Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Rice

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!

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).

Scattered Sushi (Chirashizushi)

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To Prep the Rice
Cook sushi rice according to instructions on rice packaging. Add ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt to the cooked rice. Using a wooden spatula, fold the seasoning into the rice.

To Prep the Shiitake
Gently squeeze shiitake mushrooms to drain water, remove stems and slice thinly.
In a medium pan, heat 160ml water used for soaking the mushrooms. Then add shiitake, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.
Simmer on low heat until the liquid is almost dried up. Set aside.

To Cook the Omelette
In a bowl, beat eggs and add ½ tbsp sugar. Continue mixing until the sugar dissolves.
In a medium skillet, evenly oil the surface and heat over medium heat. Pour a scoop of egg mixture into the skillet to make a thin crepe-like omelette.
Repeat until egg mixture is used up. To slice, roll up the omelettes and slice into thin strips.

To Serve
Serve sushi rice on a large plate or individual bowls. Scatter simmered shiitake, shredded crab sticks, sliced omelette, and cucumber over rice. Top with sashimi slices, ikura and sesame seeds. Serve with pickled ginger on the side.

Pork Cutlet with Curry Sauce (Pork Katsu Kare)

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For the Tonkatsu
To tenderize the meat, pound with a meat pounder, or just use the back of the knife to pound in a crisscross pattern from top to bottom, then left to right.
Season meat with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, add ½ tbsp of oil and whisk. With oil added, the meat and panko coating will not fall apart when while deep frying.
Dredge meat in flour making sure that it is coated evenly then, remove excess flour. Dip into egg mixture and dredge in panko. Remove excess panko.
In a wok, heat oil over medium heat to about 180ºC.
Tip: If you don’t have a thermometer, stick a wooden chopstick in the oil. If you see tiny bubbles appearing around the tip of the chopstick, then the oil is hot enough.
Gently lower tonkatsu into the oil. Keep a close watch on the oil’s temperature to avoid burning the tonkatsu. Deep fry until golden brown; about a minute on each side.
Remove tonkatsu from oil and leave to drain on top of a wire rack for about 5 mins. Do not be tempted to cut into the tonkatsu crust to check if the meat is ready as we need it closed to retain heat.
After 5 mins, bring the oil back to 180ºC and return tonkatsu to fry for another minute.
Make a small incision on the meat with the chopstick. If you see clear liquid oozing out then the tonkatsu is ready. Drain on wire rack or, paper towel.
Tip: If you use a paper towel, try to keep tonkatsu upright so it does not get soggy on one side.
Cut tonkatsu into 3 pieces (or more) by pressing the knife directly down instead of moving back and forth. This way, the crusts will not come off. Then cut again in between.

For the Japanese Curry
Peel and cut onion, potato and carrot into bite size chunks.
In a large pan, add vegetables and fill the pan with water enough to immerse the vegetable. Bring to boil and simmer until vegetables have softened.
Add 2-3 blocks of curry roux to the pan and let simmer while stirring until curry is thick and smooth.

To Serve
On a plate, lay sliced tonkatsu over a bed of rice, then add the curry sauce. Garnish with fukujinzuke (pickled radish).

Glutinous Rice Cakes with Palm Sugar (Wajik)

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To Prep
Wash the glutinous rice multiple times in water, stopping when the water becomes clear. Leave to soak overnight.
Line a streamer basket with a cheesecloth and equally distribute the glutinous rice on the cloth. Steam the rice for 15 mins, then turn and fluff it up with a fork and steam for 10 more mins until cooked.

To Cook
In a saucepan, bring the sugar and water to boiling point over medium heat and then simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the syrup has reduced to half, taking about 15 mins. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Continue to simmer for 3 to 5 more mins and remove from the heat.
In a large saucepan, combine both the glutinous rice and coconut milk mixture, mixing well. Then cook over low heat, stirring form time to time, until the mixture thickens and becomes sticky. After 10 to 15 mins, remove the mixture from the heat and discard the pandan leaf.
Move the cake to a lightly greased shallow cake skillet or plate (around 17cm over), smoothing the surface with the back of a wet spoon, and put aside to cool. Slice the cake into squares or jewel shapes and serve at room temperature.

To speed up the soaking process, pour boiling water over the glutinous rice after rinsing and allow it to stand for 1 hr. Drain, then pour more boiling water over the rice and soak for another 30 mins.

Japanese Rice Balls (Onigri)

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To Prep
Cut seaweed sheets into quarters.
Place a pinch of salt on your palm, take some rice and form a ball, triangle or oval-shaped piece, firmly press the piece using the palm of both hands.
Wrap the seaweed tightly around the rice ball. Repeat for all seaweed sheets. Enjoy cold.

Fried Rice with Stir-Fried Beef

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To Cook
Heat oil in frying pan and stir-fry the eggs until cooked. Remove and set aside.
Fry the nasi goreng paste in heated sesame oil until fragrant.
Add rice and stir-fry thoroughly until every grain is coated. Add carrots, peas and the eggs. Mix well and set aside on a serving plate.
Stir-fry sambal oeleck in heated sesame oil for 1 min.
Brown onion, add beef and stir-fry for 2 mins. Remove and place at the side of fried rice.
Sprinkle sesame oil. Garnish fried rice with cucumber, cherry tomato and coriander. Serve hot.

Korean Mixed Kimbap

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To Cook
Mix rice with 2 tbsp sesame oil and ½-1 tsp salt in a bowl and set aside.
Pour ½ -1 tbsp oil to a heated pan and pour in eggs and make a thin omelette over medium heat. The omelette should be pale in colour. Cut into thin strips when cooled and set aside.
Pour ½-1 tbsp oil to a heated pan and quickly sauté carrots for about 30 secs and season with salt and set aside.
Saute the zucchini with ¼ cloves of garlic and ½ tbsp sesame oil, set aside.
Squeeze excess water out of spinach, mix with ½ tbsp sesame oil, ¼ cloves of garlic and 2 pinches of salt in a bowl and set aside.
Place sushi mat on a board and a nori sheet on top. Spread ⅓-½ cups of rice on nori sheet, covering about ⅔ of the sheet. Place all the ingredients on top of the rice, lining them up horizontally and close together. Roll the nori sheet using your mat until you have a cylinder shape. Squeeze the roll inside the mat gently so that the kimbap is not too loose.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have a desired number of kimbap rolls. Cut kimbap into bite sized pieces, usually 8-10.

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.

Japanese Omelette Rice (Omurice)

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To Cook
Heat up some oil in a wok. When the wok is hot, add the onions and mushrooms. Saute until softened.
Add the beef and cook until the meat has browned. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the rice, 1 tbsp of ketchup and soy sauce. Stir until well-combined. Take off of the heat and leave to the side.
Scoop half of the rice into a bowl and cover with a plate. Put one hand on top of the plate and one hand at the bottom of the bowl. Turn it upside down so that the plate is now at the bottom. Remove the bowl to reveal the mound of rice.
Heat up a large pan on medium-high heat. Add some cooking oil and pour in half of the whisked eggs. Stir the eggs with chopsticks to form small egg curds but do not scramble the eggs.
Once cooked, take the egg and gently place it over your rice.
Cook the remaining half of the eggs.
In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp ketchup, Worcester sauce, tonkatsu sauce and honey. Cover the omelette with this sauce. Serve while hot.

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.

Tom Yum Fried Rice (Khao Pad Tom Yum)

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To Make the Sauce
Pound lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and chillies until fine. Add in the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and lime juice. Alternatively, blend all ingredients in a blender.

To Make Thai-style Fried Egg:
In a wok or small frypan, heat about 1cm of oil to very hot over medium high heat, before smoking.
Crack egg into the oil, then reduce the heat to medium. The egg white would bubble immediately if the oil is hot enough. Fry the egg for about 1.5 mins or until the edges are browned. For non-runny yolk, reduce heat to medium low after adding the egg. If the egg sticks to the pan, gently nudge it with a thin spatula after frying for 1 min for the bottom of the yolk to get firm. Keep the oil for later.

To Make the Fried Rice
Coat a wok with the oil from fried egg, heat over medium high until hot. Sear the prawns until browned on each side and cooked. Remove and set aside.
Add a little oil to the work and saute onion until translucent. Add the Chinese broccoli and toss slightly until the leaves turn bright green, then the rice and toss until most lumps are loosened.
Add the sauce over the rice and toss until they are evenly coated by the sauce and dry.
Remove from heat and stir in green onions. Serve with fried egg, prawns and cucumber. Garnish with spring onion, coriander, chillies and lime.