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.
Vegetables
White (Baek) Kimchi
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.
Spicy Cucumber Salad (Kerabu Timun)
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)
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.
Vietnamese Daikon and Carrot Pickles (Do Chua)
To Prep
Cut carrots and daikon to sticks of desired length.
Sprinkle salt over carrot and daikon sticks and toss to mix well. Set aside for 15-30 mins.
Rinse thoroughly with water and squeeze gently to remove excess liquid. Arrange carrot and daikon sticks in jars.
Dissolve sugar in hot water, add the remaining vinegar and water, and stir to combine.
Pour pickling vinegar into the jars until the carrots and daikon is submerged. Seal and store at room temperature until pickled to taste; about 1-2 days.
When ready, refrigerate up to 3 weeks, or until veggies lose their crunch or become too sour.
Pickled Turnip with Yuzu
To Prep
Rinse turnips and peel the skin and cut into quarters. Slice thinly
Cut kombu into small strips.
Slice red chilli into half and remove seeds if you like it less spicy.
In a glass bowl, add turnip slices, kombu, red chili pepper, yuzu juice/extract, salt and mix well. Seal with cling wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or, 3 days or more before serving.
To serve, gently squeeze the turnip slices to drain any excess liquid.
Prawn Fritters (Cucur Udang)
To Prep
Combine plain and rice flour together in a large bowl.
Add prawns, onions, bean sprouts, spring onions and carrots in the bowl.
Slowly add in the water and mix well. The mixture shouldn’t be too thick or runny. Ensure that all ingredients are coated well with flour.
Season with a pinch of salt, sugar and pepper.
To Cook
Heat up oil in wok. Slowly put in some of the fritter batter into the hot oil and deep fry for a few minutes until crunchy. The size of each fritter is up to you, smaller ones give more crunch, while larger ones have a soft, fluffy texture on the inside.
Drain and remove excess oil. Allow to cool for a bit and serve warm.
Stir-Fried Yellow Curry with Chicken (Gai Pad Gaeng Garee)
To Cook
Heat oil over low heat. Add Valcom Yellow Curry Paste and stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken and stir over high heat until cooked.
Add onion, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk. Stir through until onion is tender.
Add spring onion and red chilli, then remove from heat.
Tips: Green prawns can be used in place of chicken.
Kabocha Miso Soup
To Cook
Pour dashi stock into a pot, add in kabocha and onion, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 mins or until kabocha has softened but is still firm in texture.
Stir through miso paste until fully dissolved, and then increase heat to medium.
Add in dried wakame seaweed and silken tofu, and stir through gently. Turn off heat once soup is boiling.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle over spring onion.
Soft Shell Crab Hand Roll
To Prep
Add the sushi vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and gentle fold in to the rice until well incorporated.
Combine 125 g of tempura flour and ice water together in a mixing bowl and lightly stir them together. Don’t over mix as pockets of flour will make the batter airy. Pour the remaining 50 g of flour in to a separate bowl.
To Cook
Heat the oil to about 180°C, then dredge the crab halves one by one in the tempura flour, then into the batter and fry till golden brown. Let cool on paper towels to drain the excess oil.
To Make the Roll
Halve the seaweed sheets. Place sushi rice and then the lettuce, cucumber and half a crab onto one side of nori.
Fold the nearest corner of the nori over the filling and start to shape.
The hand roll should be shaped cone shaped to stop any rice from falling out.
Vegetarian Pho
For the Soup Base
To make a more flavourful soup, charring the onion and ginger goes a long way. Do this by simply grilling the onion and ginger until their surface is slightly blackened – take care not to overdo this and actually burn them. Once they are nicely charred, remove from the heat and set them aside.
Dry fry the cinnamon, white peppercorns, star anise, cloves, and coriander seeds over low heat in a stockpot. Fry the herbs until fragrant.
Once the oils in the herbs have been released, add the vegetable stock, charred onion and ginger, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and soy sauce. Turn the heat up to high until the stock begins to boil.
Once the stock begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer for 60-90 mins.
When the soup is done, strain it through a wire-mesh strainer and season with salt. Keep the soup warm for later.
For the Noodles
Prepare the rice noodles according to packet instructions. Once cooked, drain the noodles through a sieve and rinse under running water to stop the cooking.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Pan fry the brocollini until tender and lightly browned. You can add some salt to season the vegetables. Do the same for the button mushrooms and baby bok choy. Set aside the toppings.
Add the portions of noodles into their own separate bowls. Top with the pan fried vegetables, five spice tofu, and bean sprouts, then, pour over with the warm soup.
Garnish with lime wedges and Vietnamese mint and serve hot.
Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad (Bun Bo Xao)
To Prep
In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce and water and mix well.
Then, add the lime juice, garlic and chilli. Mix and set aside for later.
Combine the sliced beef, oyster sauce, ½ tbsp minced garlic, lemongrass, salt, pepper, chicken stock and 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a mixing bowl. Mix well, making sure that the beef in evenly coated in the marinade. Let the beef marinade for 20 mins.
To Cook
Heat up a wok and add the remainder of the vegetable oil. When the oil has heated up, sauté the rest of the garlic until fragrant.
Next add the beef to the wok and fry until the beef is no longer pink.
Cook the rice vermicelli according to packet instructions. Drain the noodles when they are done and portion into individual bowls.
Add the mixed greens and cucumber on top the vermicelli and top with the stir fried beef. Garnish with the do chu, fried shallots, and crushed peanuts.
Use the dipping fish sauce as a salad dressing. Mix the salad with the dressing and serve.