Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Banh Mi with Lemongrass Pork (Banh Mi Thit Nuong)

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To Prep
Lightly pound the pork slices with a mallet/back of the kitchen knife. In a bowl, mix all the lemongrass pork marinade ingredients well. Put in the pork slices and marinade for about 1 hour or better overnight. Discard excess marinade before use.

To Cook
Preheat grill until ready to use. Gently arrange marinated pork slices onto the grill. Grill until the pork is nicely charred on both sides and meat is thoroughly cooked. If using indoor broiler oven, broil for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the meat is completely cooked and nicely charred.
Remove lemongrass pork from grill and assemble the baguettes with mayonnaise spread, and then put the sliced chillies, a slice of grilled lemongrass pork and finish off with a handful of pickled carrots and daikon and coriander leaves. Serve a whole baguette or cut the baguette into half.

Penang Assam Laksa

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To Cook
Clean the fish. In a pot, bring 8 cups of water to boil. Add fish and boil for about 10 mins. Transfer the cooked fish into a bowl and let cool.
Strain the fish stock; add the peeled tamarind, ginger torch flower and the mint leaves, continue to boil on low heat. (Tip: put the ginger torch flower and mint leaves in a herb bag)
Pick the flesh of the fish. Break the fish meat into tiny pieces and put the fish back into the stock. Then, cover the pot with a lid and lower heat. Leave broth to continue simmering until fragrant.
Using a food processor or a pestle and mortar, grind or pound the spice paste until fine. Heat up a wok and saute the spice paste with cooking oil for about 6-8 minutes. Transfer the spice paste into the boiling stock.
In a bowl, mix tamarind paste with warm/hot water and add to the stock.
Add salt and sugar to taste. Discard the ginger torch flower and mint leaves from the laksa broth before serving.
In a serving bowl, add in the laksa noodles and pour the fish broth into the bowl. Garnish and serve immediately with a spoonful of prawn paste.

Japanese Corn Potage

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To Prepare
Preheat the oven to 230°C.
Cut off the corn of the cob, making sure you do not discard the cobs.
On a baking sheet, add olive oil, salt, paprika and the corn kernels and mix with your hands making sure the ingredients are properly combined.
Put the corn in the preheated oven for 15 mins.
Put the butter in heavy soup pot and add the onion and some salt. Cook until the onion slices are clear.
Add the corn kernels, water and cobs. Add more water if the cobs are not covered.
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low heat and simmer for 15 mins. Remove the cobs after 15 mins.
Blend the soup to ensure a creamy and smooth consistency.
For better consistency, strain the soup.
Return the soup to the pot, adding the cream and milk, based on your preference. Simmer for 10 minutes ensuring that you stir often.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle out the soup portions and garnish with olive oil and parsley.

Stir Fried Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce

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To Prepare
Heat up the wok with some oil. Infuse the garlic with the oil by stir-frying it. Remove the garlic when it turns a golden brown colour. Leave some garlic oil in the wok.
Cook the bok choy with the remaining garlic while the wok is still hot.
Add the oyster sauce and combine well, stir-fry for 2-3 mins.
Plate the bok choy and garnish with crispy garlic.
Serve while hot with steamed rice.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp Salad (Pla Goong)

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To Cook
Combine the dressing sauce ingredients and mix well.
Brush a bit of oil on both sides of the prawns and then grill the prawns for a couple mins each side until they’re cooked through.
Combine the chopped lettuce, mint and coriander leaves, shallots, red onion, lemongrass and chilli peppers and toss through with the dressing.
Finally, add the grilled shrimp to the bowl and toss everything together.

Grilled Lobster with Spicy Basil Garlic Sauce

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To Cook
Heat oil in a wok or saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and both types of chillies and stir fry until fragrant. Combine the oyster sauce, fish sauce and basil and stir fry for a further minute until well mixed. Add the cornflour mixture and cook until the sauce is thickened. Remove and set aside.
Rub the salt and pepper onto the lobsters. Grill on charcoal, pan grill or under the broiler for several minutes on each side until cooked. Transfer on serving platter.
Spread the spicy basil garlic sauce over the grilled seafood. Squeeze lime over lobster. Serve hot and garnish with crispy fried basil leaves and fresh coriander.

Hanoi Style Rice Vermicilli with Grilled Pork (Bun Cha Hanoi)

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To Prep
For the pork marinade, combine water, sugar, fish sauce, garlic and shallot together in a small bowl.
Slice the pork shoulder into 2 inch by 2 inch pieces. Add half the marinade in the minced pork and the other half in the sliced pork shoulder.
For the ground pork, add the roasted rice powder and form into golf-ball size patties.
Marinate the pork for at least 30 min or overnight.
Cut the papaya, remove the seeds and slice thinly. Add salt to papaya and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then rinse the salt off under cold running water. Squeeze out the water in the papaya. Pat dry and set aside.
Mince garlic cloves and shallots.
Prepare the bean sprouts by cutting off heads and tails, mint, chillies deseeded and sliced.
Prepare vermicelli as per packet instructions.
Prepare the dipping sauce, combine the hot water and sugar. Mix until dissolved. Add lime, garlic, chillies, fish sauce, coconut soda.

To Cook
Grill the pork over charcoal fire for a more authentic taste. You can also bake them in the oven at 200 degrees for 10 min. Make sure to flip and rotate to evenly cook the pork. Let it rest for 10 min.

To Assemble
When you are ready to serve, add a single portion of meat to a small bowl. Ladle on the sweet papaya chili sauce on the meat. Then serve with a side of rice noodles and top it with fresh Vietnamese herbs.

Indonesian Corn Fritters (Bakwan Jagung)

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To Prep
Separate corn kernels from the cob and transfer into a bowl.
Combine all the remining ingredients. Mix well and set aside.

To Cook
Heat oil and then scoop in corn batter, a tablespoonful at a time. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side and transfer on a wire rack to drain excess oil.
Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce, vinegar dip or tomato sauce.

Vietnamese Beef And Noodle Soup (Pho Bo)

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For the Pho Broth
Place onions and ginger on cooking grate (on an open flame a gas stove) and let skin burn. Remove when fragrant. Under warm water, remove charred onion skin and discard blackened bits on the ginger with a knife.
Place bones in a stockpot, add water and bring to boil for a few mins. Dump bones and water into sink and rinse bones with warm water to remove impurities. Clean stockpot and return bones.
Add 6 litres of water to pot, bring to boil over high heat, then lower flame to gently simmer. Use ladle to skim any scum that rises to surface. Add remaining broth ingredients and cook meat, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hrs.
Remove cooked meat and place in bowl of cold water for 10 mins. After draining and cooling the meat, refrigerate it. Allow broth to continue simmering for around 3 hrs.
Strain the pho broth and use ladle to skim as much fat from top of the pho broth. Adjust flavour with additional salt, fish sauce and yellow rock sugar.

For the Noodles and Garnishing
Fill large saucepan with water and bring to boil. Blanch noodles for about 10-20 seconds and arrange into bowls.
Then, blanch bean sprouts for 30 seconds. Drain and add to the garnish plate.
Place slices of cooked meat atop noodles. Garnish with onion, scallion and chopped coriander.
Ladle in broth and serve.

Braised Hairy Melon with Bean Thread

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To Cook
Cut softened mung bean vermicelli into thirds.
Heat cooking oil on medium heat. Fry garlic and dried shrimps until fragrant.
Stir in hairy melon, add stock and cook over medium heat for 10 mins.
Add mung bean vermicelli and mix well. Simmer over low heat until the stock is almost absorbed by the vermicelli.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Braised Pork Belly with Lotus Root

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To Prep
Marinade the pork belly overnight with the marinade ingredients for at least 1 hour.

To Cook
In a wok, heat oil and fry garlic, ginger and preserved red bean curd until fragrant.
Add pork belly and stir fry for about 5 minutes.
Add lotus root and fry for a further 2 minutes until well mixed.
Add chicken stock cube and enough water to cover.
Transfer to a claypot and cook on low to medium heat for another 40 minutes until pork and lotus root softens, stirring occasionally to prevent burn and sticking.
Dish out and garish with coriander. Serve hot with rice

Javanese Fried Noodles

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To Cook
In a pot, cook egg noodles in boiling water for 5 mins, drain and cool under cold running water, set aside.
In a wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil over high heat and stir-fry chicken for 10 mins. Remove chicken from wok and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the wok and add in eggs and scramble. Once cooked, remove from wok and set aside.
With remaining 1 tbsp of oil, stir-fry cabbage and celery leaves for 2 mins.
Add in the cooked noodles, scrambled eggs, stir-fried chicken, bean shoots, ABC Sweet Soy Sauce and light soy sauce, salt, pepper and mix well. Stir-fry for another 3 mins and transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with chilli and serve.