Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Steam

Thai Egg Custard-Filled Pumpkin

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To Prep
Carve out a hole around the stem of the pumpkin.
Scoop out the pumpkin seeds from the hole.
Rinse the pumpkin both outer and inner parts. Dry the pumpkin on a rack.
Repeat with second pumpkin.

To Cook
Add palm sugar, coconut milk and corn flour into a mixing bowl and mix well.
Squeeze the pandan leaves to extract the juice and add into mixing bowl with the pandan leaves.
Add eggs and mix well.
Strain the mixture with a cheesecloth and colander in order to get a smooth custard texture.
Fill ¾ of the pumpkin with the custard batter.
Repeat for second pumpkin
Steam the pumpkins over low heat for 40-45 mins.
Place egg custard-filled pumpkins into the fridge and leave them to set overnight.
When the custard has set, cut each egg custard-filled pumpkin and serve.

Vegetarian Simmered Mushrooms with Wombok

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To Cook
In a steamer, steam mushrooms for 15 mins. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan, sauté ginger until fragrant.
Add in the mushrooms, wombok, Cordyceps flowers and the fungi, stir well.
Add the vege oyster sauce and soy sauce, stir well.
Pour in the water and bring to boil. Lower the heat to simmer for 5 mins. Add salt to taste.
Drizzle sesame oil over the dish and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with spring onion and serve.

Grilled Banana Wrapped in Sticky Rice (Chuoi Boc Nep Nuong)

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To Prep the Bananas
Peel bananas and place in a bowl. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar and toss to coat. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 mins.

To Prep the Rice
Drain the soaked glutinous rice and toss in a pinch of salt.
Cook the glutinous rice with 60ml coconut milk, 60ml water and 2 pandan leaves. The liquid amount should just barely cover the rice.
When the rice is cooked, add 1 tbsp sugar and mix well.
While the rice is still hot, divide into 4 equal portions, transfer each portion onto a cling wrap-lined cutting board and knead the rice with a rice ladle until they stick together.
Layer another piece of cling wrap on top and press until rice is about 10×10 cm in size and 0.5 cm thick. Remove the top layer of cling wrap and sprinkle some shredded coconut on rice.
Place a small banana in the center of the rice. Lift up the edges of the cling wrap and carefully roll rice around the banana. Twist the cling wrap edges and shape into a log. Then, wrap around the parcel lengthwise with a pandan leaf.
Grill the rolls over a barbie or in the oven at 250°C for about 20-30 mins.
To make the coconut sauce, add 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt and ½ tsp cornstarch. Stir to combine well and bring the sauce to boil.
When the glutinous rice layer is lightly golden, remove the pandan leaves and cut into bite-size pieces. Drizzle with coconut sauce and serve.

Shanghai Style Lion’s Head Pork Meatballs

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To Prep
In a mixing bowl, mix pork with water until it is fully incorporated.
Add Marinade ingredients, ginger, spring onions, corn starch, chestnuts and eggs. Mix well.
Add panko and Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame Oil, mix until it forms a soft mixture. (Panko and water can be used to adjust the texture.)
Form into 8-10 meatballs.

To Cook
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the meatballs until they are browned on all sides.
In a steamer, add in water and place a plate of meatballs on the rack. Cover and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Turn to medium heat, steam for 40 mins until the meatballs are cooked through.
Boil bok choy and mushrooms till cooked. Place on a plate and top it with the meatballs.
Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Thai Steamed Glass Noodles with Prawns (Kung Aob Woonsen)

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To Prep
Using a mortar and pestle, grind garlic, black pepper and half of the sliced ginger until a paste is formed. Set aside.

To Cook
Coat a non-stick clay pot with a small amount of cooking oil. Neatly place the uncrushed sliced ginger on the based on the pot and place the celery leaves on top of the sliced ginger.
Using a small mixing bowl, mix sugar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and soy sauce.
Add the paste from your mortar and pestle into the mixing bowl and mix well.
Add the washed prawns into the mixing bowl, allow to marinate for 10-15 mins, and then remove and set aside.
Drain the glass noodles to get rid of the excess water, then add the glass noodles into the mixing bowl and mix well so they can absorb the sauce evenly.
Place the noodles in your clay pot on top of the ginger and celery leaves. Create a flat top by patting the glass noodles down. Then, neatly lay the prawns on top of the glass noodles.
Cook for 15 mins over medium-high heat.
Garnish with celery leaves and serve.

Thai Steamed Glass Noodles with Crab (Poo Aob Woonsen)

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To Prep
Using a mortar and pestle, grind garlic, black pepper and half of the sliced ginger until a paste is formed. Set aside.

To Cook
Coat a non-stick clay pot with a small amount of cooking oil. Neatly place the uncrushed sliced ginger on the based on the pot and place the celery leaves on top of the sliced ginger.
Using a small mixing bowl, mix sugar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and soy sauce.
Add the paste from your mortar and pestle into the mixing bowl and mix well.
Add the crab into the mixing bowl, allow to marinate for 10-15 mins, and then remove and set aside.
Drain the glass noodles to get rid of the excess water, then add the glass noodles into the mixing bowl and mix well so they can absorb the sauce evenly.
Place the noodles in your clay pot on top of the ginger and celery leaves. Create a flat top by patting the glass noodles down. Then, neatly lay the crab on top of the glass noodles.
Cook for 15 mins over medium-high heat.
Garnish with celery and serve.

Bananas in Coconut Milk (Kluay Buad Chee)

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To Cook
Steam unpeeled bananas on high heat for 3 mins.
After these bananas are steamed, cut them into 3 pieces lengthwise and carefully peel their skin.
Heat 500ml of coconut milk into a pot over medium heat and add 2 pandan leaves (optional).
Stir and wait until coconut milk starts to bubble.
Add ¼ teaspoon of salt, 25g palm sugar and 25g white sugar. Stir well to make sure that sugar is completely dissolved.
Add bananas and gently stir the dessert for about 2-3 mins.
Transfer the dessert to serving plate and sprinkle white sesame on top. Serve.
This dessert can be served hot or cold. If you prefer the cold version, put it in the fridge for 2-3 hrs before serving.

Avocado Nigiri

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To Make
Prepare the rice and the avocado as instructed. For the avocado, slowly peel off the skin and then use the lemon juice to prevent the flesh from browning before slicing in to thin strips.
To form the sushi, roll a small amount of the rice in to small roll. Place a couple slices of the avocado on to the top of the rice and then wrap with a strip of the seaweed. Wet the ends of the seaweed to help them to stick together.

Green Tea Yatsuhashi

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To Prep
In a large bowl, mix 30g shiratamako and 75ml water. Whisk well to combine so that there are no lumps of flour. We mix these two first, before adding the remaining dry ingredients.
Add 60g caster sugar and 50g joshinko, mix well with spatula. The sugar will make the dough watery. You should be able to see the bottom of the bowl for a second when you draw a line. Add more water to reach that consistency, if necessary.

To Cook
In a pot that is large enough to fit the bowl, put a steamer rack inside. Fill the bottom of the pot with water (make sure water won’t reach to bowl when boiling) and bring to boil. Once boiling, place the bowl inside. Wrap the lid with a kitchen towel so that the condensation won’t drop into the mixture. Cover the lid and steam for 12-15 minutes, until the mixture becomes mochi like – sticky, white, and thick when you mix with a wet spatula.

To Make Yatsuhashi
Spread some soybean powder on the working surface.
Cut the dough in half. Keep the other half in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap so that it won’t dry out.
To make the cinnamon flavour, flatten the dough and sprinkle 2 tsp cinnamon powder.
Knead the dough to evenly distribute the cinnamon powder.
With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thin sheet. Try to stretch it out into a rectangular (or square) shape, so it’ll be easier to cut into squares.
Create an 8 x 8cm square cardboard paper. Place on the dough and cut out with a knife. Sprinkle soybean powder in between the wrappers so they don’t stick together.
With leftover pieces, knead and roll flat again to create more pieces.
For matcha flavour, use the other half of the dough, replacing step 3 with 2 tsp matcha powder and 1 tsp cinnamon powder. Repeat the process.
Once you finish cutting the dough in squares, place 1 heaping teaspoon (15 g) of red bean paste at the center of the dough.
Fold into a triangle shape. If the dough edge won’t stick, wet it with water and fold to seal. Enjoy within 24 hours. Keep it in a cool room temperature and avoid putting in the refrigerator, as it will harden.

Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce

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To Cook
Using a small, sharp knife, make small slits in the fish skin.
Add water to a wok to reach a depth of 5cm. Place a steaming rack over the wok.
Combine the spring onions, ginger and chilli in a bowl. Sprinkle ¼ of the mixture over a large heatproof plate, place the fish on top. Sprinkle another ¼ of the mixture evenly in the fish cavity, another ¼ over the top of the fish. Reserve the rests for garnish.
Mix Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, Seasoned Soy Sauce, Pure Sesame Oil and Chinese rice wine in a small bowl until well combined. Pour evenly over the fish. Carefully place the plate on the steaming rack.
Place the wok over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and steam, covered, for 12-15 mins or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork in the thickest part. Remove from heat.
Carefully place fish on serving plate, sprinkle the fish evenly with remaining spring onion mixture and coriander, serve immediately with limes.

Sweet Potato Steam Buns (Mantou)

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To Prep
Combine yeast ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and set aside for 20 mins.

To Cook
Place all ingredients in a large bowl, mix with a mixer on low speed for 20 mins. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 45 mins.
Transfer to a clean floured surface, divide the dough into 3 and roll each dough to make a log.
With a rolling pin, flatten the dough to a rectangle and wet the surface slightly. Roll the dough tightly into a log.
Cut each log into 4-5 equal portions and place standing on baking paper. Steam in batches, each for 12-15 mins.

Kuih Pelita

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For the Bottom Layer
Prepare banana leaves by cutting 8x9cm rectangles and folding into little “boats”. Fasten with either staplers or wooden toothpicks. Set aside.
To prepare for the bottom layer, you will need to get the extract from the pandan leaves. To do this, simply blend the pandan leaves with the water in a blender then strain to get the extract. If you are unable to get pandan leaves, store bought pandan extract will be fine. Place pandan extract into a pot, sift flour in and stir until well mixed.
In a pot, stir the rice flour into the pandan extract until smooth. Over medium heat, continue stirring until the mixture thickens.
Arrange the banana boats onto a steaming rack and put 1 tsp of sugar in each boat. Then spoon the pandan extract mixture into each boat until about just over half full and steam for about 10-15 minutes and check to make sure the bottom later is set.

For the Top Layer
In separate pot, combine all ingredients while stirring over low heat until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Then fill the boats the rest of the way with the top layer mixture.
Steam for another 10 minutes then remove from heat and allow your kuih pelita to cool before serving.