To Cook
Heat up oil in a pan over medium high heat. Throw in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Add Chinese sausage slices and stir fry for about 1-2 mins until fragrant.
Put in broccoli florets and stir fry for 1 min. Add chicken stock powder and water and continue to stir fry until broccoli starts to soften slightly. Season with salt according to your taste.
Dish out and serve with steamed rice.
Vegetables
Kimchi Meatball Stew
To Prep
In a large bowl, combine minced pork thoroughly with soy sauce, sesame oil, corn flour, salt and white pepper. Add minced mushrooms, carrots, garlic and shallots. Mix thoroughly until well combined. Marinate the meatball mixture in the refrigerator for at least 3 hrs or best, overnight.
To Cook
Remove from the refrigerator and mix again. Using hands, press the mixture together so that the ingredients will bind well. Preheat oven with fan at 205°C. Place aluminium foil over baking tray and lightly oil the surface of the aluminium foil. Roll meatball mixture into balls of 3-4cm in diameter and place onto the well-oiled aluminium foil. Bake for 20-25 mins until browned.
While baking the meatballs, mix together kimchi, yellow onion, fried tofu, enoki mushrooms, spring onions, gochujang, sugar, salt and water into a pot. Over medium heat, bring the stew to boil. Then, bring down to low heat and allow to simmer for 15 mins. Remove meatballs from the oven and add into the stew. Continue to simmer for 1 min.
Ladle kimchi meatball stew into serving bowls and top with an egg yolk. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Hokkaido Soup Curry
To Cook
In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Then add in ginger, garlic and onion. Cook until softened. Pour in flour and mix well. Stir in curry powder, garam masala and cayenne, mix well. Gently pour in chicken stock, sake, soy sauce and mirin. Throw in bay leaves and bring up the heat to allow the soup to simmer vigorously.
Add in chicken legs and readjust the heat to allow soup to simmer gently. Leave to cook with lid partially covered for 45 mins until chicken is tender.
Meanwhile, cook rice and heat up oil over medium heat for deep frying in a wok or heavy bottomed pot. Ensure vegetables are dry before putting them in. Fry in batches until lightly browned and crisp. Dish out and drain off excess oil on kitchen towels.
To serve, ladle some soup into individual serving bowls. Place 1 piece of chicken leg at the bottom of each bowl. Then, top each bowl with fried vegetables equally. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Medan Spicy Stir Fried Noodles with Shrimp Paste and Water Spinach
To Cook
In a wok, heat oil over medium high heat. Sauté garlic until aromatic. Throw in prawns and fish balls and fry until half-cooked. Push them aside and crack in eggs. Gently stir the egg mixture and leave it to cook slightly for about 30 secs. Then combine well with the prawns and fish balls. Dish out and set aside.
Put in red chilli paste and shrimp paste and sauté until aromatic about 2-3 mins. Add in water and tomatoes. Bring down to a simmer and cook for 1 min. Toss in water spinach, noodles, prawns, fish balls, sweet soy sauce and soy sauce. Stir to mix well. Put on the lid and allow to simmer over low heat for 2 mins. Do a taste test and add more soy sauce if needed according to your preference.
Finally, add in beansprouts and give a quick stir. Remove from heat if you like crunch beansprouts. If you like them softened, cook for another 1 min.
Transfer to serving plate and enjoy.
Stir Fry White Bok Choy with Dried Shrimps and Yam
To Cook
In a small bowl, soak dried shrimps in warm water for 30 mins. Place yam cubes on a plate and steam over boiling water for 25 mins until softened. Remove and set aside.
In a wok, heat up oil over medium high heat. Add dried shrimps and stir fry for 1 min then add in garlic and continue to stir fry until fragrant and shrimps have softened, about 2 mins. Add bok choy and stir fry until slightly wilted. Dish out and set aside.
In the same wok, add yam, fish sauce, chicken stock and white pepper. Bring heat to medium low and let it simmer until the yam has become very soft and the gravy has reduced. The sauce should also turn out slightly thickened. Do a taste test and add another 1 tbsp of fish sauce if needed according to your taste. Stir well. Toss the bok choy, garlic and dried shrimps back into the wok and mix well for about 1-2 mins.
Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with chopped red chillies if desired. Serve hot.
Malaysian Mango Chicken
To Cook
Cut chicken fillets into strips. then combine with chicken marinade ingredients in a bowl to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients and mix well. Sugar and sauce ingredients may be adjusted to your liking. Set aside.
In a wok, heat up 2 tbsp of oil and sauté the sliced onions, red and green capsicum until fragrant. Dish up and set aside.
In the same wok, heat up remaining 2 tbsp of oil. Add in marinated chicken pieces and mango slices. Stir fry for approximately 2 mins. Place lid over wok and allow to simmer on medium heat for another 2 mins, or until the mango strips are soft, and juices are drawn out from the mangoes.
Remove the lid and add in the sauce mixture. Stir and allow it to boil before returning the lid to cover the wok. Turn the heat down slightly and let it simmer until the chicken pieces are thoroughly cooked.
Remove lid and add in the sautéed onions and capsicums. Stir well. Salt and sugar may be added to taste.
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)
To Make
Combine the water and sugar in a bowl and stir until completely dissolved.
Add the lime juice and the fish sauce.
Finally, add the garlic and chilli, and mix well.
Omelette with Acacia Leaves (Kai-Jiao Cha-Om)
To Prepare
Prepare the acacia by removing the delicate leaves from the thorny branches. Wash the leaves. If using frozen acacia, wait till it has fully defrosted.
Combine the acacia leaves with the eggs and fish sauce and whip with a fork or whisk until the eggs become frothy.
Heat the pan until it is hot and add the vegetable oil on it. When the oil is shimmering, pour the egg mixture in. When the edge of the omelette turns brown, flip the omelette to the other side.
Cut the acacia omelette into pieces (about 2-3 inches squared).
Place the acacia omelette onto the serving plate. You can serve the acacia omelette with rice, fish sauce with chillies or Sriracha sauce.
Vegetarian Thai Tofu Soup (Kaeng Jued Taohu)
To Cook
Bring 1L of water to a boil in a pot, and then add 1 vegetable stock cube, and stir until it has fully dissolved in the water.
Add 1 sliced carrot and let it cook in the broth for about 5 mins.
Then add the sliced Chinese cabbage leaves and stir. Let the cabbage leaves simmer in the broth for a couple of minutes.
Add 38g of glass noodles and 1 cup of egg tofu, and let the soup simmer for about 5 mins whilst stirring gently so as not to break up the tofu.
Next add 1 tbsp of soy sauce, stir and let the soup simmer for a final 2-3 mins until the glass noodles are cooked. They are cooked once they turn clear.
Spoon the soup into a bowl and garnish with chopped spring onion, coriander and garlic oil. Serve and enjoy!
Stir Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg (Mara Pad Kai)
To Cook
Cut the gourd into halves (lengthwise). Remove the seeds with a spoon. Make sure you get rid of all the seeds, otherwise the dish will be super bitter. Slice the flesh of the gourd into pieces (approximately 0.5cm thick).
Wash the gourd with water. Add the water into the pot, wait until the water has boiled, then add the 1-2 tsp of salt into the water.
Add the gourd pieces into the boiled salt water. Leave them there for approximately 10 mins to get rid of the bitterness.
Meanwhile, heat the pan and add about 3 tbsp of cooking oil into the pan.
Crack 3-4 eggs into the pan and use the spatula to scramble them. Transfer the scrambled egg into the plate when they are 80% cooked.
Add about 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil and add 2 tsp of sliced garlic into the pan. Stir-fry the sliced garlic for 2-3 mins.
Drain the boiled gourd, then add them into the pan. Add the scrambled egg and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
Add 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tsp of fish sauce, and ½ tsp of light soy sauce and stir-fry (making sure the sauces are evenly spread out).
Add ¼ tsp of grounded pepper and ½ tsp of sugar into the pan. Stir-fry again (making sure the seasonings are evenly spread).
Transfer the stir-fried bitter gourd with egg onto the serving plate.
Korean Beef and Vegetable Porridge (Soegogi Yachaejuk)
To Cook
In a pot, heat up 2 tsp sesame oil and stir fry the ground beef over medium high heat for about 3 mins until the beef is cooked. Put in garlic and onion and saute until onion starts to turn translucent.
Drain the rice and add into the pan. Fry the rice for 4-5 mins. The rice would start to appear slightly translucent and sticky. Then throw in all chopped vegetables and stir fry for 1 min.
Pour in water and gently stir to avoid the rice from sticking to the bottom. Put on the lid and cook for 20 mins over medium high heat. Watch the pot, if the water boils over, slide the lid to open slightly.
Lift up the lid and stir to mix well. Lower the heat and continue simmering for another 10 mins with the lid on.
Mix in fish sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil. Transfer to serving bowl and serve hot with crushed toasted seaweed and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds.
Steamed Wombok with Dried Scallops
To Cook
In a large bowl, lightly mix the wombok strips with the garlic. Season with some salt to taste.
In a small bowl, mix the chicken stock with the water.
Scoop out the wombok mixture onto the plate you are using for steaming. Place the scallops on top. Pour the chicken stock and water mixture on top.
Steam at a medium-high heat for approximately 30 mins, or until the food is cooked to the desired consistency.
Serve while hot with rice.