To Cook
In a bowl, mix all the gravy ingredients until well combined. Separately, mix the corn starch with 3 tbsp of water, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture. Set both aside for later.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a clay pot. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant.
Fry the tofu in the clay pot for 2 minutes. Then add the prawns and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the gravy mixture, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, and baby corn. Mix well and allow to simmer on low heat for a few minutes.
Stir in the corn starch mixture and bring the contents up to a boil.
Remove the claypot from the heat and serve in the claypot with cooked white rice.
Seafood
Pad Thai with Prawns (Pad Thai Goong)
To Cook
Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat and stir-fry prawns until just cooked. Add Valcom Pad Thai Paste and mix well. Stir in fish sauce, tamarind puree, sugar and chilli powder.
Rinse rice noodles then add to pan and stir through. Push the mixture to one side of pan, heat 1 tbsp oil, then add beaten egg and allow to cook.
Stir-fry the egg with the noodles. Toss with beansprouts and chives, then garnish with peanuts.
Rice Stick Soup with Fish Balls
To Prep
Prepare rice sticks as per pack instructions.
In a food processor, blend fish, cornflour, black fungus, egg, pepper, coriander, soy and fish sauce.
Wet hands, roll 1 tbsp mixture into a ball. Repeat until all mixture has been used.
To Cook
Bring stock to the boil, drop in fish balls. They are cooked when they float to the surface (approximately 3 mins).
Divide noodles among 4 serving bowls, top with stock and fish balls.
Garnish with sprigs of Vietnamese hot mint and serve.
Steamed Chicken Curry Cake (Hor Mok)
To Prep
Combine chicken, prawns and coconut cream in a bowl and stir until smooth.
Combine curry paste, egg, fish sauce, sugar, peanuts and kaffir lime leaves into the mixture and continue stirring for 2 mins until well-mixed.
Place basil leaves into 4 bowls, then fill with the curry mixture.
To Cook
Steam over boiling water for 15 mins or until just cooked.
While steaming, prepare topping cream by mixing 50ml coconut cream and corn flour and stir over low heat until cooked. Set aside.
Open the steamer, transfer the curry cake onto a serving plate, garnish with topping cream, red chilli and basil leaves. Serve with rice.
Scattered Sushi (Chirashizushi)
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.
Nobu-Inspired Miso Cod
To Prep
In a saucepan, combine the sake and mirin together and heat over a medium flame till they begin to boil. Boil for 30 secs before turning the heat down to low and adding in the miso paste.
Allow the miso to dissolve before adding in the sugar and continuing to cook till the sugar has dissolved too.
When the mixture has been well combined, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
Dry the fish using paper towels before placing in to a zip lock bag and covering with the miso mixture. Squeeze the bag to coat the fish and let marinate overnight.
When the fish has marinated, remove them from the zip lock bag and wipe off the excess marinade.
To Cook
In a non-stick pan over a high heat, add oil and place the fish skin side down to sear until the skin begins to slightly blacken.
Flip the fish and continue to cook the other side for about 2 mins until the flesh has cooked through. Remove and set aside.
To Serve
Serve topped with a small serving of pickled ginger and rice!
Buckwheat Porridge (Sobagome Zosui)
To Prep
Clean niboshi by removing heads and cuts. Then put the niboshi into a straining/dashi bag.
In a pot, add 4 cups of water and put niboshi bag in. Leave to soak for 10 hrs or overnight. This will be the pot of dashi.
To Cook
Rinse sobagome. In a pot, add the rinsed sobagome and enough water to immerse it. Bring to boil for 15 mins, then remove from heat and drain the water. Set sobagome aside.
In the meantime, soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water to rehydrate. Slice shiitake mushrooms, carrot, chikuwa, konnyaku, and chop the spring onions. Rub salt onto konnyaku slices and rinse to remove smell.
Cut chicken thighs into 1cm pieces and rub sake into it. Set aside.
In the dashi pot, add shiitake and bring contents to boil.
Leave to simmer for 2-3 mins before removing the niboshi bag.
Add chicken, carrots, konnyaku, and mirin into the dashi pot and simmer.
Add the cooked sobagome, garnish with spring onions, and flavour with light soy sauce.
Optional step: Add a slice of sudachi or chopped yuzu peels to add more flavour to the dish.
Chunky Vegetable Soup Niigata Style (Noppei Jiru)
To Prep
Soak dried shiitake mushrooms and scallops (optional) in 2 cups of water overnight to rehydrate and draw flavours into the water. The juices will be used as part of the soup stock.
To Cook
In a small pot, bring roughly 4 cups of water to boil and drop in konnyaku, return to boil, then drain and set aside the konnyaku.
Prepare the dashi by heating 4 cups of water in a saucepan over medium heat. Just before the water boils, remove the kelp from the saucepan.
Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Keep cooking for another 5 mins.
Lower the heat and add bonito flakes into the saucepan. When the water boils, turn heat off. Set aside to cool for at least 5 mins and let the bonito flakes sink to the bottom.
Strain the liquid through a strainer lined with a paper towel or several layers of cheesecloth. Set aside.
In the meantime, remove shiitake mushrooms and scallop (optional) from the water. Lightly squeeze to drain water and slice the shiitake mushrooms.
In a pot, add dashi, shiitake mushroom water and scallop (optional), seasoning and heat over medium-high heat.
Add in all the ingredients and bring to boil. Then, lower the heat to a simmer and keep cooking for another 20 mins, or until the taro softens.
Turn off heat and scoop into individual serving bowls. Best enjoyed hot.
Satay Rice Vermicelli
To Cook
In a frying pan, heat the satay sauce, then add prawns and squid rings. Cook for 5 mins.
Add water spinach and cook for 1 min before adding the rice vermicelli. Mix well and then plate it, garnish with spring onion, coriander and chilli. Serve hot.
Vietnamese Caramelised Fish in Young Coconut Juice (Ca Kho Dua)
To Prep
Combine the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Add the fish and coat it in the marinade ingredients. Cover and let it marinate for 10 mins.
To Cook
Put wok/frying pan on the stove on low heat. Add vegetable oil and palm sugar. Cook until the sugar has caramelised, stirring the mixture a little as it starts to colour.
Add in the garlic and pork belly, and stir-fry for 2 mins, then immediately add the marinated fish. Coat the fish with the caramel, and cook for 1 min.
Stir in the coconut juice and simmer for a further 6 mins. Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.
Sprinkle spring onion, pepper and chilli over the top, and serve.
Sambal Prawn (Udang)
To Prep
In a blender, add all spice ingredients and blend until smooth.
To Cook
Heat oil in a pot, stir-fry spice paste and kaffir lime leaves until fragrant, about 8-10 mins.
Add the diluted tamarind paste and mix well. Cover the pot and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer for 3-5 mins.
Add prawns, sugar and salt, stir until well mixed. Cover again and simmer for 3 mins.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot.
Sea Bream with Rice (Tai Meshi)
To Prep
Wipe the dried kombu with a clean cloth to remove any dirt, but not the white powdery substance on the surface.
Combine the water and the kombu together in a pot and let the kombu soak for approx 30 mins.
While the kombu is soaking, rinse the rice with water until the water begins to run clear. Cover the rice with water and let soak for approx 30 mins to 1 hr.
Score the fish on both sides before lightly rubbing in the salt and adding in the sake. Let the fish marinate for 10 mins before patting dry.
After the kombu has finished soaking, turn on the stove and set it to low. Slowly heat up the water until it just begins to boil before removing it from the heat and setting it aside.
To Cook
In a pan or grill, cook the fish for 3 mins on each side or until a nice brown sear has been achieved. The fish doesn’t need to be fully cooked through at this stage.
In a large pot, drain and add the rice, kombu stock, salt, sake, soy sauce, and mirin. Stir until all of the ingredients have been well combined before topping with the grilled fish and grated ginger.
Cover the pot and heat over a medium-high heat until the stock begins to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for approx 10 mins before removing from the heat and letting stand for another 5-10 mins.
To Serve
Serve the entire dish as is, in the pot, garnished with chives and white sesame seeds! Enjoy!