To Begin
Make the dressing by whisking the ingredients together in a small glass.
Grate the ginger and finely chop the small onion.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook the ginger and small onion in a little oil until softened, then add the tofu, continuing to cook while breaking down with the back of a spoon until it has browned.
Arrange the salad ingredients in a bowl. Top with cooked tofu, chilli, lime wedges and seeds. Serve with the dressing on the side. Serves 1.
Vegetables
Asian Style Grilled Sweet Corn in Special Sauce
To Prep
Mix the soy sauce, fish sauce, oil, spring onion and sugar in a small bowl.
To Cook
Preheat the grill to high. Brush the mixture over the corns and place under the hot grill, turning regularly until the corns are cooked.
Ayam Panggang Kecap and Karedok
To Prep
Place chicken in a bowl with the tamarind paste and salt. Massage into the chicken and set aside.
In a food processor or mortar & pestle, grind the birds eye chili, shallots, garlic, white peppercorns, candlenuts and ½ tsp salt into a paste.
To Cook
Heat the oil in a large and deep pan, fry the spice paste for a minute or until fragrant.
Add chicken pieces, ABC Kecap Manis, palm sugar and 1 tsp salt. Cover with 650mls of water and stir.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook without the lid on until the liquid has reduced by ⅔ and has become sticky, turning the chicken occasionally.
Remove chicken and reserve the cooking marinade. Cook on BBQ or under the grill brushing with the marinade until caramelized.
In a mortar & pestle, grind together the ginger, chilli, garlic, belacan and ½ tsp salt into a paste.
Add the crushed peanuts, lime juice, brown sugar and Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce. Stir to combine.
Using a bean slicer, slice the beans and cut into 3 cm lengths.
Peel the cucumber slice in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut into ⅓ and julienne.
Top & tail the bean sprouts.
Drain the Valcom Bamboo Shoot Slices.
In a large salad bowl, add all the prepared vegetables and pour over the peanut dressing. Toss to combine.
Massaman Curry with Lamb
To Cook
Place 1 cup of coconut milk and 1 cup of water in a pan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, then add lamb and simmer until the meat is tender.
Stir-fry ½ cup of coconut milk with Valcom Massaman Curry Paste over low heat until fragrant. Slowly add the remaining coconut milk and stir-fry until oil appears. Add the curry mixture to the meat in the saucepan, along with the fish sauce, sugar and tamarind puree.
Turn up the heat, return to the boil. Add potato and simmer until tender, then add onions and cook until softened.
Garnish with roasted peanuts and remove from heat.
Waxed Meat Claypot Rice (Lap Mei Fan)
To Cook
Combine some pepper, salt and cornstarch to form a marinade in a bowl. Marinate the chicken meat in the mixture for 10 mins.
In a claypot, add the rice and water. Bring to a boil.
Blanch the vegetables separately and leave to the side.
Lower the heat when the rice has boiled. Leave to simmer for 5-6 mins or until the rice is partially cooked. Place the marinated chicken on the rice.
Leave to simmer for approximately 10 mins or until the water is absorbed and rice is cooked.
Place the sausages and vegetables on top of the chicken.
Combine the light and dark soy sauce with the oyster sauce together in a small bowl. Pour on top of the claypot rice. Turn off the heat, cover the lid and leave to simmer for 5 mins.
Garnish with spring onions and sesame oil.
Filipino Stuffed Prawn Rolls (Rellenong Hipon)
To Prep
Peel prawns and remove prawn heads, leaving the tail intact. Using a small knife, make an incision all the way down the centre of the prawn’s back, to remove and discard the vein.
Spread open the prawn until it lies flat, belly facing up. Make a small slit across on the belly close to the tail. This is to prevent the prawn from curling up when cooking. Set prawns aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients except for spring roll wrappers, stir well until ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
Place about 1/2 tsp of the meat mixture in the centre of the butterflied prawn, then close around filling by pressing the sides of the prawn flesh together.
Arrange triangle spring roll wrapper with pointed side facing up on working bench. Place a stuffed prawn in the middle of one spring roll wrapper, then fold right side of the wrapper over the stuffed prawn, and then fold the pointed side down. Then roll the wrapper tightly around the prawn, moistening the sides with a dap of water and pressing gently but firmly to seal it. Place the wrapped stuffed prawn on a platter, seam side down and cover with a moist paper towel to avoid from drying out.
To Cook
Heat about 5cm of oil in a deep pot or pan over medium heat. When oil is hot enough and not smoking yet, add in the stuffed prawn rolls, turning sides constantly until rolls are golden and cooked through.
Remove from pan and drain on a wire rack.
Filipino Minced Pork and Green Beans (Gising Gising)
To Cook
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté chopped onions and minced garlic until fragrant. Then add minced pork and cook until lightly brown. Add shrimp paste and continue stir-frying for 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and bring to boil. Add in chili then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring down the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until pork is well cooked.
Then add coconut cream and green beans, stir well to combine and then continue to cook for a further 15 minutes.
Pork Adobo
To Prep
Combine pork belly and marinate ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
To Cook
Heat oil in a wide based pan over medium heat. Add marinated meat to cook, turning occasionally.
Add in vinegar and allow to boil for about 5 minutes.
Lastly add in soy sauce and water. Gently stir and allow to a boil for another 5 minutes. Then cover pan with lid, turn heat down to low and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes, or until meat is tender.
Filipino Vegetable and Prawn Fritters (Ukoy Na Togue)
To Make
Crack egg into a large mixing bowl and beat till fluffy. Then add cornstarch, flour, water, fish sauce, salt and pepper in the bowl with the beaten egg, and whisk all ingredients to combine thoroughly.
Next add in turmeric powder and continue stirring until fully dissolved. The batter should now be in a light orange colour.
Then add bean sprouts, carrots and shallots into the batter and gently stir so that all ingredients are well soaked in the batter.
Heat about 5cm deep of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Scoop a large spoonful of ukoy batter and place a prawn on the batter, gently pressing it down, then slide the batter into the pan and cook for about 3 minutes on each side.
When fritters are slightly browned and crispy, remove from heat and leave to drain on a wire rack. 2 – 3 large spoonfuls of ukoy batter with prawns can be done at one time in the same pan.
Repeat until all batter is cooked.
Korean Summer Bowl
To Begin
Combine sashimi dressing ingredients and toss in ahi tuna and salmon to coat.
Top oysters with 1 tsp lime juice, a dollop of kimchi mayonnaise and 1 tsp of fried shallots.
Divide lettuce leaves, sliced mangoes, sliced avocados and pickled ginger between 4 bowls. Top with marinated sashimi slices and oyster. Serve.
Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki
To Prep
To make the batter: Mix the flour, water, dashi powder and baking powder together in a bowl to make a runny batter that is the same consistency as pancake batter. Cover and place in the fridge.
To Cook
To make okonomiyaki sauce: Heat the sugar, oyster sauce, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce in a small saucepan. Simmer gently then check the taste. If you prefer a tangier sauce, add more Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
Heat a BBQ hot plate or a large non-stick pan, add a dash of oil and spoon approximately ¼ cup of batter onto the hot plate and spread into a circle. Sprinkle some crispy bits onto the batter, then place a large handful of shredded cabbage on top. Place some of the shredded spring onions on top of the cabbage. For the last layer, place the pork belly on top and drizzle over some batter to hold it all together. With two spatulas, flip the okonomiyaki over so that the pork side is down.
On a spare part of the hot plate or in another pan, drizzle some okonomiyaki sauce over a handful of soba noodles and stir fry it. Once the pork is cooked, use the spatulas to place the okonomiyaki pork side down on top of the fried noodles. Move this aside, then crack an egg onto the hot plate or pan. Move the okonomiyaki noodle side down onto the egg, cook for 1 min, then place the whole okonomiyaki onto a serving plate.
Serve with the okonomiyaki sauce and Kewpie mayo.
Japanese Savoury Pancake (Okonomiyaki)
To Prep
Pour flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add in water and whisk into a smooth, runny paste. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for about 30 mins. Meanwhile, chop up the vegetables.
In a sauce pan or small pot, combine all the okonomiyaki sauce ingredients and allow to simmer on low heat for about 1 min, stirring constantly to ensure the sauce does not burn. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
To Cook
Remove the batter from the fridge and crack in 4 eggs. Whisk to combine. Add in cabbage, mushrooms and ¾ of the spring onions. In a large pan, add about 1 tsp oil and ladle in ¼ of the batter. Spread the batter into a circle. Make a small well in the centre. Cook for about 2-3 mins or until the pancake has browned underneath (keep checking to make sure it’s not burning). Just before flipping, break an egg into the centre and top with 3 rashers of bacon. Using two spatulas, flip the pancake and cook for a further 2 mins or until golden brown.
Transfer the pancake to a serving plate. Repeat the process until the remaining batter has been used. Add dried anchovies to the pan and cook for about 1 min or until crispy.
Brush okonomiyaki sauce generously on top of each pancake. Squeeze kewpie mayonnaise on top and sprinkle with remaining spring onions, crispy anchovies and pickled ginger. Enjoy!