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Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Steam

Vegetarian Fritter Hand Roll

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To Prep
Add the sushi vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and gentle fold in to the rice until well incorporated.
Combine 3 tbsp of the tempura flour with the ice water in a mixing bowl and lightly stir them together. Try not to over mix the batter.
Put the remaining tablespoon of flour in to a separate bowl along with the cut vegetables. Season lightly before mixing to coat all of the ingredients.
Pour in the batter and lightly mix through to further coat the ingredients.

To Cook
Heat a pan with about 2 cm of oil to deep-fry up to about 180°C.
Place spoonfuls of the vegetable mix in to the pan and cook until golden on both sides. Let cool on paper towels to drain the excess oil.
When the fritters have cooled, cut them in to halves or in to sections that will fit in to the hand roll.

To Assemble
Cut nori sheets in half. Place sushi rice and the rest of the fillings onto one side of nori.
Fold the nearest corner of the nori over the filling and start to shape.
The finished hand roll should be shaped conically to prevent any rice from falling out from the bottom.
Serve with teriyaki sauce or eel sauce on top!

Tempura Prawn Hand Roll

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To Prep
Add the sushi vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and gentle fold in to the rice until well incorporated.
Combine 125 g of tempura flour and ice water together in a mixing bowl and lightly stir them together. Don’t over mix as pockets of flour will make the batter airy. Pour the remaining 50 g of flour in to a separate bowl.

To Cook
Heat the oil to about 180°C, then dredge the prawns one by one in the tempura flour, then into the batter and fry in batches till golden brown. Let cool on paper towels to drain the excess oil.

To Make the Roll
Halve the seaweed sheets. Place sushi rice and then the lettuce, cucumber and prawn onto one side of nori.
Fold the nearest corner of the nori over the filling and start to shape.
The hand roll should be shaped cone shaped to stop any rice from falling out.
Serve with teriyaki sauce or eel sauce on top!

Hong Kong Steamed Rice Rolls with Prawns (Har Cheung Fun)

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To Prep
In a large bowl, combine all the flour ingredients. Pour in oil while using your other hand to slowly knead. Then, gradually pour in water while continuing to knead and mix, getting rid of any lumps until a smooth, watery batter is obtained.

To Cook
Prepare a steamer over high heat. Using a rectangular tray, lightly brush it with oil. Slowly pour in a thin layer of batter to cover the tray. When the water is boiling, place into the steamer and steam for 2 mins. Then, add 2 tbsp of prawns on top of the rice roll in a straight line, about 3cm from the front edge of the rice roll layer. Sprinkle 1 tbsp green onions. Continue to steam for another 2-3 mins until prawns are cooked.
Remove from steamer and allow to cool for 2 mins. Roll the rice roll layer from the front edge to cover prawns and green onions. Repeat Step 2 and 3 with remaining batter.
Mix sauce ingredients into a bowl and pour over steamed rice rolls. Garnish with spring onions and serve with some XO sauce.

Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumplings (Har Gow)

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To Prep
In a bowl, combine all filling ingredients. Using a fork, whip the mixture in one direction for 2 mins until the mixture begins to appear sticky. Cover with a cling wrap and place inside the fridge while preparing the dough.
In a mixing bowl, combine wheat starch and tapioca starch. Gradually add in boiling water while stirring vigorously. Then, pour in lard or oil and stir well to combine. Knead the dough for 2 mins until you get a smooth ball. Roll the dough into a long log and cut into 20 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Place the dough balls into a tray and cover with damp cloth.
Prepare a lightly oiled smooth surface. You can place a baking sheet over a cutting board and lightly oil the baking sheet. Working with one dough ball at a time, flatten it using a rolling pin until rather thin but still able to withhold the weight of the filling. Using a round cutter, about 8cm in diameter, cut out the dough. Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of the dumpling wrap and fold into half. Then, using your fingers, push the dough, forming pleats, until completely sealed from one end to the other. Place prawn dumpling into a large bamboo basket lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough balls and leftover dough, if any. Space the prawn dumplings slightly apart to allow for expansion during cooking process.

To Cook
Prepare a steamer over high heat. Steam prawn dumplings over boiling water for 6 mins. Steam in batches if you have a smaller bamboo basket.
Remove and serve hot with soy sauce or chilli sauce.

Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce (Fung Jao)

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To Cook
Pat chicken feet with paper towels until dry. In a wok or deep pan, heat up oil and deep fry chicken feet in batches until golden brown. Drain.
In a pot, add water till half full and bring to a boil. Carefully place fried chicken feet into boiling water and boil for 40 mins. Check occasionally to ensure there is sufficient water.
Meanwhile, prepare garlic. Place minced garlic in a bowl together with fermented black beans, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, fermented bean curd, ground white pepper, chicken stock and salt. Combine till well mixed.
Once chicken feet are ready, drain them from the pot of water. Place into a large mixing bowl and toss them with the seasoning sauce. Allow to marinade for at least 1 hr (or best overnight).
Steam marinated chicken feet for 3 hrs over low heat. Occasionally, gently mix the chicken feet with sauce while steaming to ensure that the chicken feet are evenly flavoured and coloured.
Serve immediately.

Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake (Ma Lai Koh)

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To Prep
Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and add sugar. Whisk until light and fluffy. Pour in oil and milk and continue whisking until smooth. Slowly add in flour and custard powder while whisking until smooth batter is formed. Also, gradually add in baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk until smooth, ensuring there are no lumps. Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and allow the batter to rest for at least 30 mins.

To Cook
Prepare a steamer and bring water to a rolling boil. Place a 9-inch round pan into the steamer for about 3 mins to warm it up. Then, pour the batter into the pan and steam for 40 mins. To check if it’s ready, insert a tooth pick into the centre of the cake and remove it. The tooth pick should come out clean.
Take the cake out from the steamer and set aside to cool down slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Prawn and Ginger Dumplings

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To Prep
Roughly chop half of the prawns into chunks. Use a food processor to process remaining prawns into a paste. In a large mixing bowl, combine both with ginger, chicken stock powder, salt, egg white, Shaoxing wine, cornflour and sesame oil.
Place a small spoonful of prawn mixture in the centre of the dumpling wrapper. Brush water on one side of the dumpling wrapper, and then fold the other side up but do not seal. Working from left to right, make small pleats on side closest to you until both sides have joined, and then pinch together to seal the top.

To Cook
Steam dumplings for 6 mins, and then serve immediately.

Braised Beef Tendons

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To Cook
Add oil into a wok or pot over medium heat. Sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant. Remove and set aside.
Bring the heat up to high and place in beef tendons. Sear and brown them on all sides.
Add all ingredients into the wok, including sautéed garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil then, put on the lid and simmer on lowest heat for 2½ hrs. Stir occasionally and ensure there is sufficient liquid. By the end of the simmer time, the liquid should be thick. Season with salt or sugar according to taste.
Transfer tendons to a steaming plate or bamboo basket and steam over high heat for 30 mins. Remove and serve.

Crispy Fried Yam Puff (Wu Kok)

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To Prep
In a bowl, mix together pork, soy sauce and ginger. In another bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, oyster sauce, cooking wine, water, a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Mix well.

To Cook
In a pan, heat up oil over medium heat. Put in pork and cook, breaking the pork into pieces using your spatula. Once they are cooked, add shrimp and stir fry until pink. Pour in the bowl of sauce mixture and stir until well combined. Transfer to a bowl and mix in spring onions. Allow to cool then, refrigerate for at least 2 hrs to marinade.
Spread out yam pieces on a plate and steam over boiling water until softened, around 20 mins. Remove from steamer and mash them immediately into paste. Set aside.
Place wheat starch into a bowl and carefully stir in boiling water to form a rough dough. When the dough mixture has cooled down slightly to a very warm temperature, add mashed yam and mix well. Place in lard, baking soda, salt and sugar. Fold and knead the dough until smooth, removing any yam lumps at the end. Roll the dough into a ball and cut into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a log and cut into 6 equal pieces. Using your palm or rolling pin, flatten each dough and roll into a dumpling wrap. Fill each dumpling wrap with the marinated filling and fold the wrap into half-moon shaped dumpling.
In a wok, heat up enough oil for deep frying over high heat. To test if the oil is sufficiently hot, drop a piece of yam lump into the oil. If it stays at the bottom of the wok for a sec before floating to the top, the oil is ready. Gently put in pieces of yam dumplings into the wok of hot oil and fry until browned. The dumplings should also be covered with crispy nettings. Remove and drain off excess oil by placing the fried dumplings on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Spicy Steamed Beef Tripe

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Main Ingredients
Add oil into a wok or large pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant. Put in tripe and fry for 2 mins. Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, black bean sauce, Shaoxing wine, five spice powder, brown sugar, paprika, cayenne pepper and sesame oil. Stir to mix well and cook for another 2 mins.
Pour in water and bring to a boil. Then, turn the heat to medium and simmer for 30 mins or until sauce reduces slightly and thickens.
Take the tripe out and transfer to a bamboo basket or steaming plate. Steam for 30 mins over high heat. Serve immediately with chilli sauce or light soy sauce.

Steamed Pork Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

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To Prep
In a large mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients aside from the pork, chilli and spring onion. Mix to combine.
Add the pork spare ribs and stir through until well coated.

To Cook
Prepare a bamboo steamer over a wok. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-high.
On a heatproof plate or pan, place the spare ribs on top. Place in the bamboo steamer and cook for 20 mins, or until ribs are fully cooked, topping up water as needed.
Carefully remove from steamer basket, then garnish with spring onion and chilli. Enjoy.

Steamed Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Ice Cream (Putu Ayu)

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Preparing Coconut Ice Cream
Add all the ingredients together and mix them in a large bowl. Transfer the mixture into an ice cream machine. Churn and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Preparing Putu Ayu
Mix the grated coconut, corn flour and salt. Pack 2 tsp of the mixture tightly into each of the moulds.
Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat eggs and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Fold in the coconut milk and flour alternately. Add in 1-2 tsp pandan flavouring into the mixture and fold. Pour the mixture into the cake moulds until full.
Prepare a steamer. Bring water to a boil and place cakes in. Steam for 10-15 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. When the cakes have cooked, leave them to cool for 10 mins. Using a knife, ease the cakes out of the moulds.
Serve with a scoop of coconut ice cream. Top with coconut flakes if desired.