To Prepare
Put the cucumber and salt in a bowl and mix. Leave it for 15-20 mins.
Mix the gochugaru, garlic, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds and sesame oil in a bowl together to make the seasoning sauce.
Rinse the cucumber with cold water to get rid of the slat. Dry the cucumber delicately. Mix the cucumber with the seasoning sauce and spring onion.
Serve as is or leave in the refrigerator to chill for 30 mins.
Vegetables
Bitter Melon with Salted Egg Yolk
To Cook
Halve and deseed the bitter gourd. Then thinly slice bitter gourd to approximately 3mm thickness.
In a wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil until smoking point. Add the bitter gourd and briefly stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock granules and Shaoxing wine. Dish out and set aside.
Mash cooked salted egg yolks coarsely with a fork. Set aside.
In a clean wok, heat up 2 tbsp of oil on medium heat. Saute garlic until fragrant and then add in the mashed salted egg yolks. Stir fry until foam forms. Then add in the stir fried bitter gourd slices and stir fry for a minute, followed by adding sugar, salt and pepper.
Deep Fried Kai Lan
To Make
Cut the kai lan stems into sections.
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add the baking soda. Parboil the kai lan stems for approximately 5 mins.
Drain and rinse the kai lan. Leave to the side.
Tear the kai lan leaves into fine strips.
In a deep pan or wok, heat up enough deep-frying oil. The kai lan is ready when it is crispy. Leave it to the side.
In a new pan or wok, heat it up with a little bit of cooking oil.
Stir-fry the garlic and ginger until the aromas are released.
Mix the light soya sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, corn flour and 1 cup of water.
Add the stems to the garlic and ginger with the sauce mixture. Remove from heat when there is only a little bit of moisture left.
To serve, plate the stems and then the deep-fried kai lan on top. Serve while hot with a small dish of the XO sauce.
Braised Bottle Gourd
To Cook
Season prawns with a pinch of salt and 2 pinches of ground white pepper.
In a wok or pot, heat up oil over medium flame and fry dried prawns until lightly browned. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Put in mushrooms and stir fry for 30 sec. Add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and oyster sauce, mix well. Pour in water and cover to braise on low heat for 10 mins.
Put in bottle gourd and continue to braise for another 15 mins.
Add glass noodles and prawns, stir to mix well until glass noodles are fully coated with sauce. Cook until prawns turn pink. Drizzle with sesame oil, mix well and serve.
Braised Chicken with Vegetables (Dakjjim)
Preparing the Sauce
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
Mix well until the honey and oyster sauce has completely dissolved.
Preparing the Stew
First, you’ll need to blanch the chicken in some boiling water. Add the chicken to boiling water and bring it back up to a boil and allow the chicken to boil for a few minutes. Drain off the water.
In another pot, add the chicken together with the sauce. Cover the pot and allow the mixture to boil for about 10 minutes on medium high heat.
Next add the potatoes, carrots, onions, and chillies. Cover the pot and boil for several minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium and stir the stew with a wooden spoon. Cover the pot again and simmer for another 8-10 minutes.
Next add the glass noodles, mushrooms, and spring onions and mix with a wooden spoon. Make sure the mushrooms and noodles are coated with the sauce before covering and allowing the stew to simmer for about 5 minutes.
Garnish with sesame seeds and serve hot with some steamed rice.
Shanghainese Noodles with Scallion Oil (Cong You Mian)
For the Scallion Oil
Heat the oil and fry the onion. Take out when they turn golden brown.
Add the green part of the scallion into the oil, fry over low heat for about 5 mins then take out.
Add the white part of the scallion, fry over low heat till golden brown, take out and set aside.
For the Noodles
Mix 2-3 tbsp scallion oil with dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and sugar in the serving bowl.
Boil noodles with water till cooked, take out with a strainer spoon.
To serve, mix noodles with oil sauce, then add some fried white scallion on the top.
Japanese Fried Rice with Edamame and Fried Tofu
To Cook
Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add the aburaage in the boiling water and flip once. Remove the oil from the aburaage. Transfer to a plate to let cool. Cut into thin strips and squeeze out water.
Slice the carrot into slabs and then julienne.
In a large frying pan, heat sesame oil over medium heat. Then, add the aburaage and carrot. Saute to coat with the oil.
Add the sake, granulated sugar, mirin, gluten-free soy sauce, and mix all together.
Add the edamame and steamed rice. Break the rice into smaller pieces.
Serve and enjoy immediately once the rice is well coated with the seasonings and heated through.
Baked Siu Mai
To Prep
Soak the shiitake mushrooms in boiling water for 15 minutes and then finely dice them.
In a large bowl, combine the pork, prawns, mushrooms and carrots with the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt and pepper.
If needed, trim the wrappers so that they fit neatly in to the muffin baking tray.
Lightly oil the tin with oil and place the cut wrappers in them.
To Bake
Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Place the wrappers in to the oven and bake for 5 mins.
After 5 mins, remove the wrappers form the oven and add the meat filling. Place enough filling so that the it fills the wrapper.
Return the tray to the oven and continue to bake for another 10 mins or until the filling has cooked through.
Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
To serve, garnish with fish roe and thinly sliced spring onions.
Pork Belly Skewers
To Prep
Preheat an oven to 220°C.
Salt the skin of the pork and place it on top of a grilling rack over a baking tray of water.
To Cook
Place the pork belly into the oven and roast for 1½ hrs or until the skin has become crispy and the meat is tender. Top up the water if it runs out.
In a saucepan, melt the sugar until it becomes golden in colour.
Add the garlic and chillies and allow to become slightly fragrant before adding the vinegar and cooking until well incorporated.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the fish sauce and lime sauce and mix well.
When the pork belly has cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 mins. Cut into cubes.
To serve, skewer the cucumber, pork belly and mint leaves and drizzle with the sauce.
Leftover Nasi Goreng
To Cook
Heat up the oil in a wok over medium-high heat.
Add the sambal belacan and fry until fragrant before adding the shallots, chilli and garlic.
Saute for 30 secs before adding the shredded chicken and mixing well.
Add the rice, dark soy sauce and chicken stock powder and mix well, breaking up clumps of rice so that all the grains are coated.
Add the water spinach and fry until it begins to wilt.
Salt the rice to taste and serve immediately with chilli.
Hoisin Meatballs
To Prep
Combine all of the main ingredients together and mix until well combined. Allow to sit for 10 mins.
Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and lightly oil it.
To Cook
Roll the meat mixture in to bite-sized balls and place onto the baking paper.
Bake the meatballs for 10-15 mins.
While the meatballs are baking, combine the hoisin glaze ingredients into a pot and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
To serve, spoon hoisin glaze on serving plate or dipping bowl. Serve with meatballs.
Stir Fried Green Beans with Dried Shrimps and Pickled Radish
To Cook
Heat a clean, dry wok on low, stir fry the pickled radish until dry and fragrant. Remove and set aside.
Heat oil in wok, saute garlic and dried shrimps until fragrant slightly crispy.
Increase the heat to medium high, toss in the beans, pickled radish and chilli, stir fry until beans are cooked. Season with salt and toss well.
Transfer to serving plate or bowl, serve.