To Cook
Wash and devein prawns, leaving the tail on.
Marinate prawns with oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and pepper. In the meantime, slice zucchini lengthwise and pat dry.
Spray/brush zucchini with oil and grill until cook.
Grill marinated prawns.
Plate up zucchini with prawns and decorate with alfalfa and mayonnaise on the side. Tip: To eat, wrap prawn, alfalfa in a strip of zucchini, and add a dollop of mayonnaise. Eat it in one bite to get all the flavours in one go.
Seafood
Whole Snapper with Vietnamese Sauteed Tomatoes and Bokchoy
To Cook
Rinse the cavity and fish with water and dry very well with paper towels. Make 3-4 incisions into the thickest part of the fish fillet. Generously season with salt just before cooking.
Heat your barbecue grill or fry pan to medium-high heat. Make sure the grill/pan is cleaned and well oiled.
Lay the fish directly on the grill or fry pan and cook for 7-8 mins. Do not attempt to turn fish until the skin has browned and crisped or it will stick.
Using a spatula, carefully turn fish and cook for another 7-8 mins. The fish is done when it flakes at the thickest part.
Place onto a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Sauteed tomato sauce
Heat oil in a pan on a medium-high heat.
Add the onions and cook until translucent before adding the tomatoes, coriander stems and cooking wine.
Sautee until tomatoes start to soften around the edges.
Add fish sauce and sugar. Continue cooking for another 2 mins. If the sauce is too dry add the water. You want a chunky thick sauce.
Spoon sauce over the snapper to serve. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Bok Choy
Heat oil in a pan on high heat, add garlic and cook for 20 secs or until fragrant.
Add bok choy and Shaoxing wine. Stir fry constantly until bok choy leaves wilt. Add oyster sauce and continue to cook for a further 1 min.
Place bok choy around snapper to serve.
Notes
Shaoxing wine can be replaced with water or stock. Bok choy can be replaced with any Asian greens. Serve this dish with steamed jasmine rice.
Lobster Tails with Ginger Sauce & Vietnamese Noodle Salad
To Prep
Trim lobster tails, slice in half lengthwise, brush with a little peanut oil, cook on a hot BBQ grill, cut side down until half cooked, turn over and continue to cook until just done.
Ginger Sauce
Heat the oil in a saucepan, add ginger and fry gently until fragrant, mix the potato flour with a little stock to make a paste.
Add all the remaining ingredients, except the potato flour paste, simmer for a few minutes until flavours develop, add the potato flour paste and simmer until thickened, season with a squeeze of lime juice (to taste).
Sweet Potato & Spring Onion Fritters
Mix the tempura batter according to the package instructions, stir the sweet potato and spring onion through until combined.
Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan, fry spoonfuls of the batter until cooked through and golden, on both sides.
Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
Prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions, set aside to cool.
Slice the cucumber into thin ribbons, discarding the seeds, spiralise or julienne the carrot, slice the onion, chilli and spring onions. Toss through the noodles.
Combine the dressing ingredients, adjust the flavours to taste, toss through the salad just before serving.
To serve
Arrange Asian leaves and salad on a serving plate, sprinkle with coriander leaves, chilli and spring onion slices.
Arrange the BBQ Lobster Tails on top, drizzle with ginger sauce and garnish with fried ginger floss (finely shredded ginger, fried till crisp).
Grilled Barramundi Fish with Sambal Matah
To Prep
Marinate the fish with fish sauce for 1 hour. After marinating, grilled the fish on each side till cooked. When the fish is almost cooked, brush the grilled fish with ABC Sweet Soy Sauce. Put aside on a serving plate.
Preparing Sambal Matah
Place the shrimp paste in a small frying pan over low-medium heat and dry fry for about 3 mins, turning a couple of times, and flattening.
While the shrimp paste is toasting, let’s get all the ingredients ready. Start by halving, then slicing the kaffir lime leaves fairly finely.
Chop up the chillies and garlic finely. Slice the lemongrass very thinly.
Place the toasted shrimp paste, the salt, sugar and lime juice in a medium-sized bowl and with the back of a spoon, mash up the shrimp paste and mix everything up until you have a paste.
Add all the ingredients that you’ve chopped into the bowl and toss everything well, making sure that all the chopped ingredients are coated with the shrimp paste and lime juice sauce. Serve on top of the grilled barramundi fillet.
BBQ Snapper
Coriander Sauce
Place all sauce ingredients into a blender/food processor.
Process until ingredients are finely chopped and well combined.
Set aside.
Sour Mango Salad
In a small saucepan on a medium heat, place fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and water. Heat the mixture just before boiling point before removing from heat. Stir lime juice through and allow to cool.
Julienne the mangoes into a bowl, then mix mint, Thai basil, Vietnamese mint and chilli through.
Pour half of the salad dressing over the mango mixture, stir well to combine. Pour the remaining dressing into a serving dish.
Top the salad with toasted peanuts and additional chilli for extra heat.
Fish
In a bowl, mix together: galangal, shallots, bird’s eye chilli, lemongrass, light soy sauce and lime juice. Stir to combine well.
Place banana leaf onto the barbecue to soften (about 15-20 secs). Remove from heat.
Score the fish 3-4 times on each side, then lay onto the banana leaf’s shiny side. Generously stuff fish with galangal mixture. Wrap the fish completely and seal with the banana leaf to form a package and secure with toothpicks.
Heat barbecue to medium, place banana leaf parcels onto the grill and shut the lid. Cook for 10 mins, then remove from heat.
Open parcels and top with spring onion, chopped peanuts and chilli.
Serve whole fish with mango salad, extra dressing and coriander sauce.
Grilled Miso Salmon and Japanese Coleslaw in Steamed Bao
To Prep
To make the salmon marinade, stir together the miso, vinegar, sugar and sake. Cover the salmon fillets with the marinade. Place in the fridge for at least 30 mins or better still overnight.
To make the coleslaw, place the mayonnaise, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Add to the cabbage and snow peas. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Set aside.
Heat a large steamer over a medium-high heat. Steam the buns for 5 mins or until heated through (this can be done in batches according to the size of the steamer).
While buns are steaming, heat a charcoal grill, BBQ hot plate or frying pan. Lift salmon out of marinade and grill over medium heat for 3-5 mins on each side or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
To assemble, place a portion of grilled miso salmon in a bao bun, top with coleslaw, garnish with nori, spring onions, cucumber and chilli. Eat while hot.
Grilled Barramundi Curry In Banana Leaf
To Prep
Cut 100g of barramundi fillet into small pieces and put in a food processor or use a mortar and pestle to make fish paste.
Put coconut cream, fish sauce, rice flour, red curry paste, turmeric powder and crack egg into the bowl.
Using a large wooden spoon, mix all ingredients together until combined then, add fish paste into the bowl. Keep stirring fish paste for about 2-3 mins until the fish paste is a bit sticky.
Add 300g medium size cut barramundi into the bowl then, add all basil leaves and 2 julienned kaffir lime leaves. Gently mix through.
Prepare banana leaf by putting one banana leaf onto the kitchen bench (shiny side down) then put another sheet of banana leaf on top (if you have small pieces of banana leaf you can put 3-4 pieces on top of each other).
To Cook
Put fish curry in the center of the banana leaf then fold the leaf to cover the fish curry, using wooden toothpicks to make banana leaf parcels. Continue until all of the fish curry is finished.
Place the banana leaf parcels on BBQ grill, cook for 20-25 mins or until the fish mixture is cooked.
Before eating, open banana parcel and garnish with julienned kaffir lime leaves and sliced chillies (if you like).
Enjoy Grilled Barramundi Curry in Banana Leaf.
Note
If you don’t have banana leaf you can put the fish mixture onto baking paper and wrap it with aluminum foil then prepare with the same method above (but you will lose the banana leaf smoked flavor in your fish curry).
Takoyaki
To Cook
In a large bowl, mix water, eggs, and takoyaki flour well with a whisk.
Heat a takoyaki pan with oil just until the oil begins to smoke. Use enough oil to coat the pan using a paper towel so that the batter won’t stick. Then pour batter to fill the holes of the pan.
Drop octopus pieces in the batter in each hole, and sprinkle chopped green onions and rice crispy bits all over the pan.
Cook at medium heat for 1-2 mins and turn over using a wooden skewer. Cook another 3-4 mins, turning constantly.
Place the cooked takoyaki on a plate and pour takoyaki sauce and mayo over them. Finish the dish by sprinkling the takoyaki with bonito flakes and chopped spring onions.
Fragrant BBQ Fish
Vietnamese Slaw
In a bowl, combine the wombok, spring onions and carrots, roughly mix together.
Add in the Thai basil, coriander and chilli, lightly mix.
In a small bowl, combine the rice wine vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic, stir thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour dressing over salad, ensuring all salad components are covered in dressing. Top salad with the roasted peanuts. Put into the fridge to chill whilst making the fish parcels.
Fish parcels
Using a large bowl, combine the lemongrass, shallots, turmeric, garlic, pepper and salt, mix well. Then add in the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, mix again to combine.
Heat the BBQ to medium heat. Place banana leaf onto the bbq to soften (about 15-20 secs). Remove banana leaf from heat.
Lay out banana leaf, then place a piece of fish in the middle along with half of the lemongrass mixture. Fold the banana leaf over the fish covering all sides and secure with toothpicks to ensure it remains closed while cooking.
Place banana leaf parcel onto the grill at medium heat, close lid and cook for 8-10 mins.
Remove parcel from the grill and let it rest for 1 minute.
Serve the fish parcels with the fresh Vietnamese slaw.
Pomelo, Prawn & Green Mango Salad Bowl
To Cook
Marinate prawns in mixture for 1 hour.
Assemble salad in 4 bowls and stir through salad dressing.
Stir fry prawns for 2-3 mins in batches in a hot wok with peanut oil. Place on top of each bowl.
Garnish with some toasted coconut flakes, sliced red chilli (optional) and remaining mixed herbs.
Enjoy with cold beer!
Prawn Red Thai Curry
To Cook
Stir fry 2 tbsp Valcom Thai Red Curry Paste (add more if hot curry is preferred). Cook rice at the same time.
Add vegetables to stir fry.
Add TCC Light Coconut Milk.
Add shelled tiger prawns, stir fry until prawns are just cooked through. Place cooked rice on plate, then add the curry prawns.
Add sliced red chilli, shallots, coriander and lime to garnish.
Serve.
Mud Crab Vermicelli with Home Made XO Sauce
To Make the XO Sauce
Drain the shrimp and discard the water. Chop finely.
Drain the scallop, keep the water for later. Using a fork or your fingers, break the scallops into thin strips.
Heat the oil until it is hot, turn down the heat to medium then add the scallops and fry until lightly brown. Stir constantly to prevent burning.
Add the chopped shrimp into the wok and fry for about 3-5 mins.
Add bacon and fry for another 3 mins.
Using a slotted spoon or strainer, take the mixture out of the oil and transfer it to a separate fry pan.
Cook this meat mixture over medium heat and season with oyster sauce, soy sauce, cooking wine, pepper and sugar. Add the water from the scallop and cook until the liquid disappears.
Use the oil in the wok to fry the chillies for 3-5 mins and then add the shallots. Keep stirring to prevent burning.
Add the garlic and fry until they are golden brown.
Return the scallop/shrimp/bacon into the wok. Turn off the heat immediately and stir and mix well.
To Cook the Crab
Put the mud crab in the fridge or freezer for 20-30 mins to immobilise it. This will put it to sleep.
Separate the crab body from the shell, remove the dead man’s fingers and cut the body in quarter. Crack the claws and legs using a rolling pin or meat tenderiser. Toss them in corn flour until lightly covered. Shake off excess flour.
In a deep wok, heat the oil and fry the crab lightly until it changes colour. There is no need to fully cook the crab at this stage as we will cook it further later. Set aside.
Tip off the oil and leave about 2 tbsp in the wok. Toss the garlic, ginger, and chilli and fry until fragrant. Add the XO sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and the stock, letting it simmer for 1 min.
Add the vermicelli and let it soak the liquid until the vermicelli becomes soft. If it needs more liquid, just add more stock and adjust the flavour.
Just before the liquid is fully absorbed by the vermicelli, add the crab and mix well. Put the lid on the wok and turn down the heat to low-medium. Let it cook for about 10 mins.
Sprinkle the coriander and fried shallot, mix well.
Transfer it into a big deep dish, garnish with extra coriander and spring onion.
TIP: Put the leftover XO sauce in an airtight jar and store it in the fridge