To Cook
Heat a large pot on medium, coat the bottom with oil. Add in the onion and squash, stir for 10 mins or until onion is translucent and fragrant and squash starts to soften.
Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
Pour in the water and bring to boil over high heat.
Lower to simmer for about 10 mins, until the squash are tender.
Transfer to a blender in batches, blend roughly and return to pot.
Reheat the soup over medium heat until warm.
In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp miso paste with 1 tbsp hot water, add into the soup. Taste test and add more diluted miso paste if desired.
Ladle the soup into a serving bowl, top with fish (optional), coriander and cracked black pepper. Serve
Vegetables
Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork (Com Tam)
To Make Dipping Sauce
Place all dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well until sugar is dissolved.
To Cook the Pork Chops
Tenderize the pork chops until even thickness.
Mix the remaining ingredients until well-combined. Coat the pork chops with the sauce and marinade for at least 1 hr or overnight.
Heat a grill or frying pan with oil. Grill the meat until done, about 1-2 mins on each side. Remove and set aside.
To Make the Meatloaf
Set 2 egg yolks aside, add the remaining eggs into a bowl and beat well.
Add the rest of the meatloaf ingredients and mix well.
Grease a square or loaf tin and place the mixture into the tin. Spread evenly and steam covered for 30 mins.
Spread reserved egg yolks on the top of the meatloaf and steam uncovered for 5 min. Remove and let cool before slicing.
To Serve
In a serving plate, place the broken rice, grilled pork chop, meatloaf slice, fried egg, shredded pork skin, cucumber slices and pickled carrot and radish slices. Garnish with sautéed spring onion and serve with dipping sauce.
Claypot Chicken with Bitter Melon
To Cook
In a clay pot, heat sesame oil and stir-fry soybean paste and fermented black beans for 30 secs or until fragrant.
Add in the garlic, ginger, chicken and bitter melon, stir-fry until the surface of the pork turn white.
Add in the sauce ingredients and simmer covered for 15 mins.
Season with soy sauce or salt to taste. Add the Shaoxing wine before removing from heat. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve hot.
Crispy Fried Yam Puff (Wu Kok)
To Prep
In a bowl, mix together pork, soy sauce and ginger. In another bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, oyster sauce, cooking wine, water, a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Mix well.
To Cook
In a pan, heat up oil over medium heat. Put in pork and cook, breaking the pork into pieces using your spatula. Once they are cooked, add shrimp and stir fry until pink. Pour in the bowl of sauce mixture and stir until well combined. Transfer to a bowl and mix in spring onions. Allow to cool then, refrigerate for at least 2 hrs to marinade.
Spread out yam pieces on a plate and steam over boiling water until softened, around 20 mins. Remove from steamer and mash them immediately into paste. Set aside.
Place wheat starch into a bowl and carefully stir in boiling water to form a rough dough. When the dough mixture has cooled down slightly to a very warm temperature, add mashed yam and mix well. Place in lard, baking soda, salt and sugar. Fold and knead the dough until smooth, removing any yam lumps at the end. Roll the dough into a ball and cut into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a log and cut into 6 equal pieces. Using your palm or rolling pin, flatten each dough and roll into a dumpling wrap. Fill each dumpling wrap with the marinated filling and fold the wrap into half-moon shaped dumpling.
In a wok, heat up enough oil for deep frying over high heat. To test if the oil is sufficiently hot, drop a piece of yam lump into the oil. If it stays at the bottom of the wok for a sec before floating to the top, the oil is ready. Gently put in pieces of yam dumplings into the wok of hot oil and fry until browned. The dumplings should also be covered with crispy nettings. Remove and drain off excess oil by placing the fried dumplings on paper towels. Serve immediately.
Braised Daikon with Minced Pork (Daikon no Soboro-an)
To Cook
In a pot, place the daikon and rice and add water to cover daikon. Bring to boil, cook for 10 mins or until the daikon is nearly cooked through. Drain well.
Rinse with cold water. Drain well.
In a frying pan, heat oil over medium heat, add mince and stir-fry to break the lumps, until the colour turns pale brown.
Add the daikon and stir, then mix in the rests of the ingredients, other than the cornflour solution. Cover the surface with a drop lid or a piece of aluminium foil with holes on it.
Turn the heat to low when it starts boiling. Cook for 10 mins.
Remove the drop lid and add the well-mixed cornflour solution.
Turn the heat off when the sauce is thickened and serve with spring onion garnish.
Kale Chips with Furikake Japanese Rice Seasoning
To Cook
Set the oven to 175°C.
Line your baking trays with baking paper.
Mix the kale leaves with some olive oil using your hands.
Spread the leaves onto the baking paper.
Once the oven has been preheated, bake the kale for approximately 10-15 mins.
The kale is ready when it is crispy. Remove from oven when done.
Sprinkle the seasoning to taste. Plate and serve.
Thai Rice Soup with Pork (Khao Tom Moo)
To Prep
Mix the minced pork with the soy sauce and a large pinch of black pepper. Combine well and form into meatballs.
To Cook
Boil the stock in a pot on high heat. Once the stock begins to boil add the pork and reduce the heat enough for the stock to be at a simmer.
Add the rice into the simmering stock and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the spring onions, celery and season with fish sauce, sugar and black pepper to taste.
Serve in individual bowls and garnish with chilli coriander and the Thai fried garlic.
Dried Scallops and Minced Pork Congee
To Begin
In a bowl, marinade minced pork with soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside.
Place washed rice in a large pot. Add soaked scallops and water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and tilt the lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally for 30 mins. If congee becomes too thick at any point, add in ½ cup water and stir to dilute.
Using clean hands, drop in marinated minced pork bit by bit to break into small chunks. Add salt and continue to simmer for 5-10 mins until minced pork is cooked.
Transfer to individual serving bowls and garnish with spring onions, ginger and fried shallots. Drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce according to taste. Add a dash of ground white pepper if desired.
Fish Congee
To Begin
In a bowl, marinade fish slices with soy sauce, ground pepper and sesame oil for 30 mins.
Meanwhile, place washed rice in a large pot, Add ginger and water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and tilt the lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally for 30 mins. If congee becomes too thick at any point, add in ½ cup water and stir to dilute.
Once the congee is ready, put in marinated fish slices and salt. Stir well to combine. Continue to cook for another 3 mins until fish is cooked.
Transfer to individual bowls and garnish with spring onions, ginger, coriander and You Char Kway. Drizzle a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce. Add a dash of ground pepper if desired.
Thai Grilled Beef Salad
To Cook
Grill rump steak (about 5 mins each side) and allow to rest.
Combine all wet ingredients to make the dressing and add sugar and salt to taste.
Slice beef very thinly, add the dressing, toss well with the remaining herbs and vegetables (optional), refrigerate for 15 mins before serving.
Japanese Seven Herb Rice Congee (Nanakusa Gayu)
To Begin
Drain soaked rice and place in a claypot. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat down to the lowest heat setting on the stove and gently stir to avoid rice sticking to the bottom of the claypot. Cover claypot with lid and allow to simmer the rice for about 30 minutes.
Then turn heat and let it sit with lid on for a further 10 minutes. The rice should be soft and thickened.
Remove lid, add nanakusa and stir gently, then add salt to taste. Serve hot.
Note:
For fresh nanakusa, blanch herbs in boiling water with a pinch of salt for a few seconds. Remove from boiling water and rinse under cool running water. Drain and squeeze water out, finely chop herbs and allow to dry.
Vietnamese Chicken Congee (Chao Ga)
To Cook
In a large stock pot, place the chicken in and fill with enough water to cover the chicken. Add 1 peeled whole onion and 1 tbsp salt to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. And then turn the heat down to medium and let chicken cook for a further 30-45 minutes, or until tender. Remove any froth or foam that appears on the surface.
Retain liquid in the stock pot and remove chicken from the pot and rinse under cold water to cool down and avoid discoloring. Shred the chicken meat and set aside.
Drain soaked rice and glutinous rice, adding them along with the ginger and shallot to the broth in the stock pot. Let it sit for 45 minutes untouched.
After 45 minutes, give the rice a stir and bring to boil over medium high heat for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then season to taste with salt, fish sauce and chicken stock.
Transfer and serve in individual serving bowls. Top with the shredded chicken and. garnish with chopped spring onion, coriander or Vietnamese mint, and fried shallots.