Egg Sandos
Ingredients
Serves 6 sandwiches
7 eggs, room temperature (we recommend free-range eggs for their vibrant colour)
¼ cup (60 ml) Kewpie (Japanese) mayonnaise
1 tbsp (15 ml) whipping cream
salt and pepper, to taste
12 slices Asian milk bread, crusts removed (can also substitute white sandwich loaf)
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Gently add eggs, then bring water back to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 6½ minutes. Meanwhile, prepare two ice bath bowls. Remove 3 eggs after the 6½ minutes and place in one ice bath. Cook remaining 4 eggs for 2 more minutes (8½ minutes total), then remove and place in other ice bath.
- Once cooled, peel eggs.
- In a bowl, mash the four 8½ minute eggs, then mix with mayonnaise, cream, salt and pepper.
- Lay out 6 slices of bread. Cut the three 6½ minute eggs in half lengthwise, and lay each half cut-side down in middle of a slice of bread.
- Evenly divide egg salad between slices of bread with egg halves, and spread it out to the edges. Top with remaining slices of bread. Cut each sandwich in half and serve.
Drink Pairings
Miso Tuna Salad
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
2 x 5-oz (140 g) cans tuna in water, drained
1 tsp (5 ml) miso
¼ cup (60 ml) Kewpie (Japanese) mayonnaise
½ tsp (2.5 ml) mirin
salt and pepper, to taste
2 mini cucumbers, cut into 2-in (5 cm) sticks
1 green onion, thinly sliced
½ tsp (2.5 ml) sesame seeds
1 avocado, sliced, to serve
12 pieces roasted seaweed snacks, to serve
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine tuna, miso, mayonnaise, mirin, salt and pepper.
- Transfer tuna salad to a serving plate. Top with cucumber, green onion and sesame seeds and serve with avocado and roasted seaweed. To eat, wrap some tuna salad and avocado in a piece of seaweed.
Drink Pairings
Chicken Karaage
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
1 lb (454 g) skin-on, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-in (5 cm) pieces
2 tbsp (30 ml) tamari
½ tsp (2.5 ml) sesame oil
1 tbsp (15 ml) sake
1 tbsp (15 ml) mirin
½-in (1.25 cm) piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
vegetable oil, for frying
½ cup (125 ml) potato starch
3 tbsp (45 ml) mochiko (sweet rice) flour
1 tbsp (15 ml) shichimi togarashi spice mix
julienned green onion, for garnish
¼ cup (60 ml) Kewpie ( Japanese) mayonnaise, to serve
½ lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
Japanese takuan pickles, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix chicken together with tamari, sesame oil, sake, mirin and ginger. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, ideally 1 to 2 hours.
- In a wok or high-sided, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2-in (5 cm) vegetable oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 F (190 C). Meanwhile, prepare a wire cooling rack with a sheet pan underneath.
- Drain chicken in a colander and discard marinade. In a small bowl, combine potato starch and mochiko flour. Coat chicken in starch mix, shaking off excess, then set aside on a plate.
- Fry chicken in small batches, turning halfway through, until golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 165 F (74 C), about 5 to 7 minutes per batch.
- Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi, then garnish with green onion and serve with mayonnaise, lemon wedges and pickles (if using).
Drink Pairings
Mai Tai
Ingredients
Serves 1
2 oz (60 ml) Appleton Estate Signature Rum
½ oz (15 ml) Cointreau
¾ oz (22 ml) lime juice
1 oz (30 ml) orgeat (Almond syrup with orange blossom water or rose water, available at specialty stores or online)
mint sprig, for garnish
“spent” lime shell or seasonal fruit, for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker with cubed ice, combine rum, Cointreau, lime juice and orgeat. Shake well and strain over crushed ice into a double old-fashioned or tall glass. Garnish with mint and a “spent” lime shell or seasonal fruit.
Featuring
NEGRONI
Ingredients
Serves 1
1 oz (30 ml) Gordon's London Dry Gin
1 oz (30 ml) Cinzano Rosso Vermouth
1 oz (30 ml) Campari
orange twist, for garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing glass with cubed ice, combine gin, vermouth and Campari. Stir for approximately 30 seconds to chill and dilute. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and garnish with an orange twist.
Featuring
BLOODY MARY
Ingredients
Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) Grey Goose Vodka
4 oz (120 ml) tomato juice
½ oz (15 ml) lemon juice
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 pinch each salt and pepper
celery stick, for garnish
lemon wedge, for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine all ingredients and gently rotate shaker to mix. Do not shake, as the aeration and extra dilution will change the consistency. Strain over new ice into a chilled hurricane or Collins glass and garnish with a celery stick and lemon wedge.
Featuring
OSMANTHUS JELLIES
Ingredients
Serves 6 jellies
2 tsp (10 ml) Agar Agar powder
2 cups (500 ml) water
2 tbsp (30 ml) osmanthus flowers
3 tbsp (45 ml) honey
1 tbsp (15 ml) goji berries, rehydrated in hot water for 10 minutes then drained
6 shiso leaves, to serve
edible gold leaf, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk together agar agar and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Whisk in osmanthus flowers and honey and allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Mix in goji berries.
- Pour mixture into 2¾-in (7 cm) domed silicon moulds and allow to set in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or until mixture is firm and can be turned out.
- Turn jellies out onto a plate. Place each jelly on a shiso leaf on a serving platter and garnish with edible gold leaf, if using. Jellies can be made a day ahead and kept in moulds, or stored in an airtight container. Serve cold.
Drink Pairings
STIR-FRIED RICE CAKES WITH PRAWNS
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
1 tsp (5 ml) cornstarch
1 tsp (5 ml) Shaoxing cooking wine, divided
1 tsp (5 ml) salt, divided
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar, divided
½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground white pepper, divided
5 oz (140 g) pork shoulder, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
5 oz (140 g) sustainable prawns, deveined
½ bunch choy sum, cut into 1-in (2.5 cm) pieces, blanched and shocked in ice water
15 oz (425 g) flat rice cakes (found at any Asian market)
2 tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce
2 tbsp (30 ml) oyster sauce
1 tsp (5 ml) sesame oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine cornstarch, cooking wine, salt, sugar, pepper and pork shoulder. Allow to marinate for ½ hour.
- Heat a wok over high heat. Add vegetable oil and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add pork shoulder in a single layer and allow it to sit until bottom has browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn meat over to cook other side for about 2 minutes.
- Add prawns and choy sum and stir-fry for another minute or two, or just until prawns start to turn pink. Add rice cakes, soy sauce and oyster sauce and stir-fry until everything is combined. Cover with a lid and cook just until rice cakes are soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add sesame oil and mix to combine. Serve on a warm platter.
Drink Pairings
LONG LIFE NOODLES WITH MUSHROOMS
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
¼ cup (60 ml) oyster sauce
¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
3 tbsp (45 ml) sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil
1 tbsp (15 ml) butter
2 tbsp (30 ml) minced garlic
1 cup (250 ml) shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
1 x 15 oz (425 g) can straw mushrooms, halved
1 cup (250 ml) Chinese chives, cut into 1-in (2.5 cm) pieces
2 tbsp (30 ml) Shaoxing cooking wine
1 x 10½ oz (300 g) package yi mein noodles
2 green onions, julienned
Instructions
- Cook yi mein according to package instructions and drain well. Set aside.
- Mix together oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Set aside.
- Heat a wok over high heat. Add vegetable oil, butter and garlic and stir-fry just until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add shiitake and straw mushrooms and stir-fry until cooked and lightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add chives and stir-fry just until chives are cooked, about 1 minute.
- Add cooking wine and mix, then add yi mein and sauce mixture. Stir-fry until noodles are hot and evenly mixed with sauce.
- Transfer noodles to a warm serving platter and garnish with green onions.
Drink Pairings
VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS
Ingredients
Serves 12 spring rolls
2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus extra for deep frying
2 garlic cloves, minced
½-in (1.25 cm) knob ginger, minced
1 carrot, julienned
½ cup (125 ml) julienned green cabbage
1 tbsp (15 ml) cornstarch
1 tbsp (15 ml) water
8 pieces wood ear fungus, soaked for 20 minutes in hot water, then julienned
¼ cup (60 ml) canned julienned bamboo shoots, drained
1 tbsp (15 ml) oyster sauce
3 tsp (15 ml) + 1 tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce, divided
¼ tsp (1 ml) sesame oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 package 8-in (20 cm) spring roll wrappers*
1 tsp (5 ml) rice vinegar
1 tbsp (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
2 green onions, julienned
1 handful cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a medium frying pan or wok with a lid, stir-fry garlic and ginger in vegetable oil over high heat just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add carrot and cabbage and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add a splash of water and cover with a lid. Cook until vegetables are just tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix cornstarch with water to make a slurry. Set aside. Remove lid and continue cooking until liquid has evaporated, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp (5 ml) cornstarch slurry and mix until vegetables are glossy looking. Set remaining slurry aside. Transfer vegetables to a medium mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 1 hour, until vegetables are cold.
- Remove cooled vegetables from fridge and mix in wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots, oyster sauce, 1 tsp (5 ml) soy sauce, sesame oil and salt and pepper to taste.
- When ready to roll, stir remaining cornstarch slurry. Place 1 spring roll wrapper on a flat surface, so it looks like a diamond, with a corner pointing towards you. Spoon about 2 tbsp (30 ml) filling on wrapper corner closest to you.
- Fold wrapper away from you and over filling, then fold right and left corners towards the centre, over the filling. Continue rolling, away from you, until spring roll looks like an open envelope. Dip your finger into cornstarch slurry and paint top edges with it, like an envelope seal. Finish rolling spring roll away from you and press gently to seal. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
- At this point, spring rolls can either be cooked, or frozen for up to 1 month. To freeze, arrange in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze overnight, then transfer to a freezer bag. Spring rolls must be fried from frozen; do not defrost before frying.
- To fry spring rolls, fill a small or medium pot with 2 to 3-in (5 to 8 cm) vegetable oil. Heat oil over medium heat until it reaches 325 F (170 C).
- Fry spring rolls in small batches, ensuring they do not touch, or they will stick together. Roll spring rolls over while frying to brown evenly on all sides. Fry until golden brown; time will vary depending on size of pot, but filling is already cooked, so you are just looking for colour and ensuring filling is hot. Once done, remove to a paper towel to drain, and repeat with remaining spring rolls.
- To make dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix together remaining soy sauce, rice vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Serve spring rolls with dipping sauce and garnish with green onion and cilantro.
- * One package of spring roll wrappers usually contains 24. Recipe only uses 12; however, extras are useful in case a wrapper breaks when rolling.