed rice and Sriracha sauce on the side.

Thai Pandan Wrapped Chicken (Gai Hor Bai Toey)

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To Prep
Mix all Marinade ingredients in a bowl. Then add chicken and mix to coat evenly. Leave to marinate for at least 15 mins.

To Wrap the Chicken
Start folding with the non-shiny side up. Fold one end of the leaf back to form a small cone cup,
Using a chopstick, put about 1-2 pcs of chicken into the cone cup,
Bring the longer part of the leaf down to the front and back so that it wraps the chicken securely in the cone cup,
Take the same part of the leaf and slowly insert into the wrap from the bottom and out through the top,
Gently pull the leaf through and cut the excess part, leaving about 2 inches length. To make it more secure, insert the skewer through the centre. Repeat the process until all the chicken has been used.
In a wok, heat oil and deep-fry chicken until thoroughly cooked.
In a small pot, mix all ingredients and bring to boil. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced to a thick gravy.
Serve pandan wrapped chicken with the gravy on the side.

Fried Chicken with Lemongrass (Gai Tod Takrai)

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To Cook
Bring a pot of water to boil and in the chicken pieces to cook for about 15-20 mins. Drain and set aside to cool.
Using a stone mortar and pestle, pound the lemongrass pieces until stringy.
In a wok or pan, add oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add in lemongrass to fry until crispy, strain and set aside.
Next, turn up the heat and carefully add chicken to the wok. Continue frying until chicken turns golden brown. Remove fried chicken from wok and drain excess oil on paper towel.
Place fried chicken and lemongrass into a clean pot. Cover with the pot lid and shake hard to mix well. Transfer gai tod takrai into a serving plate and serve as a snack with an ice cold beer!

Thai Crispy Fish with Mango Salad (Yum Pla Duk Fu)

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To Cook
Cut the fish into chunks, season with soy sauce or salt, then steam for 5 mins until the meat is fully cooked. Set the fish aside to cool.
In the meantime, prepare the mango salad. In a mortar, pound 2-3 bird’s eye chillies until there are no big chunks, then add palm sugar and mash to a paste. Add fish sauce and lime juice and mix until sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer paste to a bowl and add the shallots, dried shrimp, and julienned mango. Set aside to sit while you fry the fish.
Once the fish is cool, transfer it to a bowl lined with muslin cloth. Wrap the cloth around the fish, twist, and squeeze as hard as you can to remove as much liquid as possible.
Then, transfer the fish to a mortar and pestle and pound it until it’s fluffy with no chunks left.
In a wok or a large pot, heat about 3 cm of oil over high heat. Now to put the fu (fluffiness) in the fish, the oil has to be heated to about 200℃.
Once the oil is hot enough, sprinkle half of the fish into the oil. Be careful as the oil will bubble aggressively. While the fish cooks, try to tuck the edges of the fish and push the fish down to submerge in oil to fry and brown evenly. Once fish is golden brown, remove from oil with a slotted skimmer and set it on paper towels to drain.
Place the fish on a serving plate and sprinkle with roasted peanuts. Garnish mango salad with chopped coriander (optional) and serve beside the fish. Serve the yum pla duk foo as a snack or as a main dish with steamed rice.

Deep Fried Soft Tofu in Soy (Agedashi Tofu)

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To Cook
Cut the well-drained tofu into 4 large pieces and dip into the cornflour. Deep-fry the tofu for 6 – 8 mins until golden.
Make the dipping sauce by combining the ingredients together in a small pan and bring to simmer.
Place tofu in a bowl, pour the warm dipping sauce over the tofu, top with spring onion and bonito flakes.

Fish Fillet Rice Vermicelli

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To Prep
Marinate the fish meat with white pepper, sesame oil, tapioca flour and salt for about 1 hour.

To Cook
In a heated pot with adequate cooking oil, deep fry fish fillets until golden brown. Drain and set aside.
In another stock pot, add 1-2 tbsp of oil, sesame oil and ginger slices, then sauté until fragrant. Add the anchovies, the white parts of spring onion, and for about 5 minutes until fragrant. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Then let it simmer for half an hour.
Strain the soup into another pot to remove anchovies, ginger and spring onions. Bring soup to boil again then add tomatoes and salted vegetable. Continue boiling for another 10 mins.
Place a serve of noodles and choy sum into a bowl, ladle soup and top with fish. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Note: If you’d wish to keep the fried fish fillets crispy for longer, serve them on a separate plate.

Indonesian Fried Banana (Pisang Goreng)

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To Prep
Place the flour in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the water, coconut cream and salt. Using a wooden spoon or a whisk, gradually incorporate the flour into the liquid and whisk to make a lump-free smooth, thick batter. Add more flour or water as needed.

To Cook
Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan until moderately hot. Dip and coat banana pieces thoroughly in batter. Gently lower the coated pieces into the oil, a few at a time, and deep-fry over medium heat for 5-10 mins. Turn occasionally, and fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove from saucepan and drain on paper towels. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Korean Fried Chicken Wings

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To Prep
Cut off the tip of each wing and chop the wing in half.
Mix salt, ginger and ground black pepper in a big bowl and put the chicken in and mix equally by hand.
Put potato starch in another bowl and dip each wing to coat it, one by one. Squeeze each wing to press the coating to it tightly.
Put 5 cups of cooking oil in a frying pan or pot and heat it up for 7-8 mins over high heat.

To Cook
Check the oil by dipping the tip of the wing in the oil, if the oil bubbles, can start frying. Slide the wings in the hot oil one by one and fry for about 13 mins, turn the wings over a few times with a long tong.
Depends on your size of pan or pot, may need to do it in a few batches. You will need more cooking oil if you use a large pot.
Remove wings from the oil and let them sit on a strainer. Turn off the heat; let the wings sit for a few minutes.
Reheat the oil and fry the wings again for another 15 mins until they turned golden brown. Remove them from oil and place them on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Sweet and Crispy Korean Fried Chicken (Dakgangjeong)

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To Prep Sauce
Heat a large non-stick wok with cooking oil over medium high heat. Add minced garlic for about 30 secs.
Add soy sauce, rice syrup, vinegar, and mustard sauce (optional). Stir with a wooden spoon and let it bubble for a few minutes.
Add the brown sugar and continue stirring. Remove from the heat. Set aside.

To Prep Chicken
Cut off the tip of each wing and chop the wing in half.
Mix salt, ginger and ground black pepper in a big bowl and put the chicken in and mix equally by hand.
Put corn starch in another bowl and dip each wing to coat it, one by one. Squeeze each wing to press the coating to it tightly.
Put 5 cups of cooking oil in a frying pan or pot and heat it up for 7-8 mins over high heat.

To Cook
Check the oil by dipping the tip of the wing in the oil, if the oil bubbles, can start frying. Slide the wings in the hot oil one by one and fry for about 13 mins, turn the wings over a few times with a long tong.
Depends on your size of pan or pot, may need to do it in a few batches. You will need more cooking oil if you use a large pot.
Remove wings from the oil and let them sit on a strainer. Turn off the heat; let the wings sit for a few minutes.
Reheat the oil and fry the wings again for another 15 mins until they turned golden brown. Remove them from oil and place them on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

To Serve
Once the chicken is done, reheat the coating sauce until it bubbles.
Add the chicken one by one and coat the chicken with a thong.
Remove from the heat and transfer the coated chicken to a plate. Garnish with some sesame seeds and chopped spring onions, and serve immediately.

Salt and Pepper Squid

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To Prep
Use a sharp knife to cut through one side of each squid hood length ways. Open out flat with inside surface facing up and score surface diagonally. Cut into 3.5cm squares and pat dry with paper towel.
Heat the oil in a large wok over medium heat until it reaches 190°C on a confectionery/oil thermometer. (Or, add a 5cm cube of bread to the oil – it should turn light golden in 10 secs)
Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, pepper, Chinese five-spice and chilli in a medium bowl. Add the squid and toss gently to coat.

To Cook
Remove half of the squid from the flour mixture and shake off any excess. Add to the oil and cook, turning with a slotted metal spoon, for 2 mins or until the squid just turns golden and curls. Use the slotted spoon to transfer the squid to a large plate lined with paper towel to drain. Reheat the oil in the wok to 190°C. Repeat with the remaining squid.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges and chilli soy sauce.