Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Northern Thai Dip (Nam Prik Ong)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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

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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)

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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

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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.

Radish Cake

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To Prep
Grate your radish using a handheld grater, then using your hands squeeze out any excess water. Place in a bowl and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine rice flour, tapioca flour and water to form a flour paste and set aside.

To Cook
Start boiling 500ml of water in a pot and separately heat up some cooking oil in wok, and stir fry the shallots for a few minutes. Add the Chinese sausage, mushrooms and dried shrimp to the wok and stir fry until aromatic.
Next add the ingredients for the seasoning and stir fry for a few more minutes. Then pour all the fried ingredients into the pot of boiling water.
If the water has stopped boiling, bring it back up to a boil. Then pour the contents of the pot into the flour paste we made in step (2). Using a large spoon, mix to combine the flour paste with the water and other ingredients.
Next, add the grated radish into the flour mixture in 4 separate batches. Make sure each batch of grated radish has been properly combined with the mixture before adding the next batch.
Then add in the radish in 4 portions and use wooden spoon to separate the radish evenly and stir well.
Pour the radish cake mixture into a 20cm by 10cm loaf pan. Then place the loaf pan into a steamer on high heat and steam for 35 minutes.
Once the radish cake is done, remove it from the steamer and allow it to cool.
Slice the radish cake into 2cm thick slices. Pan fry each slice until golden on each side and serve with dipping sauce of your choice. Usually dipping sauces used are a simply chilli sauce, but can be easily replaced with Sriracha sauce or similar. Enjoy! These steamed radish cakes also go well with a bowl of piping hot rice or porridge

Korean Spinach Side Dish (Sigeumchi Namul)

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To Cook
Blanch your prepared spinach in boiling salted water for 30-40 seconds. This should be enough to wilt the leaves. Immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
Once the spinach has cooled, drain them and squeeze out any excess water,
Spread out the spinach and cut into roughly 8cm long pieces.
Finally, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, making sure that all the seasoning is evenly distributed and mixed with the spinach.
Allow the spinach to marinate in the seasoning for at least 10 minutes, then serve with steamed rice.

Mixed Vegetable Stew (Nyonya Chap Chye)

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To Cook
Heat up some oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onions and sauté until fragrant. Add the taucu and sauté for another minute.
Add the chopped cabbage and continue cooking until the cabbage becomes soft.
Add the other ingredients to the wok except the glass noodles. If the ingredients had to be soaked, toss them into the wok together with the soaking liquid, then top up with enough water to cover all the ingredients.
Bring to a boil then cover the wok with a lid. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
Check the vegetables to see if they are done. When they are, add the glass noodles and mix well. Let it stew simmer uncovered until the sauce reduces, but make sure not to let the sauce completely dry up.
Season with salt and pepper and serve with steamed white rice.

Chinese Poached Chicken (Pak Cham Kai)

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To Cook
Thoroughly clean the chicken and rinse with water. Then stuff the cavity with the ginger and spring onions. While doing so, start to boil a large stockpot of water.
When the water has started to boil, slowly place the chicken neck-first into the pot until it is completely submerged and then lift it back up out of the water. Repeat this for 2 more times. Then finally submerge the chicken in the water and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
After simmering for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the chicken to continue poaching in the water for around 20 minutes. The time it takes for the chicken to fully cook varies according to the size of the bird.
When the bird floats to the top that is a sign that it is cooked. Test if it has fully cooked by poking the thickest part if the chicken and checking the liquid that comes out runs clear. Alternatively, a meat thermometer reading of 75°C means the chicken is cooked.
Once the chicken has fully cooked, immediately remove from the pot of water and remove the herbs from the cavity. Stop the cooking process by quickly submerging the chicken in a bath of ice water for a few minutes.
Remove the chicken from the ice bath and pat dry. Brush the skin with sesame oil and set aside.
The dipping sauce can be prepared while the chicken is poaching. You’ll need to mix the all the ingredients except the oil and soy sauce in a mixing bowl.
Heat up the oil in a pan until it begins to smoke, then turn off the heat and pour the oil into the bowl of dipping sauce. Stir it around and season with the soy sauce to taste.
When ready to serve, chop up the chicken and arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with sprigs of coriander and spring onions. Serve with the dipping sauce and steamed rice.