Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Bo)

by Leave a Comment

To Prepare the Stock
Place onion, ginger, garlic over open fire and grill until their skins start charring. Remove them from the heat and run them under cold water to cool. Remove and discard the charred skin.
In a large stockpot, bring 6-8L water to the boil. Add grilled onion, ginger, garlic, star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, beef bones and daikon to the pot. Keep boiling the stock on high heat. Do not cover with a lid.
Skim the fat and froth off the top of broth frequently as this will ensure a clear stock. After half an hour, reduce flame to low. Add sugar and salt and simmer for a further 3 hrs or until the meat falls off the bones
Season with fish sauce. Place spring onion stalks and beef balls into the stock. Taste test and adjust seasoning to personal liking.

To Serve
Place bean shoots, basil, chilies, and lemon wedges on a platter alongside the dipping sauces.
In a medium pot of boiling water, place a large handful of pre-soaked noodles into a strainer and lower into the water for 10 secs. Quickly remove the strainer and shake off any excess water. Place noodles into a soup bowl.
Place sliced beef on top of noodles and sprinkle with sliced onion.
Ladle the hot broth over the uncooked beef and sprinkle with chopped spring onions and coriander.
Tip 1: By adding the daikon, we are adding depth to the stock.
Tip 2: We recommend using fresh pho noodles if they are accessible however, having the Erawan in your pantry means you can cook Pho anytime.
Tip 3: For instant Pho, use packaged beef stock and simmer broth with grilled garlic, onion and ginger and spices for at least half an hour. Adjust the flavouring accordingly given that the pre-purchased stock already has sodium in it.

Vegan Vietnamese Crepes (Banh Xeo)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Place all batter ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. Refrigerate batter whilst preparing other ingredients.
Place all sauce ingredients into a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste test and taste adjust to personal liking.

To Cook
Wash mung beans and cook in 3 cups of water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside
Heat a 22cm non-stick frying pan on high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons oil, a small handful of sliced onion and king oyster mushrooms, cook for one minute.
Stir the batter thoroughly and ladle approximately ½ cup of the batter into the frying pan, swirling the batter around to spread it thinly around the whole pan.
Add 2 Tablespoons of mung beans, a few slices of tofu and a handful of bean shoots onto the crepe. Cover with the lid. Reduce the heat to medium to cook for 2 minutes.
Remove the lid and cook the crepe for another minute or so, until the edges start lifting away from the frying pan. Drizzle more oil around the sides of frying pan to get a crispier outcome.
Fold pancake in half and slide the crepe onto a serving plate. Serve with fresh condiments and dipping sauce

Tip: To make a crispier crepe, make the batter a couple of hours in advance and refrigerate until required.

Shallot Oil

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Heat oil in a small sauce pan on high for 1 min.
Add in the sliced onion and turn down the heat to medium. Stir occasionally to cook the onion evenly.
Keep frying the onion until they turn crispy dark brown but not burnt.
Once the onion is done, remove from oil to cook down. Transfer oil onto a heat proof container.
Use when needed.

Sichuan Twice Cooked Fish

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
In a bowl, combine the sliced fish and the marinade ingredients together and mix well before setting aside to marinate for approximately 15 minutes.
While the fish marinates, soak the dried chillies in boiling water until soft before draining out the water and setting aside.
In a separate bowl, pour out enough cornstarch to cover the all of the fish slices and then transfer them in to the bowl. Lightly mix the fish to coat them in the flour until they are well coated.

To Cook
In a wok or pan, heat enough oil to shallow fry the fish slices. When the oil gets hot, begin to fry the fish in batches until they are golden brown in colour. Transfer the cooked slices on to a drying rack or plate with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Reserve 2 tbsp of the used oil and discard the rest. Heat the oil back up and fry the broad bean paste for about a minute before adding in the fermented black beans, garlic, ginger and the chillies.
Fry the mixture until the garlic and ginger become aromatic and then add in the spring onions and garlic sprouts and continuing to cook until the garlic sprouts have become soft.
Return the fish back in to the mixture and toss to coat well in the sauce.
Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate to serve!

Hot Tofu (Yudofu)

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
In a pot, add in the kombu and fill it with enough water so that all of the tofu you have can be easily submerged. Let the kombu absorb the water for at least an hour.
When the stock has begun to absorb the flavour of the kombu, take out half a cup of it and combine it with the soy sauce and mirin to make the dipping sauce. Mix and set aside.
Cut the tofu in to the size that you intend to eat it at and then carefully add them in to the pot. Turn on the stove and bring the broth to a low boil over a medium heat.

To Serve
Transfer the cut tofu in to bowls and pour in some of the stock. Top with katsuobushi and cut some kombu for extra taste. Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!
Tip: You can cook and serve this dish entirely in a clay pot or donabe for a more authentic look.

Garlic Oil

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Heat oil up in a sauce pan on high heat.
After 1 min, add the chopped garlic in and turn down the heat to low-medium. Stir garlic occasionally and keep on checking the heat to make sure garlic is bubbling. Continue to fry until garlic turn golden brown.
When it is ready, remove from heat and transfer into a heat proof container to cool.
Used when needed.

Tip
Even though the garlic oil is removed from heat, it will continue to brown (cook) in hot oil. Depending on desired texture and flavour, garlic can be removed from the heat earlier.

Cold Udon Soup with Tempura Batter (Cold Tanuki Udon)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Soak the wakame in hot water for about 10 mins or until it has become soft. Drain the water and set aside.
Make the mentsuyu sauce as per the instructions in our soba recipe.
While the sauce cooks, begin cooking the udon noodles as per the packet instructions.

To Plate
To plate, transfer the cooked noodles on to a serving plate and ladle over some of the mentsuyu sauce.
Top with the cucumber, wakame and a soft boiled egg. Garnish with the tempura scraps and serve!

Quick Duck Pancakes

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
In a bowl, combine the salt, pepper and five spice powder and then coat the duck breasts. Set the duck aside.
Prepare the pancakes as per the packet instructions and then set it aside under a damp towel or any method to prevent it from drying out.

To Cook
In a pan over a medium heat, fry the duck breasts skin-side down until the skin has become crispy and brown and the fat has rendered.
Flip the breasts over and add in the star anise and continue to fry for another 5 mins or until the meat has become firm to the touch.
Remove the duck breast from the pan and let rest for at least 5 mins before slicing thinly.

To Assemble
On a single pancake, lay a few sticks of the cucumber and spring onions with a couple of the duck breast slices and top with the hoisin sauce before wrapping tightly.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients and serve with more hoisin sauce as a side!

Vegetarian Dumpling Noodle Soup

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
In a pot over a medium heat, combine all of the broth ingredients and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer and cooking for 20 mins.
While the broth simmers, cook the noodles as per the packet instructions and set aside.
Similarly, prepare the vegetable dumplings as per the packet instructions.
In another pot of water, bring to a boil and blanche the bok choy for about 30 seconds. Remove from the pot and set aside.

To Serve
In a bowl, add a portion of the noodles and ladle over some of the broth. Top with the dumplings and the bok choy and garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Beef Lo Mein

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
In a mixing bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients together and mix thoroughly.
Prepare noodles as per the packet instructions and set aside.

To Cook
In a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add a tbsp of oil and fry the beef until it has fully cooked through.
Season with salt and pepper and add in the cornstarch. Toss till the cornstarch has mixed with the meat juices and has begun to thicken. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Clean the pan with a paper towel and and in a tbsp of oil. When the oil has heated up, add in the broccoli florets and stir fry for about a minute.
Add in the ginger and garlic and fry until aromatic before returning the beef to the pan and stirring well.
Mix the sauce well before pouring it in to the pan and tossing well. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly before adding in the noodles and continuing to toss. When the sauce begins to nicely coat the noodles, remove the pan from the heat and begin to serve.

To Serve
Transfer the noodles on to a large serving plate and serve topped with chilli flakes!

Duck Noodles

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
In a mixing bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients and stir well.
Bring to a boil a pot of water and blanche the bok choy until they have softened slightly. Remove from the water and set aside before cooking the noodles as per the packet instructions in the same water.

To Serve
Add the noodles in to the mixing bowl of sauce and mix well to coat them. Transfer the noodles in to a serving bowl and spoon over some of the remaining sauce.
Top with the sliced duck and blanched bok choy. Garnish with pickled chillies and serve!

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
In a pot over a medium heat, combine all of the broth ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the broth to a simmer and add in the chicken breasts. Continue cooking for another 20 mins or until the chicken has fully cooked through.
While the broth simmers and the chicken cooks, prepare the noodles as per the packet instructions and set aside.
In another pot of water, bring to a boil and blanche the bok choy for about 30 seconds. Remove from the pot and set aside.

To Serve
Remove the chicken from the broth and either sliced or loosely shred the meat.
In a bowl, add a portion of the noodles and ladle over some of the broth. Top with the chicken breast and the bok choy and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve!