Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Chicken

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.

Korean Spicy Chicken (Buldak)

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To Prep
Marinate chicken with the marinade for at least 30 mins.
Put the Sauce ingredients in a blender and blend into paste.

To Cook
Add ½ tbsp oil into a heated pan and quickly sauté onions, zucchinis, carrots and capsicums, about 10 secs. Set aside.
In the same pan, pour the rest of the oil and cook the chicken until they start to caramelize on the outside and the liquid from the meat evaporated.
Pour in the sauce and gently cook over medium heat for 3- 5 mins or until the sauce is well mixed with the chicken. Add the cooked vegetables and spring onions. Pour chicken onto a hot plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Thai Stir Fried Vermicelli with Chicken

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To Cook
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok, scramble eggs until cooked, remove and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat, stir-fry chicken for about 3 mins or until just cooked through. Remove from wok and set aside.
Add 1 tbsp oil and ginger to sauté for 1 min, then add vegetables to the wok and stir-fry for another 2 mins.
In a mixing bowl combine chicken stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce and corn flour.
Add egg, chicken, noodles, coriander and broth mixture to wok and stir-fry for 3 mins or until everything is cooked and heated through.
Drizzle some sesame oil for added flavour. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle some chilli powder, serve.

Green Curry Fried Rice with Chicken (Kao Pad Gaeng Keo Wan Gai)

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To Cook
Stir-fry coconut milk over low heat until oil appears. Stir in Valcom Green Curry Paste until fragrant. Turn up the heat. Add chicken fillet and stir-fry until well cooked.
Add fish sauce and sugar, and stir-fry until the sauce reduces. Stir in eggplant and pea eggplant and cook until tender, then add rice and mix through. Add Valcom Kaffir Lime Leaves, basil leaves and red chilli, then remove from heat.

Green Papaya Salad with Grilled Chicken (Som Tum Gai Yang)

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To Prepare
Prepare the paste by pounding coriander roots, garlic and white pepper in a mortar.
Marinate the chicken with the paste, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, palm sugar and oil for about an hour.

To Cook
Grill chicken in an oven or charcoal grill.
Peel the green papaya (can be substituted with apples, jicama or carrots), and shred into strips using a grater.
In the mortar, pound the garlic and chilli, then add papaya, lime juice, fish sauce and toss with green beans and cherry tomatoes. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with peanuts.
Serve grilled chicken with papaya salad on the side.

Thai Rice Noodles with Chicken (Guay Tiew Kua Gai)

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To Prep
In a bowl, combine all marinade ingredients with chicken, and set aside to marinate for at least 20 mins.

To Cook
In a wok, add oil and heat over medium heat. Add chicken and garlic and let it sear on one side until browned. Then toss them all together and cook until done. Remove them from the wok and set aside.
Add soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and tang chai (optional) and toss until well combined. Add in the noodles and mix well again until they are coated in oil.
Still on high heat, spread the noodles out in the wok and let them sit for about 15-30 secs, until some of the noodles have browned. Once the noodles are toasted on one side, flip noodles over to the other side let it brown. Repeat until the noodles are crisp and browned to your liking. Add chicken, spring onions and white pepper, and toss to combine.
To cook the runny egg, crack an egg on top of the noodles, sprinkle about 1 tbsp of water over the noodles and cover wok with lid. Leave to cook for about 30 secs or until egg white is no longer transparent.
Remove from heat and serve on a plate lined with romaine lettuce and Sriracha sauce on the side.

Thai Chicken Green Curry (Gaeng Kiew Wan Gai)

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To Cook
Clean the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Slice vertically into thin slices. Add 1 cup light coconut milk into a pot and bring to boil. Add chicken and reduce the heat to simmer the chicken until meat is tender. Dish out the chicken and set aside.
Add the vegetable oil into a pan and heat over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the curry paste and stir-fry until fragrant. Slowly add 1⁄2 cup of thick coconut milk and stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken to the pan and stir-fry to evenly coat chicken in the curry paste. Remove pan from heat.
Transfer curry and chicken into a large pot and heat over medium heat. Add in 3 1⁄2 cups light coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to boil then add fish sauce and sugar.
Add pea eggplant and make sure they are submerged in the curry. Continue cooking until eggplant is cooked through, then add the remaining 1⁄2 cup thick coconut milk. Bring to boil and add Thai basil leaves and red spur chillies.
Taste the curry and adjust the spiciness to your liking. If the curry is too spicy, add some coconut milk to bring down the heat level. Turn off the heat and remove from the stove. Dish out the curry into a bowl and garnish with Thai basil leaves. Enjoy with steamed rice or rice noodles.

Tips: When cooking the chicken, make sure the thin coconut milk is boiling before adding the chicken meat. This will tenderise the meat and remove any foul smell. The thin coconut milk that was used to boil the chicken should be discarded as it will contain a foul smell.

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!

Singapore Chicken Briyani

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To Cook the Rice
Heat ghee or oil in a rice cooker or a pot. When the oil is hot, add in the onions and saute until they have turned golden in colour.
Add in the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and continue to saute until they have become fragrant.
When the aromatics have become fragrant, add in the tomato puree and stir well before adding in the carrots. Continue to fry for another minute befoe adding in the pandan leaf and cooking it for about another minute.
Add the rice, and mix it around so that all of the other ingredients become mixed evenly within it. Add in the water and bring to boil before adding in the salt.
Next, add the evaporated milk. Once it reaches a boil, cover the pot and immediately lower the heat to cook for another 10 mins.
Check if the rice has softened and the liquid has been fully absorbed by the rice. Fluff up the rice and then place the lid back on and remove from heat. Set aside until ready to serve.

For the chicken
Rinse the chicken well and drain. Add the ingredients for marinade and rub well into the chicken. Let the chicken marinade for at least 30 mins.
In a non-stick pan over a medium heat, add in the oil when it has heated up add in the pieces of chicken.
Fry on both sides but not through as we want to cook the outer flesh until it is slightly golden.
Set aside the meat and strain the oil from the pan except for about a tablespoon. Heat up the remaining oil and then add the onions, garlic and saute till softened.
Add in the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, pepper powder, turmeric powder and pandan leaves and saute until aromatic.
Return the meat back in to the pan and stir-fry for 5 more mins before adding in the 1 – 1/2 cups water and cook covered for another 10-15 mins on low heat.

To Serve
In a large bowl, add the rice and the cooked chicken and mix well. Transfer the mixed rice on to a plate and top with more chicken if desired. Garnish with fried golden raisins, cashews and freshly chopped coriander.