Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

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.

Chinese Pickled Cucumber

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To Prep
Wash cucumber under running tap and wipe them dry. Cut off both ends of the cucumber, and then into 4 equal blocks (approximately 5cm in length each piece). Then cut each block into half, lengthwise, and gently remove seeds. Once seeds are removed, cut each cucumber each of the halved cucumber into 3 equal-sized strips.
In a large bowl, add in the cucumber strips, add 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt. Mix well, wrap bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, to prepare the pickle sauce, in a separate bowl, combine all ingredients well, making sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved.
After an hour, remove the cucumber from the fridge and discard the liquid from the bowl. Next, add in the prepared sauce, and mix well. Wrap the bowl with a cling wrap and let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight. The cucumbers are ready to be served the next day.

Spicy Cucumber Salad (Kerabu Timun)

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To Prep
When the dried shrimp have soaked enough to be soft, coarsely chop them into smallish pieces.
Peel the cucumbers, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and proceed to cut the cucumbers into large matchsticks about ½ cm thick.
Mix in 2 tsp of salt with the cucumber in a bowl and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Drain off any liquid that is extracted from the cucumber.
In a large mixing bowl, add the cucumbers, shallots, sambal belacan, dried shrimp, salt and sugar. Toss and mix the salad well, making sure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Transfer the completed salad to a serving bowl and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Japanese Pickled Ginger (Gari)

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To Prep
Scrape off the skin and brown spots on the ginger. Slice thinly using a peeler or a mandolin. Sprinkle ½ tsp salt (or to taste) over ginger slices, mix well and set aside for 10 mins.

To Cook
In a pot, bring water to the boil and add ginger to the pot to cook for 1-3 mins. If you prefer the ginger to be spicier, remove from pot after 1 min.
Drain and sieve ginger slices. Lay them out in a single layer to cool. Squeeze excess water using your hands and transfer them into a sterilised jar.
In a small pot, add rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and bring it to boil until the vinegar smell evaporates. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Pour vinegar mixture into the jar, seal, let it cool and refrigerate. When it’s slightly cool, pour the vinegar mixture into the jar with sliced ginger. Close the lid, let cool completely and refrigerate. Gari can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 12 months.

White (Baek) Kimchi

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To Prep
Clean wombok and remove any outer leaves that are damaged, brown or dirty, and cut the wombok into half. Combine pickling brine ingredients in a large bowl and place wombok in. Make sure that the brine seeps fully into the wombok by spreading out the leaves with your hands and twirling it around. Leave wombok in brine for at least 2-3 hours until the leaves start to soften.
Remove wombok from brine and keep brine aside. Sprinkle ½ cup of salt directly on the white part of the wombok, starting from the outer leaves. Place the wombok back into the brine. Let it sit in brine for another 10-12 hours. Rotate the womboks every now and then so that they are evenly pickled.
After 10-12 hours, the white part of the wombok should be soft and bendable. Remove wombok from brine and rinse under running water for 2 times. All salt residue will have to be rinsed off. Drain and place on a strainer. Keep and set brine aside for later use.
Prepare all other ingredients. Set aside.
In a large bowl, dissolve ½ tbsp salt in 2 cups of water. Set aside.
Combine all other Kimchi brine ingredients in a blender and blend until pureed. Place puree mix into a cheese cloth or strainer, place in the bowl of dissolved salt water to soak, and then squeeze out all juice from cheese cloth or strainer. Set aside.
Place the pickled cabbage on to a clean board. Starting from the bottom of the wombok, fill between the wombok with the other prepared ingredients, evenly, one layer at a time. Once done, place the kimchi into a large container, facing down.
Pour the Kimchi brine into the kimchi container or a glass jar and keep lid closed. Leave to sit at room temperature for another 12 hrs if weather is warm, or for 20 hours if weather is cold, and then keep container or jar in the fridge. Kimchi may be served after day 3 of pickling, though it is more flavourful as it ages.