Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

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.

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.

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.

Teriyaki Tofu Rainbow Bowls

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To Prep
Combine the soy sauce, mirin, caster sugar and garlic in a glass or ceramic dish to make the Teriyaki Marinade.
Add the tofu cubes and toss to combine. Cover and keep in the fridge for at least 30 mins to marinate.

To Cook
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a tray with baking paper. Chop the sweet potato into 1cm wide disks, lay on the baking paper, spray with oil, and bake in the oven for 25 mins.
Place baking paper over a second baking tray. Reserve a small amount of the teriyaki marinade, then spread the tofu cubes onto one half of the tray.
Add the sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds to the marinade, toss to coat, then place on the other side of the tray.
Place the tray in the oven with the sweet potato for the final 15 mins. Remove the sweet potato, tofu and mixed seeds from the oven and allow to cool.
Cook the corn in boiling water for 4 mins. Allow to cool slightly before slicing the kernels off.
Divide the ingredients between two large bowls. Begin with the cos lettuce leaves, then the rice, cabbage, corn, sweet potato, tofu, tomato and radish.
Place half an avocado in the centre of each bowl and fill the pit with Kewpie Mayonnaise.
Sprinkle with the alfalfa and the teriyaki seeds, and serve.

Hakka Braised Pork Belly with Chinese Broccoli

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To Cook
Bring water to boil in a pot and cook the pork belly for 30 mins. After that, take out the pork belly and dry it with a clean towel.
In a saucepan, pour some oil and shallow fry the pork belly until they’re light golden brown in colour.
In the same sauce pan, add in all other ingredients and stir for a min.
Add water until the pork belly is covered and let simmer on medium heat until the sauce is reduced to a thick consistency.
Once the sauce is thick and the pork belly is tender, take it off the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, sauté the Chinese broccoli for 2-3 mins.
Serve the Chinese broccoli with the pork belly on top with rice.

Sichuan Spicy Noodles (Chongqing Xiaomian)

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To Cook
Blanch the cubed beef in rapidly boiling water for 3 mins to cleanse, then strain, rinse and set aside.
In a clean pot, heat vegetable oil, add spring onion and ginger and cook over medium heat for 2 mins, or until fragrant.
Add Shaoxing cooking wine, star anise and doubanjiang, cook for 2 mins before adding beef then continue frying to lightly brown and seal the meat on all sides.
Add five spice, Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, sugar and chicken stock, bring to a rolling boil, cover and simmer gently for 90 mins or until the meat is succulent and tender.
Once the meat has been cooking for about 1 hr, you can start preparing the noodles.
Combine the flour, salt and water and knead well until an elastic dough forms (about 10 mins).
Stretch the dough into a long strip over a floured bench, fold in half and stretch again, doubling the amount of noodle threads. Repeat the fold and stretch process over and over to quickly form more noodles, (it will double with each fold and stretch).
Once you have formed consistent, long and thin noodles, drop them into a pot of fast boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 mins.
While the noodles are cooking, bring a pot of chicken stock to the boil for the soup base.
Assemble the meal by first dividing Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, Yeo’s Pure Sesame Oil, peanuts, preserved vegetables, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, ginger and Lee Kum Kee Peppercorn Chilli Oil evenly into serving bowls.
Rinse and add freshly cooked noodles, then ladle the chicken stock into the bowls.
Generously top with the braised beef and garnish with spring onions, crushed peanuts, minced coriander and chilli oil to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!

Tom Yam Goong Noodle Bowl

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To Cook
Pour prawn stock into pot over medium-high heat.
When the stock starts to boil, add lemongrass, Valcom Tom Yum Paste, Squid Brand Fish Sauce, kaffir lime leaves and sugar to pot.
Stir gently to break down paste and leave to boil for a couple of minutes.
Add carrots, king prawns, snapper, mussels, straw mushrooms to pot and leave to boil for 2-3 mins.
Add the squid and baby corn to pot, allow to boil for 1-2 mins.
Lastly, add cherry tomatoes and remove pot from heat.
Add lime juice to pot, stirring gently.
Place noodles in a bowl, and ladle Tom Yum soup over noodles.
Garnish with fresh herbs and cut chilli.

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!

Rice Noodles with Green Chicken Curry (Ka-nom Jeen Gaeng Keow Wan Gai)

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To Cook
Cook the noodles by following the instructions on the packet.
After the noodles are cooked, rinse them under tap water, drain in colander and twist the noodles into small balls, cover with cling wrap and put it aside.
Use a blender to blend 200ml of water, garlic, sliced lemongrass and chopped coriander until it is a dark green liquid.
Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat.
Add curry paste with coriander seed powder then cook, stirring for about 4-5 mins or until fragrant and the oil starts to split on top of the curry paste.
Add about 200ml of thick cream from the top of the coconut cream can then cook for about 5 mins.
Increase the heat a bit higher and add sliced chicken then add another 200ml of coconut cream and green water of lemongrass and coriander liquid, let it boil.
Stir and cook it for about 6-8 mins or until the chicken is cooked through.
Reduce heat to medium heat and then add fish sauce, palm sugar and chicken stock powder.
Stir and cook for a few mins then taste and add more seasoning to suit your taste.
Then add both eggplants, and simmer for a further 2-3 mins or until eggplants are just cooked. Remove from heat then add torn kaffir lime leaves and basil leaves and stir to combine.
Put the cooked noodles in a bowl then top it up with green chicken curry and garnish with sliced chillies and basil leaves. Enjoy!

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.

Chinese Marinated Pork Belly

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To Cook
Heat a pan with 3 tbsp oil then fry the onion on a low heat until golden and crisp, then drain on some kitchen paper towel. Chop the onion, then set aside.
Add the pork belly with the fried onions and fry for 5 mins in a hot pan, then add the mushrooms, chopped spring onion, garlic and ginger and fry for a few more mins.
Add in the dark soy sauce, soy sauce, cooking rice wine, star anise, salt, sugar and cooked eggs. Then transfer all the food into a soup pot and add enough warm water to cover everything.
Place a lid on the pot and slowly cook for about 1 hr until the meat is soft and tender and the sauce has thickened.
Serve with jasmine rice and bok choy.