Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Rice

Crab Fried Rice (Kani Ankake)

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To Cook
Heat 1 tbsp of the sesame oil in a wok over high heat. Add the eggs and gently scramble until cooked. Remove the eggs and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp of the sesame oil in a wok over high heat. Add the spring onions and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 secs or until fragrant.
Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 secs. Add the soy sauce, salt, pepper, and cooked eggs, cooking while stirring constantly for another 30 secs. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of sesame oil and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 more secs. Turn off the heat.
To plate the rice, arrange 4 plates, and ready 4 small bowls to serve as molds (rice bowls are ideal). Spoon ¼ of the cooked rice into each bowl, then quickly flip the bowl over, and rest it onto the plate rice side down. Do not remove the bowl for now; it will keep the rice warm. Repeat with the remaining 3 bowls. Set aside.

To Cook Ankake
Combine the crab, chicken stock, lettuce, ginger, salt, and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let the ankake simmer for 2 mins over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the potato starch mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for about 15 secs. Remove from the heat.
Removing the bowls covering the rice. Pour about ¼ of the ankake either alongside each serving of rice or over it, as you desire. Serve immediately.

Thai Chicken Rice (Khao Man Gai)

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To Make the Chicken and Broth:
Pour 10-12 cups of water in a large pot and bring to boil. Add salt, coriander roots and the chicken. Add more water if needed to cover the chicken, then lower the heat to simmer about 30-45 mins or until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken and set aside to rest. De-bone and slice to pieces to serve.
Strain the chicken broth and reserve for later.

To Make the Rice:
In a rice cooker, place the rice and add the fried garlic, ginger, and bruised cilantro roots on top. Add additional salt (adjust from chicken broth’s taste) or ground white pepper if desired.
Add chicken broth (adjust if needed) and cook the rice in your usual fashion until it is done.

To Make the Dipping Sauce:
Mix all sauce ingredients until well combined (adjust taste as needed).

To Make the Soup:
Heat the chicken broth and water over medium heat.
Add in the chopped vegetable and cook about 10 mins or until tender. Adjust the taste with fish sauce if needed and serve with chopped cilantro.

To Serve:
Plate a serve of rice with sliced chicken at the side.
Serve with the soup, dipping sauce, cucumber slices, and garnish with a sprig of coriander.

Vegan Tempura Sushi Burger

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To Cook
Add sauce ingredients into a bowl and mix together until fully combined. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring to avoid burning. Take off heat when sauce is reduced by half. Set aside to cool.
Add sushi seasoning to cooked brown rice, mix and sit for 15 mins.
Add vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Add in ½ cup flour and salt, and toss until coated thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, prepare the tempura batter by incorporating the remaining plain flour, potato starch and ice water. Then add the batter with vegetable mix, tossing to combine.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok. Spooning bits of the vegetable batter into the oil, using a chopstick to shape it into a round form.
Remove from oil when golden and place on wire rack or drain on paper towel.
To shape sushi buns, spoon 2-3 tbsp of sushi rice into an egg ring and press to mold into shape. Place sushi buns on heated pan to sear the surface.
Assemble the burger by adding wasabi, pickled ginger, cucumber and desired amount of sauce before topping off black sesame seeds on top of sushi bun.

Fried Rice Flour Cake (Bot Chien)

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To Cook
In a microwavable bowl, combine the rice flour, tapioca starch, water, vegetable oil and salt. Stir well to dissolve. Set aside for 30 mins to reduce the strong flour smell.
Before putting it into the microwave, stir up the batter again. Microwave for 2 mins. Take out and stir well, then microwave for 1 min. Repeat.
Transfer the paste into an 18x18cm (7×7 inch) square mold greased with some vegetable oil. Flatten the surface with a spoon or spatula. Steam the paste for 30-40 mins until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the cake from the mold, cut into rectangular cubes in the size of a domino—about 5x2x1cm (2x1x0.5 inch). Divide into 2 portions for each serving.
Mix each rice flour cake portion with 1 tsp dark soy sauce and set aside.
To make the dipping sauce, combine soy sauce, sugar and vinegar together and stir well to dissolve. Add some chopped chilli if desired.
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the rice flour cake cubes and pan-fry both sides 7-8 mins each or until crispy and golden brown.
Crack 2 eggs into the pan and break the yolks to bind the rice flour cubes together. Top up with 2-3 tbsp chopped spring onion and cook for 1-2 mins until the egg is slightly set. Flip rice cakes over and cook other side for 1 min.
9. Transfer to a serving plate and top up with the pickles. Drizzle some sauce over the plate, mix well and serve.

Shanghainese Shaomai with Sticky Rice

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To Prepare Overnight
Soak the glutinous rice in cold water for about 8-10 hrs.

To Cook
Drain the water from the glutinous rice. Put baking paper or a similar substitute on a steamer and spread the glutinous rice over it. Steam for about 15-20 mins until it has fully cooked.
Remove the glutinous rice and cover with a wet cloth making it doesn’t get dry while it is cooling.
Heat up a wok or pan and add cooking oil. Once the pan is hot enough, add the pork until it has browned. Add soy sauce and stir. Add cooking wine and sugar. Cook for a few mins. Add enough water so that the meat is just covered. Add ginger. Add seasonings to taste.
Add the rice and sauce until the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and mix in scallions. Let it cool down by spreading it out.
Wrap the shaomai.
Once you’ve wrapped the desired amount of shaomais, steam it for 10 mins before removing to cool down.

Lee Kum Kee Fried Rice

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To Cook
Heat oil in a wok and stir fry shallots until fragrant. Add in eggs and stir fry until half cooked. Toss in rice, char siu, oyster sauce, soy sauce and spring onions. Stir fry until well combined and heated through.
Dish out and serve.

Rice Dumplings with Mushroom and Pork

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To Cook
Mix pork belly with marinade and leave overnight in fridge. Wash and soak black glutinous rice overnight. Drain. Wash and soak glutinous rice and mung beans separately in water for about 2 hrs. Drain. Mix black glutinous rice and glutinous rice with seasoning mix. Mix mung beans with sesame oil.
Soak dumpling leaves and wrapping straws in water for 2 hrs. Boil for 10 mins before use. Drain.
Use dumpling leaves to form a hollow. Spread a layer of mixed glutinous rice over dumpling leaves. Spread a layer of mung beans on rice. Put 1 heaped tbsp Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce, pork belly, some peanuts, some dried shrimps, 1 salted egg yolk and 1 Chinese mushroom on mung beans as filling. Spread another layer of mung beans and mixed rice to cover the filling. Cover the dumpling with another dumpling leaf. Fold the leaves to form dumpling shape. Wrap the two ends with straw to secure. Repeat the steps to form 10 dumplings altogether.
Put all dumplings in a big pot of boiling water. Ensure all dumplings are immersed in water. Cook for about 2½ hrs until dumplings are cooked. Drain.
Remove dumpling leaves. Serve hot with either sweet soy sauce or sugar.

Vegan Buddha Bowl

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To Cook
Cover tofu with paper towel to draw out excess liquid for 15 mins, and then cut into small cubes. In a medium-sized bowl, combine cornflour, pepper and salt. Heat oil in a saucepan or pot over medium-high heat. Dip tofu cubes into cornflour mixture and then carefully drop into hot oil. Once golden brown, remove from oil and place onto a plate lined with paper towel.
Combine soy sauce and sliced chillies in a small bowl and set aside.
To assemble, add cooked brown rice into a bowl. Top with carrot, grilled bok choy, cucumber, salt and pepper tofu, avocado and radish. Serve with chilli soy sauce.

Korean Buddha Bowl

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To Prep
Combine soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Add in steak and coat in marinade. Cover bowl in cling wrap and set aside in fridge to marinate for at least 1 hr or overnight.

To Cook
After steak has marinated, heat oil in a pan over high heat. Once oil has come to temperature, reduce to medium-low heat and place steak in pan. Cook for 30 secs on each side, or until browned. Continue to cook, turning every 20 secs until cooked to desired doneness. Remove from heat and allow to rest on a plate for 5 mins before slicing.
To assemble, add cooked white rice into a bowl. Top with carrot, red cabbage, kimchi, sliced steak and fried egg. Drizzle over sriracha, and garnish with sesame seeds and spring onion before serving.

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!

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with Prawns

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To Make Rice Paper Rolls
Put the rice noodles in to a heatproof bowl and pour enough boiling water to cover them.
Let noodles cook until they soften before draining the water and rinsing the noodles under cold water.
Dip the rice paper sheet in to a bowl of water before draining it and placing it on to a clean work surface.
Arrange on to the rice paper sheet 2 of the prawn halves, 2 mints leaves, and some of the rice noodles.
Fold the sides of the rice paper roll before folding the bottom half of the wrapper over the fillings.
Before rolling to finish the roll, stick a couple of the chives on to the roll and then finish rolling.
Transfer to a serving plate and then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Serve with chilli sauce or hoisin sauce!