Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Stir Fried Cucumbers (Oi Bokkeum)

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To Prep
Cut the cucumber into half lengthwise. Then, slice the cucumbers thinly crosswise.
Place the sliced cucumbers into a bowl and sprinkle in salt. Toss well to mix and set aside for 5 mins. Then, squeeze out as much water as possible from the cucumbers.

To Cook
Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat and fry garlic for 30 secs. Add cucumbers and stir fry until just cooked, about 1-2 mins.
Transfer cucumbers to a serving plate. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with spring onions and sesame seeds. Mix well and serve.

Vegetable and Prawn Fritters Rice Bowl (Kakiage Don)

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To Cook
Season prawns with a pinch of salt.
Place all sauce ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil. Set aside.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Mix eggs with iced water and sake then, pour into flour mixture. Stir the bowl 10 times lightly in circular motion.
Heat enough oil for deep frying and sesame oil in a wok over medium high heat. Meanwhile, place prawns and vegetables into a bowl and dust with corn starch, coating ingredients well. Pour batter over the ingredients and mix gently. Ladle a scoop of ingredients into a wire sieve and drain off excess batter. Carefully place the battered ingredients into the hot oil and work quickly to collect pieces of stray ingredients into a big piece using chopsticks. Once the fritter is golden browned, dish out and drain off excess oil by placing the fritter on paper towels. Repeat with remaining battered ingredients.
To serve, reheat sauce. Meanwhile, divide rice into individual serving bowls. Pour some sauce over the rice. Top each bowl with a fritter and drizzle with more sauce. Serve immediately.

Yam Rice

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To Prep
Place pork belly slices into a bowl and mix well with all pork marinade ingredients. Set aside.

To Cook
Heat up oil in a wok or large pan. Sauté shallots until aromatic. Dish out and set aside. Toss dried shrimps into the remaining oil and fry until fragrant. Add marinated pork belly slices and stir fry for about 2 mins. Then, place in mushrooms and yam and stir fry for another 2 mins.
Add in rice and rice seasonings. Turn the heat to medium-low and gently stir fry to mix well.
Carefully pour in rice mixture into a rice cooker and pour in water. Cook the rice in the rice cooker and allow to rest for at least 5 mins once ready. Gently mix the rice to loosen the grains.
Serve yam rice with sprinkles of spring onions and fried shallots.

Braised Barramundi with Tomatoes and Pickled Mustard Greens

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To Prep
Season both sides of the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Dust both sides with flour and dust off the excess.

To Cook
Heat 3 tbsp oil over high heat in a large non-stick pan. Carefully place fish fillets into hot oil and fry until lightly browned on both sides. Dish out and set aside.
Add in 1 tbsp oil, turn the flame to medium heat and sauté shallots and spring onions until softened, about 3 mins. Stir in garlic and chillies and cook for another 1 min until fragrant.
Toss in tomatoes and cook for about 5 mins until softened. Stir in mustard greens and pour in chicken stock. Carefully place fish fillets into the broth and increase the heat to medium high heat. Cook and baste the fish fillets for about 8 mins until the fish fillets are just cooked through.
Mix in fish sauce until well combined. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with fresh coriander and fried shallots. Serve with steamed rice.

Sichuan Cold Noodles

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To Begin
Cook noodles until al dente according to packaging instructions. Drain and immerse in iced cold water for 1 min until the noodles are cool to touch. Drain and transfer noodles to a bowl. Mix in oil until well combined and cover with cling wrap. Leave to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hr before serving.
Prepare garlic ginger water by mixing garlic, ginger and water in a bowl. Set aside for 1 hr. Discard garlic and ginger before using.
Prepare sauce by mixing all sauce ingredients in a bowl except peppercorn powder. Stir in garlic ginger water and mix until well combined.
Divide cold noodles and carrots into four individual bowls. Pour a quarter of the sauce into each bowl and sprinkle with ¼ tsp of peppercorn powder into each bowl. Add more chilli oil according to preference and garnish with spring onions. Serve immediately.

Shanghai Stuffed Sticky Rice Balls (Ci Fan Tuan)

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To Begin
Place short grain rice and sweet rice with 1½ cups water into a rice cooker. Cook.
If using frozen Chinese crullers, refry until crispy.
Line a sushi rolling mat with cling wrap and spread ½ of the rice across the mat into a thin layer. Top with a piece of fried Chinese cruller in the middle and sprinkle ½ the pork floss and ½ the zhacai.
Roll the rice using the sushi mat to cover the filling, squeezing the mat to ensure the roll is compact. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Cut into half if desired and serve.

Northern Vietnam Spring Rolls (Nem Ran)

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To Prep
Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce and mix until the sugar has dissolved.
Set it aside for serving later.

To Cook
Combine the minced pork and shrimp in a mixing bowl.
Season with salt, pepper and sugar before adding the shallots and garlic.
Next, add the shredded vegetables, mushrooms, and glass noodles and mix well.
Mix in the egg white and let the spring roll filling sit for 10 mins.
Soften the rice paper wrapper with a damp cloth. Then, scoop a spoonful of the filling on one edge of the rice paper wrapper.
Roll up the wrapper like you would roll a burrito but with the ends of the wrapper tucked in.
Heat up some oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the spring rolls until they are golden brown.
Remove the excess oil from the cooked spring rolls using a paper towel.
Serve the spring tolls hot with the dipping sauce.

Fish, Prawns and Zucchini Pan-fried in Egg Batter (Modeumjean)

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To Cook
Prepare all the ingredients.
Sprinkle salt on both sides of the zucchini slices and leave to the side for 20 mins. Dry the slices after.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the shrimp and leave to the side for 15 mins. Do the same for the fish fillet slices.
Dip the zucchini slices, shrimp and fish in flour to prepare.
Heat a skillet with 1 tbsp of oil at low-medium heat. Dip each piece in the beaten egg before and place in the skillet.
Pan fry for 1-2 mins on each side. It is ready when it is slightly golden in colour.
Repeat for all the ingredients, adding oil as needed.
Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar and pepper to taste.
Serve warm with the combined sauce.

Sencha Daifuku

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To Prep
Steep 3 tea bags in 150ml hot water for 4 mins. Remove bags and allow tea to cool completely.
On a baking tray, sprinkle potato starch liberally. Set aside.
On a 10cm piece of cling wrap, place 3 tsp red bean paste and slightly flatten. Place a strawberry on the paste and using the cling wrap, gently move the paste to wrap around the fruit. Unwrap and set aside. Repeat with remaining strawberries and red bean paste.

To Cook
In a medium-sized, microwaveable bowl, mix glutinous rice flour, 80ml of sencha tea and sugar until well combined.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap, leaving a small gap on the side to allow steam to escape. Microwave for 2 mins.
Carefully fold over cling wrap and with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, quickly stir the dough to loosen. Cover the bowl again and microwave for 1 min.
Tip hot dough onto the tray with potato starch. Gently roll the mochi dough over to cover entire surface with starch. Cut dough into 3 equal portions.
Cover hands liberally with starch, then flatten 1 piece of mochi dough to approximately 6 cm across. Place dough on one palm and brush off excess starch on the top surface. Place red bean coated strawberry on the dough. Pinch opposite sides of the dough to seal in the red bean and strawberry. Roll in between your palms to form a ball and place mochi on the starched tray.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Once completed, brush off access starch on the surface and place mochi on a serving dish. Serve with a cup of Japanese tea.

Siu Mai

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To Prep
In a large bowl, combine the pork and prawns with the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt and pepper.
Place a teaspoon of the filling in to the centre of one of the wrappers and then bring in the sides and gently squeeze to set the shape.
To ensure that the siu mai stands, make sure that the bottom is relatively flat.
If desired, place some of the fish roe on to the top of the siu mai.
Repeat this process until there is no more filling left.

To Cook
Set up a steamer with enough water to cook all of the siu mai and line with baking paper to stop it from sticking to the steamer.
Steam the siu mai in batches for at least 8 minutes or until they are cooked through and then serve!