KOMBU SOBA NOODLES WITH TRUFFLE OIL & CRISPY BROWN SHRIMP
By Nixon Low
Serves 10
INGREDIENTS
400g soba
Cooking oil, for frying
40g Japanese brown shrimp
Salt, to taste
50ml truffle oil
20g shio kombu (salted seaweed), chopped
20g finely chopped chives
1 tbsp hondashi powder (bonito fish soup stock)
* All the ingredients are available at Meidi-ya Supermarket and the Japanese-food section of major supermarkets.
DIRECTIONS
1 Cook the soba in boiling water for 2min. Drain and soak in ice water for 2min before straining. Set aside in the refrigerator.
2 Shallow-fry the shrimp until they are crispy. Drain the oil and season the shrimp with salt. Set aside.
3 Toss the soba with the remaining ingredients.
4 Keep the soba chilled until ready to serve. Top with the shrimp before serving.
BAKED SEA BASS WITH CORIANDER, CHILLI PADI & LEMONGRASS
By Nixon Low
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 yellow onion, sliced
20ml olive oil
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
1 whole sea bass (each about 600-700g), cut into 2 fillets
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut into 4cm-long pieces
40g coriander
1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, peeled and sliced into 1cm-long strips
1 chilli padi, thinly sliced
2 limes, sliced
80g unsalted butter, melted
20ml fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
DIRECTIONS
1 Place the onions in the centre of a sheet of baking paper and season with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
2 Place the seabass fillets, side by side and skin up, on the onions and top with the lemongrass, coriander, ginger, chilli padi and lime.
3 Drizzle the melted butter, fish sauce and sesame oil evenly over the fillets and wrap into a parcel with the baking paper. Check that there are no openings so the cooking liquid won't escape.
4 Bake in an oven preheated to 180 deg C for 25-30min until cooked. Serve in the baking paper to retain the juices.
QUINOA & GRAPE SALAD
By Nixon Low
Serves 10
INGREDIENTS
½ red watermelon, rind removed
80g quinoa
10g raspberries, halved
20g seedless red grapes, halved
20g seedless green grapes, halved
10g sugar snap peas*, sliced diagonally into 1.5cm-long pieces
10g French beans, sliced diagonally into 1.5cm-long pieces
3 tbsp chopped chives
2g dried oregano flakes
60ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Alfalfa sprouts*, to garnish (optional)
*Sugar snap peas and alfalfa are available at major supermarkets. Sugar snap peas taste sweet and look like fatter snow peas.
DIRECTIONS
1 Steam the watermelon for 2 hours until soft and easy to tear. Cool at room temperature, then chill it in the fridge. (This gives the fruit a unique sashimi-like texture).
2 Cook the quinoa in a pot of salted boiling water for 10min until soft. Strain, cool at room temperature, then chill for at least 1 hour.
3 Mix the quinoa with the rest of the ingredients. Garnish with bite-sized pieces of steamed watermelon and alfalfa sprouts. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
The watermelon and quinoa can be cooked in advance and kept chilled for up to four days.
DARK CHOCOLATE TART WITH GULA MELAKA BUTTERSCOTCH
By Shen Tan
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
175g plain flour
75g icing sugar
¼ tsp salt
115g unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
For the chocolate ganache:
115g bittersweet chocolate
½ cup whipping cream
30g unsalted butter, softened
For the gula melaka butterscotch:
160g gula melaka
50g unsalted butter
60g whipping cream
DIRECTIONS
1 Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.
2 Add the butter and pulse 15 times.
3 Add the egg yolk, cream and vanilla extract to the mixture and process for another 12 seconds.
4 Flatten the dough into a 15cm-wide disc and wrap it in cling film. Chill for 1 hour.
5 Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Roll the dough to a 3mm thickness then use it to line a 23.5cm tart-shell mould. Prick the base of the dough with a fork, then line it with baking paper and weigh it down with red beans. Bake for 15min. Remove the red beans when the tart shell is ready.
6 Place the ingredients for the chocolate ganache in a stainless steel bowl. Whisk over a pot of boiling water over medium heat, until the chocolate is melted and well mixed with the cream and butter.
7 Pour the chocolate ganache into the baked tart shell and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
8 To make the gula melaka butterscotch, melt the gula melaka and butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and whisk in the cream. Set aside to cool.
9 Remove the tart from the fridge and pour the gula melaka butterscotch over the chocolate ganache. Keep chilled (for up to five days) until ready to serve.
Recipes courtesy of head chef, Nixon Low, from Portico (#01-10, 991B Alexandra Road) and executive chef, Shen Tan, from Ujong (#01-10 Raffles Hotel Arcade).
This article was originally published in Simply Her August 2014.