Best South East Asian Recipes

garylkoh

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Just like Chicken Tikka Masala was invented in London not India and Chop Suey was invented in California and not China, there is no such thing as "Singapore Noodles". Various restaurants have different recipes, and they run the gamut of curry-infused to seafood.

I think that the quintessential Singapore noodle is something called fried Hokkien prawn mee. IMHO it's the most unique Singapore noodle dish, and I think that it is the most delicious way to prepare noodles. Here's my version of it:

The most important ingredient in this dish is the stock - it is made from chicken bones and fried prawn shells. If you can't find chicken bones, a good low-salt chicken broth can be substituted.

1lb large raw prawns (head and shells included)
1lb belly pork
1/2 lb fresh squid
4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
4 eggs (yes, eggs again)
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1lb yellow noodles (in Seattle, you can find fresh yakisoba in the Asian supermarkets)

1/4lb rice sticks (bee hoon or Chinese rice vermicelli)
4 cups chicken broth (or stock made from chicken bones)

Peel and de-vein the prawns, keeping the heads and shells. Set aside
Clean the squid, separate the tentacles and cut body into rings. Set aside.

Heat a wok until very hot. Add about 2 tbsp of oil (either canola, soya bean or peanut) and heat until almost smoking. Throw the prawn head and shells in and fry until fragrant. Then, pour in the chicken broth and stir until it boils.

Use this hot stock to blanch the prawn meat. Set aside and cool.
Also use this hot stock to blanch the squid meat. Set aside and cool.
Use this hot stock to cook the pork belly - about 15mins. Set aside and cool, then finely slice.

Strain the resulting stock (there should be at least 3.5 cups left) into a large bowl and set aside. Throw away the prawn shells.

Soak the rice sticks in boiling water for about 5mins. Drain.

In a large colander, separate the yakisoba and make sure that they are loosely matted. Add the drained rice sticks. Make sure all the ingredients are close at hand.

Heat the wok until very hot. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat until very hot. Fry the garlic in the oil until fragrant. There should be a couple of bits that are close to burnt, but not yet burnt as it will be bitter. Before the garlic burns, pour in the eggs and scramble. Add a splash of stock.

Throw in the ricesticks and yakisoba and stir fry. Keep the fire as hot as possible. Add a splash of stock. Stop and wipe the sweat off brow. Let the noodles sear a little. Keep stirring. Throw in the fish sauce. Add another splash of stock and fry till dry.

Pour in 1 cup of stock, give the noodles a quick stir, and cover the wok to braise the noodles. After about a minute, the noodles will have absorbed the stock. Stir to loosen the noodles. Do not let them stick.

Pour in another cup of stock. Give the noodles another quick stir and cover the wok to braise the noodles. Another minute.

Uncover the wok, throw in the prawns, squid and belly pork. Pour in the balance of the stock, stir and then plate.

Serve with Malaysian belachan chilli paste and half a key-lime.

 
Last edited:

jadis

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Wow. I'd like to just eat it and not having to cook it. LOL.
 

garylkoh

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After you've succeeded with the Singapore version above, the Malay version of fried prawn noodles is pretty easy - Mee Udang Goreng.

1 lb large raw prawns (I prefer head and shell included)
1 lb yakisoba noodles (I use a lot of yakisoba since this is the closest to the Singapore yellow noodles which I have not been able to find in the US)
Handful of beansprouts (Kosmic brand from Uwajimaya)
1 large or 3 small shallots (small preferred) skinned and finely sliced
6 cloves garlic chopped
Tomato ketchup (three or four big splashes)
A couple shakes of tumeric powder
Two large Roma-type tomatoes finely chopped skins and all
1 tsp chilli paste

Heat up about 2 tbsp or enough oil to deep fry the sliced shallots until fragrant and brown - over medium heat. Be careful not to burn the shallots. They go from raw to burnt very quickly if the oil is too hot. Take out the fried shallots with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Throw the garlic into the oil and fry till fragrant. Add the prawns and give it a couple of quick stirs, splash of soya sauce. Next, add tomato ketchup, tumeric, chilli paste and the chopped tomatoes. Stir-fry until boiling.

Add the noodles and coat in the sauce. Plate. Sprinkle some of the fried shallots on top.

Garnish with a whole hard-boiled egg cut in half, half a key lime and a side of chilli belachan paste.

 

JackD201

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Adobo Binalot

This is a Philippine dish often served at picnics. It's comprised of Chicken or Pork Adobo or Chicken AND Pork Adobo put on rice and wrapped in a Banana Leaf (Binalot is Filipino for Wrapped) along with diced salted eggs and ripe tomatoes.

Being a melting pot, you'll find Adobo, our unofficial national dish a mix of spanish, local and chinese ingredients. It's a braised dish, simple to make, and the last time I cooked it for foreign nationals when in Sweden, everybody loved it expcept our middle eastern friends who were a bit miffed because I really should have left the pork out. Anyways here's how the Adobo is made.

1lb pork
1lb chicken
5 cloves of Garlic peeled but whole
2 bayleaves
1 1/2 cup light soy
1 1/2 cup coconut vinegar
3 cups water
2 teaspoons black pepper corn
optional but recommended 1 big green chili
optional but also recommended a few sprigs of cilantro

In a pot brown the pork slowly to render it a bit then add in the chicken. Chop up the meat to be a bit larger than bite sized, perhaps twice as large so when it's cooked everything will be the right size. I recommend pork belly and chicken wings and thighs. Throw in the garlic, if you like garlic, go to town on it. Being slow cooked it will add sweetness but not have the strong flavor of crushed and browned garlic. Drop the heat down from high to medium as soon as the garlic comes in and throw in the liquids, pepper corn, and bayleaves. When it gets back into a boil, drop the heat down to a simmer. It's sort of like a Coq au van right? :) Now the important part. DO NOT MIX or stir until all the vinegar has cooked off. You'll need your nose for this. Let simmer. Add chili. You'll know your done when the meat is fork tender and the liquid has significantly reduced. The sauce should be a bit syrupy. Depending on the region some folks like this thick sauce while other like the sauce lighter. If you're from the latter camp, just use a bit more water. When cooked, set aside to cool. There will be a lot of fat so just ladle off as much as you can after the stew has settled.

Now take some Banana leaves, cut them into dinner plate sized squares and add a cup of cooked white rice in the center. Using a spoon, make a bowl in the middle and put a couple of pieces of pork and a couple of pieces of chicken along with some of the sauce. Add 1/4 of a chopped salted duck egg (if this isn't available or isn't your thing substitute with half a hard boiled egg) and a tablespoon of chopped ripe tomatoes. Garnish with some chopped cilantro then wrap up the bundle. To prepare for serving, reheat the packets by steaming them for a few minutes.

You'll have a lot of Adobo left and this stuff is versatile. It's one of those things that taste even better the next day. The mean can be shredded and refried to a crunch and is a breakfast delicacy served with rice and scrambled eggs. In it's regular form, the meat can be chopped finely and put in a sandwich maker. Butter the bread. It makes for a delicious hot pocket.

There's no limit really to what you can put in the packet along with the Adobo. Blanched shrimp is sometimes added.

Enjoy!

If you guys want the exotic stuff just PM me ;) ;) ;)
 

garylkoh

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Thanks, Jack. *DO NOT MIX or stir* I hadn't read that anywhere - which might account for my adobo tasting nothing like what I've had in Cebu.

How about a good crispy pata recipe, or that wonderful sour banana soup (I can't remember what it's called)?
 

JackD201

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Sure Gary, Crispy Pata (Ham Hocks) is easy but a bit tedious.

Take the hamhock and thoroughly clean it making sure there is no hair or anything left. Clean the skin like you would Hainanese Chicken. Rub the sucker down with salt then rinse in cold water.

Prepare a stock pot and fill with enough water to cover the leg. Add half a cup of vinegar. Bring water to a boil and put the leg in. Again like Hainanese chicken we're after tender so we drop the heat to low and leave it for about 2 hours. Now that it's nice and tender, we have to dry it so we don't cause any accidents. You could hang it but it's not such a good idea if humidity is high. The best place? The fridge! Leave overnight on a rack.

There's a lot of misconceptions and mainly it's that the CP must be deep fried. The best CPs that have crunchy skin and tender meat are cooked on a cast iron skillet with just enough fat to dip half the leg. I like to use peanut oil but coconut oil is the norm. Heat should be about medium high. Fry one side then flip it over and do the other. Cool on a rack so the excess oil can drain off.

For the dipping sauce, one part soy, one and a half parts vinegar, chopped shallots, chopped chillies, sugar to taste.

:)

I'm not sure what the sour banana soup is. I haven't had it. I'm guessing you mean Kansi. I'll look into it.
 

Matt193

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After you've succeeded with the Singapore version above, the Malay version of fried prawn noodles is pretty easy - Mee Udang Goreng.

Intrigued by this recipe, I was going to try and make this today but unfortunately I couldn't find Yakisoba noodles or chili paste locally. Is there anything that I could possibly substitute for these or would it take too much away from the flavor?
 

amirm

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Along Matt's question, I find that there are a ton of different chili pastes from every nationality and brand. Is there a specific brand that is recommended Gary?
 

mep

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My favorite brand of chili garlic sauce is Tuong OT TOI Viet Nam. I use it for all of my oriental dishes.
 

garylkoh

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Intrigued by this recipe, I was going to try and make this today but unfortunately I couldn't find Yakisoba noodles or chili paste locally. Is there anything that I could possibly substitute for these or would it take too much away from the flavor?

I use a lot of Yakisoba noodles because the fresh version is easily available here in Seattle. If you can find dry Japanese soba noodles, that will also work. The type of noodles used is the wheat type. So, other substitutes are Chinese yellow noodles, Filipino Pancit Canton (Cantonese noodles), and even slightly over-cooked spaghetti.
 

garylkoh

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Along Matt's question, I find that there are a ton of different chili pastes from every nationality and brand. Is there a specific brand that is recommended Gary?

I generally make my own, but store bought (even from Safeway/Fred Meyer) there are plenty of options. The very savoury type that is used with my two prawn dishes are the South-East Asian type. You can find these under the Amoy, Kees or Lee Kum Kee brands. If these three brands are not available, look at the ingredient list for dried prawns and/or prawn paste or belachan. They would be typically Singaporean, Malaysian or Indonesian.

There are the ones with the "bright" flavor - the most famous is the sirarcha sauce. Then, the Vietnamese and Chinese chilli-garlic sour types. The mainland Chinese Szechuan Chilli Oil is fiery hot with just dried chilli and oil with possibly soya beans added.

I'll try to be a bit more specific with ingredients as we have world-wide readers on this forum.
 

garylkoh

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Since it's the weekend coming up, here's a recipe for Amir.

All ingredients available from Uwajimaya - or any decent International supermarket. Malaysian Spicy Fish.

I usually recommend a light, flaky white fish, but you can also use salmon or even whole trout. Use a steak, not a fillet because with a steak, the flavour penetrates better without overcooking the fish. About 2lb (3 steaks).

Three stalks of lemon grass (serai limau) cut into 4-inch sticks, bruised with the back of a cleaver (or lemon grass powder)
3 heaped teaspoons of tumeric powder
2 tablespoons of tamarind (Vietnamese/Thai sour soup base)
1lb tomatoes quartered - Roma is best
1/2lb Okra (Ladies Finger or Bhindi) tips and tops removed

The type of chilli paste to use for this recipe is Sambal Olek Terasi - any brand will do, and this is also available in QFC and Safeway in Bellevue. About 4 heaped teaspoons is used - vary according to spicyness desired.

Heaped teaspoon Roasted Belachan Powder
Heaped teaspoon Thai Shrimp Paste

Grind together in a food processor:
handful of shallots - skin removed
3 candlenuts
50g packet of dried shrimps

Heat a large frying pan until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry the processed shallot/candlenut/shrimp until fragrant. Add lemon grass, tamarind base, tumeric powder, 2 cups of water (or stock). Stir until it bubbles.

Add tomatoes, chilli paste, belachan powder and shrimp paste. Stir, and simmer covered for 40mins or until 12minutes before dinner time.

Turn the heat up to high, mash up the tomatoes if they have not already totally disintegrated. Remove what tomato skins you can find. Add the fish steaks and okra. Spoon the hot sauce over the fish to make sure it cooks well. Turn the fish steaks over after 5 mins.

For fish steaks at room temperature, about 1-in thick, 12 minutes should cook it through. 10 1/2 mins if you like the fish a little more succulent.
 

amirm

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Thanks a lot Gary. It is wonderful to have such specific directions.

We are at our vacation house and I plan to make Calzones in our Pizza Oven. Been meaning to try that but keep forgetting and make other stuff in there. Should have you over some day and you make Malay dishes and us, something out of the wood fired forno :).
 

garylkoh

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Amir, that will be really fun! I love to cook and I love to eat, but here in Seattle, I miss all my friends in Singapore. My wife and I are the only good cooks among our friends here, and we always end up doing the cooking. Will be great to have a cookout - I make Malay dishes, and you make something else!
 

amirm

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Let me warn you, I am not a cook. But I do OK if it involves live fire! :D

I will ping you when we get one of our glorious sunny weekends.
 

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
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Manila, Philippines
Here's one recipe I discovered and my type, no need for measuring cups or chopping anything. ;)

Just boil some dried noodles in water, remove the starchy water after boiling. Put 3 or 4 bowls of water to boil again in the noodles and drop in all the frozen balls you want - prawn balls, squid balls, beef balls etc. and simmer down to low heat to boil lightly. Then, the final step, drop in a couple of these 'sauce' which I do not know it's English name but got them from a Japanese grocery.






The sauce gives the noodle soup a great flavor. I learned that in a local Japanese resto here, the soup is called CHAMPONG, and my family is quite addicted to it. Googling it, I found our it's mostly a Korean soup - maybe it's a lot more spicy than the Japanese one. Great hot noodle soup and is easy to make.
 

mullard88

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Jun 5, 2010
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Here's a recipe for a popular beef dish in the Philippines. Just go to youtube and look for sarap standard with chef mark.
 

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