Articles for the Month of March 2024

Pandan Agar Agar:

1. Add all ingredients to a medium sized pot and gently bring to the boil.
2. Stir to dissolve the sugar and immediately reduce the heat once it reaches a boil. Simmer for 5 mins then pour into a mould (I used a 7”x10” plastic container). Allow to sit at room temperature for half an hour then place in the fridge to set. This will take a few hours.
3. Once set, you can cut your agar agar into blocks and serve.

Coffee Agar Agar:

1. Add all ingredients to a medium sized pot and gently bring to the boil.
2. Stir to mix in the condensed milk and immediately reduce the heat once it reaches a boil. Simmer for 5 mins then pour into a mould (I used a 7”x10” plastic container). Allow to sit at room temperature for half an hour then place in the fridge to set. This will take a few hours.
3. Once set, you can cut your agar agar into blocks and serve.

Real menma requires fermentation but you can use this quick method as the perfect substitute and it still tastes good! Best thing. It takes less than 10 minutes. 

1. Drain and wash the bamboo shoots thoroughly (you can also soak the bamboo in boiling hot water if you want to get rid of the smell before washing it)
2. Pour the sesame oil into the pan and stir fry the bamboo on medium high heat for 2 minutes 
3. Add in sugar and continue stir frying for another 2 minutes, ensuring the sugar coats all the bamboo 
4. Add in chicken stock, soy sauce, chilli oil (optional) and water and stirfry until the water evaporates 
5. Garnish with sesame seeds when serving (toasted for more fragrant aromatics) 

For the marinade: 

1. In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the marinade 
2. Bring to a boil and whisk it a few times to let the sugar dissolve completely. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Set aside to cool completely 

For the eggs: 

1. Heat water (plus a splash of vinegar + salt to easily peel the eggs later) in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Tip: there should be enough water to fully cover the eggs 
2. Once fully boiling, gently lower the eggs into the water. Set a 6 to 6 1/2 minute timer for a runny/custard like egg yolk 
3. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle boil
4. Prepare a bowl with ice and water, and once the timer goes off, immediately take the eggs out and shock them in water for 10 minutes. 

To marinate:

1. Peel the eggs and place them in a small zip lock bag or small airtight container
2. Pour marinade over the eggs, ensuring all the marinade is covering the eggs.
3. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but best overnight! 

1. Slice thin rounds from your radish. Stack the rounds then slice into thick match sticks. Add sugar, water and vinegar and mix to combine. Set aside for 30mins. After this time, your radish would have released a lot of liquid. Strain away this liquid and press through a clean tea towel to remove any excess moisture.
2. Add 1T gochu garu and mix with a gloved hand to coat all the radish pieces.
3. In another bowl, mix together 1T sugar, 1T fish sauce, minced garlic and remaining gochu garu.
4. Add spring onions, garlic chives and prepared radish. Mix everything well together and serve.