Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Beef Ribs Stew (Galbi Jjim)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Soak beef in cold water for at least 30 mins, and then drain.

To Cook
Boil a pot of water with garlic, ginger and onion. Cook meat in hot water briefly, about 5 mins. Drain meat and wash off impurities. Discard garlic, ginger and onions.
Place meat in a pot again with cold water, the water level should just cover the meat.
Bring the ribs to a boil and cook in moderate heat for about 20 mins. Take the ribs out and reserve the stock. Make a few slits in each rib meat.
Place the meat back into the stock. Pour in Obap marinade and mix well. Bring the ribs to a boil and simmer gently over low heat for at least 1½-2 hrs. Add extra water if needed.
At the last 30 mins of cooking time, add the vegetables and spring onions.

Tips
If cooking will be left unattended, use a slow cooker in Step 4.
You can also add peeled chestnuts, gingko nuts and jujube to the stew.
To rehydrate shiitake mushrooms, soak them in a bowl of cold water for at least 45 mins.
Add blended pear for extra flavour to the dish when cooking.

Vegan Buddha Bowl

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Cover tofu with paper towel to draw out excess liquid for 15 mins, and then cut into small cubes. In a medium-sized bowl, combine cornflour, pepper and salt. Heat oil in a saucepan or pot over medium-high heat. Dip tofu cubes into cornflour mixture and then carefully drop into hot oil. Once golden brown, remove from oil and place onto a plate lined with paper towel.
Combine soy sauce and sliced chillies in a small bowl and set aside.
To assemble, add cooked brown rice into a bowl. Top with carrot, grilled bok choy, cucumber, salt and pepper tofu, avocado and radish. Serve with chilli soy sauce.

Vietnamese Prawn Bowl

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
In a saucepan, add hoisin sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil and garlic. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Slow stir in a little bit of water at a time until sauce is glossy and texture is smooth and slightly runny. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Fry off garlic until fragrant. Add prawns and pan fry for 30 secs. Add lemon juice to pan to coat prawns. When prawns are fully cooked, remove from pan onto a plate and set aside.
To assemble, add cooked vermicelli into a bowl. Top with red cabbage, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, mint leaves, prawns and peanuts. Drizzle over peanut hoisin sauce and serve.

Korean Buddha Bowl

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Combine soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Add in steak and coat in marinade. Cover bowl in cling wrap and set aside in fridge to marinate for at least 1 hr or overnight.

To Cook
After steak has marinated, heat oil in a pan over high heat. Once oil has come to temperature, reduce to medium-low heat and place steak in pan. Cook for 30 secs on each side, or until browned. Continue to cook, turning every 20 secs until cooked to desired doneness. Remove from heat and allow to rest on a plate for 5 mins before slicing.
To assemble, add cooked white rice into a bowl. Top with carrot, red cabbage, kimchi, sliced steak and fried egg. Drizzle over sriracha, and garnish with sesame seeds and spring onion before serving.

Vegetarian Fritter Hand Roll

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Add the sushi vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and gentle fold in to the rice until well incorporated.
Combine 3 tbsp of the tempura flour with the ice water in a mixing bowl and lightly stir them together. Try not to over mix the batter.
Put the remaining tablespoon of flour in to a separate bowl along with the cut vegetables. Season lightly before mixing to coat all of the ingredients.
Pour in the batter and lightly mix through to further coat the ingredients.

To Cook
Heat a pan with about 2 cm of oil to deep-fry up to about 180°C.
Place spoonfuls of the vegetable mix in to the pan and cook until golden on both sides. Let cool on paper towels to drain the excess oil.
When the fritters have cooled, cut them in to halves or in to sections that will fit in to the hand roll.

To Assemble
Cut nori sheets in half. Place sushi rice and the rest of the fillings onto one side of nori.
Fold the nearest corner of the nori over the filling and start to shape.
The finished hand roll should be shaped conically to prevent any rice from falling out from the bottom.
Serve with teriyaki sauce or eel sauce on top!

Spicy Chicken with Vegetables (Chuncheon Dak Galbi)

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and add to chicken pieces. Mix well, and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

To Cook
Add oil to a heated non- stick frying pan/ skillet and add the marinated chicken pieces. Cook the chicken over medium heat for about 7 mins, taking care not to burn the chicken. Add sweet potato and cabbage and continue to cook the chicken and vegetables for another 5 mins or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
When the chicken pieces are cooked and the sauce thickened, add diced onion, rice cake and green onions. Continue to cook over medium heat for another 2-3 mins. Sprinkle kaettnip (Korean sesame leaves) and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and transfer pan to the table for family style eating.
Your delicious Chuncheon Dak Galbi is ready to be served.

Vegan Spicy Soy Milk Ramen

by Leave a Comment

To Prep
To make vegan dashi, soak shiitake mushrooms and kombu in hot water for at least 30 mins.
Pour liquid with shiitake and kombu into a saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Remove kombu just before the liquid reaches a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and set aside.

To Cook
In a saucepan or pot, heat sesame oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, ginger and spring onion whites and stir-fry until fragrant.
Stir through miso and chilli bean paste. Add in sake to deglaze the bottom of the saucepan or pot.
Next, add sesame seeds and soy sauce.
Slowly add soy milk, and then ½ cup of vegan dashi. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, add a serving of cooked ramen noodles into a bowl. Ladle over ramen broth, and then top with corn, spring onion greens, bok choy and nori.

Vegan Char Kway Teow

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Heat oil in a wok or pan over medium heat. Stir-fry dried chillies until fragrant.
Increase heat to high, and then add in bean sprouts and cabbage and stir-fry until softened. Add rice noodles and combine.
Add dark and light soy sauces and stir-fry for 5 mins. Pour over the water and stir through.
Serve immediately with spring onion and chillies.

Vegan Tofu and Spring Roll Vermicelli Salad

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Combine ingredients for nuoc cham dressing in a medium-sized bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts and soy sauce. Cook for 5 mins or until softened. Add salt to taste. Set aside to cool.
Arrange spring roll pastry on diagonal. Place 1 tbsp of filling towards the bottom and roll upwards, making sure to wrap tightly. Fold in the sides before sealing the end with water. Place on a plate seam side down.
Heat oil in a pot or saucepan over medium heat. Deep-fry spring rolls in batches until golden brown, and then drain on paper towel.
Mix salt and five spice powder on a plate. Coat both sides of tofu squares in mixture. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and then pan fry tofu until golden brown on both sides.
To plate up dish, place a serving of vermicelli in a bowl. Top with lettuce, cucumber, carrots, pan-fried tofu and spring rolls, and then garnish with peanuts. Serve with vegan nuoc cham dressing.

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Heat oil in wok until hot, fry the salted fish until golden brown and fragrant. Remove and set aside.
Discard the excess oil, leaving about 2 tbsp of oil in wok and heat on high. Add in the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Add in the salted fish and stir for about ½ min, then add chilli, bean sprouts, salt, sugar and pepper. Stir for another ½ min.
Toss in the spring onions and hot water, stir for another 1 min or until the water boils.
Remove from heat and serve.

Vietnamese Rice Vermicelli Salad

by Leave a Comment

To Cook
Soak rice vermicelli in hot water for 2 mins. Drain and set aside.
Saute prawns in a pan with oil. Cool slightly, slice in half length-ways and set aside.
Dissolve brown sugar in lime juice over low heat. Remove from heat; add fish sauce and water and cool.
Add prawns, celery, capsicum, mint, basil and bean sprouts to the lime juice mixture. Place rice vermicelli on plate and top with salad mixture.
Garnish with peanuts and serve.

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with Prawns

by Leave a Comment

To Make Rice Paper Rolls
Put the rice noodles in to a heatproof bowl and pour enough boiling water to cover them.
Let noodles cook until they soften before draining the water and rinsing the noodles under cold water.
Dip the rice paper sheet in to a bowl of water before draining it and placing it on to a clean work surface.
Arrange on to the rice paper sheet 2 of the prawn halves, 2 mints leaves, and some of the rice noodles.
Fold the sides of the rice paper roll before folding the bottom half of the wrapper over the fillings.
Before rolling to finish the roll, stick a couple of the chives on to the roll and then finish rolling.
Transfer to a serving plate and then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Serve with chilli sauce or hoisin sauce!