To Cook
Prepare the optional accompaniments – Javanese Fried Chicken, Beef Satay, Crispy Fried Shallots, Sambal Kecap, Krupuk and Mixed Vegetable Pickles.
Lightly grease a non-stick skillet with a little oil and fry the eggs sunny side up. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat the wok and add oil over medium heat and stir-fry the shallots, garlic, minced chilli and dried shrimp paste until fragrant for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the prawns and stir-fry until almost cooked and then add the cabbage and leftover cooked meat and continue to stir-fry until the cabbage is slightly wilted. Increase the heat to high, add the rice, salt and sweet Indonesian soy sauce and stir-fry until all the ingredients are mixed well and heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Transfer the fried rice to a serving platter, top with the fried eggs and arrange the accompaniments at the side, around the plate. Garnish with cucumber and tomato slices and serve with the accompaniments on the side.
Stir-Fry
Turmeric Rice with Chicken Curry (Nasi Kunyit)
For the Nasi Kunyit
Wash the glutinous rice and soak with turmeric powder for at least 2 hours.
Boil water in a steamer for 15 minutes. Place a muslin cloth inside the steamer and evenly spread the soaked rice onto the cloth.
To cool down the rice, use your finger or a spoon to make holes in the rice. Steam for 15 minutes and then sprinkle the rice with some water and mix into the rice. Steam for a further 15 minutes.
Add half of the coconut cream to the rice and mix well. Steam for a further 15 minutes.
Finally, add the remaining coconut cream, salt and white pepper to the rice and mix well and steam for another 3 minutes with the pandan leaves.
For the Chicken Curry
Grind or blend spice paste A ingredients together. Add in water (a third of the height of the paste).
Add spice mix B ingredients in and mix well with a spoon (adding powder to the wet paste will help to dry it out). Rest for 15 minutes.
Mix 20ml coconut cream with 270ml water to make a light coconut milk. Set aside 70ml of coconut cream.
In a pot or wok and cooking oil, cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves and fry quickly at medium heat. Add the spice mix and saute. Keep stirring to prevent the paste from sticking to the sides of the wok or pan.
When the bubbles become smaller, add in the chicken. Keep stirring to make sure the chicken is coated with the curry paste. Maintain heat on medium to avoid burning the chicken.
Add the light coconut milk and potatoes and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium to allow the chicken to cook and reduce the gravy by half (this should take about 20 minutes).
When the chicken is tender add salt and the remaining 70ml of coconut milk and bring to the boil for 2 minutes. Serve warm with nasi kunyit.
Ants Climbing on a Tree
To Prep
Marinade the minced beef or pork with pinch of salt. Soak vermicelli as per instructions on packaging, drain and set aside.
To Cook
Heat oil in wok and fry the ground pork until aromatic. Set aside.
Add doubanjiang, minced garlic, sliced ginger and chopped shallot in wok and stir-fry over medium fire until the oil turns red and aromatic. Return pork to wok and add soy sauce. Mix well.
Pour water and bring everything to boil. Add soaked vermicelli and sugar, and stir-fry to mix everything well. There is no need to cook off all the liquid as the vermicelli continues to adsorb liquid after transferring out of the wok.
Sprinkle chopped green onions and serve hot.
Stir Fried Beef with Kai Lan
To Cook
Add 1 tsp each of corn starch, oil, and soy sauce to the beef in a bowl. Use your hands to massage these ingredients into the beef and set aside to marinate for 20 mins.
Heat a wok over high heat and add a tbsp of oil. When the oil starts to smoke, sear the beef for 30-60 secs, just until browned.
Remove from the wok and set aside.
Add 2 more tbsp of oil to the wok along with the ginger. Let the ginger caramelize for 15 secs.
Add the garlic and Chinese broccoli and stir fry for 1 min.
Add the beef, oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and hot beef stock then stir fry until mixed thoroughly.
Once the liquid comes to a boil, push the beef and vegetable away from the middle of the wok.
Stir in the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce. Mix everything until the beef and vegetables are thoroughly coated.
Plate and serve over hot steamed rice.
Japanese Fried Noodle (Yakisoba)
To Prep
In a small bowl, mix all ingredients for sauce and set aside.
Prepare and slice all vegetables and meat.
To Cook
In a frying pan, heat oil on medium-high heat, and then add meat to cook for 2-3 mins.
Add onions, carrots and cabbage, and cook until almost tender. Then add spring onions and shitake mushrooms and cook for another 1 min. Season with black pepper and stir-fry to mix well.
In the meantime, prepare yakisoba or ramen noodles as per instructions on packaging. Before adding the yakisoba or ramen noodles to the frying pan, separate the noodles with your hands. Lower the heat to medium and add the yakisoba or ramen noodles. Pour yakisoba sauce over the noodles, and stir-fry to combine yakisoba or ramen noodles with ingredients.
Transfer yakisoba to plates and serve with benishouga (pickled red ginger) and aonori (dried green seaweed).
Note: Adjust the amount of yakisoba sauce used according to the amount of ingredients. Too much sauce will make your yakisoba soggy, while too little sauce will result in the lack of flavour.
Fried Rice Vermicelli (Fried Bee Hoon)
To Cook
Prepare rice vermicelli by soaking in warm water until they turn soft. Drain and set aside in a colander to rid of excess water.
In a small bowl, mix chicken slices with cornstarch and 1 tsp soy sauce then, set aside to marinate.
Heat 2 tbsp oil a frying pan or wok. In the meantime, whisk 2 eggs in a bowl and fry the omelette. Set aside to cool then, slice omelette into thin long strips. The omelette will be the finishing touch to the fried bee hoon.
Mix all the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
In a frying pan or wok, heat 4 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic until aromatic, then add chicken slices and continue cooking until half done.
Add in rice vermicelli to the frying pan/wok, then followed by the seasonings. Using a pair of chopsticks or tongs, stir and mix the rice vermicelli continuously to blend well with the seasoning. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until the rice vermicelli is soft and no longer wet. Then, add in the bean sprouts and chopped spring onions and stir-fry for another couple of minutes.
Remove from heat and serve on a sharing platter or in individual plates. Top with sliced omelette, a sprinkling of chopped spring onions and fried shallots.
Stir-Fried Red Curry Lamb (Pad Prik Khing Lamb)
To Cook
Stir fry the red chilli paste in oil on medium heat until fragrant.
Add the kaffir lime leaves followed by the lamb, French beans and fish sauce.
Add coconut water and simmer for 4-5 mins.
Add in the chilli slices before serving.
Chicken in Tomato Sauce
To Prep
Rince the chicken and drain well.
Slice crossways into thin 4cm lengths. Mix with the marinates for at least 10 mins.
Cut tomatoes into chunks and spoon out the seeds inside. Rinse and drain well.
To Cook
Heat the oil in a hot wok or saucepan. Add chicken and cook until brown. Set them aside.
Add some oil in the wok, saute minced garlic until aromatic.
Add tomatoes, sprinkle a dash of salt, and briefly stir fry.
Pour in water, add sugar and ketchup. Stir well. Cook until tomatoes are softened. Make sure the sugar dissolves completely.
Toss back the chicken and add the thickening. Cook to the consistency that you preferred.
Serve hot with rice.
Crab Curry Fried Rice (Khao Pad Boo Garee)
To Cook
Sauté the garlic over medium-high heat in a bit of oil.
Add the sliced onion, crab meat, crab paste in soya bean oil, and curry powder. Sauté until the onions are just starting to cook but still fairly firm.
Add the cooked rice and mix everything together. Season with fish sauce and thin soy sauce, starting with 1 tsp of each and adding more if required.
Set the fried rice to the side of the wok. Add some oil, and then scramble your eggs in the center of the wok. Once cooked, stir into the fried rice.
Add the coriander and green onions and mix to incorporate.
Remove the heat and serve with the Thai dipping sauce (Nam Pla Prik) – a bowl of fish sauce with sliced Thai chilies and lime (optional)
Choo Chee Chicken Curry
To Cook
In a large fry pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the chicken quickly until golden brown. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, add the curry paste and the remaining oil. Stir in medium heat until fragrant.
Add the coconut cream and kaffir lime leaves, then lower the heat when the sauce is well heated.
Add the fish sauce and palm sugar, stir well. Serve with cooked rice and garnish with capsicum and kaffir lime leaves.
Vegetarian Char Siew
To Prep
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and knead for 15-20 mins until you get smooth dough by using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
Rest the dough at room temperature for an hour.
Transfer the dough to a basin and cover the dough with water.
“Wash” the dough as though hand washing clothes. Tip out the water when the water gets too cloudy and fill with fresh water.
“Wash” the dough until the water remains clear.
After tipping out the water, what remains is the wheat gluten.
To Cook
Cut the wheat gluten into 3 equal portions and stretch into equally long pieces.
Plait the gluten and seal the ends to help the meat gluten mimic the shape of lean meat.
Boil gluten in a pot for approximately 30mins or until it floats to the surface.
Let the cooked gluten cool to room temperature and undo the plait.
In a bowl, combine all the marinated ingredients and mix well. Next, add the wheat gluten to the bowl and coat thoroughly. Allow it to be marinated for at least 3-4 hours, preferably overnight.
Then, heat up the oil in a wok or port to deep fry.
Deep fry the gluten for about 10 mins. Remove the gluten from the oil and drain any excess oil.
Add a little oil to a frying pan, and then add the marinade. Sauté until the sauce thickens.
Slice the vegetarian char siew and drizzle the sauce over. Serve.
Nasi Lemak
To Prep
Wash the rice until the water runs clear.
Saute the lemongrass, pandan leaves, ginger, and shallots in a pot until fragrant.
Add the water and coconut milk to the pot and bring to a boil. Add a couple pinches of salt and mix thoroughly.
Pour the cleaned rice into a rice cooker pot together with the ingredients mentioned above.
Preparing the Sambal
Deep fry the half anchovies until crisp and golden.
In the frying oil on low heat, add in the chilli paste, minced onions, and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent.
Add in the sugar and mix thoroughly.
Next, mix in the tamarind paste and the rest of the anchovies and allow the sambal to cook over low heat.
Finally, add salt and sugar to taste.
To Assemble
Prepare a hard-boiled egg.
Scoop the cooked rice into a rice bowl, then cover with a plate. Then, flip over the plate and remove the rice bowl. Place the egg on or next to the rice.
Add a tbsp each of the fried anchovies, fried peanuts, and sambal. Garnish with a few slices of cucumber. Serve hot.