Bendigo Cooking Channel

“Hokkien mee” but vegetarian, and using whatever was in the fridge 😅

It’s been a while since I posted! 🫢 But never fear, I’ve finally got more time in my schedule to make tasty, comforting food from various Asian cuisines 😍

Tonight, it’s some satisfying rice paper rolls, with delicious Viet BBQ pork (brought all the way from Springvale, Victoria!) 🤤👌

|| Hokkien Noodles ||

Another popular takeout dish! There are many variations of this dish, including a darker and sweeter Malaysian version (Hokkien mee). Honestly, my sauce recipe keeps changing according to what I feel like on the day!

Hokkien noodles can have a variety of ingredients, all to do with your preference! I like to use fresh hokkien noodles that you can get in any supermarket. For a serving of 4, use 440g of fresh noodles.

Other ingredients can include:
- Meats: Chicken, beef, prawn
- Vegetarian: Tofu, egg
- Vegetables: Snow peas, choy sum, carrots, capsicum, beansprouts

Sauce Recipe:
- 3 tbsp Shaoxing Wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp kecap manis (optional)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Salt & white pepper to taste

Enjoy!

|| Kung Pao Chicken ||

This popular American-Chinese takeaway dish sends you all the umami flavours (and spiciness, if you choose!). A relatively quick stir fry to feed a hungry party!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp minced ginger
4 chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
1 red capsicum, cut into 2cm-long squares
1 green capsicum, cut into 2cm-long squares
1 brown onion, cut into 2cm-long squares
3 stems of spring onion, cut into 2cm pieces (separate white parts from green)
1 pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
6-10 dried chillis (optional)
Handful of crushed or halved peanuts (optional)

Sauce:
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry)
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup water

Method:
1. Mix sauce ingredients EXCEPT water
2. Coat the chicken pieces with 2 tablespoons of sauce mixture. Set aside to marinade for at least 30 minutes
3. Add water to remaining sauce mixture.

STIR FRY:
4. Heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan or wok.
5. Fry garlic and ginger. OPTIONAL: add dried chilli flakes and dried chills & stir fry for 30 secs.
6. Add white parts of spring onion. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
7. Add chicken and stir fry until cooked
8. Add capsicums and onion. Stir fry for until soft
9. Add green parts of spring onion. Stir fry until soft.
10. Add sauce mixture and peanuts. Stir fry until sauce thickens. (If sauce is not thickening, you may need to add more cornstatch).
9. Serve warm over plain rice. Enjoy!

|| San Choy Bow ||

This Chinese entree is a great dish for Summer - and also, perfect for entertaining! Fresh lettuce leaves help keep the dish refreshing while also complementing an umami-flavoured filling full of vegies of your choice! To make this vegetarian/vegan, use crumbled tofu or imitation pork/turkey mince. The filling can be whatever you want as well - mushrooms, broccoli, baby corn, carrots, vermicelli noodles etc!

INGREDIENTS:
Sauce:
- 1 1/4 tsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tsp sugar

Filling:
- 1 clove large garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
- 300g pork mince
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely diced
- 100g/ 3.5oz canned water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
- Handful of beansprouts
- 5 mushrooms, finely chopped (Shiitake is best, I used both Shiitake and Swiss Brown)

METHOD:
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large frying pan or wok.
2. Fry garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, then add onion.
3. Add minced pork. Fry until light in colour (optional: to flavour the pork while cooking, you can add 1 tablespoon of the sauce mixture. Only add onto the pork and cook until absorbed)
4. Add vegetables. Fry until carrots are softened (approx 3-4mins)
5. Add sauce
6. Stir fry everything for a further 1-2 mins until the sauce thickens.
7. Serve warm on fresh lettuce leaves. Top with shallots, sesame seeds, fresh chilli slices.

Enjoy!

|| Kimbap ||

Kimbap, or gimbap, is the Korean version of 'sushi'. The key differences are the rice and filling. While Japanese sushi is mostly filled with raw ingredients, Korean kimbap is often made with cooked ingredients and pickles. Kimbap also uses sesame oil to flavour the rice (whereas Japanese sushi uses rice vinegar). And at the end, the roll is brushed with sesame oil, for extra flavour!

Ingredients can include:
- Meats: Spam, Egg, Beef bulgogi, Spicy tuna
- Vegetarian/vegan option: Fried tofu
- Vegie fillings: Danmuji (yellow pickled radish or takuan), spinach (quickly fried), julienned carrot (lightly cooked), sliced cucumber (fresh)

The combinations are endless!

|| Stir Fry Sauce ||

Weeknights were made for delicious, easy, healthy stir fry dishes! This is my go-to recipe for stir fry sauce - which you can use to make stir fry with meats or just vegetables. Enjoy with a side of rice and you've got yourself a satisfying meal to replenish your energy levels after a busy day at work! I tend to add a lot of ingredients in my stir fry - so use as much or as little of this sauce recipe depending on the dish you want to make!

Serves 4 (with lots of stir fry ingredients)

INGREDIENTS:
(Stir fry sauce)
4 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp Chinese wine (or dry sherry)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
4 tbsp water (approximate amount - the amount of water you need depends on what other stir fry ingredients you've cooked. You can add this at the end as the sauce thickens during cooking, to get the right amount for your dish)

METHOD:
1. Mix all ingredients for stir fry sauce in a bowl and set aside.
2. Cook stir fry ingredients of your choice (e.g. chicken, broccoli, carrot, corn spears, zucchini, onion etc)
3. Add stir fry sauce into the pan/wok once other ingredients are cooked.
4. Fry everything together for approx 2mins, until the sauce thickens to your liking. (Add more water or more cornstarch+water if needed, depending on the thickness you prefer.)

Enjoy!

|| Japchae ||

'Japchae' is a Korean glass noodle stir fry dish that's a staple menu item in any Korean restaurant. The chewy sweet potato noodles, soy sauce and sesame oil are the main ingredients that give these noodles its unique flavour. It's super delicious and can be made into a healthy, filling meal suitable for vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free requirements!

INGREDIENTS:
- 200g sweet potato noodles (available in Woolies/Coles and Asian grocers)
- 250g rump steak, or your choice of beef cut - sliced into equally thin pieces [if making for vegetarians/vegans, use tofu! Or omit completely]
- 3-4 sprigs of spring onion, cut up into 3-4cm long strips
- An assortment of vegetables - I use carrots, sh*ttake mushrooms, red capsicum, choy sum

BEEF MARINADE:
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine (mirin)
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp corn starch

SAUCE:
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/8 tsp ground white pepper

METHOD:
1. Cook sweet potato noodles as per package instructions. Drain, then rinse under cold water to prevent further cooking. I also coat with a little sesame oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
2. Marinade beef for at least 30mins
3. Stir fry vegetables in 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable/other oil. Cook vegetables to your preference of crunchiness/softness
4. Add the beef to the pan and stir fry until cooked
5. Add the noodles into the pan
6. Add the SAUCE and stir fry all ingredients for a further 1-2mins
7. Serve warm, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Enjoy! 😊

|| Sushi ||

These warm Summer days have me craving for something light and fresh for lunches - and what better than some sushi!

Sushi is a great versatile meal - you can make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free... all with your own choices of fillings! I love mine with smoked salmon, fresh avo (taking advantage of the avo season!) and cucumber - served with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger.

INGREDIENTS:
- Nori sheets (usually 10 in each packet)
- 2 cups of sushi rice
- 6 tbsp sushi seasoning (or substitute with: 6 tbsp rice vinegar, 4.5 tbsp sugar, 4.5 tbsp salt to taste)

Filling options:
- 300g smoked salmon
- 1 lebanese cucumber (or 1/2 continental cucumber)
- 1 avocado

(You can of course use other fillings!)

Full recipe on the website :) Enjoy!

|| Chilli Oil Wontons ||

A favourite in my household, this is a super flavoursome, addictive dish. Wontons are so versatile - you can boil them and just drizzle chilli oil like this dish, or use them for soups, or deepfry them. You can also freeze them to use later!

< INGREDIENTS >
• 50 - 60 wonton wrappers
Wonton filling:
• 250 g lean pork mince
• 200 g peeled prawns / shrimp , roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger , finely grated
• ¼ cup finely sliced spring onion
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sesame oil, toasted (Note 4)
• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 egg

Swipe ➡️ to see the chilli oil I purchase from Asian grocers for this dish!

Full recipe on my website 😊

|| Happy New Year! ||

Wow, where did 2020-2021 go?? I think this year will be alllll about catching up on lost time. What are your goals, plans and dreams for 2022? 😊

I've been working on more content for this page, so keep an eye out for a lot more food inspo and recipes coming your way!

Hope you've all enjoyed your holidays so far, and wish you all the best for this year!

(Pics taken from our TV viewing of: Sydney Fireworks @ Sydney Harbour Bridge; Melbourne Fireworks @ Bolton Bridge)

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Hope you all have an amazing time celebrating with friends and family 🥰

Thank you to everyone who's shown support so far for "Bendigo Cooking Channel". I've been taking some time to rest during my annual leave after a busy year, hence the delay in uploading content recently. Stay tuned for much more consistent content when I return from my break! 😊

|| Vegetarian Singapore Noodles ||

An easy, healthy and highly adaptable recipe for noodle-lovers – made with vermicelli, curry powder and ingredients of your choice! Despite the name, this dish is actually a Cantonese creation – originally made for take-out restaurants in Hong Kong. It is traditionally made with Char Siu BBQ pork and prawns, however other versions also use beef, chicken – or in our case, vegetables! This dish can also be made vegan and gluten-free!

Recipe (makes 4) as below.

Sauce:
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (To make this recipe gluten-free – use dry sherry instead)
- 5 tsp curry powder (hot or ordinary)
- 1½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp white pepper (or black pepper)

Noodles:
- 200g dried rice vermicelli noodles
- 5 eggs, beaten
- Garlic, Ginger, Onion and vegetables of your choice!

For the full recipe - please head to our website: https://www.bendigocookingchannel.com/post/vegetarian-singapore-noodles

(Note: I used whatever vegetables I had at home and added celery because I had to use some up - the celery is not part of the usual recipe!)

|| Recipes ||

I've published the recipe from our first cooking class online!

Head to the "Recipes" section on my website: https://www.bendigocookingchannel.com/

Glad to see others making it in their own time - hope you enjoyed the taste of Malaysia!!

Stay tuned for more recipes! 😊

|| Participant Recognition ||

A bit of a delayed post, but one of our registered participants for the last cooking class sent me these beautiful pictures of her take claypot chicken rice & spring onion pancake! How great do these dishes look? 😍

The amazing thing about home cooking is that you can always adjust recipes according to dietary requirements and taste preferences. There's nothing like trying new recipes at home and having a great sense of achievement, especially on the first go! 💯

Thanks for the pics, Sandy, and absolutely amazing effort!

|| Claypot ||

A close-up on the chicken claypot rice that we cooked today!

Even though we may have met disappointment and had to cancel our class due to absences/non-attendances - my friend (who came in person!) ended up having a great time with a private cooking lesson! As someone who called herself "useless" in the kitchen, she found the recipes easy to follow, and enjoyed the meal they produced.

For those who were ready to go, but either had technical or schedule issues, I hope you have a great time with the recipes. Share pics of your final dishes when you're done!

|| Our first cooking class! || ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Mark your diaries for our first cooking class on Saturday 30 October 2021! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Ever heard of "claypot chicken rice"? It's a common meal in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Full of umami flavours, it's a fast dish cooked over charcoal, that is both filling and timeless. The beauty of cooking in a claypot makes it easy for chefs and street vendors to cook 1 serve at a time, and you get a hidden surprise of a crispy rice layer! But claypots are hard to come by in Australia, so we will learn how to cook the dish using standard pans or pots!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Also, we will be making a cheat version of spring onion pancakes. Chinese spring onion/green onion/scallion/chives pancakes (cong yung bing, 葱油饼) are a Chinese savoury snack that's crispy, flaky, chewy and great as an entree or side dish. Usually, making it from scratch involves resting time for the dough. To cut it short for this class, we will be using store-bought puff pastry!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Some of the ingredients needed for the class: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce ("kecap manis"), sesame oil, Chinese Shaoxing wine, sh*ttake mushrooms (dried), chinese sausage ("lap cheong"), long grain/jasmine white rice and store-bought puff pastry (without butter, if possible). Head into your local shops to start gathering ingredients, if you don't already have them!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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P.S. You can make it vegetarian or vegan by using vegan-based sauces.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To register for the class, head to: https://forms.gle/fmpUWDZTPLVSN3CH7 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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(Image credit)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
- Shi Yue Tian Claypot Chicken Rice Shop, in Puchang, Malaysia. Picture from funntaste.com ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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|| Mayak Eggs ||

(Head to my Instagram for the full instruction video!)

Whenever I want to make a super flavoursome, quick and easy recipe for my meal prep, I make some "Mayak Eggs". In Korean, it translates to "drug eggs" - because this dish is so addictive!

Try out this unique take on soft-boiled eggs. I make food for hungry eaters, so adjust ratios to what you need 😊

Ingredients (Makes 12 eggs):
- 12 eggs
- 1 green & red chilli (optional)
- 6 cloves of garlic (or more)
- 6-8 spring onion
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Method:
1) Finely slice/chop chilli, garlic, spring onion
2) To make the marinade: Add sugar, water and soy sauce. Add chilli, garlic and spring onion
3) To cook the eggs: Boil water with salt and vinegar (makes it easier to peel the eggs). Turn heat to a simmer. Boil eggs for 5-6mins depending on how you like them, how many eggs you cook and how strong your stove is.
4) Transfer cooked eggs to an ice bath. Peel slowly. Then add to he marinade
5) Marinade for at least 6 hours, im the fridge.
6) Serve eggs over warm rice with extra sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil.

|| Chopsticks ||

Did you know chopsticks can be made from gold, silver or jade? Or that there's a difference between Chinese, Korean and Japanese chopsticks?

Have a listen to this short TED talk to find out more!

https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_8_lee_why_1_5_billion_people_eat_with_chopsticks/

(Image credits: https://www.restaurantware.com/do-you-really-know-chopsticks/)

|| Staple Ingredients ||

Though each recipe will be different, there are some staples to have when cooking Asian cuisine - most, if not all, are used in every recipe!

Most of these are readily available in common supermarkets, some may be found in specialty Asian stores (marked *).

- Rice - longgrain or jasmine white rice is most widely used.
- Regular/light soy sauce - doesn't darken dishes
- Dark soy sauce - adds dark colour to dishes
- Oyster sauce - vegan version: mushroom oyster sauce
- Cornstarch - used to thicken all types of sauces
- Sesame oil - adds fragrance to dishes. Best version to buy: toasted sesame oil.
- Ground white pepper - ain't no black pepper used in Asian cuisine!
- Chinese Shaoxing wine* - optional, though useful to add extra depth to many dishes. Can often be substituted by chicken stock, though won't be the same!

Other optionals include:
- Dark sweet soy sauce ("kecap manis")
- Hoisin sauce
- Chicken stock or vegetable stock cubes/powder
- Minced/chopped garlic (to avoid food wastage, I often have a jar of this in the fridge. It lasts a lot longer and you don't have to worry about chopping cloves!)
- Minced ginger (again, to avoid food wastage, I often have a jar of this in the fridge.)

(Image credit: thewoksoflife.com)

|| Gallery ||

Just some of the dishes that might make an apearance in upcoming cooking classes!

We will be focussing on dishes that are popular in various countries in Asia, but may not yet be commonplace in Bendigo... or Victoria in general!

Hope you're as excited as I am for this journey!

Head to the website for more info, link in bio 😊

|| Coming soon! ||

An interactive, virtual cooking program that takes you on a culinary journey through Asia.

And with all the recent restrictions and lockdowns, who doesn't miss the idea of travel?

Head to the website to learn more!

Logo credit:

Bendigo Cooking Channel updated their website address.