Week 3 Term 3 – 22 June 2026

Why methods?

We teach techniques, not recipes – because techniques are the building blocks of great cooking.  All our chefs are either trade qualified or Le Cordon Bleu trained, and we teach the way we were taught – using a ‘see it, do it’ model.  This means that for most classes our chef instructors use ‘running demos’ where they show you the skill and then you copy it – with assistance from your instructor as needed.   And in our express classes you will cook at the same time as the chef, following their lead.   We will give you an ingredients list and a method for each class, but you do not have to use it.

Our chefs will explain patiently and walk you through each class.   And if your dish doesn’t work out, that is OK – we run most classes 3 or 4 times a week so you can always come and try again!  Failure is part of learning.

Use these methods below to practice at home.

Prawn and crab dumpling soup 

This recipe is based on one by Terry and Christopher Tan, whose cookbook Singapore Cooking is excellent.

1 x 650ml container

1 x 350ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Small saucepan
  • Medium saucepan
  • Strainer
  • Teaspoon
  • Bowl
  • Small bowl
  • Small piece cling wrap

Ingredients

Broth

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp ikan bilis or dried baby anchovies

Dumplings

  • 40g pork mince
  • 25g prawns, shelled
  • 25g crab meat (tinned is fine, fresh is better)
  • 1 green onion
  • 1 scant tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp cornflour
  • ¼ tsp white pepper
  • ¼ tsp sesame oil
  • 6 dumpling wrappers (keep covered)
  • 1 tbsp water
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Make broth by simmering ikan bilis in water for 10 minutes. Strain and discard ikan bilis.  Set broth aside in jug.  Wash out saucepan.
  3. Make cornflour slurry by adding 1 tsp cornflour to 1 tbsp water in a small bowl.
  4. Finely slice the green onion tops (if taking home, wrap in clingwrap).
  5. Finely chop the green onion whites.
  6. Mince prawn meat by chopping very finely.
  7. Mix together in a bowl:
    • pork mince
    • minced prawn meat
    • chopped whites of the green onions
    • 1 tsp soy sauce
    • 1 tsp cornflour
    • ¼ tsp white pepper
    • Half the sesame oil
  8. Fill dumpling wrappers:
    • Put a heaped teaspoon of filling onto each wrapper.
    • Fold in half (triangle or semicircle, depending on what shaped wrapper you are using).
    • Seal edges with a bit of cornflour slurry.
    • Set aside.
  9. Boil dumplings in boiling water until they float. Drain and transfer to stock saucepan (or to takehome container if taking home).
  10. Add remaining soy sauce and sesame oil to the stock. Put in takehome container if taking home. 
  11. Plate (or into container):
    • Add warmed dumplings to reheated stock.
    • Top with sliced green onion tops.
  12. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

 

Soy braised chicken with pandan rice (v – replace chicken with steamed eggplant)

1 x 650ml container

1 x 350ml container if you would like to take home the braising liquid

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • 2 small saucepans with lid
  • Spoon
  • Tongs
  • Probe thermometer

Ingredients 

  • 90g jasmine rice
  • 100ml coconut milk
  • 90ml water
  • 1 pandan leaf tied in a knot
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp cooking caramel OR 1 tbsp neutral vegetable oil plus 1 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 chicken thigh cutlet (skin on, bone in)
  • 500ml water
  • 3 tbsp dark soy
  • 2 cm galangal or ginger
  • ¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ cucumber
  • 1 stalk green onion
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Caramelise chicken: Make caramel for chicken:
    • Heat cooking caramel in bottom of small saucepan (if making caramel, heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp sugar in saucepan until a golden brown caramel forms).
    • Add chicken and roll to coat. (If making caramel, it will spit – place lid on quickly to cover after adding chicken).
  3. Make braising liquid by adding the following to the chicken:
    • 500ml water
    • 3 tbsp dark soy
    • 2 cm galangal or ginger, cut into 4 pieces
    • ¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder
    • ¼ tsp salt
  4. Cook chicken:
    • Bring braising liquid to boil, then turn down to a bare simmer.
    • Cover and cook 10 minutes.
    • Turn and cook for a further 10 minutes.
    • Chicken should be tender but not falling apart. There should be no pink.  Check internal temp is 75 degrees.
    • Turn off heat and steep for a further 10 minutes.
  5. While chicken is cooking, prepare rice:
    • Add 90g jasmine rice to saucepan and rinse until water runs clear (usually 3 changes of water).
    • Add:
        i. 100ml coconut milk
        ii. 90ml water
        iii. 1 pandan leaf tied in a knot
        iv. ¼ tsp salt
  • Simmer over medium heat until small steam holes appear in the surface of the rice.
  • Cover saucepan with lid, reduce heat to minimum and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Rest for 15 minutes to finish steaming.
  1. While rice is cooking, prepare vegetables:
    • Slice cucumber.
    • Very finely slice green onion, keeping green tops separate from the white stalk.
  2. Clean down.
  3. When chicken has cooked, place all but ½ a cup of the sauce into a takehome container if you wish to reuse it. Reduce ½ a cup of the sauce over high heat until thickened (about 5 minutes). 
  4. Plate (or into container):
    • rice moulded;
    • chicken around rice;
    • pour sauce over chicken;
    • pour sesame oil over sauce;
    • garnish with cucumber and green onion.
  5. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

 

Notes:

  • Keep the leftover braising sauce in the freezer and use again to braise chicken, duck, pork or beef.
  • You can cook the pandan rice in a rice cooker. If making 2 portions, do not add any more pandan leaf.  If making 4 portions, add one more pandan leaf.

Mee goreng with prawns (v – replace prawns with firm tofu) 

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Wok
  • Spatula

Ingredients 

  • 1 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 stalk green onion
  • 70g peeled prawns (or poached chicken) (v – 100g firm tofu)
  • 80g dried egg noodles
  • ½ cup bean sprouts
  • 30g Chinese greens
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 5 tbsp sambal oelek
  • 1 small tomato
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tsp fried shallots
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Cook egg noodles according to packet instructions and set aside to cool, coated with a little vegetable oil so the noodles do not stick together.
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    • Mince garlic.
    • Pull threads off bean sprouts.
    • Cut Chinese greens into bite sized pieces.
    • Very finely slice green onion, keeping green tops separate from the white stalk.
  4. Stir fry
    • Heat oil in the wok.
    • Stirfry garlic and whites of green onion for 30 seconds until fragrant.
    • Add prawns, noodles, beansprouts and greens. Turn up heat and stirfry, moving vigorously, for 2 minutes.
    • Add water, sambal oelek, tomatoes and salt. Continue to stirfry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  5. Add egg
    • Move mee to side of wok.
    • Crack egg into the base of the wok and quickly scramble until just set.
    • Combine mee with egg.
  6. Plate (or into container) and top with dark soy sauce, fried shallots and sliced green onion tops.
  7. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Note:  to make rendered chicken fat, cut all reserved fat into small pieces.  Add w 1 tbsp cold water into a small pot.  Cook gently until water has evaporated and fat is rendered from skin.

Hainanese chicken rice (v – replace chicken with mushroom)

This recipe is based on one by Terry and Christopher Tan, whose cookbook Singapore Cooking is excellent.

1 x 650ml container

1 x 350ml container

2 x 100ml containers

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Wok
  • Medium saucepan with lid
  • Strainer
  • Bowl
  • 2 small containers
  • Blender
  • Rice cooker

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 chicken thigh cutlet (v – mix of fresh and dried Asian mushrooms)
  • 1 litre water
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 x 5mm slices ginger
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Rice

  • 1 tbsp rendered chicken fat (chef to provide)
  • 100g jasmine rice
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 10g ginger
  • ¼ golden shallot
  • ½ pandanus leaf
  • ½ tsp salt

Chilli sauce

  • 1 large red chilli
  • 1 red birdseye chilli
  • 1 small clove garlic
  • 5g ginger
  • Fat pinch sugar
  • Fat pinch salt
  • ½ lime

Ginger sauce

  • 25g ginger
  • 1 tsp oil 

Garnish

  • 1 tbsp fried shallots
  • Small handful coriander leaves
  • 3 slices cucumber
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Poach chicken:
    • Cut off all fat (reserve to make rendered chicken fat).
    • Half fill medium saucepan with water and add 2 cloves whole garlic and 2 x 5 mm slices of ginger.
    • Bring to a rolling boil.
    • Add chicken and simmer 10 minutes.
    • Cover and stand for 20 minutes.
  3. While chicken is simmering/standing, prepare vegetables:
    • Grate 1 clove garlic.
    • Grate all ginger and separate into approx. 5 g, 10g and 25g.
    • Grate golden shallot.
  4. Prepare rice:
    • Heat 1 tbsp chicken fat in a wok – do not allow to smoke.
    • Stir fry garlic, 10g ginger, grated shallot for about 30 seconds, do not allow to burn.
    • Add rice and stirfry until grans are translucent.
    • Transfer to rice cooker, add pandanus leaves and salt.
    • Add stock from chicken pot until covers rice to a depth of one knuckle.
    •  
  5. Make ginger sauce by mixing oil, 25g grated ginger and 1 tsp chicken stock.
  6. Make chilli sauce by blending the following to a paste:
    • 1 large red chilli
    • 1 red birdseye chilli
    • 1 small clove garlic
    • 5g ginger
    • Fat pinch sugar
    • Fat pinch salt
    • Juice of ½ lime
    • 2 tsp chicken stock
  7. Prepare chicken:
    • When chicken is cooled, remove from stock and rub skin w sesame oil.
    • Chop into bite sized pieces.
  8. Plate (or into container).
  9. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Note:  to make rendered chicken fat, cut all reserved fat into small pieces.  Add w 1 tbsp cold water into a small pot.  Cook gently until water has evaporated and fat is rendered from skin.

Intermediate French – Steak and bearnaise sauce with parsley potatoes and French peas (v – replace steak with roasted eggplant)

1 x 650ml container

1 x 350ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop x 2
  • Frypan
  • Saucepan with lid
  • Bowls x 3
  • Whisk
  • Thermometer
  • Jug
  • Spoon
  • Spatula
  • Clean teatowel

Ingredients

Beef

  • 150g beef fillet (v – 1 medium eggplant, 1 tbsp honey, ¼ lemon, 1 clove garlic, 2 cm piece ginger, 1/2 tsp hot sauce, splash of water)
  • Sprig thyme
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 25g butter

Bearnaise sauce

  • 100g butter
  • 2 peppercorns
  • 2 tbsp tarragon vinegar (or white wine vinegar plus tarragon stalks)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ¼ lemon
  • Handful tarragon

Potatoes

  • 120g baby potatoes
  • 10g butter
  • Handful parsley

French peas

  • 30g smoked bacon
  • Scant half cup of baby peas (frozen is fine, fresh is best in season)
  • 1 iceberg lettuce leaf
  • ½ shallot
  • 10g butter
  • 1 tbsp chicken stock
  • Fat pinch salt
  • Fat pinch sugar
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Turn oven on to 60C, then after 30 minutes turn off but keep closed.
  3. Cook potatoes in salted water until soft. Set aside in bowl in water.  Rinse pan.
  4. Prepare vegetables:
    a. Very finely slice shallot.
    b. Tear lettuce leaf into smallish pieces (about 2cm square).
    c. Very finely chop tarragon and parsley (keep separate).
    d. (v – slice eggplant into 1 cm thick slices, coat with olive oil).
  5. Prepare peas:
    a. Slice bacon thinly.
    b. Fry in saucepan in butter, do not brown.
    c. Add shallot and cook until softened, but do not brown.
    d. Add peas and stock, cover and cook very gently for 10 minutes.
    e. Add lettuce and season, and add pinch of sugar. Cook for approx. 2 more minutes covered until lettuce is gently wilted.
    f. Set aside in bowl.
  6. While peas are cooking, prepare ingredients for bearnaise:
    a. Clarify 100g butter.
    b. Make vinegar reduction (put vinegar, tarragon stalks and peppercorns into saucepan and reduce to about 1 tablespoon).
    c. Separate eggs.
  7. Make bearnaise:
    a. Heat clarified butter and keep warm in a jug.
    b. Make sabayon:

      i. Add egg yolks to vinegar reduction.
      ii. Whisk over a cloth covered saucepan of boiling water until sabayon starts to thicken.

    c. Remove pan and bowl from heat and continue to whisk until ribbon stage.
    d. Replace on heat and pour in hot butter very slowly, whisking until it thickens. When it is thick, stop adding butter (you may not need to add it all).
    e. Finish with salt, lemon juice and tarragon and put in small bowl, covered.
    f. Keep warm at just above body temperature (40 to 45C) – in turned off oven is fine.
    g. Rinse pan.
  8. Cook meat (v – eggplant):a. Truss and season fillet.
    b. Seal in hot frypan with 25g butter, garlic and thyme.
    c. Baste frequently and turn.
    d. Remove at 3 C before target – 55C med rare; 60C med; 65C med well.
    e. Rest under foil while finishing vegetables.
  9. Drain potatoes and toss with 5 g butter and 2 tsp parsley.
  10. Heat peas briefly in pan until warm.
  11. Slice beef against the grain.
  12. Plate potatoes, then peas, then beef (trim if necessary) (v – glazed eggplant), then sauce.
  13. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Mille feuille with crème patissiere

1 x 650ml container

2 x 350ml containers

Note this recipe makes extra crème patissiere for you to try this at home.  All ingredients should be at room temperature before cooking (put them on the bench 30 mins before you want to cook).

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Serrated knife
  • Cooktop
  • Small saucepan
  • 2 small bowls
  • Whisk
  • Jug
  • Spatula
  • 2 piping bags
  • 2 piping tips
  • Baking tray x 2
  • Baking paper

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet butter puff pastry
  • 6 raspberries and 9 blueberries, or 9 strawberries

Crème patissiere

  • 125 ml whole milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 25g caster sugar
  • ½ egg (use the other half for the frangipane below)
  • 15 g cornflour
  • 1 pinch salt

Chantilly cream

  • 60 ml thickened cream
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
  • Icing sugar to taste

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200C.
  2. Gather all ingredients and equipment.
  3. Make butter puff mille feuille sheets:
    • Put pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper.
    • Put on baking tray.
    • Cover with another (heavy) baking tray.
    • Put in oven at 200C for about 15 minutes or until browned
    • Reduce temperature to 180C for 10 further minutes until very crisp.
  4. Prepare crème patissiere:
  • Heat milk and vanilla in small saucepan until nearly boiling.
  • Whisk together in a bowl the sugar, egg, cornflour and salt.
  • Pour a little hot milk mixture onto egg mix and beat. Pour over remaining milk mix.  Rinse saucepan and return combined custard base into saucepan.
  • Cook over medium heat, beating continuously until thickened. Reduce heat a little and continue to cook, beating, until the flour taste is cooked out. 
  • Put in container, cover with baking paper or clingfilm to prevent a skin from forming.
  • Put in fridge.

5. Prepare Chantilly cream by whipping all ingredients together until stiff peaks form.   Bag and refrigerate.

6. Bag crème pat.

7. Fill mille feuille by piping in crème pat, adding berries, and topping with piped whipped cream.

8. Plate.

9. Final clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Double meal prep:

Coq au vin with boiled potatoes (v – replace chicken with mushrooms and eggs)

Soy braised pork with stir fried greens and pandan coconut rice (v – replace pork with tofu and mixed vegetables) 

This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished on the oven or stovetop or reheated in the oven at home.  Please bring:

  1. 2 x 350ml takeaway container for green beans and pandan rice (double if cooking 4 serves/meal).
  2. 1 x 650ml container for potatoes.
  3. 1 x 100ml container for beurre manie.
  4. 1 x deep baking tray or casserole dish with a tightfitting lid for braised pork – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.
  5. 1 x deep baking tray or casserole dish with a tightfitting lid for coq au vin – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.

Otherwise, you can buy ‘containers’ packs on our website for a couple of dollars each.

Coq au vin with boiled potatoes (v – replace chicken with mushrooms and eggs)

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Large frypan
  • Tongs
  • Small bowl
  • 5cm piece of string

Ingredients 

  • 1 tbsp EVOO
  • 2 golden shallots
  • 80g middle bacon
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 80g button mushrooms
  • 2 chicken marylands
  • 250ml red wine
  • 4 medium potatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Sprig thyme
  • Sprig sage
  • 10g butter
  • 10g flour
  • Handful parsley
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare potatoes:
    • Boil in salted water (salty like the sea) until the skins just start to split.
    • Put in takehome container with butter and chopped parsley.
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    • Chop parsley leaves (reserve stalks).
    • Peel shallots.
    • Mince garlic.
    • Halve mushrooms.
  4. Chop bacon.
  5. Make beurre manie: mix butter and flour into a paste in a small bowl using the back of a spoon.  Put into small takehome container.
  6. Cook bacon and vegetables:
    • Heat EVOO in frypan.
    • Cook shallots until golden.
    • Add bacon, garlic and mushrooms, cooking until mushrooms are browned and softened.
    • Remove to casserole dish.
  7. Brown chicken:
    • Brown in remaining oil.
    • Remove to casserole dish.
  8. Make and reduce sauce:
    • Put wine in frypan and deglaze.
    • Tie together thyme, parsley stalks and sage and add.
    • Reduce by ¼.
    • Add to casserole dish.
  9. Cover casserole and note cooking instructions.
  10. At home:
    • Cook chicken at 150C for 2 hours (2.5 hours for double portion) or until chicken is starting to fall off the bone.
    • When 20 minutes of cooking time remains, add beurre manie to sauce and mix through. Return to oven.
    • Serve with parsley potatoes.
  11. Quick clean down.

Soy braised pork with stir fried greens and pandan coconut rice (v – replace pork with tofu and mixed vegetables)                    

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Large saucepan with lid
  • Wok
  • Spatula
  • Tongs

Ingredients 

  • 1 bunch Chinese vegetables
  • 1 tbsp chilli oil
  • 180g jasmine rice
  • 200ml coconut milk
  • 180ml water
  • 2 pandan leaves tied in a knot
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp white sugar
  • 400g pork belly (not too fatty)
  • 1l water
  • 3 tbsp dark soy
  • 4 cm galangal
  • ½ tsp Chinese five spice powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare rice:
    a. Add 180g jasmine rice to saucepan and rinse until water runs clear (usually 3 changes of water).
    b. Add:
     i. 200ml coconut milk
     ii. 180ml water
      iii. 2 pandan leaves tied in a knot
      iv. ½ tsp salt
    c. Simmer over medium heat until small steam holes appear in the surface of the rice.
    d. Cover saucepan with lid, reduce heat to minimum and cook for 10 minutes.
    e. Rest for 15 minutes to finish steaming.
    f. Check for seasoning.
    g. Place into takehome container.
  3. Cook Chinese vegies – steam or boil in saucepan until done, rinse under cold water to chill, into takehome container topped with chilli oil.
  4. Cut pork into bite sized pieces.
  5. Make caramel for pork.
    a. Heat 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp sugar in bottom of wok until a golden brown caramel forms.
    b. Add pork and roll to coat.
    c. Add to casserole dish.
  6. Make braising liquid by adding the following to the wok:
    a. 1 l water
    b. 4 tbsp dark soy
    c. 4 cm galangal, cut into 4 pieces
    d. ½ tsp Chinese five spice powder
    e. ½ tsp salt
  7. Bring braising liquid to the boil, reduce by ¼, add sesame oil then add braising liquid to casserole dish.
  8. Add cooking instructions to casserole dish.
  9. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.
  10. At home, cook pork for 2 hours at 150C, covered. Serve pork with rice and greens.

Note:  keep the leftover braising sauce and use again to braise chicken, duck, pork or beef.

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