To Cook
Stir fry the onions and dried shrimp in some oil in a pan on medium high heat until fragrant.
Next, add the yam and fry until they start to color.
Separately, combine the rice flour, wheat starch and water in a mixing bowl and mix until you get a smooth paste with no lumps. Sieve the flour and wheat starch before adding to the water to minimize any lumps.
Slowly add the flour paste into the pan while stirring the contents of the pan continuously. Continue stirring until everything is well combined and you have a thick paste.
Next add the Chinese five-spice powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and taste to make sure the paste is well seasoned.
Pour the mixture into an appropriately sized and greased loaf pan or baking tin and steam for 45 minutes on high heat.
When the yam cake is cooked, sprinkle liberally with the toppings and garnish to your liking and serve with a side of sambal chilli sauce for dipping.
Vegetables
Vietnamese Bread Roll (Banh Mi) with Ham
To Prep
Combine the water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir until they have all dissolved.
Place the daikon and carrots in to a resealable jar and pour over the pickling liquid before sealing the jar and storing in a fridge for at least 1 hour.
To Serve
Slice the Vietnamese ham into thin slices.
Cut the baguettes lengthwise and spread some of the mayonnaise on to the bread before adding the ham, pickled vegetables and cucumbers slices.
Garnish with coriander, spring onions and slices of chilli.
Chinese Chives Omelette
To Prep
Add the soy sauce in the beaten eggs and mix well, set aside.
To Cook
Heat some oil in a fry pan, stir fry the chives briefly. Season with salt and mix well.
Use spatula to spread the chives evenly in the pan, pour the eggs evenly over the chives. Pan fry until golden brown.
Flip the omelette over and pan fry the other side to golden brown. Remove from pan and serve.
Pan Fried Omelette with Onion
To Prep
Add the soy sauce in the beaten eggs and mix well, set aside.
To Cook
Heat some oil in a fry pan, sauté the onion until soft and fragrant.
Use spatula to spread the onion evenly in the pan, pour the eggs evenly over the onions. Pan fry until golden brown.
Flip the omelette over and pan fry the other side to golden brown. Remove from pan and garnish with spring onion. Serve.
Pork Ribs, Lotus Root and Peanut Soup
To Cook
Blanch the pork in boiling water for 5 minutes and remove it from the water. Clean off any impurities and set them aside.
Put all the ingredients into a pot and add water. Ensure the water covers all the ingredients by 4-5cm, otherwise, add more water to the pot.
Bring the water to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 3 hours or until the pork is tender.
Alternatively, if using a slow cooker, bring the ingredients and water to boil. Then, transfer pot contents to a slow cooker to cook at low for 5-6 hours.
Season with salt and serve.
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.
Meatballs in Thai Egg Drop Soup
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, heat up sesame oil in a pot and add in minced ginger and chillies. Stir fry until fragrant. Then add chicken stock, water, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice. Allow to boil over medium heat. Give the soup a taste and further add fish sauce and lime juice by 1 tsp intervals according to your liking.
Turn the heat to low and slowly stir in eggs to create ribbons. Put in carrots, spring onions and coriander. Give a quick stir and remove from heat.
Ladle egg drop soup into serving bowls. Gently drop the meatballs into the soup and serve.
Stir Fry Broccoli with Chinese Sausage
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.