To Cooke
Heat 2 tbsp oil to saute, green chilli, red chilli and Chinese celery until fragrant. Drain and set aside.
Saute shallot, garlic, onion and ginger slices in the same saucepan. Add chicken pieces and pan fry until golden yellow.
Add seasoning mix. Cover, cook over medium heat for about 15-18 mins until chicken is tender. Take out and let cool. Chop the chicken and arrange on plate.
Add thickening to sauce left in pan. Cook until sauce thickens. Stir in chilli and Chinese celery. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
Vegetables
Silken Egg Tofu with Bamboo Fungus and Crab Roe
To Cook
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add bamboo fungus. Boil for 2-3 mins, drain well and set aside.
Carefully place egg tofu on a heat-proof dish, sprinkle salt evenly and wrap dish with plastic food wrap. Steam egg tofu for 5 mins.
Remove the dish from steamer, then remove plastic food wrap and drain away water in the dish. Decorate the plate of egg tofu with blanched broccoli and set aside.
In a saucepan, add chicken broth, chicken powder and oyster sauce. Bring the chicken broth to the boil, add cooked bamboo fungus. Simmer for 1-2 mins. Slowly add desired amount of thickener, constantly stirring.
Remove bamboo fungus and arrange on top of egg tofu.
Garnish silken egg tofu with crab roe and serve with steamed Jasmine rice.
Stir-Fried Rice Cake with Seafood
To Cook
Toss prawns in corn flour with a pinch of salt.
Cook the rice cake in hot water until soft. Rinse in cold water.
Heat wok with 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Stir-fry the rice cake for 2-3 mins. Set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok and stir-fry the onion, scallops, prawn, mushroom, red capsicum and spring onion with seasoning mix.
Add in rice cake and stir well to serve.
Crisp Salad with Mushrooms Tofu and Soy Sauce
To Cook
Cook Soba noodles according to packet instructions. Drain, then refresh under cold running water. Drain well. Set aside
Prepare dressing in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, raw sugar and extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the wombok, daikon, chives and spring onions. Toss gently. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a wok or frying pan, over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and season well. Cook until tender. Add the tofu and cook for 1 min. Add ginger then remove from heat.
Divide the Soba noodles onto 2 serving plates. Top with salad mixture. Place mushroom and tofu mixture on top. Spoon over dressing.
Tempura Soba
To Prep
To prepare dipping sauce, bring the mirin to the boil in a small saucepan and continue to boil until reduced by half. Stir in the soy sauce and bonito flakes and return to the boil. Immediately remove from heat and strain. Transfer the sauce into a serving bowl and set aside.
To Cook
Blanch carrots in boiling water for 1 min. Refresh under cold running water and drain well. Prepare the remaining vegetables.
Stir the egg yolks and cold water together. Sift the flour and Bi-Carbonate of soda and add to egg yolk and water. Stir until smooth.
Heat oil (in a wok or deep fat fryer) to about 180˚C. Coat the vegetables lightly in flour. Working in small batches, dip vegetables into batter and immediately deep- fry in the hot oil for about 1 min. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.
Cook the noodles in the boiling dashi broth for 4 mins. Drain, reserving the broth.
Pile the noodles into serving bowls and ladle in the broth. Top each bowl with a few deep-fried vegetables. Serve immediately, accompanied by the dipping sauce for the vegetables.
Stir-Fried Pork with Soba Noodles
To Cook
Cook noodles in boiling water until just tender. Drain, then refresh under cold running water. Drain well, set aside.
Heat sesame oil and half the oil in a wok over medium heat, add the pork and stir-fry until lightly browned. Place pork in a bowl, cover to keep warm.
In a small saucepan, place the mirin, soy sauce, sugar and cooking sake. Heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.
Add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the onion, garlic and fresh ginger. Cook and stir until onion soft. Add shiitake mushroom, cabbage and carrot, cook until tender. Add pickled ginger, pork, soba noodles and sweet soy sauce (gently toss to combine). Cook until heated through.
Divide stir-fry between 4 deep serving bowls. Garnish with a sprinkling of finely shredded nori and serve immediately.
Korean Stir-Fried Potato Noodle (Japchae)
To Prep
Marinate meat in bulgogi marinade in a bowl for at least 30 mins.
To Cook
Saute onions in a heated pan with 1 tbsp oil for about 1 min, do not caramelize onions, keep white colour. Set aside.
Saute carrots in a heated pan with 1 tbsp oil for about 1 min. Carrots shouldn’t be too soft. Set aside.
Stir fry meat in a heated pan until meat is cooked, about 2-3 mins. Set aside.
Saute mushrooms in a heated pan with 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1½ tbsp soy sauce and a sprinkling of ground pepper for about 1 min. Set aside.
Mix spinach with 1 tbsp sesame oil, ¼ tsp minced garlic and season with salt. Set aside.
In a heated pan, add 1 tbsp oil and make a thin egg white omelette. Set aside. Repeat with egg yolk. Cut omelettes into thin strips.
Bring a big pot of water to a rapid boil. Add 2 tsp salt. Add the dried noodles and cook for about 5 mins or until al dente. Drain and do not wash noodles with water.
Add 1-2 tbsp oil to a heated pan and add cooked noodles. Stir quickly and then add 3-4 tbsp soy sauce and 2½ -3 tbsp sugar. Mix to combine. Take noodles off the heat. Put noodles in a large bowl.
Add 2-3 tbsp of sesame oil to noodles and season with salt and ¼ tsp ground pepper. Add extra soy sauce and sugar if needed. When the noodles have cooled down, add the rest of the ingredients that have been set aside and mix well. Put japchae on a serving plate or bowl and top with thin slices of egg omelette.
Note: Once the sweet potato noodles are cooked and drained, it should be stir fried in oil, soy and sugar mixture quickly. However, once this is done, the rest of the ingredients can be added and mixed closer to serving.
Korean Pan Fried Dumplings (Mandu)
To Prep
Combine all the ingredients except wrappers and water. Season with salt if needed.
Place 1½ tsp of filling in the middle of each wrapper. Lightly wet the edges of wrappers with water and wrap the mandu into half circles, crimping the edges.
To Cook
Heat frying pan with oil on medium heat and add the mandus. Cook for about 1-2 mins or until the bottom is golden brown. Turn mandu over. Add water and instantly put a lid over the frying pan and let the mandu steam for few minutes or until the oil ceases to splatter. Make sure the mandu doesn’t burn, lower the temperature of frying pan.
Take the lid off and turn the mandu over again and gently cook for another minute or two or until the mandu is golden brown on the bottom and the filling is cooked.
Take mandu out and drain on paper towel. Serve with dipping sauce.
You can add chopped chives, cooked glass/vermicelli noodles and finely chopped carrots to the mandu mix.
Bibimbap
To Cook
Set aside different vegetables separately after cooking.
Heat pan and ½ tbsp oil. Add carrot and cook briefly, about 20 secs and season lightly with salt.
Repeat sauté process as above with zucchini but add ⅛ tbsp garlic and ½ tbsp green onions.
Repeat again with shitake but season lightly with soy sauce.
Mix spinach with ⅛ tbsp garlic, ½ tbsp green onions and 1½ tbsp of sesame oil.
In a saucepan place soybean sprouts with ⅛ tbsp garlic, 1 tbsp sesame oil and 2 tbsp water. Cook for about 5 mins until sprouts are cooked. Drain and add ½ tbsp green onions and ¼ tsp kochugaru (Korean chilli powder). Season with salt.
Mix radish with ⅛ tbsp garlic, ½ tbsp green onions, vinegar, sugar, and ¼ tsp kochugaru (Korean chilli powder).
Ladle 1 cup of cooked rice in each bowl. Arrange vegetables, meat and then an egg on top. Drizzle some sesame oil and serve with gochujang for individual taste. Repeat with other 3 bowls. Mix well before eating.
The colourful and vibrant Bibimbap is ready.
Pork Dumplings with Prawn and Chives
To Prep
Add marinade to pork and mix in a clockwise direction. Set aside for 30 mins.
Add marinade into chopped prawn meat and mix in clockwise direction. Set aside for 30 mins.
Add marinade into finely chopped chives and mix well. Set aside.
Combine pork, prawn and chives in a large bowl. Add salt and mix well in a clockwise direction.
Spoon 1 tbsp dumpling filling on dumpling skin and fold in the edges to seal.
To Cook
Bring half a pot of water to the boil. Add dumplings and cook until they float to the surface. Add some cold water and continue to boil dumplings until they float again to ensure they are cooked inside.
Drain well. Serve this hot Pork dumplings with prawn and chives with dumpling sauce and pickled ginger.
Avocado and Cucumber Brown Rice Roll
To Prep
To begin, cut the avocados in to halves, pit and then peel off the skin. Pour the lemon juice over avocados to prevent browning and then cut in to thick strips.
Cut the cucumber in to thin long strips, and slice to remove cucumber seeds.
To assemble the sushi
Wrap the bamboo mat used to fold sushi with cling film to make cleaning easier and to stop rice granules from getting stuck on the mat.
On the mat, place one seaweed 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.
Turn the sheet over so that the rice now faced down on the bamboo mat.
Arrange the avocado and cucumber in a row, close to the bottom of the 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.
Remove the roll from the mat and place on to a section of cling wrap and sprinkle the rice with the sesame seeds. Roll the cling wrap over the roll to full coat the rice.
Remove the roll from the cling wrap and the use a sharp knife to cut the roll into equal portions.
Seared Tuna on Soba Noodles
To Cook
Cook Soba according to packet instructions, Drain, then rinse in cold water.
Combine soy and mirin, toss through noodles.
Brush tuna with oil, then season. Heat a large, non-stick fry pan over high heat. Cook tuna for 20-30 secs each side until lightly coloured but still completely rare inside. Remove from pan and cut into 55mm thick slices.
Divide the noodles among plates, top with spinach, broccolini and tuna.