To Cook
Add 1 tbsp oil to a heated pan, sauté carrots, zucchini and onions over high heat briefly, about 1 min. Set aside.
Add 1 tbsp oil to the same pan and sauté garlic gently for about 15 secs, then add the chilli powder. Cook over low heat, taking care not to burn, for about 20 secs. Turn heat to high and add the calamari rings. Stir fry calamari for about 3 mins or until just cooked. Add the soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil and season with salt and pepper.
Add the vegetables and green onions to the calamari and immediately cook over high heat until the ingredients are well mixed. Remove from heat, garnish with spring onions and serve.
Vegetables
Korean Mixed Kimbap
To Cook
Mix rice with 2 tbsp sesame oil and ½-1 tsp salt in a bowl and set aside.
Pour ½ -1 tbsp oil to a heated pan and pour in eggs and make a thin omelette over medium heat. The omelette should be pale in colour. Cut into thin strips when cooled and set aside.
Pour ½-1 tbsp oil to a heated pan and quickly sauté carrots for about 30 secs and season with salt and set aside.
Saute the zucchini with ¼ cloves of garlic and ½ tbsp sesame oil, set aside.
Squeeze excess water out of spinach, mix with ½ tbsp sesame oil, ¼ cloves of garlic and 2 pinches of salt in a bowl and set aside.
Place sushi mat on a board and a nori sheet on top. Spread ⅓-½ cups of rice on nori sheet, covering about ⅔ of the sheet. Place all the ingredients on top of the rice, lining them up horizontally and close together. Roll the nori sheet using your mat until you have a cylinder shape. Squeeze the roll inside the mat gently so that the kimbap is not too loose.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have a desired number of kimbap rolls. Cut kimbap into bite sized pieces, usually 8-10.
Korean Spicy Chicken (Buldak)
To Prep
Marinate chicken with the marinade for at least 30 mins.
Put the Sauce ingredients in a blender and blend into paste.
To Cook
Add ½ tbsp oil into a heated pan and quickly sauté onions, zucchinis, carrots and capsicums, about 10 secs. Set aside.
In the same pan, pour the rest of the oil and cook the chicken until they start to caramelize on the outside and the liquid from the meat evaporated.
Pour in the sauce and gently cook over medium heat for 3- 5 mins or until the sauce is well mixed with the chicken. Add the cooked vegetables and spring onions. Pour chicken onto a hot plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Thai Braised Pork Noodle Soup
To Cook
In a stockpot, add water and pork, bring to a boil. Add all the Soup ingredients and simmer for 1 hr.
Add meatballs and seasoning to the stockpot and let it simmer for another hr. Do taste test and add more seasoning if needed.
In a separate pot, blanch vegetables until tender, set aside.
Divide noodles into 4-5 separate bowls and top with vegetables.
Ladle soup and meat over noodles and garnish with coriander. Serve hot.
Vegetarian Pad Thai
To Cook
Place noodles in a bowl of boiling water and soak for 6-8 mins. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok over medium heat, add in garlic and sauté until fragrant and slightly browned.
Add in tofu and stir-fry until just cooked.
Add broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and zucchini, toss until vegetables are tender.
Add Pad Thai paste and mix well. Stir in fish sauce, tamarind puree, sugar and chilli powder.
Rinse rice noodles then add to wok and stir through. Push the mixture to one side of wok, then add beaten egg and allow it to cook slightly before tossing it through the noodles.
Throw in the bean shoots and chives, stir thoroughly for 1 min.
Dish out and garnish with peanuts, lime/lemon wedge, coriander and a dash of pepper.
Thai Glass Noodle Soup with Tofu (Kang Jued Woon Sen)
To Prep
Mix the minced meat, soy sauce and ground white pepper until well combined. Form into approximately 12 small meatballs.
To Cook
Heat oil in a frying pan on high heat, then add in garlic and fry for 30 secs.
Pour in the soup stock and bring to a boil.
Add meatballs, onion, Chinese cabbage and carrot, simmer until tender.
Add in the noodles and stir thoroughly.
Add the fish sauce, sugar and white pepper.
Carefully add Japanese tofu and stir gently to avoid breaking the tofu. Remove from heat.
Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with coriander. Serve.
Thai Crispy Pork Skin Salad (Yum Sam Grob)
To Cook
Place onions and coriander in a bowl, cover with cold water, add 6 ice cubes, and place in refrigerator for 5 mins or until ready to use.
Blend garlic, chilli flakes, and chillies into a fine paste. Add sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice, and continue to blend until the sugar is dissolved. Taste test and add more sugar, fish sauce, lime juice or pepper flakes to taste.
In a mixing bowl combine prawns, crispy pork skin, cashew nuts, tomato and blended paste. Mix through and transfer to a serving plate.
Remove onions and coriander from fridge and drain. Garnish salad with lettuce, onion and coriander. Serve.
Creamy Tom Yum Soup with Prawns
To Cook
In a food processor, blend lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and chillies into a paste.
In a stock pot, boil chicken stock and bring to a simmer, then add blended paste and galangal. Simmer for 5 mins.
Add evaporated milk and bring to boil. Add mushrooms and broccoli and cook for 1-2 mins or until cooked through.
Add Thai chilli paste and fish sauce, stir to dissolve the chilli paste. Add prawns and cook for 1 min or until done.
Turn off the heat and add lime juice while stirring. Adjust taste with more seasoning if needed. Garnish with chilli and coriander, serve.
Thai Stir Fried Vermicelli with Chicken
To Cook
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok, scramble eggs until cooked, remove and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat, stir-fry chicken for about 3 mins or until just cooked through. Remove from wok and set aside.
Add 1 tbsp oil and ginger to sauté for 1 min, then add vegetables to the wok and stir-fry for another 2 mins.
In a mixing bowl combine chicken stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce and corn flour.
Add egg, chicken, noodles, coriander and broth mixture to wok and stir-fry for 3 mins or until everything is cooked and heated through.
Drizzle some sesame oil for added flavour. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle some chilli powder, serve.
Green Curry Fried Rice with Chicken (Kao Pad Gaeng Keo Wan Gai)
To Cook
Stir-fry coconut milk over low heat until oil appears. Stir in Valcom Green Curry Paste until fragrant. Turn up the heat. Add chicken fillet and stir-fry until well cooked.
Add fish sauce and sugar, and stir-fry until the sauce reduces. Stir in eggplant and pea eggplant and cook until tender, then add rice and mix through. Add Valcom Kaffir Lime Leaves, basil leaves and red chilli, then remove from heat.
Green Papaya Salad with Grilled Chicken (Som Tum Gai Yang)
To Prepare
Prepare the paste by pounding coriander roots, garlic and white pepper in a mortar.
Marinate the chicken with the paste, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, palm sugar and oil for about an hour.
To Cook
Grill chicken in an oven or charcoal grill.
Peel the green papaya (can be substituted with apples, jicama or carrots), and shred into strips using a grater.
In the mortar, pound the garlic and chilli, then add papaya, lime juice, fish sauce and toss with green beans and cherry tomatoes. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with peanuts.
Serve grilled chicken with papaya salad on the side.
Thai Chicken Green Curry (Gaeng Kiew Wan Gai)
To Cook
Clean the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Slice vertically into thin slices. Add 1 cup light coconut milk into a pot and bring to boil. Add chicken and reduce the heat to simmer the chicken until meat is tender. Dish out the chicken and set aside.
Add the vegetable oil into a pan and heat over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the curry paste and stir-fry until fragrant. Slowly add 1⁄2 cup of thick coconut milk and stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken to the pan and stir-fry to evenly coat chicken in the curry paste. Remove pan from heat.
Transfer curry and chicken into a large pot and heat over medium heat. Add in 3 1⁄2 cups light coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to boil then add fish sauce and sugar.
Add pea eggplant and make sure they are submerged in the curry. Continue cooking until eggplant is cooked through, then add the remaining 1⁄2 cup thick coconut milk. Bring to boil and add Thai basil leaves and red spur chillies.
Taste the curry and adjust the spiciness to your liking. If the curry is too spicy, add some coconut milk to bring down the heat level. Turn off the heat and remove from the stove. Dish out the curry into a bowl and garnish with Thai basil leaves. Enjoy with steamed rice or rice noodles.
Tips: When cooking the chicken, make sure the thin coconut milk is boiling before adding the chicken meat. This will tenderise the meat and remove any foul smell. The thin coconut milk that was used to boil the chicken should be discarded as it will contain a foul smell.