Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Vegetarian Honey Chicken

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To Prep
Whisk together the plain flour, cornflour, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk well.
Coat the vegetarian soy chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Add the soy chicken into the egg, making sure to coat thoroughly. Return the soy chicken into the flour mixture to coat.

To Cook
Heat up oil in a pot or wok to deep fry.
Deep fry the soy chicken at 190°C, then drain on paper towel.
Heat a wok over medium-high until smoking. Add in 4 tbsp oil, add ginger and garlic, and fry until fragrant.
Add the capsicum and saute for 1 min. Add in the soy chicken and stir through.
Add honey and stir through to coat the soy chicken.
Garnish with the sesame seeds and spring onions. Serve with steamed rice.

Pickled Daikon Radish (Takuan)

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To Prep
Wash daikon radishes, then leave out to dry for 4 days.
In a saucepan, add the water, sugar, salt, vinegar and turmeric powder. Bring to the boil, stir until well combined, then remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Remove the top of the radishes, peel off the brown spots and roots on the surface, cut into half lengthwise, then place radish and liquid mixture into a zip lock bag and seal. Press gently and turn the bag around until everything is well mixed.
Store in fridge for 1 month, massaging the pickle with the pickling liquid once a day.
To serve, cut into any shapes you like.
Tip: You can speed up the pickling time by cutting up the daikon into smaller pieces.

Vegan Sticky Tofu Bao

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To Prep
Combine all ingredients and stir through until sugar dissolves. Leave for at least 15 mins before serving.
Cut tofu into slices about ½ cm thin and about 4cm wide and place on a plate.
Mix together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, cracked pepper, five-spice powder and oil. Pour over the tofu slices to marinade.

To Cook
Cook in a frying pan until sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
Steam or microwave bao according to packet instructions.
Fill bao with cucumber slices, sticky tofu, pickled vegetables, coriander and spring onion. Serve and enjoy.

Vegetarian Eggplant Katsu Curry on Rice

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To Cook Eggplant Katsu
To prepare the eggplant, flour each piece all sides, shake off any excess, then coat in egg wash, followed by panko breadcrumbs. You can do this ahead of time and refrigerate if desired.
To fry the eggplant, heat oil in a medium non-stick fry pan to a medium high heat. Fry in batches, turning once or twice until golden brown and crunchy. Drain well over paper towel or a drying rack on a tray.

To Cook Curry
Preheat a medium non-stick fry pan to a medium high-heat. Stir-fry the curry paste until fragrant, deglaze, break up and thoroughly stir through water until a sauce is forming. Add all vegetables and reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until vegetables have softened through.
To serve, place a bed of rice followed by curry then topped with eggplant katsu, sauce and optional toppings.

Prawn Tempura (Deep-Fried Prawn)

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To Cook
Straighten the prawn with a sharp knife. Slice a slit along the stomach lengthways. Place on chopping board, stomach side down and using your fingers, press the back to snap the back muscle and stretch the prawn straight.
Combine batter mixture ingredients and mix well.
Combine dipping sauce ingredients in a pot and bring to boil. Add in extra flavours for dipping sauce if preferred.
Heat vegetable oil to 175°C in a deep-frying pan.
Lightly coat the prawn with extra Obento Tempura Batter Mix, then dunk in the batter till well coated. Straight fry in the heated oil until cooked through and drain excess oil.
Repeat the process for the rest of ingredients. Serve with dipping sauce.

Vegetarian Chinese Dumplings

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To Prep
To make the chilli oil, place the dried chilli flakes in a heatproof bowl. Heat oil gently in a saucepan. Take off heat for about 30 secs and then pour over chilli flakes. Leave to cool.

To Cook
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in frying pan and sauté onion and shiitake mushrooms until onion turns translucent. Add spinach and cook to remove any excess liquid. Remove from heat and mix with the mashed tofu, vegan mince, cornflour, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, grated ginger, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to combine.
Place filling in the middle of pastry, slightly wet one half the pastry with a little bit of water, then fold pastry in half to enclose the filling and then crimp the pastry according to your style.
Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add about 15 dumplings to the frying pan at a time. Cook on medium-low heat for 1-2 mins until base of the dumplings are golden brown.
Add ½ cup hot water, cover with lid and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.
Remove lid and cook until the bases crisp up.
Serve with the dipping sauce, julienned ginger and chilli oil.
Note: To boil the dumplings, place dumplings in boiling water until they float to the surface. Add a cup of cold water and bring to boil. Remove dumplings from water and serve.

Mongolian Beef

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To Prep
Combine the marinade ingredients in to a glass or ceramic bowl. Add in the beef and then toss to coat it.
Cover the beef with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 30 mins.

To Cook
In a wok over high heat, add 1 tbsp of the peanut oil and swirl to coat. Add in the beef and stir fry until the meat has browned and is just cooked.
Transfer the cooked beef in to a bowl.
Add in the remaining oil to the wok over a high heat and swirl to coat again. Add in to the wok the onion and stir-fry for until it has begun to soften.
Add in the garlic and ginger and continue to stir-fry. When they have become fragrant, add in the capsicum and the broccoli and stir-fry again until tender.
Return the beef back in to wok. Add in the remaining soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar and sesame oil and stir-fry until the sauce has thickened.
Remove the wok from the heat and serve accompanied by rice and topped with spring onions!

Vegan Hot Oil Noodles (You Po Mian)

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To Prep
Boil the noodles as per the packet instructions before draining them and setting them aside.
Blanche the spinach until they are cooked through and then remove them from the pot and refresh them in ice water.
In a small pot, heat up the oil until it begins to simmer.

To Assemble
In a heatproof bowl, combine the noodles, spinach, light and dark soy, vinegar, garlic, crushed red pepper to taste and then slowly pour over the simmering oil.
Mix the ingredients well and then serve along with a topping of cilantro and scallions and salt to taste. Garnish with the remaining coriander and, or spring onions.

Buddha’s Delight

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To Cook
In wok over a medium-high heat, add in the oil and ginger. Cook the ginger until fragrant before adding in the fermented red bean curd and stirring until the pieces have broken up.
When the bean curds have been broken down, add in the garlic, the mushrooms and the lily flowers before adding in the Shaoxing wine and continuing to cook for another min.
Add in the bean curd sticks and stir-fry on a high heat for about 2 mins before adding in the sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and stock and letting it simmer while covered for 6 mins.
After the mixture has simmered, uncover and add in the noodles. Allow to cook till most of the liquid has evaporated.
When the sauce has reduced and the noodles are cooked, remove the wok from the heat and serve!

Pan Fried King Oyster Mushrooms

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To Prep
In a small pot of boiling water, blanch the spinach for about 45 to 60 seconds. When they have begun to wilt, remove the from the pot, drain and rinse them and then pat them dry using paper towels.
Combine the garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds in to a small zip lock bag along with the drained spinach. Sealed the bag and let marinate for at least 15 minutes.
To prepare the mushrooms, cut them either lengthwise or cut them in to small round sections about 2 to 3 centimetres in length.
Score the mushroom slices on one side and then season with salt and pepper prior to cooking.

To Cook
In a pan over medium heat, add the oil and allow it to heat up before adding in the mushrooms. When one side has become golden brown, flip it over and do the same for the other side.
When cooked, remove from the heat and season again with salt and pepper.
To serve, arrange some of the marinated spinach on a plate and top with the mushrooms.

Fried Tempeh

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To Cook
In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add in the oil and swirl to coat the pan.
Place the tempeh slices in and fry for about 2-3 mins or until the side of the tempeh has become golden brown.
Flip the tempeh slices over and cook for another 2 mins or until the side has also become golden brown.
When both sides have become golden brown, remove the pieces from the heat and sprinkle salt to taste and serve!

Spicy Steamed Eggplant

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To Prep
Set up a steamer in a wok or in a covered pot to steam the eggplants for 10 minutes or until they have become soft.
When the eggplant has cooked, transfer it on to the plate that you intend to serve the dish on and set it aside.

To Cook
In a small pot, heat the oil and the sesame oil over a medium-high heat before adding in the ginger and the sesame seeds.
When the ginger has become fragrant, add in the chilli oil, sesame paste, soy sauce, salt and sugar and mix till all of the ingredients are well combined.
Once the sauce has begun to simmer, remove the pot from the heat and mix in the spring onions and the black beans.
To serve, pour the sauce over the eggplants and served topped with more sliced spring onions!