Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Thai Massaman Curry Paste

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To Make Paste
In a mortar and pestle, grind the dried chilli, then set aside.
Grind the white peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves into a fine powder.
Combine with the ground dried chilli and set aside.

To Make Paste
Place galangal, lemongrass, coriander roots and salt into the mortar and pound until it turns into a paste.
Add the shallots and garlic and pound well. Then add in the dry spices powder gradually to absorb the moisture of the paste.
Add the shrimp paste, then pound until fine and well mixed.

Vegan Thai Green Curry Paste

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To Make Paste
Using a mortar and pestle, grind the toasted cumin seeds, coriander seeds and white peppercorns into a fine powder. Place in a bowl and set aside.
With a mortar and pestle, roughly pound the green chillies and salt, then add in the Thai basil leaves and pound until fine. Add in some ground spice powder to absorb excess moisture.
Add in the galangal, coriander roots, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, pound well.
Throw in the chopped shallots, garlic and remaining dry spices and pound until it turns into a fine paste.

Indonesian Vegetarian Skewers

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To Cook
Mix all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggplant and zucchini, marinate for 1 hr.
Mix dipping sauce ingredients in another bowl. Set aside.
Thread the vegetables onto skewers until all vegetables have been used.
Brush some oil on a hot griddle pan or barbeque, cook the skewers, basting occasionally.
Serve with dipping sauce and some crushed peanuts.

Chicken Yaki Udon (Fried Udon with Chicken)

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To Prep
Cook udon as per pack instruction. Drain and set aside.

To Cook
Heat a pan with oil over medium heat. Stir fry in chicken, cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts until cooked through.
Add in Hakubaku Organic Udon followed by Obento Tonkatsu Sauce. Stir fry until all ingredients are well coated.
Add spring onions and quickly stir fry until the spring onion is mixed in.
Plate the dish and garnish.

Pineapple Fried Rice

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To Cook
Preheat your fan forced oven to 130°C.
Cut pineapple in half along the length. Scoop out stringy core first and discard. Carefully scoop out almost all of the flesh, leaving shell intact with approx. 1-2cm widths around all edges.
Place open side up on an oven tray and gently warm through whilst cooking the fried rice – maximum 25 mins.
Whilst pineapple is in oven, dice remaining pineapple flesh into roughly 1.5cm cubes and set aside.
Heat ½ coconut oil in wok to high.
Stir-fry meat of choice and set aside.
Stir-fry onions, capsicum, garlic and curry paste until fragrant and slightly softened, then set aside.
Add remaining coconut oil in wok and allow returning to high heat before adding the rice. Stir while frying to ensure at least half the rice has a toasted texture and flavour.
Add meat, pineapple and vegetable mix and stir through to combine.
Add eggs, break up yolk and stir through. Cook for another 1-2 mins.
Fill the pineapple shells with fried rice, and serve with your choice of topping, chillies, coriander, crispy shallots and/or fresh lime.

Vegan Laksa

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To Prep
Add all of the paste ingredients in a food processor and process until a fine paste has formed.

To Cook
Heat up the oil in a large pan and fry the paste over a low heat for 10 mins, stirring frequently.
Add in the vegetable stock, salt and the green parts of the lemongrass and mix. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a simmer.
After the broth has simmered for 30 mins, remove the lemongrass and then stir in the coconut milk.
Add the seitan and tofu puffs, then stir through and cook for 3 mins.
Add in the sugar and lime juice, and season to taste with salt.
To serve, arrange the noodles in a bowl and ladle over broth. Top with tofu puffs, seitan, bok choy, beansprouts and chilli, and serve with a lime wedge.

Bo Kho with Bread

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To Prep
Trim off any excess fat and sinew from the beef and remove the bone if your shank cuts have any. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.
In a mixing bowl, combine the rest of the marinade with the beef shank and marinate for about 30 mins.

To Cook
In a large pot or casserole dish, heat up the oil and cook the lemongrass halves for 1 min before removing and setting aside.
Cook the beef in batches until browned on all sides, then remove and set aside.
Cook the onions until softened and then return the beef and lemongrass back in to the pot.
Add the pepper, paprika, star anise and the tomato paste into the pot and mix together with the rest of the ingredients before adding in the coconut water and beef stock.
Bring the stew to a boil before reducing to a simmer and braising for 90 mins.
After 90 mins has passed, add in the carrots and continue to cook for another 30 mins.
Remove the star anise and lemongrass from the pot and serve!

Asian Pulled Pork Bao

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To Prep
In a bowl, add the shredded carrots and cover with ⅓ cup salt and mix through. Allow to sit for 15 mins. Squeeze out the liquid and rinse under water.
Add the carrots into a bowl and pour in enough vinegar to submerge the carrot. Add in the sugar and remaining salt and stir to dissolve. Allow to sit for 20 mins.
In a steamer, steam the bao buns until they are light and fluffy.

To Serve
Spoon some of the pulled pork in to the bun and then top with the pickled carrots, julienned cucumber and chillies.

Laksam Kelantan

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To Poach the Mackerel
Add water and tamarind juice into a large pan, and stir to combine.
Line the pan with the mackerel. Sprinkle with the salt.
Bring the water to a boil and then let the fish simmer for 5 mins.
Remove the fish from the water and let cool. Strain the remaining fish stock and set aside.

To Make the Laksam Gravy
When the fish has cooled, debone the fish and then place the flesh in a food processor along with the ginger, garlic and shallots and blend into a thick paste.
In a large saucepan, pour in the coconut milk along with the remaining tamarind puree and water.
Add in the fish paste and mix well before bringing the mixture to a boil.
Add in the ground black pepper and finish by adding the salt and sugar to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside.

To Make the Rice Rolls
Prepare a steamer. Lightly grease a metal plate or baking tin.
In a mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, plain flour and salt. Pour in the warm water and mix until well combined.
Ladle enough of the noodle mixture to form a thin layer in the metal plate and steam for 2-3 mins or until cooked.
Remove from the steamer and allow to cool for 30 secs before carefully removing from the noodle sheet from the plate/pan.
Roll the noodle sheet into a tight roll and set aside. Repeat with the remaining batter.

To Make the Sambal
In a food processor, blend the chillies and belacan together before transferring to a mixing bowl and adding the sugar and lime juice.

To Serve
Slice the noodle rolls into bite-sized pieces and place onto a plate. Pour over the gravy and top with the fresh vegetables and sambal. Serve with lime.

Slow Cooked Beef Cheek

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To Prep
Preheat an oven to 250°C.

To Cook
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the beef cheeks in batches until they have all been browned, then set aside.
Place the beef cheeks in a baking dish and add in the remaining ingredients. Add more water to cover the beef cheeks in needed.
Cover the dish with a lid and place it in the oven. Reduce the oven to 140°C and cook for about 4 hrs or until the cheeks have become fork-tender.
Once the cheeks have finished cooking, pour the liquid from the baking dish into a pan and reduce over a high heat.
Once the sauce has reduce, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the beef cheeks with sauce and steamed rice.

Mum’s Curry Puffs

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To Prep
Combine the curry paste ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Mix the beef mince with the curry powder and chilli powder, and let marinate.
In a mixing bowl, combine the outer pastry ingredients together and knead into a soft dough.
Split the dough it to 7 equal sized balls.
In another bowl, combine the inner shell ingredients and knead until soft before once again splitting into 7 balls.
Roll out one of the outer shell ball enough so that they can be used to wrap one of the inner ball and repeat with the remaining dough.
Cover the dough balls with a damp towel so that they don’t dry out.
Saute the onions in a frying pan before adding the curry paste and cooking until fragrant. Add the seasoned minced meat and continue to fry until cooked through.
Add the potatoes and continue to fry before adding the water and simmering for 3 mins.
Season the filling with salt and sugar and then add the cornstarch mixed with the 2 tbsp of water.
Continue to cook until most of the moisture has evaporated from the filling and then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Dust one ball of dough with flour and roll out to a thickness of about 2 cm. Place a tbsp of the filling in to the centre, fold, seal and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

To Cook
Preheat an oven to 160°C and arrange the curry puffs on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Cook the puffs for approximately 20-30 mins or until the curry puffs have turned golden in colour. Brush occasionally with an egg wash.
After the curry puffs have turned golden in colour, remove from the oven and allow them to cool before serving.