Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Beef and Water Chestnut Patties in Sweet and Sour Sauce

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To Prep
Place water chestnuts between 2 paper towels, and press down to remove excess moisture.
Using a food processor, chop water chestnuts and onion to a coarse meal, then add egg and salt, and process for 10 secs. Transfer to a bowl, add beef, oyster sauce and bread crumbs and combine thoroughly. Using your hands, form mixture into balls the size of walnuts.

To Cook
Heat a fry pan over medium – high heat. Add oil and cook patties until golden brown and cooked through for 4-5 mins.
Cook sweet and sour sauce and spring onion gently for 5 mins. Add patties to sauce and serve.

Hoisin Chicken with Instant Noodles

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To Cook
Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 2-3 mins until separated. Drain well and set aside.
Coat chicken in corn flour and then dip in hoisin sauce.
Heat wok, add 1 tbsp oil and sear the bok choy. Add water, cook for 1 min. Remove from wok and set aside.
Add remaining oil to the wok, and cook chicken for 4 mins or until cooked. Add noodles and asparagus and stir-fry for 5 mins. Add lime juice and sesame oil, combine well.
Serve over bok choy and sprinkle with sesame seeds, garnish with spring onion before serving.

Honey Soy Pork

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To Prep
Marinate pork in Honey Soy Marinade for 1 hour or overnight.

To Cook
Heat oil in a wok or frying pan, add pork and stir-fry until cooked through. Add vegetables and stir-fry until cooked.
Serve with steamed Jasmine rice.

Betel Leaves Wrap (Miang Kham)

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To Prep
To prepare the palm sugar dressing, pound shrimp paste, galangal, shrimp floss, toasted shredded coconut in pestle.

To Cook
In a saucepan over high heat, caramelise sugar with 50ml water. Then, add pounded ingredients from Step 1 to the saucepan together with 100ml of water and fish sauce. Reduce heat to a simmer for 1-2 mins, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To serve, place palm sugar dressing in a small bowl and arrange ingredients (betel leaves, shallots, ginger, dried shrimp, toasted shredded coconut, lime and chillies) on a serving platter.
To enjoy miang kham, roll the betel leaf into a cone, fill it up with the various ingredients and top with sweet and tangy sauce.

Thai Lamb and Mango Salad

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To Cook
Heat a slightly oiled griddle or fry pan on high. Fry lamb for 2–3 mins each side. Lamb is best cooked until pale pink, so that it stays tender and moist.
Remove from heat and rest in pan for 5 mins, then slice thinly.
Toss the sliced lamb in combination of sauces, oil, lime juice and coriander. Add lamb to remaining ingredients and toss.
Serve with fried cellophane noodles or crusty bread.

Stir-Fried Beef with Black Pepper and Garlic Sauce

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To Prep
Combine the sliced steak, oil, garlic paste, black peppercorns and white pepper in a small bowl and allow to marinate. (up to 24 hrs)

To Cook
Heat wok over a medium high heat and stir fry the beef 2-3 mins
until browned. Remove and set aside.
Add the carrot and bok choy to the wok and stir fry 1-2 mins, stir in the oyster sauce and fish sauce. Return the steak to the wok and toss through.
Serve hot garnished with spring onion curls.

Prawn and Vegetable Tempura

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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.

Assorted Sushi Rolls (Nori Maki)

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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.

Mushroom Rice Tomato Pots

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To Cook
Preheat oven to 180°C. In a wok, heat oil over high heat before adding in sambal oelek and stir-frying for 1 min or until fragrant.
Add cooked rice and mushrooms and stir-fry for a further 2 mins. Turn off heat and add in the sweet soy sauce, coriander and pine nuts, mix well.
Spoon mixture into tomatoes. Place tomatoes in a heat-proof dish and bake for 5-10 mins. Serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves and drizzled with more sweet soy sauce.

Tip: Serve as a light meal or as part of a bigger meal. Also try stuffing with eggplants, zucchini or capsicum.

Japanese Chicken & Egg Rice Bowls (Oyakodon)

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To Cook
Cut the onions in half lengthwise, from top to bottom. Cut each half into ¼ inch slices and cutting lengthwise.
Combine the onions, mirin, chicken, soy sauce, sake and dashi in a saucepan and place over high heat. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Mix the ingredients occasionally as they cook.
To prepare the oyakodon one serving at a time, break 2 eggs into a bowl, and lightly beat the eggs. You want part of the yolk and whites to be lightly mixed, while the other parts are still separated.
Transfer one fourth of the chicken mixture (about 1½ cups chicken, onions and broth) to a small skillet. Place the skillet over high heat. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat so the broth is simmering.
Pour three-fourths of the egg mixture over the chicken, onions, and broth, Do not mix. Cook for about 1 minute, and then add the remaining one-fourth egg over the ingredients in the skillet. Cover the skillet and cook for 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat, and let the oyakodon rest, covered, for 1 minute.
While the oyakodon is resting, scoop the cooked rice into a serving bowl. When the oyakodon is ready, uncover and slide the entire contents out of the skillet to rest over the rice. Tilt the skillet and use a spatula if necessary as the oyakodon should slide out easily. Garnish with nori, mitsuba and scallions. Add shichimi togarashi to accentuate the taste. Serve immediately and repeat this preparation for the remaining servings.