Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Korean Traditional Dumpling Soup (Manduguk)

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To Prep
Combine flour, salt and water in a stand mixer bowl using your hands and knead for a few mins to form a semi-smooth dough. Cover in cling wrap and rest for 15 mins.
Mix all the dumpling filling ingredients in a bowl until well combined and set aside.
Knead the dough using the stand mixer on medium speed for 7 mins.
Roll the dough into a sausage shape about 2.5 cm in diameter and cut into 16 equal portions.
On a floured bench, press the dough flat and use a rolling pin to make large round wrappers.
Make the dumplings by holding a wrapper in hand and adding about 2½ tbsp of the filling into the middle before firmly crimping the wrappers closed. Use a little water to assist the seal if needed. Continue until all dumplings have been made and set aside.

To Cook
Make the dashi stock by boiling 1.5L of water with the kombu and dried anchovies.
Place the anchovies in an enclosed strainer to keep the dashi clean.
Boil for 10 mins, remove the kombu, boil for 10 more mins.
Then, remove the anchovies with strainer.
Add the soy sauce, garlic and dumplings to the dashi.
Cover and boil about 8 mins until the dumplings are fully cooked. Lightly pan fry the egg whites and yolks separately into thin sheets with a drizzle of sesame oil.
Slice finely and set aside.
Drizzle the beaten egg into the soup in thin ribbons, add the sesame oil and spring onions and cook for about 1 min.
Divide and serve in bowls garnished with finely sliced nori, sliced spring onions, thinly sliced fried egg white, yolks and sesame seeds. Add ground black pepper to taste.
Serve and enjoy!

Chinese Chicken & Sweet Corn Wonder Soup

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To Cook
Bring the chicken stock to the boil. Add the ears of corn and cook for 4 mins.
Remove the corn from the broth and slice the kernels off. Set aside.
Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp water and stir until a thick paste forms. Add the paste to the broth, along with the ginger and soy sauce. Simmer for 1 min.
Add the chicken, corn kernels and creamed corn to the broth. Cook for 2 mins.
Whisk the egg whites and slowly add to the soup, stirring until white ribbons form.
Divide the soup among four small bowls and top with chopped spring onions.

Vietnamese Shaking Beef with Pickled Onion & Tomato Fried Rice (Bo Luc Lac)

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To Prep
Combine salt, pepper and sugar in a small bowl and mix well with the cubed beef to prepare for marinade.
Combine soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, lime juice and lemongrass in a bowl, pour over and mix well with seasoned beef.
Cover and refrigerate to marinate for 1-3 hrs.

For the Pickled Red Onions
In small glass bowl, mix vinegar, salt and sugar until sugar is dissolved, then add the sliced red onions, mix well, cover and refrigerate for minimum 2 hrs to pickle.

For the Tomato Rice
Using a frypan with oil, cook garlic over a high heat until fragrant.
Add the cooked and cooled rice and toss for about 1 min.
Gradually add the fish sauce and tomato paste and toss until the rice is evenly coloured.
Cook for a further 3 mins and add salt and pepper if desired.

To Cook
Remove the lemongrass from marinade and actively stir fry the beef in an oiled wok over medium-high heat. Cook for 3 mins, or until caramelized on the outside and tender inside.
Assemble the dinner bowls with tomato rice, vegetables (cucumber, tomato, cherry tomato, radish, watercress, coriander and drained picked onions), and top with spring onion and chilli as desired. Serve and enjoy!

Bibimbap

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To Prep
In a large ceramic bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients. Add the steak and toss well to coat.
Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hr or overnight.

To Cook
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add a drizzle of sesame oil. Cook the mushrooms for 1-2 mins.
Add the spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer onto a plate and set aside. Clean the pan with paper towel.
Heat the pan over medium heat. Add a dash of sesame oil. Cook onion for 2 mins. Add the cabbage and cook for another 2 mins. Season.
In a small pan, over medium heat, add 2 tbsp of water. Add the bean sprout and cook for 1-2 mins.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp of cooking oil.
Cook steak for 2 mins. Add 3 tbsp of the marinade and cook, stirring occasionally for a further 3-5 mins or until the sauce has thickened and caramelized.
Divide the rice among bowls. Top with the steak, and all the vegetables and kimchi.
Fry the eggs, season with salt and place in the middle of each bowl. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Thai Beef Noodle Salad

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To Prep
Combine the lime juice, lemongrass, fish sauce, salad dressing, sugar, chilli and kaffir lime in a small bowl. Place in the fridge.
Soak noodles in warm water for 5 mins or until they are soft. Rinse under cold water and drain.

To Cook
Cook steak on a heated and oiled grill plate on medium-high heat. Cook steak for 3 mins each side or until cooked to your liking. Set aside to rest. Thinly slice the beef across the grain.
Combine the noodles, cucumber, coriander, mint, tomato, spring onion, basil leaves and bean sprouts in a large bowl.
Add the beef. Pour the salad mixture and toss to combine.
Divide noodles among serving bowls and top with roasted peanuts.

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Sausage Vermicelli Salad (Bun Nem Nuong with Nuoc Cham)

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To Prep
Mix the minced pork, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, minced garlic, ginger powder, roasted rice powder and red food colouring together.
Refrigerate and let the meat marinade for at least 30 mins.

To Cook
Take the meat out from the fridge to prepare your skewers and grill.
Mix all sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
To assemble, place the rice noodles in a bowl with the mix salad and cucumber.
Add in the skewers and garnish with crush peanuts. Serve with the dipping fish sauce.

Crabs in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Alimasag)

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To Prep
Using a large heavy-bladed knife or cleaver, cut the crabs in half and scrape off the spongy grey gills, then twist off and crack the claws.
Turn the body over and pull off the apron pieces. Rinse well under cold running water.

To Cook
Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until softened. Add in the garlic, ginger, chillies, XO sauce and curry paste and cook for 1-2 mins or until aromatic.
Stir in coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and pumpkin. Bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to low then add water. Add the crabs and simmer for 5-6 mins or until cooked. The crabs will turn pink or red when they are ready and the flesh will turn opaque.
Drizzle the liquid from the pan over the crabs. And scatter the water spinach on top. Simmer for 5-6 mins.
Serve immediately with rice and fried dried anchovies. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with lime wedges and rice.

Fish Head Curry

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To Prep
Combine half of the tamarind paste with 100 ml of the water and pour the solution over the fish. Let marinate for about 10 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, blend the garlic, shallots, ginger and chillies until they form a rough paste. Set this aside and combine the curry powder with about 3 tbsp of water to make a curry paste.

To Cook
In a wok, heat up 4 tbsp of oil and salute the curry leaves until they become fragrant. Add in the mustard and fenugreek seeds.
Continue to sauté until the mustard seeds begin to pop before adding the blended paste and curry paste. When the oil has begun to separate from the paste, add in the toasted rice flour and the rest of the water.
Bring the mixture to a boil before adding in the fish, eggplant and okra. Reduce the mixture to a simmer and cook the fish for about 10 minutes. When the fish has cooked, remove it from the wok and add in the leftover tamarind paste, salt and sugar and let simmer for another 40 minutes.
When the curry has thickened, return the fish to the wok and bring the curry up to a boil again. Once it begins to boil, remove it from the heat and serve!

Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Crusted Chicken

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To Prep
To start, combine the breadcrumbs, sesame seeds and chilli flakes in to 1 bowl and the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and kecap manis in to another. Optionally, you can add chilli flakes in to the breadcrumbs for some extra heat.
Dip chicken breasts in to the soy vinegar mixture let them marinate for at least 15 minutes.
When the chicken has marinated, dredge them in the breadcrumb mixture; ensuring that each piece is well coated. Set aside the remaining soy vinegar mixture to be used later.

To Cook
In large saucepan of water, boil the soba noodles according to the packet instructions.
Nearing the end of boiling the soba noodles, add the julienned carrots and cut snow peas to blanch them.
Drain the soba noodles and vegetables and rinse them under cold water to stop them from overcooking and to remove the extra starch from the noodles.
Over a medium to low heat, pour enough vegetable oil to shallow fry the chicken. Cook the chicken until the crust has browned and the chicken has cooked through. Try to ensure that the heat is lowered if the crust begins to cook too fast.
Transfer the cooked chicken on to a plate with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing in to thin pieces.
Wipe off the excess oil from the frying pan before adding a tablespoon of oil and heating over a medium heat.
Fry the ginger until it becomes fragrant and then add the white part of the spring onions and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the leftover soy vinegar mixture and bring it to a boil before reducing to a simmer and continuing to cook until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Add the red cabbage to the noodles and other vegetables and spoon in some of the sauce. Mix the noodles until they have been coated evenly.
To plate the dish, place some of the soba noodles on to the plate and top with the chicken slices and the green part of the spring onions. Drizzle with the extra sauce and serve!

Red Curry Grilled Chicken with Tamarind Sauce (Gai Yang Ka Ti Kab Jeaw Makham)

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To Prep
Combine Valcom Premium Coconut Milk, Valcom Red Curry Paste, sugar and Squid Brand Fish Sauce in a large ceramic bowl. Add chicken breast, turning to coat each side and leave to marinate for 1 hr.

To Cook
Heat a barbecue hotplate or chargrill pan on medium-high heat. Grill chicken breast for 3-4 mins each side or until cooked.
Slice chicken breast and place on serving plate. Serve with salad on the side.
Mix all ingredients for dipping sauce until sugar dissolves. Serve sauce on the side.

Indonesian Chicken Noodles with Mushrooms (Mie Ayam Jamur)

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To Cook
Cook the chicken fat over medium heat and wait for it to turn crispy. Keep the crispy fat to garnish the noodles.
Soak the shiitake mushrooms for about 2 mins. Heat up a pan and add the cooking oil and garlic, frying for about 30 secs. Add the ginger and fry for about 30 secs.
Add the chicken and cook for 1 min. Add the mushrooms, 1 cup
of chicken stock and seasonings and bring to a boil before lowering the heat to simmer for 15 mins.
Season to taste. Add the hard boiled eggs to the sauce and leave for one day so that the eggs absorb the flavour and turn brown.
Cook the noodles based on the package, rinsing with cold water after cooking.
Blanch the bok choy until it has become soft and rinse with cold water. Then, set roughly chop it and leave it to the side.
Remove any fat from the chicken and cut the chicken into small portions. Dice the fat and cook it on low-medium heat, waiting for the fat to ooze out. Take out the crispy chunks and save them.
Place the 3 cups of chicken stock in a small sauce pan and let it simmer gently and season with salt and sugar to taste.
Remove the hard-boiled eggs from the sauce and cut into desired portions.
Add 1 tsp of the chicken fat/oil and 2-3 tbsp of the chicken stew sauce to one bowl with some noodles. Divide the noodles, chicken meat and mushrooms among the bowls. Top the bowl with green onions, fried shallots, egg and crunchy pieces. Pour some chicken stock in a smaller bowl with some spring onion as garnish.
Serve while hot.