To Begin
Combine all spice paste ingredients to blend in an electric blender.
Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a wok over low heat, saute the spice paste until the oil separates from the paste, approximately in 5 minutes.
In a bowl, combine tamarind paste with the water, mix well and strain for the tamarind juice. Add the juice to the spice paste in the wok and bring to boil.
Add in tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add in the daun kesom, bunga kantan salt and sugar. Stir occasionally while allowing to simmer until sauce thickens. Salt and sugar may be adjusted according to taste.
Meanwhile, heat enough oil in a deep wok over high heat. Deep fry fish until well cooked through. Drain oil and place on a serving dish, set aside.
Pour sauce over deep fried fish and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Vegetables
Braised Pork Trotters with Eggs
To Cook
In a pot, bring water to boil. Blanch the pork trotters until they are no longer pinkish in colour. Discard the water and set aside pork trotters.
In a separate pot, heat oil in medium heat, saute ginger, garlic, shallots and spring onions until fragrant.
Prepare all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl, then add in to the pot with sautéed ingredients. Mix sauce well and then add in the pre blanched pork trotters. Next add in 1lt of water and bring to boil. Add in shitake mushrooms and deshelled hard boil eggs. Cover the pot with lid, turning heat down to low and allow to simmer for at least 2 hours.
Discard the spring onions and ginger before serving the braised pork trotter with steamed rice.
Vietnamese Meat Pies (Banh Pate So)
To Prep
In a large bowl, place the shredded dried black fungus and dried bean thread noodles and cover in boiling water to soak for 10 mins or until softened. Drain and rinse with cold water, and then drain well. Cut the fungus and noodles into short lengths with scissors.
To Cook
Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking sheet.
Place the pork mince, sugar, salt, pepper, fish sauce, coriander, spring onions, carrot, fungus and noodles into a large mixing bowl. Use a spoon or your hands to combine the ingredients well.
Using a round cookie cutter, cut rounds from the puff pastry to desired size.
Place a ball of the meat mixture it in the middle of a pastry round, leaving a 1.5-2 cm border. Brush the egg around the border and place another pastry round on top, stretching the pastry to meet the sides of the bottom. Press the edges down with a fork and place on baking sheet. Repeat until meat mixture is finished.
Cut a small slit on the surface of each pastry, and brush the top with egg wash.
Bake for 20 mins or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and serve.
Korean Napa Cabbage Kimchi (Poggi Kimchi)
To Prep
Wet the cabbage in salted water. Sprinkle some salt into each layer of cabbage leaves, especially into the white parts. Repeat for all the cabbage quarters.
Place salted cabbage quarters in a large bowl and let sit for at least 5 hrs.
When the cabbage is well wilted, wash cabbage 3 times and drain very well. Set aside.
Combine chilli powder with fish sauce and mix well into julienned Korean radish in a large bowl. Blend garlic, ginger and salted shrimp, add to the chilli radish mixture. Add in sugar and spring onions, mix well.
Spread chilli radish mixture into each layer of cabbage (mainly on the white part of the cabbage), rubbing the chilli well into the cabbage leaves. Repeat with all the cabbage quarters. Make sure you proportion the chilli radish mixture so that all cabbages are filled.
Place cabbage quarters carefully into a clean good quality container and let kimchi ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days, or longer in cold weather. After fermenting to you liking, keep kimchi in the fridge.
Northern Thai Dip (Nam Prik Ong)
To Make the Paste
Pound the salt and soaked chillies with a mortar and pestle until smooth.
Add shallots, lemongrass and garlic, pound until smooth.
Add the rinsed beans and tomatoes, pound until most tomatoes turn into paste.
To Cook
In a frying pan, heat 1-2 tsp of oil on medium-high, sauté garlic until light golden colour. Add the paste mixture and cook for 2-3 mins.
Add in the minced pork and cook until done. Adjust the taste with the seasonings.
To Serve
Scoop a spoonful of warm dip onto a slice of cucumber, then garnish with lotus root chip and fried basil leaf.
Korean Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi)
To Prep
Cut radish into 2cm cubes and place in a large bowl. Add salt and sugar and mix well. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hr.
To make the kimchi base, blend together the brown onion, red apple and the fish sauce.
In a microwave-safe bowl, mix the water and rice flour together. Microwave for 1 min, or until the mixture is similar to a mildly runny porridge in texture. Then in a medium-sized bowl, combine the two mixtures along with the minced garlic and ginger.
Return back to the radish after sitting for 1 hr. Rinse the radish in a colander under cold water for a couple of times, leave for a few mins to drain any excess water.
In a large mixing bowl, add the radish and mix through 2 tbsp of Korean chili flakes. Add in the chopped spring onions and the prepared kimchi base. Stir through and mix well.
Spoon the radish kimchi into an air tight glass container and leave to stand at room temperature overnight, then move the jar into the fridge.
Thai Basil Fried Rice (Khao Pad Horapa)
To Cook
Heat up some vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry until the garlic starts to color.
Add the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked.
Then add the long beans and capsicum before quickly adding the oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce.
Add the onions when the long beans and capsicum are almost cooked and stir fry until they begin to be translucent.
Now add the rice to the wok and stir/toss until the rice and sauce are mixed well.
Finally, remove the wok from the stove and stir in the Thai basil leaves before transferring to a serving plate.
Korean Hangover Soup (Haejang-Guk)
To Prep the broth
Add all the ingredients except the cabbage leaves and bring to a boil. Stir the ingredients together to mix well.
Remove the kombu from the broth when it begins to boil and discard it.
Blanch the cabbage leaves in the boiling broth for a couple of minutes, then remove from the broth and place in a bowl. Set the cabbage leaves aside for later.
Simmer the broth for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Then strain the broth and discard the broth ingredients. Reserve the broth for later.
To Prep the sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure all the ingredients are mixed well.
Split the sauce into 2 even portions. Mix one portion with the beef.
Cut your cabbage leaves into 2-3cm wide strips and mix with the other half of the sauce.
Make sure that the beef and cabbage strips are evenly coated with the sauce and set aside for later.
To Prep the Soup
Heat up a pot on high heat and add the beef and Korean radish. Stir fry for a couple of minutes before adding the broth and cabbage leaves into the pot.
Allow the soup to start boiling, then reduce the heat to medium and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Lastly, add in the bean sprouts and spring onions to the pot and continue to let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and serve the soup with some steamed white rice.
Thai Steamed Clams with Lemongrass (Hoi Tom Takrai)
To Prep
You can easily pound the birds eye chilli and kaffir lime leaves using a mortar and pestle.
To Cook
Heat up a wok with some oil. When the oil begins to smoke, quickly add the lemongrass, galangal, bird’s eye chilies and stir fry until fragrant.
Add the clams to the wok and combine with the previous ingredients. Follow up by adding the coconut water.
Add the kaffir lime leaves before covering the wok. Let the clams cook covered until they are done. You can tell the clams are done when they are all open and should only take a couple of minutes, try not to overcook the clams.
Add some lime juice and fish sauce to taste. Give it a good stir to mix.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately with some steamed rice.
Chinese Steamed Ginger Clams
To Prep
In a bowl, mix all the seasoning ingredients together and set aside. Make sure all the ingredients are well mixed.
Place the clams on a suitably sized stainless steel deep dish plate. Make sure the plate deep enough to hold any juices that may come out of the clams.
Add the seasoning and ginger to the clams and mix well.
Add the spring onions and garlic oil and prepare the steamer.
To Cook
Steam for about 15 mins or until cooked. Make sure the water is boiling before placing the plate of clams in the steamer.
When the clams are done, garnish with more coriander and spring onion. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Steamed Rice Cake (Chwee Kueh)
To make the Topping:
Heat up a ½ a cup of vegetable oil in a wok and fry the shallots until they begin to colour.
Squeeze out any excess moisture from the preserved radish and add to the wok. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the sugar, white pepper and soy sauce. Mix well and taste to make sure the topping is well seasoned.
Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
To make the Rice Cake:
Add all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and stir well until combined.
Make sure there are no lumps in the flour mixture by straining through a sieve.
Cook the flour mixture in a pan over medium heat until it thickens. You can test if the mixture is thick enough by coating the back of a spoon and running your finger over. The mixture is thick enough if the line remains.
When it is ready, remove the mixture from the heat and pour into greased moulds or bowls.
Place the bowls into the steamer on medium heat for 20 minutes. Make sure the water is already boiling before placing the bowls into the steamer.
Once cooked, allow the rice cakes to cool completely before removing from the bowls.
Top with the radish topping and serve.
Spicy Shoyu Ramen
To Prep the Dashi
Wipe your kombu with a damp cloth to clean off any impurities, then make a few shallow cuts into the kombu.
Add the water to a pot and add the kombu to and the pot. Allow it to soak for about 30 minutes before turning on the heat.
Turn the heat on medium and let it boil slowly. Remove from heat just as the water begins to boil.
Add the bonito flakes and return to the heat. Allow the water to simmer for another 1 minute. Be careful not the let it boil over.
Remove the dashi from the heat and wait for the bonito flakes to sink to the bottom of the pot.
Finally, strain the dashi and use for the rest of this recipe. If there is any leftover dashi it can be stored in the fridge for about 1 week.
To Prep Soup
Heat up the sesame oil in a large pot and add your minced garlic and ginger. Sauté until fragrant.
Add the chilli bean sauce and mix well.
Next add the rest of the ingredients for the soup and allow it to simmer for several minutes over medium low heat.
Season the soup with salt, and then strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth into another pot.
Once the soup is done, prepare the ramen noodles as per packet instructions.
Place the noodles in a bowl and add your toppings before ladling over with the soup. Serve immediately.