Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Seafood

Steamed Prawns with Garlic

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To Prep
Clean prawns by trimming off legs and feelers with a pair of kitchen scissors. Cut along the back of the prawn and devein them. Wash and pat dry the prawns. Set aside.
Marinate prawns with salt, white pepper and Chinese rice wine for at least 15 mins.
Mix sesame oil, soy sauce and 1 tbsp of shaoxing wine to the fresh garlic.
Place spring onions (uncut) as a base on a plate and arrange the prawns on top of the spring onions.
Scoop the garlic mixture and pour 1 tbsp shaoxing wine over the prawns.

To Cook
Steam prawns for about 6 mins before sprinkling some spring onions on top. Serve immediately.

Cereal Butter Prawn

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To Prep
Clean prawns by trimming off legs and feelers with a pair of kitchen scissors. Cut along the back of the prawn and devein them. Wash, pat dry and marinate the prawn with salt and cornflour.

To Cook
In a wok, heat up enough oil to deep fry the prawns. When the oil is hot, deep fry the prawns for 1-2 mins. Set aside.
Heat up wok in medium heat and melt butter in it. Add in the curry leaves and chilli if you want a bit of a kick. Stir fry until fragrant.
Return prawns into the pan and add in the cereal mixture. Stir fry for about 2 mins, ensuring the prawns are well coated with the cereal.
Serve immediately.

Prosperity Toss Salad (Yu Sheng)

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To Cook
Cut wonton wrappers into strips. Deep fry them in hot oil and drain. Set aside.
Combine all dressing ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. Stir until sauce is thickened and well mixed. Set aside in a small bowl and let it cool down.
Arrange all other vegetables and fruits in a round large platter neatly.
Place salmon in a bowl and squeeze with lime just before tossing.
Sprinkle the five spice powder, coriander and sesame seeds over the vegetables just before tossing. Once ready, everyone joins in to toss the Yu Sheng with their chopsticks.

Cereal Prawn

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To Cook
Combine the egg white with the plain flour and corn flour to form the marinade. Add salt and pepper to preference. Add prawns and set aside for 15 mins.
Heat a wok with oil to 170℃ and deep-fry until it has turned a light golden colour.
Once all your prawns are cooked, remove them from the wok. Melt 3 tbsp butter in the wok. Add the curry leaves and chilli until it has become fragrant. Add the egg yolk and stir for 10-15 secs.
Reduce the heat and add the oats, milk powder, chicken powder and sugar. The mixture is done when the ingredients are crispy but not burnt.
Take off the heat, add prawns and mix thoroughly.
Serve hot by itself or with rice.

Stir-Fried Prawns in Soy Sauce

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To Prep
Trim prawns, make a slit on the back and de-vein, rinse and pat dry.

To Cook
Deep-fry prawns in hot oil over high heat for 2-3 mins, drain and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok, add in ginger and garlic, then stir-fry until fragrant. Add the seasonings and bring to a boil.
Add prawns and stir-fry until evenly coated with the sauce. Add thickener and stir well.
Cook until sauce has thickened. Dish out and garnish with shredded spring onions.

Mini Spicy Prawn Rolls

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To Prep
Soak the dried shrimps in water for 10-15 mins until they soften. Drain and place into food processer to process until finely chopped. Set aside.
Peel shallots and garlic and finely chop them separately in the food processor. Spoon out and set aside.
Soak the dried chillies in warm water until they soften. Chop them up roughly, remove the seeds and blend with 1-2 tbsp water until a paste is formed.

To Cook
Add 3 tbsp cooking oil into a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add chopped shallots and garlic, and fry until it’s fragrant. Add chilli paste and stir-fry for 2-3 mins, or until the liquid has dried up. Add the chopped shrimp and continue cooking for another 10-15 mins until the mixture darkens and becomes dry. Dish out and set aside to cool.
Carefully separate the spring roll wrappers and evenly divide and cut each piece into 9 small squares.
To wrap the mini spring rolls, place a small amount of shrimp mixture in the middle of the wrapper. Fold on the left and right corners, followed by the bottom corner to for a parcel. Then, roll upwards to enclose. Use your finger to dab some beaten egg on the last corner of the wrapper to seal the roll. Repeat until all the wrappers or filling is used up.
In a frying pan, add 2-3cm of oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough, add the mini rolls to the frying pan to cook for about 2-3 mins, or until they are golden brown. Fry in small batches for better control of the heat. Strain the mini rolls using a spider or a strainer, and drain well on paper towels.
Set aside to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Grilled Eel on Rice (Unagi Donburi)

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To Making the Sauce
Combine mirin and sake in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil to evaporate alcohol.
Add sugar and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Then add soy sauce and bring it to a boil. Then reduce heat and continue cooking on simmer for 10 mins, or until mixture thickens. Turn off the heat to cool it down.

To Prep the Unagi
Preheat your oven to broil at 290°C for 3 mins. Meanwhile, cut unagi in half to fit inside your serving bowls. Line the baking sheet with aluminium foil and brush oil lightly
Put the baking sheet in the middle rack of your oven, and broil on high for 5-7 mins.
After 7 mins or so, take it out and brush the sauce over.
Continue to broil for another 30-60 secs until you see bubbles on top of unagi.
Serve unagi on top of rice and pour/brush more sauce. Serve immediately.
Tip: Use pre-made/frozen unagi from Asian grocers to shave off half the cooking time!

Prosperity Treasure Pot (Pun Choy)

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For the Braised Pork
Blanch pork trotter in water and 3 slices of ginger for 5 mins. This will lessen the porky smell. Drain and rinse the pork. Set aside.
Rub salt and dark soy sauce on pork trotter.
In a wok, heat 2 tbsp oil and sear all sides of the pork trotter until browned and set aside.
In the same wok, pan-fry shiitake mushrooms and dried oysters for 1-2 mins and set aside.
Prepare a pressure cooker. Add pork trotter, shiitake mushrooms, dried oysters and all the remaining ingredients. Fill pressure cooker with water enough to immerse the pork. Seal the lid and cook on high for 30-40 mins and until sauce thickens slightly. Add in the black moss fungus and stir.
Taste test and adjust with more rock sugar or soy sauce if necessary.

For the Seafood Vegetables
In a small pot, fill half full with water and bring to boil. Add Shaoxing wine, spring onions and ginger slices. Keep boiling for another 5 mins.
Add prawns and scallops to the pot to poach for about 2-3 mins. Drain prawns and scallops and set aside.
In another pot, bring chicken stock, wombok and daikon to boil then simmer until daikon is tender. Remove wombok and daikon from the pot and set aside.
With the chicken stock still boiling, add abalone into the pot to cook for 1 min and set aside. Then, blanch broccoli until tender and set aside.

To assemble the Pun Choy
Prepare a large pot, about 28-30cm in diameter and 10-15 cm in depth.
Layer the base with wombok. Save some to place on top with the other ingredients.
Carefully arrange the rest of the ingredients around the pot. There are no set rules, but you’d want to display all the ingredients in their full glory.
Lastly, get your loved ones together and dig in!

Lotus Root Soup (Leng Ngau Tong)

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To Cook
Rinse dried cuttlefish.
In a medium pot, fill half-full with water, add pork bones and bring to boil. Once boiled, drain the bones and wash any dark marrow or coagulated blood off from the pork with cold water. This helps to reduce scum appearing on top of the surface of the soup.
Then fill a pot with 2.5L of water, add in blanched pork bones, lotus root, red dates, raw peanuts and dried cuttlefish. Bring contents to boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer for 2-3 hrs.
Skim off any scum appearing on top of the surface.
Taste test and season with salt.
Serve hot in individual bowls.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp Skewers (Gochujang Saewu Gui)

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To Prep
Soak wooden skewers in water while preparing the prawns. Rinse the prawns and drain. Thread the prawns on to the skewers.
Mix all the marinade ingredients well in a bowl.
Spoon (or brush) the marinade over the prawns to coat evenly. Let stand for 20 to 30 mins.

To Cook
Preheat a lightly oiled grill. Grill the prawns over moderate heat until just cooked through, 2 to 3 mins each side. Do not overcook. Baste the prawns with any remaining sauce while grilling. You can also cook the prawns in a grill pan over medium-high heat. Garnish with spring onions or chives.

Japanese Grilled Squid (Ikayaki)

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To Prep
To prepare the marinade, combine soy sauce, aka miso, mirin, sake, ginger and sancho pepper in a large bowl, and mix well.
Add in the squid, and spoon the marinade over to coat well. Set aside to marinate for 15 mins.
When it’s time to cook, separate squid from the liquids, but reserve the marinade for later use.

To Cook
Cooking on a grill plate: Heat a well-oiled grill plate over stovetop. When grill plate is hot, place squid on the grill to cook for about 12-15 mins, turning occasionally, and glazing the squid with marinade. Cooking time will vary a little according to the size of the squid.
Cooking on a pan: Heat a well-oiled pan over medium-high heat. Add squid to cook on pan for about 4-5 mins on each side, turning occasionally. Add the marinade and cook a further 1-2 mins until the sauce thickens.
To serve, slice the squid into rings and place on serving plate. Add a dash of sansho before serving, and a lemon wedge on the side.
Squeeze lemon over hot squid and enjoy ikayaki with a cold beer!

Green Papaya Salad with Dried Shrimp (Som Tum)

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To Prep
Place the garlic and chilli in a mortar and use the pestle to crush.
Add the shrimp and long beans and pound a few times to bruise the beans.
Add the peanuts and pound a few more times.
Add the palm sugar and lightly grind until it has dissolved, then add the lime juice and fish sauce.
Add the cherry tomatoes and pound lightly.
Add the papaya and pound lightly, then mix well with a spoon.
Dish out and serve.