Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Bubur Cha Cha

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To Cook
Steam diced yam, golden and purple sweet potato in a wok over high heat, until softened, about 20 minutes. Test with a sharp knife or toothpick. They should be very easy to prick through.
Use a large deep pot. Add 1 litre of boiling water with the rock and fine sugar. Bring it to boil. Add pandan leaves. Reduce heat to simmer for 10 min.
Pour in coconut cream. Once it boils again, drain up and discard the pandan leaves.
Add the sweet potatoes. The rock and fine sugar should dissolved completely.
Taste and add more sugar if needed. Served hot. Or let it cool down and chill in fridge if you like it served cold.

To Make Tapioca Flour Cubes
Sift tapioca flour if lumpy flour is found in it. Then, place tapioca flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir-in hot boiling water and combine well until mixture turns dough-like texture. When mixture is cooled, form it into dough on a well-floured table top.
Dust some flour on your palm and divide dough into 4 parts. Mix each portion with 3 different colouring prepared and leave one portion as ‘white‘ original colour (no colouring added).
Knead to combine well and until it becomes a non-stick dough. Then, roll and shape each portion out into long and squarish thin stripes. Thereafter, dice into small cubes.
Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. When boiled, reduce heat, and put in tapioca flour cubes to cook for about 30 min, or until all the cubes float up. Texture of cooked tapioca flour cubes should be chewy, bright in colour with a little translucent appearance.
Dish up and plunge cubes into a bowl of iced water for few seconds. Drain and remove cubes from iced water. Reserve for later.

Filipino Omelette with Mussels (Tortang Tahong)

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To Cook
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
In a bowl, crack eggs and add salt and pepper to taste. Beat eggs with a fork until fluffy.
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic, and sauté until fragrant. Then throw in the chopped tomatoes, constantly stir-frying, until the tomatoes have softened.
Add in the pre-cooked mussels and cook for another minute, then add in the oyster sauce. Stir through to combine all ingredients well.
Add beaten eggs, swirling the pan to fully spread out the eggs and other ingredients.
Then sprinkle the spring onions over the top of the eggs and let them cook until the eggs begin to set, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove the omelette from the pan and transfer it to an oven tray. Place the omelette into the preheated oven and let it cook until it is completely set, approximately for a further 10 minutes.
Once set, transfer onto a serving plate to serve.

Eggplant Omelette (Tortang Talong)

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To Cook
Heat a pan over medium high heat, place 1 eggplant in with the skin still on. Let it cook on one side for about a minute or until the skin looks slightly charred smells smoky, but without burning the skin. Flip the eggplant over to the other sides and repeat the same steps of charring until all sides are completed.
Once completed with the first eggplant, remove from heat and allow to cool. Repeat the same steps with the remaining eggplants.
Once eggplants are cool enough to handle, peel skin off using a knife. Set aside.
In a bowl, crack eggs in and beat until fluffy, then season with salt and pepper. Dip an eggplant into the egg mixture and gently press down the flesh using a fork, making it flat but still in tack and remains attached to the stalk. Allow eggplant to submerge into the egg mix so that it is fully coated. Let it soak for a minute.
Heat oil in a fry pan and gently slide the soaked eggplant in, keeping aside the egg mixture for the remaining eggplants. Sprinkle some onions on top of eggplant and cook for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown.
Repeat the same steps for the remaining eggplants.

Miso Eggplant

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To Cook
Slice eggplants into quarters. Slice slits into eggplant quarters. Dress with olive oil and salt and place on a baking tray. Bake at 180°C for 20 mins until eggplants are brown on the outside.
Whisk together miso dressing ingredients. Once the eggplants are ready, spoon or brush miso dressing over the eggplants. Then continue to bake for another 5 mins in the oven. Keep a lookout as sugar burns easily.
Dish out and garnish with scallions and roasted sesame seeds.

Sesame Teriyaki Salmon Salad

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To Prep
In a small foil BBQ tray or baking tray lined with foil, lightly coat the bottom with sesame oil. Place the 2 salmon fillets on the oiled tray. Cut a grid pattern onto the top of the salmon with a knife and pour the teriyaki marinade into the cuts and around the salmon. Place the tray into the fridge and leave for 15 mins while heating up the BBQ to medium.
Meanwhile, prepare the salad dressing. Squeeze the juice out of 2 limes into a small jug. Grate palm sugar into the lime juice. Keep stirring the dressing until the palm sugar dissolve. Use a bit less palm sugar if a sourer taste is preferred. Add fish sauce and give it a good stir. Give the dressing a taste, it should taste noticeably savoury as well as tangy and sweet. Add more fish sauce a little at a time until perfectly savoury according to your taste. Add diced fresh chillies and give the dressing a final stir. Leave the chillies out if spicy flavour is not preferred.

To Cook
Take the salmon out of the fridge and place the tray on the BBQ and close the lid. It should take about 12-15 mins to cook, depending on how soft you like your salmon and how hot your BBQ is. Check on it after 10 mins to see how it’s going.
While the salmon cooks, prepare the salad. For a delicious (and photogenic) salad, use a spiralizer to thinly slice the daikon, cucumber, carrot and red onion into ribbons. Alternatively, you can grate the vegetables or finely slice them in a food processor. Put all the vegetables into a large salad bowl and cut any long ribbons into smaller pieces with a clean pair of kitchen scissors. Rinse the fresh herbs, pat them dry and then tear them into the salad. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly. Garnish the salad with sesame seeds and divide into 2 bowls.
Once the salmon is nearly cooked, take the tray off the BBQ and leave it for 5 mins on the bench. The salmon will keep cooking for a few minutes. Once slightly cooled, flake the warm salmon over the top of the salad in each bowl. Pour the remaining marinade from the BBQ tray over the salmon for extra Teriyaki deliciousness. Garnish each bowl with more sesame seeds and a few sprigs of fresh coriander if desired.
Grab your chopsticks and dig in, yum!

Veggieful Soba Noodle Salad

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To Cook
Heat a pan and spray with preferred oil. Fry the tofu until lightly golden brown. Slice into ½ cm slices and set aside. In the same pan, add asparagus, carrot and zucchini and pan fry until they have some colour but not too soft. Put aside.
Place a saucepan of water to boil. Then add in edamame to the boiling water for a few mins. Remove the edamame and place into a bowl of cold water, reserve the hot water. Shell edamame once cooled and set aside. Reserved hot water can be used to cook the soba noodles to save time if preferred. Cook soba noodles according to packet instructions. Refresh under cold water.
Mix together soy sauce, mirin, grated ginger, garlic, red chillies, lemon juice and rice vinegar.
To assemble the dish, put noodles in a large bowl and add in coriander, shallots and mixed sauce. Combine thoroughly. Add in cucumber, zucchini, carrots and shelled edamame. Mix well, distribute fried tofu and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Drizzle some sriracha according to taste. Serve immediately.

Vegetarian Japanese Curry with Noodles

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To Prep
In a pot of boiling water, cook the somen noodles according to the packet instructions.
When the noodles have finished cooking, drain the water and then rinse them in cold water to stop them from over cooking, as well as to remove some of the extra starch.

To Cook
Heat a pan over a medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Allow it to heat up before adding in the onions and cooking until they become translucent.
Add the water in to the pan and bring it to a boil. When it begins to boil reduce it to a simmer, add the carrots and cook until they become tender.
Add in the cauliflower, broccoli and green beans.
After about 2 minutes have passed, add in the curry roux and stir the roux until the curry thickens.
To serve, plate the somen noodles in to a bowl or dipped plate and spoon over some of the curry.

Korean Army Stew (Budae Jjigae)

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To Cook
Assemble the main ingredients (except for instant ramen noodles, rice cakes, green onion and cheese) in a shallow pot. Add the sauce in the middle. Pour the stock in the corner of the pot. Close the lid and boil it on medium high heat until the stock starts to boil (about 8 mins).
Add the remaining ingredients – instant ramen noodles, rice cakes, green onion and cheese on top of the pot and boil uncovered until the noodles are cooked (about 2 to 3 mins). Reduce the heat to low (if you’re cooking on a portable burner and sharing the food at the dining table).
Start dishing out soup, protein and vegetables onto your own soup bowl. Serve with steamed rice.

Braised Teriyaki Tofu with Steamed Broccolini and Sprouts

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To Cook
Cut tofu into ½ – ¾ inch thick. In the frying pan, put 1 tablespoon of frying oil in high heat and put the tofu in.
Pour 1 sachet of Lee Kum Kee Teriyaki Sauce and turn to boil and turn down to low heat until the teriyaki sauce well absorbed into the tofu. Put aside.
Blanch the broccolini and snow peas sprout. Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and sesame oil for the vegetable sauce.
Prepare the teriyaki tofu on the plate and add the blanched greens and pour the sauce over the vegetables.
Drizzle with sesame seeds.

Sizzling Ginger Pork

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To Prep
Chop ingredients. Hint: Half freeze the pork fillet for easy slicing!
Mix sauce in a bowl.

To Cook
Heat a wok over high heat.
Add the oil and stir fry the ginger, garlic, chillies and onion for 1 min.
Add the pork and stir fry for 2 mins.
Stir in the garlic shoots, pepper, sauces and stock and stir fry until all ingredients are cooked.
Sprinkle the spring onion over and toss for 1 min.

Gangnam Wagyu Beef Bulgogi

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To Cook
Whisk the garlic, ginger, 1 tsp sesame oil, soy sauce, and honey in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat the remaining 1 tsp of sesame oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
Once heated, add the onion and sprinkle with salt. Cook for 4-5 mins until softened.
Add the wagyu beef to the pan. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the meat into small chunks.
Add soy sauce mixture to the pan. Stir to incorporate.
Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add capsicum and cook for 5-7 mins until the meat is cooked through.
Serve with warm rice in a bowl and finish off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Perfectly Timed Asian Noodles

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To Cook
Lightly season the beef with ground pepper and set aside.
In a jug, mix together the sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, ginger and chilli. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cover the udon noodles with boiling water and set aside. Remember to drain after 3-4 mins.
Heat oil in a wok or large pan.
Stir fry beef in batches ensuring that the meat sizzles when placed in the wok. Remove each batch and set aside on a plate loosely covered with foil to rest.
Add the garlic and mushroom to the wok and stir fry until the mushroom starts to brown in colour.
Add the remaining vegetables and cashews to the wok and stir fry for about 2-3 mins.
Reduce the heat of the wok slightly.
Add the noodles and sauce mixture to the wok, toss through until all the noodles are coated. (Rinse the noodles in hot water before adding if required.)
Finally, add the beef back to the wok and toss through.
Bow to the awaiting crowd before serving.