Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Toshikoshi Soba

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To Cook
Make the dashi stock by combining 1.5L of water with 8 tbsp of dashi granules into a large saucepan.
Add the mirin to the dashi stock and bring to a gentle simmer, then add the tamari sauce.
Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and continue to simmer until the broth is ready to be served.
Cook the soba noodles by bringing a saucepan of water to boil and then adding the soba noodles.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the noodles to cook for approximately 4-5 mins.
While the soba noodles are cooking, add the asparagus and mushrooms to the dashi broth and cook in the simmering liquid.
Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water and set aside until ready to serve.
Scoop the asparagus and mushrooms from the broth and set aside.

To Serve
Pour the broth into bowls.
Add the noodles.
Add the tofu, asparagus and mushrooms.
Garnish with sliced chives and toasted nori flakes.

Grandma’s Gado Gado

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Vegetables
Slice choko and cabbage into strips.
Steam choko, cabbage, water spinach, english spinach, bean sprouts, eggs and potatoes.
Arrange on plate.
Top with quartered tomatoes, cucumbers, fried crackers and fried tofu.

Peanut Sauce
Fry red onion.
Add water and peanut butter and stir.
Add vinegar and coconut milk.
Add brown sugar and salt to taste.

Vegan Unagi (eel)

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Rice
First thing to do is to cook your rice. Follow the “absorption method” directions on the back of the rice packet and by the time your rice is done, so will your delicious unagi.

Teriyaki Sauce
Mix the cornflour and water together first and then combine with the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar in a small saucepan.
Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly. Once the sauce turns dark brown and thickens take it off the heat immediately and put it aside.

Unagi
Cut the nori sheet into little rectangles about 5cm long by 2.5cm wide and set aside.
Peel and coarsely grate the sweet potato. Squeeze out any excess moisture.
Put grated potato into a mixing bowl and season with a bit of salt and pepper, then sprinkle the flour over and toss gently so that all the grated potato is lightly and evenly coated with flour but stays nice and loose.
Take a little rectangle of seaweed sheet and place it with the shiny side down. Gently press a small amount of the sweet potato mixture onto each rectangle to cover the seaweed. The small amount of moisture in the grated potato with the flour should make it sticky enough so that it stays attached to the seaweed quite firmly. There is no need to be too neat and delicate with this, it’s fine if there are little strands of potato hanging over the edges of the seaweed.
In a non stick pan, heat the oil so it’s nice and hot and shallow fry each unagi, seaweed side first, for 2.5 mins, then turn them over and fry for a further 2.5 mins or until they are golden brown and crispy on the edges. Be sure not to crowd them in the pan or they stick together and won’t get crispy!
Drain on paper towel and be sure to keep them warm in the oven till they are all cooked.

Finishing
Use a pastry brush to coat each unagi liberally on both sides with the teriyaki sauce.
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve with the steamed rice.

Thai Grilled Prawns with Zucchini

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To Cook
Wash and devein prawns, leaving the tail on.
Marinate prawns with oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and pepper. In the meantime, slice zucchini lengthwise and pat dry.
Spray/brush zucchini with oil and grill until cook.
Grill marinated prawns.
Plate up zucchini with prawns and decorate with alfalfa and mayonnaise on the side. Tip: To eat, wrap prawn, alfalfa in a strip of zucchini, and add a dollop of mayonnaise. Eat it in one bite to get all the flavours in one go.

Hoisin Chicken with Chinese Pickles & Sesame Mantou

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Chinese Pickles
Heat vinegar, sugar, water and salt until dissolved.
Place the vegetables in a sterilised jar, add the vinegar mixture and allow the flavours to develop, for 2 days or longer.

Hoisin Chicken
Combine the marinade ingredients, cut the chicken thighs in half, marinate for 4 hours.
Cook on a hot BBQ grill, turning to avoid burning, until the chicken is cooked through and the outside caramelised.

Black Sesame Mantou (Steamed Buns)
Process 25g black sesame seeds with 15g caster sugar until powdered, set aside.
Dissolve the yeast & sugar in the warm milk, set aside to develop for 10 mins.
Add the flour, oil and 25g black sesame seeds and mix together until dough forms.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 mins, form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, covered with cling wrap, to rise for 45 mins or until doubled in size.
Punch down, roll out into a thin rectangle, lightly dampen the surface, sprinkle evenly, with the powdered black sesame/caster sugar mixture.
Roll up from long side, like a Swiss roll. Cut into 1.5cm slices. place on squares of baking paper, rest in a warm place for 15-30 mins, to rise.
Place in a steamer, bring water to boil and steam for 10-15 mins or until cooked through.
Serve with caramelised chilli sauce, spring onion curls and steamed rice.

Whole Snapper with Vietnamese Sauteed Tomatoes and Bokchoy

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To Cook
Rinse the cavity and fish with water and dry very well with paper towels. Make 3-4 incisions into the thickest part of the fish fillet. Generously season with salt just before cooking.
Heat your barbecue grill or fry pan to medium-high heat. Make sure the grill/pan is cleaned and well oiled.
Lay the fish directly on the grill or fry pan and cook for 7-8 mins. Do not attempt to turn fish until the skin has browned and crisped or it will stick.
Using a spatula, carefully turn fish and cook for another 7-8 mins. The fish is done when it flakes at the thickest part.
Place onto a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Sauteed tomato sauce
Heat oil in a pan on a medium-high heat.
Add the onions and cook until translucent before adding the tomatoes, coriander stems and cooking wine.
Sautee until tomatoes start to soften around the edges.
Add fish sauce and sugar. Continue cooking for another 2 mins. If the sauce is too dry add the water. You want a chunky thick sauce.
Spoon sauce over the snapper to serve. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Bok Choy
Heat oil in a pan on high heat, add garlic and cook for 20 secs or until fragrant.
Add bok choy and Shaoxing wine. Stir fry constantly until bok choy leaves wilt. Add oyster sauce and continue to cook for a further 1 min.
Place bok choy around snapper to serve.

Notes
Shaoxing wine can be replaced with water or stock. Bok choy can be replaced with any Asian greens. Serve this dish with steamed jasmine rice.

Lobster Tails with Ginger Sauce & Vietnamese Noodle Salad

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To Prep
Trim lobster tails, slice in half lengthwise, brush with a little peanut oil, cook on a hot BBQ grill, cut side down until half cooked, turn over and continue to cook until just done.

Ginger Sauce
Heat the oil in a saucepan, add ginger and fry gently until fragrant, mix the potato flour with a little stock to make a paste.
Add all the remaining ingredients, except the potato flour paste, simmer for a few minutes until flavours develop, add the potato flour paste and simmer until thickened, season with a squeeze of lime juice (to taste).

Sweet Potato & Spring Onion Fritters
Mix the tempura batter according to the package instructions, stir the sweet potato and spring onion through until combined.
Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan, fry spoonfuls of the batter until cooked through and golden, on both sides.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
Prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions, set aside to cool.
Slice the cucumber into thin ribbons, discarding the seeds, spiralise or julienne the carrot, slice the onion, chilli and spring onions. Toss through the noodles.
Combine the dressing ingredients, adjust the flavours to taste, toss through the salad just before serving.

To serve
Arrange Asian leaves and salad on a serving plate, sprinkle with coriander leaves, chilli and spring onion slices.
Arrange the BBQ Lobster Tails on top, drizzle with ginger sauce and garnish with fried ginger floss (finely shredded ginger, fried till crisp).

Grilled Barramundi Fish with Sambal Matah

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To Prep
Marinate the fish with fish sauce for 1 hour. After marinating, grilled the fish on each side till cooked. When the fish is almost cooked, brush the grilled fish with ABC Sweet Soy Sauce. Put aside on a serving plate.

Preparing Sambal Matah
Place the shrimp paste in a small frying pan over low-medium heat and dry fry for about 3 mins, turning a couple of times, and flattening.
While the shrimp paste is toasting, let’s get all the ingredients ready. Start by halving, then slicing the kaffir lime leaves fairly finely.
Chop up the chillies and garlic finely. Slice the lemongrass very thinly.
Place the toasted shrimp paste, the salt, sugar and lime juice in a medium-sized bowl and with the back of a spoon, mash up the shrimp paste and mix everything up until you have a paste.
Add all the ingredients that you’ve chopped into the bowl and toss everything well, making sure that all the chopped ingredients are coated with the shrimp paste and lime juice sauce. Serve on top of the grilled barramundi fillet.

Teriyaki Beef and Quinoa Bowl

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To Cook
Place the beef in a shallow dish with 1 tbsp of the teriyaki dressing. Turn the beef a couple of times to coat and place in the fridge for 30 mins to marinate.
Place the quinoa in a saucepan with a cup of water, bring to aboil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 mins. Drain and set aside to cool.
Preheat a grill pan or BBQ on high. Cook the beef for 2-3 mins each side, or until done to your liking. Allow to rest for 5 mins.
Meanwhile, chop some of the tomatoes (leaving some whole with the vines intact to decorate), slice the avocado into thin wedges, and use a peeler to peel thin strips of cucumber.
For the dressing, finely grate the ginger and add to a small bowl with remaining ingredients. Whisk to combine. Stir through the quinoa. Divide the quinoa between two bowls.
Slice the beef, then arrange the beef and vegetables on top of the quinoa.

Grilled Miso Salmon and Japanese Coleslaw in Steamed Bao

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To Prep
To make the salmon marinade, stir together the miso, vinegar, sugar and sake. Cover the salmon fillets with the marinade. Place in the fridge for at least 30 mins or better still overnight.
To make the coleslaw, place the mayonnaise, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Add to the cabbage and snow peas. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Set aside.
Heat a large steamer over a medium-high heat. Steam the buns for 5 mins or until heated through (this can be done in batches according to the size of the steamer).
While buns are steaming, heat a charcoal grill, BBQ hot plate or frying pan. Lift salmon out of marinade and grill over medium heat for 3-5 mins on each side or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
To assemble, place a portion of grilled miso salmon in a bao bun, top with coleslaw, garnish with nori, spring onions, cucumber and chilli. Eat while hot.

Fragrant BBQ Fish

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Vietnamese Slaw
In a bowl, combine the wombok, spring onions and carrots, roughly mix together.
Add in the Thai basil, coriander and chilli, lightly mix.
In a small bowl, combine the rice wine vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic, stir thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour dressing over salad, ensuring all salad components are covered in dressing. Top salad with the roasted peanuts. Put into the fridge to chill whilst making the fish parcels.

Fish parcels
Using a large bowl, combine the lemongrass, shallots, turmeric, garlic, pepper and salt, mix well. Then add in the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, mix again to combine.
Heat the BBQ to medium heat. Place banana leaf onto the bbq to soften (about 15-20 secs). Remove banana leaf from heat.
Lay out banana leaf, then place a piece of fish in the middle along with half of the lemongrass mixture. Fold the banana leaf over the fish covering all sides and secure with toothpicks to ensure it remains closed while cooking.
Place banana leaf parcel onto the grill at medium heat, close lid and cook for 8-10 mins.
Remove parcel from the grill and let it rest for 1 minute.
Serve the fish parcels with the fresh Vietnamese slaw.

Chicken Red Curry

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To Cook
Heat up cooking oil in a pan on high and add half a jar of Valcom Red Curry Paste. Keep stirring for 2 mins until fragrant.
Add one can of coconut milk and mix in with the paste.
Once hot, add the chicken thighs and let simmer for 5 mins.
Add the other can of coconut milk.
Get the broccoli and beans and add to the mix. Let it simmer under a lid for another 5 mins, or until the chicken is cooked.
When ready, remove from heat and serve on top of rice. Add sugar snaps, chilli, lime, coriander and fried shallots to garnish.