Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Rice

Korean Rice Punch (Sikhye)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Soak powdered malt barley in 10 cups of water for 1 hr. Twirl barley a few times to loosen the husks.
Strain malt barley in a fine colander or a fine muslin over a bowl. Squeeze the barley thoroughly before discarding the husks.
Leave the strained malt water in a bowl and let it rest for about 4-5 hours. You should have the top part of malt barley water clear and the bottom white with sediment.

To Cook
Place cooked rice at the bottom of a rice cooker. Pour the top part of the malt barley water over the rice, taking care not to pour in the white sediment at the bottom of the bowl. Make sure that the rice is fully covered.
Put on the “keep warm” option in your rice cooker for around 4-5 hours or until the rice granules start rising to the top. Alternatively, use a double boiler at 55-60°C instead of a rice cooker.
Turn off the rice cooker and strain the sikhae liquid through a colander into a bowl. Rinse the rice with water a few times and drain thoroughly in a colander. Store dried rice in the fridge and set the sikhye liquid aside.
Pour strained sikhye liquid into a pot and add 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and skim off any impurities that float to the top. Simmer for about 8 mins over medium to low heat. Add more sugar if necessary. Turn off heat, let the sikhye cool to room temperature and store in the fridge.
To serve, pour chilled sikhye into a small bowl or glass, spoon in some rice granules and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Tempura Prawn Hand Roll

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Add the sushi vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and gentle fold in to the rice until well incorporated.
Combine 125 g of tempura flour and ice water together in a mixing bowl and lightly stir them together. Don’t over mix as pockets of flour will make the batter airy. Pour the remaining 50 g of flour in to a separate bowl.

To Cook
Heat the oil to about 180°C, then dredge the prawns one by one in the tempura flour, then into the batter and fry in batches till golden brown. Let cool on paper towels to drain the excess oil.

To Make the Roll
Halve the seaweed sheets. Place sushi rice and then the lettuce, cucumber and prawn onto one side of nori.
Fold the nearest corner of the nori over the filling and start to shape.
The hand roll should be shaped cone shaped to stop any rice from falling out.
Serve with teriyaki sauce or eel sauce on top!

Japanese Rice Congee (Okayu)

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
After 30 mins of soaking sushi rice in a claypot, drain water and add 1 cup of water to the rice. Cover claypot and bring to boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to the lowest. Remove lid and stir the rice to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the claypot. Return the lid to the claypot to keep it covered, continue to simmer on lowest heat possible for a further 30 mins.
After 30 mins of simmering, turn heat off and let it sit with lid on for a further 10 mins. Rice should be soft and thicken by then. Remove lid and serve on individual bowls, followed by your preferred toppings.
Leftover sushi rice may be used for this recipe. Instead of pre-soaking for 30 mins, add cooked rice into the claypot and 2 times of water to it, example 1 cup of cooked rice to 2 cups of water. Cook stirring occasionally over medium low heat. Adjust consistency of congee to your liking by adding more water.

Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork (Com Tam)

by Leave a Comment

To Make Dipping Sauce
Place all dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well until sugar is dissolved.

To Cook the Pork Chops
Tenderize the pork chops until even thickness.
Mix the remaining ingredients until well-combined. Coat the pork chops with the sauce and marinade for at least 1 hr or overnight.
Heat a grill or frying pan with oil. Grill the meat until done, about 1-2 mins on each side. Remove and set aside.

To Make the Meatloaf
Set 2 egg yolks aside, add the remaining eggs into a bowl and beat well.
Add the rest of the meatloaf ingredients and mix well.
Grease a square or loaf tin and place the mixture into the tin. Spread evenly and steam covered for 30 mins.
Spread reserved egg yolks on the top of the meatloaf and steam uncovered for 5 min. Remove and let cool before slicing.

To Serve
In a serving plate, place the broken rice, grilled pork chop, meatloaf slice, fried egg, shredded pork skin, cucumber slices and pickled carrot and radish slices. Garnish with sautéed spring onion and serve with dipping sauce.

Thai Rice Soup with Pork (Khao Tom Moo)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Mix the minced pork with the soy sauce and a large pinch of black pepper. Combine well and form into meatballs.

To Cook
Boil the stock in a pot on high heat. Once the stock begins to boil add the pork and reduce the heat enough for the stock to be at a simmer.
Add the rice into the simmering stock and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the spring onions, celery and season with fish sauce, sugar and black pepper to taste.
Serve in individual bowls and garnish with chilli coriander and the Thai fried garlic.

Dried Scallops and Minced Pork Congee

by Leave a Comment

To Begin
In a bowl, marinade minced pork with soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside.
Place washed rice in a large pot. Add soaked scallops and water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and tilt the lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally for 30 mins. If congee becomes too thick at any point, add in ½ cup water and stir to dilute.
Using clean hands, drop in marinated minced pork bit by bit to break into small chunks. Add salt and continue to simmer for 5-10 mins until minced pork is cooked.
Transfer to individual serving bowls and garnish with spring onions, ginger and fried shallots. Drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce according to taste. Add a dash of ground white pepper if desired.

Fish Congee

by Leave a Comment

To Begin
In a bowl, marinade fish slices with soy sauce, ground pepper and sesame oil for 30 mins.
Meanwhile, place washed rice in a large pot, Add ginger and water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and tilt the lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally for 30 mins. If congee becomes too thick at any point, add in ½ cup water and stir to dilute.
Once the congee is ready, put in marinated fish slices and salt. Stir well to combine. Continue to cook for another 3 mins until fish is cooked.
Transfer to individual bowls and garnish with spring onions, ginger, coriander and You Char Kway. Drizzle a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce. Add a dash of ground pepper if desired.

Braised Daikon with Minced Pork (Daikon no Soboro-an)

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
In a pot, place the daikon and rice and add water to cover daikon. Bring to boil, cook for 10 mins or until the daikon is nearly cooked through. Drain well.
Rinse with cold water. Drain well.
In a frying pan, heat oil over medium heat, add mince and stir-fry to break the lumps, until the colour turns pale brown.
Add the daikon and stir, then mix in the rests of the ingredients, other than the cornflour solution. Cover the surface with a drop lid or a piece of aluminium foil with holes on it.
Turn the heat to low when it starts boiling. Cook for 10 mins.
Remove the drop lid and add the well-mixed cornflour solution.
Turn the heat off when the sauce is thickened and serve with spring onion garnish.

Japanese Garlic Fried Rice

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Cook the sushi rice in a rice cooker. When done, scoop into a bowl and let it air dry.
Mince 2 of the garlic cloves and slice the other 2 cross-wise (so that you can see the hole in the middle).
Pick the leaves off the parsley and finely chop them.
Heat up the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat and fry the garlic slices until they are golden brown (do not overcook them otherwise they will be bitter). Set aside to be served with the garlic fried rice.
In the same pan with the oil, stir-fry the minced garlic until fragrant. Then add the butter into the pan and let it melt and infuse with the garlic and olive oil.
Swirl the butter and oil around to coat the pan then add the cooked rice. Using a wooden spoon or spatula break up the rice into small chunks and mix well with the butter.
Add the soy sauce and toss to coat the rice with the soy sauce.
Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the chopped parsley leaves.
Garnish with the fried garlic slices and serve hot.

Pine Nut Congee (Jatjuk)

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Rinse and drain the soaked short-grain rice. Place it into a blender, add in the pine nuts and 2 cups of water. Blend for approximately 3 mins until the mixture turns into a milky white liquid.
Pour the milky liquid into a pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes. Add salt to taste and allow to cook for another 5 minutes, continue to stir.
The congee will turn into a soupy consistency. Turn heat off and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with some pine nuts and serve hot.

Japanese Seven Herb Rice Congee (Nanakusa Gayu)

by Leave a Comment

To Begin
Drain soaked rice and place in a claypot. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat down to the lowest heat setting on the stove and gently stir to avoid rice sticking to the bottom of the claypot. Cover claypot with lid and allow to simmer the rice for about 30 minutes.
Then turn heat and let it sit with lid on for a further 10 minutes. The rice should be soft and thickened.
Remove lid, add nanakusa and stir gently, then add salt to taste. Serve hot.

Note:
For fresh nanakusa, blanch herbs in boiling water with a pinch of salt for a few seconds. Remove from boiling water and rinse under cool running water. Drain and squeeze water out, finely chop herbs and allow to dry.

Vietnamese Chicken Congee (Chao Ga)

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
In a large stock pot, place the chicken in and fill with enough water to cover the chicken. Add 1 peeled whole onion and 1 tbsp salt to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. And then turn the heat down to medium and let chicken cook for a further 30-45 minutes, or until tender. Remove any froth or foam that appears on the surface.
Retain liquid in the stock pot and remove chicken from the pot and rinse under cold water to cool down and avoid discoloring. Shred the chicken meat and set aside.
Drain soaked rice and glutinous rice, adding them along with the ginger and shallot to the broth in the stock pot. Let it sit for 45 minutes untouched.
After 45 minutes, give the rice a stir and bring to boil over medium high heat for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then season to taste with salt, fish sauce and chicken stock.
Transfer and serve in individual serving bowls. Top with the shredded chicken and. garnish with chopped spring onion, coriander or Vietnamese mint, and fried shallots.