To Prep
Place the garlic and chilli in a mortar and use the pestle to crush.
Add the shrimp and long beans and pound a few times to bruise the beans.
Add the peanuts and pound a few more times.
Add the palm sugar and lightly grind until it has dissolved, then add the lime juice and fish sauce.
Add the cherry tomatoes and pound lightly.
Add the papaya and pound lightly, then mix well with a spoon.
Dish out and serve.
Vegetables
Simmered Chicken and Vegetables (Chikuzenni)
To Cook
Mix and marinate chicken with spices.
Cut carrots and lotus root and marinate in 2 cups water with ½ tsp vinegar for 10 mins.
Prepare taro and wash with cold water. Remove the stringy edge from the snow peas. Boil them for a few mins.
Pull the burdock root’s skin with the back of knife and slice finely. Then, make an incision in the center of the konnyaku and turn inside out.
In a pot, sauté chicken for 2 mins. Then, add carrot, taro, lotus root, shiitake, burdock root, and the combination of mixed spices for chikuzenni. Boil for 40 mins.
Garnish with snow peas and serve.
Sweetened Black Beans (Kuromame)
To Cook
Rinse kuromame, then drain and set aside.
In a large pot, add water, soy sauce, salt and sugar and bring to boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat and add kuromame to the pot. Make sure the beans well immersed in the liquid and that they are added to hot liquid so that the beans will not wrinkle while cooking later on.
Cover the pot and leave to soak overnight.
Next day, bring the pot to boil, then reduce to low heat. White bubbles will appear on the surface. Skim the scum as the beans start cooking. This will help to remove any bitterness.
Add a round piece of parchment paper to the pot to ensure the beans are submerged. Continue to simmer the beans on low heat for 5-6 hours, or until beans are tender. If liquid level is low, add some water.
Strain the beans and remove from heat. Continue to boil the syrup until it thickens to a glossy texture and black colour. Pour syrup over beans and refrigerate overnight before serving.
California Crab Maki Roll
To Prep the Fillings
Firstly, cut avocado into half, pit and scoop out with a spoon and slice to 0.5cm thick slices. Squeeze lemon juice over avocado to prevent browning.
Then cut cucumber into thin long strips, and slice to remove cucumber seeds.
In a bowl, add crab meat and Japanese mayonnaise, and mix well.
Trim nori sheet according to intended size of the California Crab Maki Roll.
Assembling the sushi:
To prevent rice from sticking to the bamboo mat, wrap mat with cling film.
Tip: Also, rub both hands with mayonnaise before handling rice to prevent them from sticking.
On the bamboo mat, lay one nori sheet down and spread about 1 cup of rice evenly onto the nori sheet. Use your fingers to press and push to rice to form an even layer of rice.
Sprinkle the rice with toasted sesame seeds.
Then, turn the nori sheet over so that the rice now faces down towards the bamboo mat. Align the edge of the nori sheet to the bottom of the bamboo mat.
Add crab meat and arrange avocado and cucumber in a row, close to the bottom of the nori sheet.
Then, pull up the bottom edge of the mat, while using your fingers to roll and tuck the fillings in. Lift the mat slightly to go over the roll, and continue rolling forward while keeping a firm hold.
Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into equal portions. To ensure a clean cut every time, keep a damp cloth handy and clean the knife after every cut.
Serve up your California Crab Maki Rolls on a platter or, stack them up and decorate your very own Sushi Christmas Tree as shown in the video below!
Daikon and Carrot Salad (Kohaku Namasu)
To Prep
Cut the daikon and carrot into thin strips. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt, and let sit for 20 mins.
The vegetables will release quite a bit of water. Drain, and squeeze as much liquid out as possible. If this step is not taken, the water will dilute the dressing.
Combine the vegetables with the remaining ingredients. Let it sit for at least 30 mins.
Sweetened Chestnuts and Sweet Potato (Kuri Kinton)
To Prep
Peel the sweet potatoes, chop into small chunks and soak it in a bowl of water for 2-3 hrs.
To Cook
Boil it in a pot of water until it becomes soft.
While the sweet potato is still soft, strain it through a sifter to make it into a puree.
Mix the sugar, syrup and mirin in a saucepan and cook over low heat until it starts to simmer.
Turn the heat off, add pureed sweet potato and mix them well together.
After mixing it well, cook over low heat for 15 mins. Keep stirring to avoid mixture from sticking to the bottom.
Turn off the heat, add the chestnuts and cover them with the pureed sweet potato mixture. Serve cool.
Banh Mi with Lemongrass Pork (Banh Mi Thit Nuong)
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
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
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
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)
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
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.