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If you are not familiar with South East Asian restaurant cuisine, a good way to ease your way into the cuisines of Southeast Asia is to start with the more common recipes and then work your way towards the more spicy, lesser-known dishes
Few things are as rewarding as spoiling your family with a fully paid meal at a restaurant of their choice. With health on many people’s minds, what with covid-19 weakening people’s immune systems, a South East Asian restaurant appeals to many people, This is because the food is lightly prepared with healthy herbs and spices.
Southeast Asian food is characterized by, among other things, stir-fried vegetables, hot chutneys, and oriental spices. The Asian cuisine menu includes everything from strong Thai stews to stylish Japanese sushi. Common to Asian food is that you use fresh ingredients and know-how to balance different flavors with each other. For the most part, it is useful to eat Asian food because it contains just enough protein, not so much fat, a lot of fiber, carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals. You also get a lot of food for little money.
However, apart from food that is enjoyed in restaurants, there is also typical snack- or street food that you can also buy on the go. One of these is the wonderfully sweet Martabak Manis. It is a thick, sweet pancake, filled with decadent chocolate, roasted peanuts, cheddar cheese, and condensed milk.
All-Purpose Kitchen Equipment In Asian Restaurants
If you were to visit a South East Asian restaurant, you can expect that the kitchen there will be built around the likes of a wood fire, a cleaver, a wok, mortar and pestle, and always kitchen equipment that is able to cook rice in. Most times in a modern south east Asian restaurant, there will be an electric rice steamer.
Mostly, South East Asian restaurants have food that is cooked in a wok. This is an all-purpose pan where you can boil, deep-fry, Blanche, and steam foods. Some foods on a South East Asian restaurant menu such as satay will be grilled directly over the fire.
This is a Malaysian and Indonesian dish that consists of small pieces of meat that are grilled on a skewer. With it, you will get a spicy sauce that will have peanuts in it or maybe some peanut butter will be part of the ingredients. It is a dish that can be ready in 30 minutes.
When food is prepared in a wok, it is usually cut into small pieces that are all the same size to speed up cooking time. Mortars and pestles are used to create the many different spices and marinades that make the food so tasty.
Southeast Asian cuisine is well known and those who travel to southeast Asia always attract visitors to try the spicy treats. After all, good food is always a top priority of any trip as the food gives you a taste of the country’s culture.
There are, of course, many varied influences with Southeast Asian cuisine so you will, in all likelihood, experience Malaysian, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, and Laos influences.
Asian Cuisine Menu
The cuisine is a style of cooking that is unique to a particular culture. As Asia is the biggest continent in the world, it will be interesting to know what foods people there eat. The enormous population is not distributed evenly, and this can be put down to climatic conditions.
There is a large concentration of people in western Asia as well as in the Indian subcontinent and also the eastern half of China. Some areas of Asia have such harsh climates that agricultural activity with the growing of fruits and vegetables is limited.
Apart from the differences in the various areas of Asia, all the varieties of Asian foods share some common ingredients. Many other countries have opened restaurants with an Asian cuisine menu so that people can enjoy the popular food that is known for its spicy flavors.
Asian food is a growing trend in many western countries and they offer consumers a whole lot of original and slight deviations of Asian food so that everyone can have a taste of Asian cuisine.
Tasty Asian Ingredients
You are always going to find ingredients such as rice, garlic, onions, ginger, and others. In a South East Asian restaurant, you will find that you have the option to have your food steamed, boiled, or fried. You can be sure that in every South East Asian restaurant, you will be able to choose a dish with rice. After all, rice is a staple ingredient in Asian food but you will find some different varieties in different regions.
Long-grain rice is popular in China while Basmati is more popular in the subcontinents.
Vegan Asian Recipes
Veganism is so widespread that every South East Asian restaurant knows that to attract customers, they will need to work with vegan Asian recipes to come out with wonderful, appealing dishes.
Asia has many common vegetables and these include vegetables that many of us are familiar with such as spinach, squash, celery, cauliflower, cucumbers, radish, beans, potatoes, onions, and others.
You will find in Asian restaurants that asparagus is considered a delicacy. There are many fruits and vegetables that are less familiar such as Mung beans, Lotus flowers, Durian, Rose Apple, and others.
These vegetables and fruit are an important part of the cuisine of Southeast Asia. When you eat out at a restaurant in Southeast Asia, you will, in all likelihood, come across a bowl of vegan laksa, which is one of the popular vegan Asian recipes. Laksa is a noodle soup with a coconut-based spiced broth. It is pure vegan and will include things such as fresh herbs, beans, tofu puffs, and eggplant. You can be sure of delicious flavors.
Many people can’t resist pasta in all its many forms and a great vegan Asian recipe is Ginger Garlic Noodles. The recipe is packed full of nutritious ingredients, such as –
- Garlic
- Turmeric
- Coriander
- Ginger
- Chives
- Lime
- Mushrooms
- Sesame seeds
- Soy sauce
- Red pepper
- Rice noodles
- Vegetable stock
- Sweet chili sauce
It is such a simple recipe, too, and includes heating sesame oil in a wok over medium heat and then adding in the chopped garlic, ginger, turmeric, and coriander. Next is to add the chopped mushrooms, soy sauce, and lime juice. You sizzle this in the wok until the mushrooms are nicely cooked.
Next is to add salt and pepper to saute for just a minute, and then add the noodles and stock. You can then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the chives and save some of the chives to sprinkle on the top.
But what about a sushi bowl recipe? It is filled with ingredients such as vegetables, basmati rice, sesame oil, white wine vinegar, and smoked salmon. From vegetable curries to satay, when you head to South East Asian restaurants, you will get inspiration from their menu, and the exotic twist will have you wanting to try many of these recipes at home.
Instant Pot Asian Recipes
Electric pressure cookers are Instant Pots where heat is created under a tightly sealed lid. The steam can’t escape out the pot and it cooks the food at a quick rate – far quicker than your regular stove. There are many popular instant pot Asian recipes.
There is some food such as a brisket that can be cooked and ready to eat in less than an hour. This is good news when you visit South East Asian restaurants and you want something totally delicious that would not take ages to prepare.
Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken is the perfect, delicious example of an instant pot Asian recipe. It is finger-licking delicious and the pressure cooker chicken recipe dish will ensure the most tender pieces of chicken that are covered in sweet sticky sauce.
Instant pot Asian recipes like this are quick and easy and will require you to sauté your onion and garlic, brown the chicken, and then include your sauce ingredients. The Honey Sesame sauce is made with ketchup, honey, sesame oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch with water.
You set the cooking time for just 3 minutes at high pressure. After releasing pressure, you stir in your other ingredients and you end up with a wonderfully tender moist chicken coated in sticky honey-sesame sauce.
Southeast Asia cuisine is for anyone who loves food and enjoys eating. You can see that with many countries involved, you are going to get a really interesting mix of flavors and an attractive presentation of different colors and cultures.
Pork is a popular meat dish in Southeast Asian food and yet in Malaysia and Indonesia, you will see how Islam has seen the disappearance of pork from the diet. Pork is by far the most consumed meat and those people who own pigs are considered to be wealthy. Pig fat is useful for frying vegetables.
Asia is such a large, populous continent, but it is home to many cultures. Ingredients common in these cultures in this particular region are ginger, garlic, onions, chilies, soy, tofu, and sesame seeds. Rice is also a popular food with most Asian cuisines. Delicious curries too are a common dish in the region.
It is interesting to note that traditional South East Asian recipes include Chinese cuisine with Indian herbs and spices. Most southeast Asia meals are served in such a way that the dishes are all set on the table and you help yourself to a little bit of everything.
There will nearly always be long-grain white rice. You can say that a typical Southeast Asian meal is made up essentially of vegetables, rice, and broth with some protein. You can expect things such as rice, grilled fish, and pickled vegetables. You would not often find a dessert at the end of your meal as this kind of treat is usually reserved for special occasions such as weddings.
When you go to a South East Asian restaurant, you will find these kinds of foods on the menu –
- Salads
- Stir fry leafy greens
- Spring rolls
- Peanut sauce
- Curries
- Coconut tapioca soup
- Nuoc cham – a sweet lime and fish sauce
- Rice noodle soups
- Satay – grilled, skewered morels
Easy Asian Recipes
If you are traveling to Asia on holiday with kids, you do not have to be worried about introducing them to a whole lot of new flavors. With tasty, easy Asian recipes, you can be sure that they will love the different dishes right away. If you want to ensure that your kids get their share of vegetables, you may want to try the tasty, child-friendly san choy bau. It is a delicious snack for kids with lettuce leaves holding a delicious mix of pork and vegetables.
When it comes to Southeast Asian cuisine, easy Asian recipes can be had at all kinds of restaurants – even those cafe-type restaurants where you are likely to come across plastic chairs and plastic table cloths. Some of these easy Asian recipes are even available from street carts. One thing is sure, your Asian cuisine is always packed full of flavor.
Asian Cuisine Is Sought In Many Other Countries
Many countries of the world have seen a variety of Asian-inspired flavors and dishes being added to their regular menus. You will see broths, soba noodles, chicken, and pork with interesting vegetable toppings.
There are lots of South East Asian restaurants that have opened too because of the interest in Asian cuisines. Covid-19 has brought about a huge food delivery industry too, and Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese flavors and foods are always on the menu.
But not only that, but these food delivery services from South East Asian restaurants are also aware of the need for health and they are highlighting leaner meats and instead of just fried foods, they are including grilling too.
Just because they are healthy, it does not for one minute mean the food is boring, what with all the wonderful Asian sauces and spices there are. Once you have experienced Asian cuisine, you will want to shout about it to your friends and family.
