To Cook
Prepare rice vermicelli as instructions on the packaging. Drain and divide equally into four serving bowls.
Boil the chicken breast until cooked then shred the chicken breast and set aside. Blanch the prawns until cook and set aside.
Heat a pan with 1 tbsp oil and stir-fry laksa paste until fragrant.
Then gradually add coconut milk, chicken stock (or water) and light soy sauce and bring contents to boil. Add salt to taste. Add sliced shallots then turn off the heat.
To serve, divide laksa soup evenly into the four serving bowls prepared earlier. Top with blanched bean sprouts, shredded chicken breast, blanched prawns and enjoy!
Seafood
Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yum Goong)
To Prep
Devein prawns, rinse and pat dry with paper towel.
To Cook
Heat oil in pot and quickly stir-fry pounded dried shrimp, chillies, lime leaves, galangal and lemongrass for 1 min. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 10 min.
Adjust seasoning to taste, garnish and serve hot.
Assorted Sushi Rolls (Nori Maki)
To Prep
Stir through the rice using a paddle to separate and cool the rice a little. When rice is cool to touch, add 3 tbsp sushi rice seasoning and mix well. Set aside.
Prepare the sushi by placing 1 sheet of nori (shiny side down) onto the bamboo rolling mat, moisten your hands with water and take a handful sushi rice.
Spread the rice evenly over the surface of the nori, to within 1cm of the edge.
Add the desired amount of wasabi along the middle of the rice.
Add your preferred fillings in the middle and on top of the rice.
Begin rolling up the mat over the ingredients – stop when you get about 2.5cm from the edge of the nori. Lift the mat and roll forward again to join the edges of the nori – keep applying a gentle pressure to make the roll firm.
Use a sharp knife to cut the completed rolls in half, place the halves side-by-side and cut into thirds. Each roll makes 6 pieces of nori maki.
Steamed Egg with XO Sauce
To Cook
Whisk the chicken broth and the beaten eggs together in a bowl. Pour into 4 small heat-proof bowls and steam for 6 mins.
Add in prawn meat and steam for another 4 mins.
Sprinkle with spring onions and XO sauce. Serve.
Prawn and Vegetable Tempura
To Prep
Make the batter by mixing half a packet of tempura batter with 200ml iced water and whisking gently leaving the batter lumpy.
To Cook
Heat the oil to about 180°C, then dredge ingredients one by one in dry Nisshin Tempura batter flour, then into the batter and fry till golden brown.
Then, prepare dipping sauce by combining all three ingredients in a bowl. Serve tempura with dipping sauce and grated daikon on the side. When eating tempura, mix the grated daikon into the tempura dipping sauce, and take the dipping sauce bowl in hand, quickly dipping the tempura in the mixture before eating.
Japanese Fried Oysters (Kaki Fry)
To Prep
Use salted water to wash the oysters and dry the oysters with paper towels.
Season with salt and pepper.
Heat the canola oil in a medium pot at medium-high heat.
Clean your work station. Put the flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs in separate dishes.
Cover the oysters in flour, then egg, then the breadcrumbs.
Fry in the canola oil at 350°C until it has browned. Cook the oyster for about 1-2 mins on one side and turn it over.
Put the cabbage on separate dishes and serve fried oysters on top of the cabbage.
Put 1-2 lemon wedges on each plate and serve with sauce if desired.
Crab Curry Fried Rice (Khao Pad Boo Garee)
To Cook
Sauté the garlic over medium-high heat in a bit of oil.
Add the sliced onion, crab meat, crab paste in soya bean oil, and curry powder. Sauté until the onions are just starting to cook but still fairly firm.
Add the cooked rice and mix everything together. Season with fish sauce and thin soy sauce, starting with 1 tsp of each and adding more if required.
Set the fried rice to the side of the wok. Add some oil, and then scramble your eggs in the center of the wok. Once cooked, stir into the fried rice.
Add the coriander and green onions and mix to incorporate.
Remove the heat and serve with the Thai dipping sauce (Nam Pla Prik) – a bowl of fish sauce with sliced Thai chilies and lime (optional)
Japanese Savoury Egg Custard (Chawanmushi)
To Prep
In one bowl, combine the chicken thigh and 1 tbsp of sake and mix. Repeat with the shrimp. Set both aside and let marinate for 5 mins.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, dashi, mirin, soy sauce, salt and dashi together. Whisk together but be careful not to aerate the eggs too much while whisking as the bubbles could prevent a silky, smooth texture.
Place a quarter of the chicken, shrimp, mushroom and fish cake in to a ramekin or small bowl.
Pour the egg mixture through a strainer and in to the cup. Pour in enough egg mixture to fill ¾ of the cup. If any bubbles are in the mixture, remove them by poking them. Repeat with the remaining cups.
To Cook
Cover each of the cups with aluminium foil or a lid and set in to a steamer to steam for 20-30 mins at a low-medium heat.
To Serve
When the chicken has cooked through, remove the chawanmushi from the steamer. Remove the lid and sprinkle Mitsuba leaves and cover again if not serving immediately.
Finish by topping with ikura and enjoy!
Indonesian Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng)
To Cook
Prepare the optional accompaniments – Javanese Fried Chicken, Beef Satay, Crispy Fried Shallots, Sambal Kecap, Krupuk and Mixed Vegetable Pickles.
Lightly grease a non-stick skillet with a little oil and fry the eggs sunny side up. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat the wok and add oil over medium heat and stir-fry the shallots, garlic, minced chilli and dried shrimp paste until fragrant for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the prawns and stir-fry until almost cooked and then add the cabbage and leftover cooked meat and continue to stir-fry until the cabbage is slightly wilted. Increase the heat to high, add the rice, salt and sweet Indonesian soy sauce and stir-fry until all the ingredients are mixed well and heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Transfer the fried rice to a serving platter, top with the fried eggs and arrange the accompaniments at the side, around the plate. Garnish with cucumber and tomato slices and serve with the accompaniments on the side.
Potato Croquettes (Begedil)
To Cook
Pan fry potatoes until cooked through and golden brown. Set aside.
Pan fry dried shrimps until it’s aromatic for approximately 3-5 minutes.
Mash potatoes up using a masher.
Dish into a bowl, add fried shrimps, parsley leaves, fried shallots, salt and pepper and mix well.
Shape into patties and coat over with egg.
Pan-fry or deep-fry on medium heat until golden brown on both sides.
Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls (Nem rán / Chả giò)
To Prep
Boil water and soak noodles for 30 mins.
Combine all the ingredients for the filling together to form a sticky mixture.
Chop the soaked mung bean noodles into shorter threads and combine with filling.
To roll the cha gio, place a piece of spring roll paper on a clean, wet kitchen towel. Place 1 heaped tablespoon of filling on the moist rice paper, fold the rice paper over the filling, tuck in the sides, then roll to form a cylinder about 3 inches long.
Seal the wrap by dabbing a finger in the corn starch and lining the end of the wrap.
To Cook
Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or a large frying pan. When the oil is smoking, gently place a few cha gio in the oil. Fry them slowly until they turn lightly brown. Drain the excess oil by lining them over some paper towels.
Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
Japanese Pancake (Okonomiyaki)
To Prep
Partially freeze pork belly. Slice pork belly into thin pieces.
For the batter, combine and mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Add cabbage, pickled ginger and calamari to batter mix.
To Cook
Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the mixture to frying pan, then 3 slices of pork belly. Cook okonomiyaki for 5 minutes until bottom is golden brown. Flip over.
Cook the other side for 7 minutes until it is golden brown.
Place on a plate.
Top with tonkatsu sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and yaki nori strips. Serve hot.