Yum Yum Asia

A video recipe on how to make Singaporean Assam Fish from SBS Food Safari show. A tangy tamarind based sauce is sweetened with many shallots. It is the perfect match for thick cutlets of any oily fish such as mackerel, which is dusted in turmeric-laced flour, fried and added to the sauce.

Serves 4 as part of a meal accompanied by rice.

Ingredients

Rempah
10 eschallots
2 fresh red chillies
½ head garlic peeled
1½ cm knob of young ginger
½ tsp blachan
400-500g tail end of mackerel or other strong flavoured oily fish
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised with the back of a knife or cleaver
1½ tbsp tamarind pulp mixed with 500ml water, strained through sieve once reconstituted
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered
2 large red chillies, split lengthwise in half and seeded
2 large green chillies, split lengthwise in half and seeded
Sugar, salt to taste

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     Tags: Singapore food, Singaporen recipe

How to make Beef Salad, from SBS Food Safari show. Recipe by Chef Khamtane Signavong, Arun Thai Restaurant in Sydney, Australia.

In North Eastern Thailand beef is traditionally cooked over charcoal and it is the juices running off it that give this dish its name, which literally means “waterfall beef”. The tender beef strips are spiked with spicy, pungent flavours and served with a cooling salad of cucumber, lettuce, mint and a little fresh chilli. The Thai way to eat this is with your hands, gathering up all the ingredients so you have a taste of everything in each bite.

Ingredients

300g piece sirloin or rump steak
3 tbsp fish sauce
3½ tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp palm sugar
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 shallots, finely sliced
Handful of mint leaves
2 tsp toasted ground rice
½ tsp chilli powder

Directions

1. Barbecue or grill the steak, ideally to medium-rare on a heavy based pan with no oil, and slice carefully into thin strips.
2. Mix the fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar together in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved then add the beef strips. Add the coriander, spring onions, shallots, mint leaves, ground rice and chilli powder and mix well.

To serve, assemble the salad on a plate and serve with the sliced beef.

Tip: To make toasted ground rice put 1/3 cup of jasmine rice and 2 kaffir lime leaves and a stalk of lemongrass into a large flat pan and toast over high heat until the rice turns golden brown, keeping the ingredients moving constantly to stop burning.

     Tags: Thai Cuisine, Thai food, Thai Recipe

When the flavours of sweet, sour, salty and tangy are balanced and when used cleverly in Thai cooking, you can feel you taste bud dance. Eating Thai style is to be served all the dishes at the same time in the center of the table – no entrée/main course/dessert here. Rice is an integral part of every meal, along with soup, a couple of curries and side dishes. Thai people eat with a spoon and fork and use the fork to push the food onto the spoon; the fork is never used to actually eat with.

Thailand food, part 1

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     Tags: Thai Cuisine, Thai food, Thai ingredients

A video recipe from SBS Food Safari on how to make Japanese Miso Soup with Tofu.

Dashi (Stock)

Ingredients

3 cups water
10cm square piece konbu (kelp)
15g of katsuobushi (bonito flakes)

Directions

1. Wipe the surface of konbu with a dry cloth. Using scissors, make a few snips into the konbu to help release the flavours. Place water and konbu in a saucepan and soak for at least 30 minutes.
2. Place the pan over medium heat and slowly bring to the boil. Just before it reaches boiling point, remove the konbu and discard.
3. Once the water comes to the boil, turn off the heat, put a ladleful of cold water into the pan, then add the katsuobushi.
4. Return to the heat until the water comes back to the boil, then remove from heat and leave until the bonito flakes settle on the bottom of the pan.
5. Strain dashi through a fine sieve. Do not squeeze out the flakes, as this will make the stock very fishy.

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     Tags: Japanese Recipe, Tofu

Explore the vibrant, intensely colourful world of Indian food. Each region of India has its own style of cooking and distinct flavours – North is known for Tandoori and Korma dishes, South is famous for hot and spicy foods, the East specialises in chilli curries, the West uses coconut and seafood and the Central part of India is a blend of all.

India food safari part 1

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     Tags: Indian cooking, Indian food

A video recipe on how to make Chinese Mango Pudding, from SBS Food Sarfari show.

Ingredients

6 tsp powdered gelatine
¾ cup caster sugar
1 litre soft mango ice cream
75ml evaporated milk
1 cup crushed ice
1 large mango, peeled seeded and diced

Directions

1. Stir gelatine and sugar into 1 cup of boiling water until thick and syrupy. Slowly pour into a glass bowl. Stir in ice cream, evaporated milk, crushed ice and diced mango.
2. Ladle into bowls or glasses and chill for about 2 hours until set.

     Tags: Chinese Recipe, Mango

How to make Indian Coconut Cardamon Burfi with video guide from SBS Food Safari show.

Ingredients

250g desiccated coconut
395g can sweetened condensed milk
10 cardamom pods - grind/crush seeds into a powder
Handful of pistachio nuts, roughly crushed

Directions

1. Mix 200g of the coconut and the remaining ingredients in a bowl.
2. Heat a non-stick pan on low heat and add mixture to the pan. Stir over low heat until the mixture starts to dry and rolls easily into a ball. Remove from the heat. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes until cool enough to handle.
3. Place the remaining coconut onto a plate. Using damp hands, roll the mixture into balls and then roll in coconut to coat. The coconut balls can be refrigerated for up to a week.

     Tags: Coconut, Indian Recipe

A video recipe from SBS Food Safari show. How to make Chinese Char Siu Pork.

Ingredients

1/3 cup Char Siu sauce
2 green shallots, chopped
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tbsp oil
450g pork fillets, trimmed
1 tbsp honey

Directions

1. Combine Char Siu sauce, shallots, five spice, and oil in a shallow baking, ceramic dish. Add pork fillets and marinate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 200C. Line the base of a baking dish with non stick baking paper. Remove pork fillets from marinade and lay into dish. Cook for about 40 minutes, basting occasionally and turning over halfway through cooking time, until cooked. Remove from oven and brush with honey while still warm. Cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Note: Char Siu sauce is made from hoi sin, sherry, honey and sugar. It can be bought at most supermarkets or Asian grocery stores.

     Tags: Char Siu Sauce, Chinese Recipe

An interview of Chef Martin Yan from Yan Can Cook Chinese cooking show. The famous catch phrase from the show was “If Yan can cook, so can you!”

     Tags: Chef Yan

SBS Food Safari with Maeve O’Meara: Vietnamese dishes are fresh, have a depth of flavour and seem to have amazing health properties at the same time. Have you ever eaten a bowl of pho with all the accompaniments when you’re feeling less than 100%? One chef friend calls pho the Vietnamese equivalent of Jewish chicken soup – it’s good for the body and the soul. Or have you had a few mouthfuls of green papaya salad when your palate is feeling jaded? Instant zing! More than any other cuisine, Vietnamese food centres on herbs and uses an amazing array along with salad greens in many dishes. These are eaten for their healing properties as well as for their taste.

Vietnam food safari part 1

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     Tags: Vietnamese food, Vietnamese ingredients