Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Chicken

Chicken Katsu Hand Roll

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To Prep
Cut the cucumber in to thin horizontal strips before removing the seeds. This should leave strips of just the flesh that should be trimmed to fit the hand roll.
Add the sushi vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and gentle fold in to the rice until well incorporated.
Pound the chicken using a meat tenderiser to make it thinner and flat.
Dip into the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs.

To Cook
In a pan with enough oil to fry, cook the chicken until golden and then drain on paper towels.
When the chicken has cooled slightly, cut it in to sections that are small enough to fit on to the hand roll.

To Make the Roll
Cut nori sheets in half. Place sushi rice and then the lettuce, cucumber and chicken slices 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.
Sprinkle some tonkatsu sauce over the top and serve!

Stir-Fried Chicken & Vegetables with Green Curry

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To Cook
Heat 1 tbsp oil in the wok, add vegetables and stir-fry for 1 min, coating well with oil.
Add water, cover and boil for 1 min. Remove and set aside.
Add 1 tbsp oil and fry curry paste until fragrant; add chicken and stir-fry for 4 mins; add coconut milk and simmer for a further 3 mins.
Return the vegetables to the wok and combine well.

Pan-fried Chicken Thigh in Yakitori Sauce

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To Cook
Combine ingredients C in a pot. Add lotus roots and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and gently cook until tender.
Put carrots in a pot and add enough water to cover the carrots. Bring to boil and continue cooking until carrots are tender. Take the carrots out, then blanch the beans.
Preheat pan with small amount of oil and pan fry the chicken until ¾ of the way cooked. Add remaining ingredients and Yakitori Simmer Sauce. Cover lid.
Gently simmer until the liquid is reduced to half.
Share the ingredients and sauce evenly into a bowl and sprinkle some sichimi pepper over the top. Serve hot.

Steamed Chicken Curry Cake (Hor Mok)

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To Prep
Combine chicken, prawns and coconut cream in a bowl and stir until smooth.
Combine curry paste, egg, fish sauce, sugar, peanuts and kaffir lime leaves into the mixture and continue stirring for 2 mins until well-mixed.
Place basil leaves into 4 bowls, then fill with the curry mixture.

To Cook
Steam over boiling water for 15 mins or until just cooked.
While steaming, prepare topping cream by mixing 50ml coconut cream and corn flour and stir over low heat until cooked. Set aside.
Open the steamer, transfer the curry cake onto a serving plate, garnish with topping cream, red chilli and basil leaves. Serve with rice.

Japanese Chicken Curry from Scratch

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To Cook
Season chicken with salt, pepper and S&B Curry powder.
Heat oil in a saucepan and add the grated garlic, the grated ginger and the onion stir-fry until lightly browned.
Add chicken and other vegetables into the saucepan except for tomatoes. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the green peas, tomatoes, water, soup stock cube and simmer until vegetables are tender.
To make the curry roux: Melt butter in a frying pan and pan-fry the wheat flour or corn starch over medium heat, making sure that it does not burn. Add curry powder and mix well.
Now, gradually combine the curry roux (step 4) into the saucepan (step 3). Add sugar and simmer. Remember to keep stirring to avoid curry from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Add more salt and pepper to taste (optional).
To serve, fill half of each individual plate with rice and scoop curry to fill the other half. Serve with hard-boiled eggs and fukijinzuke (radish pickle).

Miso Grilled Chicken

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To Prep
In a bowl, mix together the miso, soy, mirin and sake together.
In a zip lock bag, add the chicken thighs and the marinade mixture together and mix well. Seal and allow to marinate overnight or for a few hours.

To Cook
Preheat an oven to 220°C and line a baking tray with aluminium foil.
Using paper towels to wipe off the extra marinade from the chicken before placing them on to the baking tray.
Bake the chicken for 15 mins before flipping and continuing to cook for another 10 mins or until nicely charred.
Remove from the oven to rest slightly before serving.

To Serve
Slice the chicken and plate! Serve by itself or with rice and enjoy!

Buckwheat Porridge (Sobagome Zosui)

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To Prep
Clean niboshi by removing heads and cuts. Then put the niboshi into a straining/dashi bag.
In a pot, add 4 cups of water and put niboshi bag in. Leave to soak for 10 hrs or overnight. This will be the pot of dashi.

To Cook
Rinse sobagome. In a pot, add the rinsed sobagome and enough water to immerse it. Bring to boil for 15 mins, then remove from heat and drain the water. Set sobagome aside.
In the meantime, soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water to rehydrate. Slice shiitake mushrooms, carrot, chikuwa, konnyaku, and chop the spring onions. Rub salt onto konnyaku slices and rinse to remove smell.
Cut chicken thighs into 1cm pieces and rub sake into it. Set aside.
In the dashi pot, add shiitake and bring contents to boil.
Leave to simmer for 2-3 mins before removing the niboshi bag.
Add chicken, carrots, konnyaku, and mirin into the dashi pot and simmer.
Add the cooked sobagome, garnish with spring onions, and flavour with light soy sauce.

Optional step: Add a slice of sudachi or chopped yuzu peels to add more flavour to the dish.

Soy-Braised Chicken with Ginger and Star Anise

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To Cook
Heat wok over medium heat, add oil, ginger and garlic, and cook over low heat for 1-2 mins, or until slightly golden.
Add the chicken, increase the heat to medium and brown for 3 mins.
Add the wine, honey and star anise and soy sauce to the wok and allow to simmer over a low heat for 15 mins until the chicken is tender.
Serve with steamed Jasmine rice.

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup (Samgyetang)

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To Prep
Mix the salt, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and ground black pepper into a small bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and honey and mix well. Add in the onion chunks and green chilli pepper slices then set the bowl aside.
Strain the water from the rice and
Rinse the chicken under cold running water and then pat dry. Remove any excess fat from the chicken and begin to stuff with the rice, ginseng, jujube, and garlic cloves.

To Cook
Place the chicken into a heavy pot along with enough cold water to immerse the chicken.
Cover and cook over medium high heat for 30 mins before turning down the heat and continuing to cook for about another 30 mins or until the chicken has fully cooked through and the other ingredients have become soft.
While the chicken is cooking, baste the meat with the broth. If thew water gets too low, top up with more.
When the chicken has fully cooked and is soft, remove the pot from the heat.

To Serve
Place chicken into a serving bowl and add broth. Top it with a sprinkle of chopped green onion and ground black pepper. Serve with kimchi and of dipping sauces.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chilli Chicken (Ga Xao Ca Ot)

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To Prep
Mix together the chicken, half of the minced lemongrass and minced garlic, fish sauce, sugar, red chilli, and salt in to a large mixing bowl. Let the chicken marinate for at least 1 hr, but ideally overnight in the fridge.

To Cook
In a large wok/pan on high heat, add in the vegetable oil, and fry the remaining lemongrass and garlic till fragrant.
Add in the marinated chicken and and cook until the chicken is no longer pink and has begun to turn brown.
Cover the chicken with a lid and cook for at least 5 minutes so that the chickien will be fully cooked through.
Remove the lid and add in the onion and stir fry them until they soften and become translucent

To Serve
Remove the chicken from the heat and transfer it on to a serving plate. Garnish the dish with chilli flakes and, or coriander. Serve with a bowl of hot steamed rice and enjoy!

Ehime Hotchpotch  (Imotaki)

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To Prep
Gently clean the kombu with a damp cloth, but don’t scrub off its layer of white powdery coating. This coating will contribute to the umami flavour of the broth.
In a medium pot, put the kombu and water in, and heat up the pot slowly on medium low heat for about 20-25 mins.
Just before the dashi starts boiling, remove kombu.
Line the sieve with paper towels (or cheese cloth) and set over a large bowl. Strain the dashi through the sieve.

To Cook
Add konnyaku pieces in water and bring it to boil. Continue cooking for a minute, then drain and set aside. This helps the konnyaku absorb more flavours and improves its texture.
In a large pot, bring dashi, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and salt to boil.
When soup boils, add in the rest of the ingredients and bring the konnyaku to boil.
Then set heat to low to keep content in pot warm. Scoop out cooked ingredients from the pot and serve. This dish is also perfect to be enjoyed at the table. Place pot on a portable stove at the dining table to keep the imotaki warm and have your guests help themselves to its contents.

Chicken in Satay Sauce

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To Cook
Heat oil in a wok, add chicken in batches, stir-fry until browned all over. Drain on absorbent paper.
Drain oil from wok. Add sauce, water, sugar, spring onion and half the coriander to wok, bring to the boil.
Add chicken, simmer and cover for 20 mins.
Remove the cover, simmer for about 5 mins, or until chicken is tender and sauce is slightly thickened.
Remove the chicken, skim excess oil from surface of sauce.
Stir in remaining coriander.
Pour sauce over chicken, garnish with red capsicum strips, spring onions and crushed peanuts.