Night Market Recipes You Can Make At Home

Social distancing at home and hungry? Let’s get cooking with some night market recipes from countries in Southeast Asia! Bonus: a few you might find at our 626 Night Market event in Arcadia, California!

chinese scallion pancake or 葱油饼 “Cōng Yóu Bǐng”

By Zoey Phoon Kar Yan @zoeypky

👩🏻‍🍳Recreated one of my fav childhood snacks 😋

Recipe extracted from China Sichuan Food

Portions: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 cup unshifted all purpose flour

• 3/4 cup water, 1/2 hot boiling water + 1/3 cold water

• 1 tbsp vegetable cooking oil

• 1 tbsp cooking oil

• 2 cups chopped scallion, use green part only

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp Chinese five spice powder

Sauce

• A mix of white vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, chiles & white pepper. Eyeball it or wait till your ancestors give you a sign 🤪 it was purely an experiment that turned out relish so I couldn’t tell ya the exact figures

Directions:

1. Mix salt with all purpose flour.

2. Prepare a large mixing bowl. Dig a small hole in center and then pour the hot water in. Wait for 10 minutes and then stir in the cold water and vegetable oil. Grasp everything to form a ball, cover and rest for 5 minutes and then knead until very smooth (around 3-5 minutes). The dough should be quite soft. Cover the rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

3. After resting, the dough should be quite easy to roll out. Divide the large dough into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a large around circle. Brush some oil, sprinkle Chinese five spice power and chopped scallion (leave the 1 cm of the edge empty). Roll up the circle into a cylinder. And further roll into the shape of a snail. Cover with wet cloth and rest for 10 to 15 minutes.Roll the snail out to another thin circle.

4. Brush some cooking oil on the pan and move the circle into the pan. Use middle fire to pan-fry until the surface becomes brown around 2-3 minutes. And turn over to fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. Use a spatula to press the circle from time and time especially the central part to ensure the circle is evenly fried.

5. Remove the circle out and cut into wedges.

japanese okonomiyaki (osaka style)

By Jennifer Chow @foodbyjenniferchow

Basically a cabbage pancake - the fillings are super customizable. I think it's all about the kewpie mayo, okonomiyaki and bonito flakes! This one is a shiitake mushroom & cheese filling. I often use shrimp as well. I looooove okonomiyaki and takoyaki but this is way easier to make at home if you don't have a takoyaki pan! PS. these freeze really well! Just wrap in saran wrap once cooked and freeze. Defrost in microwave and top with toppings! PPS. blowtorches are a very fun kitchen tool.

Portions: 3

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 cup dashi (can be substituted for veg stock if vegetarian)

• 2 tbsp milk

• 1/2 head cabbage chopped (1 cm squares)

• 2 eggs

• 2 green onions (sliced)

• 2 tbs pickled ginger (chopped)

• 5 shiitake mushrooms (diced)

Toppings

• Shredded cheddar

• Kewpie mayo

• Okonomiyaki sauce (can be purchased or made by mixing ketchup, sugar, oyster and Worcestershire sauce)

• Bonito flakes

• Aonori (seaweed flakes)

Directions:

1. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder together and stir in dashi. Refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Add in beaten eggs, ginger, mushrooms and green onion. Mix.

3. Fold in cabbage, 1/4 at a time.

4. Heat cast iron with a bit of oil. Put 1/3 of the mixture onto the pan and use a spatula or spoon to shape into a circular shape. If you want pork belly/bacon on your okonomiyaki, this would be the time to add a few slices on top!

5. Put on a lid for approximately 5 minutes. Ensure the bottom is browned. Flip. Ensure the shape is still circular. Cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Top with cheese and cover with lid again to melt (2 minutes).

7. Cover with okonomiyaki sauce and zig zag some kewpie mayonaise on top. Blowtorch (optional but delicious). Add aonori and bonito flakes and any other topping you desire (I used baby onion and some ginger).

Taiwanese oyster omelette 蚵仔煎/蝦仁煎

By Tiffany Chen @ifeedus

Oyster omelette is one of the most iconic street foods in Taiwan. AND SO EASY TO MAKE AT HOME. Oysters can be an acquired taste so it's commonly substituted with shrimp or squid or for a deluxe version a mix of all three. For a vegetarian alternative, it's popular to use straw mushrooms & seaweed. The sauce is called Haishan sauce and it's also used in many Taiwanese dishes like ba-wan and sticky rice.

Ingredients:

• Shrimp or oysters or calamari

• Potato starch to water ratio 1:2.5 (3 spoons of starch is good for 1 serving)

• Pinch of salt, white pepper, rice wine

• 1 egg

• Handful of greens (any greens that are good in stir fry i.e. think bok choy, bean sprouts)

Sauce

• 1 spoon ketchup

• 1 spoon soy sauce

• 1/2 spoon miso

• Sugar to taste

• 1/4 spoon corn starch

• Enough water to cover

Directions:

1. Combine sauce ingredients in a small pot. Heat over medium until the sauce thickens.

2. Cut seafood into bite size pieces and marinade 5 min with rice wine, salt and white pepper.

3. Heat up the pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to thinly coat the bottom of the pan.

4. Add seafood. Pour starch water over the seafood, stir before pouring because the starch will set.

5. Add greens to the side of the pan and let it fry. Crack an egg over the starch and lightly mix. Cover the egg mixture with some greens.

6. Flip when omelette is set. Fry for another minute for a crispier texture.

7. Serve with sauce.

Japanese Takoyaki

By Sirena Kim @openthepantry

Finally got to use my takoyaki pan during isolation. Reminiscing our trip to Japan where we ate takoyaki pretty much every day. I didn't have any octopus at home so I used bacon, cheese and even tried kimchi! Follow my isolation kitchen creations during lockdown in NZ and recipes on Instagram.

Note: I didn't have proper ingredients to make the takoyaki sauce, so I anyhow made my own from things in my pantry and I felt like it tasted pretty similar ☺

Portion: Makes enough for 1 tray

Ingredients:

Batter

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 2 tsp Baking powder

• 1 tsp Soy sauce

• 1 ½ cup of stock

• Pinch salt

• 2 large eggs

• Oil for frying

Takoyaki sauce

• ¼ cup Soy sauce

• ¼ cup Bbq sauce (I used delmaine brand)

• ¼ cup White vinegar

• ¼ cup White sugar

• 2 cubes of chicken stock dissolved in

• ½ cup of hot water

• 2 Tbsp Cornflour dissolved in

• 2 Tbsp cold water

Filling

• Chopped green onion

• Mozzarella

• Chopped pickled red ginger

• Topping

• Takoyaki sauce

• Bonita flake

• Mayonnaise Seaweed flakes

Directions:

1. Make the Takoyaki sauce by adding all the ingredients to a pot and boiling on medium heat for 3 minutes until all the sugar is dissolved and the sauce thickens a little. Then add in the cornflour/water mixture to thicken it up.

2. Prepare the filling and toppings.

3. Make the batter by mixing the egg, stock, salt and soy sauce. Now add in the flour and baking powder until there are no lumps.

4. Heat up the takoyaki pan and brush with oil. Once it is hot enough, not to the point of smoking, add in the batter generously. Add on the fillings and using wooden chopsticks start scraping around the takoyaki holes and squeezing it into the mold.

5. Turn the takoyaki around until golden brown. Take out from the pan, brush on the sauce and toppings and enjoy!

taiwanese black pepper buns, HUJIAOBING

胡椒餅

By Stephanie Chun Yu @stephchunyu

It’s not the prettiest dish but it’s damn good. Hot, crunchy, flakey, juicy and it will 100% burn you when eating.

These black pepper buns are a delicious and addictive snack that you can buy at night markets in Taipei. The vendors stuff an enormous amount of pork and spring onions into the dough before cooking it in a tandoor-like oven. I've never seen them outside Taiwan, so decided to make my own.

It’s essential to use good-quality fresh pepper. Ground pepper is fine, but test that it’s still fragrant by taking a cautious sniff. And you’ll need two skillets – preferably cast iron (not the enamelled type) – to start cooking the buns on the stove top, before they’re baked in the oven. Of course, if you have a tandoor, then you can use that to cook the buns. These are mildly peppery hujiaobing; feel free to add more pepper, if you like a stronger flavour.

Recipe via Susan Jung on the South China Morning Post

Ingredients:

For the filling and jellied stock

• 500 g (18 oz) skin-on pork belly

• 300 g (10½ oz) slightly fatty minced pork

• 10 g (⅓ oz) peeled ginger

• 25 ml (5 tsp) light soy sauce

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) rice wine

• 10 ml (2 tsp) oyster sauce

• 10 ml (2 tsp) sesame oil

• 1½-2 tsp finely ground white pepper

• 1½-2 tsp finely ground black pepper

• 1 tsp granulated sugar

• 1 tsp five-spice powder fine sea salt

• 200-250 g (7-9 oz) spring onions

For the roux

• 40 g (1½ oz) lard

• 65 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour

• ½ tsp fine sea salt

For the dough

• 520 g (4⅛ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

• 15 g (3½ tsp) granulated sugar

• 5 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt

• 60 g (2 oz) lard

To finish the buns

• A little cooking oil

• 50 g (¼ cup) dissolved in 50 ml (3 tbsp and 1 tsp) hot water granulated sugar dissolved in 50ml (3 tbsp and 1 tsp) hot water

• Sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Make the jellied stock. Remove the skin from the pork belly and cut it into thin strips. Dice 300 g (10½ oz) of the pork belly meat and fat into 5 mm (¼ in) cubes and set them aside. Cut the remaining pork belly into chunks and place them in a small saucepan with the skin.

2. Roughly chop the ginger and add it to the pan along with a teaspoon of salt and 200 ml (¾ cup and 1 tbsp) of water. Place the pan over a medium flame and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover partially with the lid and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the pork skin is very soft. Strain the liquid through a colander into a bowl and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until solid, about two hours.

3. While the stock is simmering, put the reserved diced pork belly meat and minced pork into a bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white and black peppers, sugar, five-spice powder and half a tea­spoon of salt. Add this to the pork, mix thoroughly and refrigerate.

4. Make the roux. Melt the lard in a saucepan, then add the flour and salt. Cook over a low flame for about three minutes, stirring constantly. Put the mixture into a small bowl and leave to cool.

5. Make the dough. Mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and add the melted lard. Add 280 ml (1 cup and 2 tbsp) of cool water and mix by hand to form a soft dough. Knead the dough on a work surface until it is pliable and smooth, but not sticky or dry. If needed, add a little more water or flour. Cover with cling film and leave at rooom temperature until ready to shape the buns.

6. Chop the spring onions into 5mm (¼in) pieces and put them in a bowl. Heat the oven to 250° C (480°F).

7. Weigh the dough and divide it into 10 equal portions. Weigh the roux and divide into 10 equal portions. Cut the jellied stock into small chunks, add them to the chilled meat mixture and mix well with your hands, breaking up the jelly and distributing it evenly throughout the meat. Weigh the meat mixture, divide it into 10 equal portions and refrigerate.

8. Put a piece of dough on the work surface and roll it into a rough 15 cm (6 in) circle. Smear the roux over the circle, leaving a 5mm (¼in) border around the perimeter. Roll the piece of dough into a tight cylinder then fold it into thirds, pressing the right and left sides over each other. Roll the dough to stretch it slightly, then again fold it into thirds. Put the dough on the work surface while shaping the remaining pieces. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

9. Take a piece of dough and roll it into a 15 cm (6 in) circle, making the edges slightly thinner than the centre. Place a portion of the meat mixture onto the centre of the dough circle and top with a small handful of spring onions, pressing them into the meat – add as many as you can handle. Lift and stretch the edges of the dough over the filling and press together tightly to seal. Lay the bun sealed-side down on the work surface and shape the remaining buns. You might have some spring onions left, but you should have used most of them.

10. Put some sesame seeds in a bowl. Rub two 28 cm (11 in) skillets very lightly with oil, then place over a high flame on the stove and heat to 300°C (570°F) - use an infrared thermometer to check that it is evenly heated. Brush the entire surface of the buns with the sugar and water mixture then dip into the sesame seeds so the top is coated. Place the buns sealed-side down into the skillet (you should be able to fit five into each pan). Cook the buns on the stovetop for about a minute, or until you smell it starting to char, then slide the skillets into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through. Use a metal spatula to remove the buns from the skillets and allow to cool briefly before eating.

11. These taste best fresh, but leftover buns can be reheated for 10 minutes in a oven preheated to 250°C (480°F).

thai pineapple fried rice

By Verna Gao @vernahungrybanana

PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE in a pineapple bowl 🍍because I’m the queen of extra and I also really miss Thailand right now. Another 15-min recipe because that’s how I roll 😌 More cooking adventures at

Ingredients:

• Fresh chopped pineapple

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped - some prawns or a type of protein

• 2 eggs, beaten

• Day old rice

• 1/2 tbsp curry powder

• 1 tsp of white pepper

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp fish sauce - chopped spring onions - some chopped veg (I used peas)

Directions:

1. Scramble the egg first and roughly break apart when cooked, and add in the onion.

2. Add in the rice and mix thoroughly.

3. Add in prawns or your choice of protein.

4. Add in the vegetables, pineapple, the spices & sauce.

5. Mix and combine everything and add in spring onions at the end.

Optional: be really extra and carve a pineapple bowl to serve it in so that you convince yourself you’re somewhere on holiday 😂

Easy peasy but soooo freaking delicious. I don’t usually add curry powder to fried rice but this totally works! Also a great dish to use up leftover bits in your fridge.

vietnamese rice paper salad (Bánh tráng trộn)

By ‎Kathy Hungree-Hippo @hippokathy88

Bánh tráng trộn (Vietnamese rice paper salad) has become an incredibly popular street food over the years 🎉. The attraction comes from a variety of savoury toppings, vibrant laksa leaves, crunchy green mango, chewy rice paper and citrusy dressing. The beauty of making your own is that you can add as much or as little of anything as you like 🤤. In my case, a lot of quail eggs, laksa leaves, green mango, spring onion oil and chillis 😻 Note: Laksa leaves are also known as Vietnamese coriander, or if you must, "rau răm" in Viet. You can skip a few toppings but laksa leaves and green mango are the 2 must-haves! Probably could attempt this salad without either of them, it's just not the same 😝

Portions: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 12 rice paper sheets, cut

Dry toppings

• 12 quail eggs, hard-boiled 4 mins, peeled

• 1 green mango, peeled and julienned

• 1 cup beef jerky, shredded 1 cup dried shrimp, washed, dried, pounded

• 1 cup Tây Ninh shrimp salt, or just salt

• 1 cup fried shallots

• 1 cup fried garlic

• 1 cup chilli flakes

• 1 cup peanuts, roasted and crushed

• 1 bunch laksa leaves

Wet toppings

• 4 tbsp chilli oil

• 4 tbsp spring onion oil

• 8 kalamansi or 4 limes, juiced

Dressing

• 250 ml light soy sauce

• 250 ml warm water

• 1/2 tbsp sugar

• 2-4 limes

Directions:

1. Cut rice paper sheets into quarters, then 1cm-wide strips.

2. Prepare all dry and wet toppings in separate bowls.

3. Grab a bunch of rice paper strips and add as many or as few toppings, as much or as little, as you desire.

4. Combine all ingredients for dressing into a bowl, spoon over individual salad portion to your liking, mix well till rice paper strips soften and enjoy 😀😍!

Chinese candied fruits on a stick, bing tang hulu 冰糖葫芦

By Grace Liu

Here is one of my quarantine cooking projects, 冰糖葫芦 bing tang hulu. AKA Chinese candied fruits on a stick. These are a popular street food in China in the winter time, and I have been craving them since the last time I was in Beijing during the winter months, which was about six years ago 😭 They’re usually made with hawthorns, which are a little sour, but also commonly made with strawberries (and I can never find fresh hawthorn berries in the US).

The candy coating is hard and crunchy, and kind of shatters when you bite into it. It’s just made with sugar and water in a ratio of 1 cup sugar to 1/4 cup water. Some recipes use corn syrup too - if you make the coating without it, you need to work quickly and watch the temperature carefully. After they were dipped in the sugar coating, I put them on a sheet of parchment paper and they were dried within a minute or two.

This was my first time making them all by myself at home, and they were sooo good! The only thing I would have done different is maybe use strawberries that were a little more under-ripe or sour next time, as this was almost too sweet with all the sugar and the very juicy ripe strawberries.

Vietnamese pizza, Bánh Tráng Nướng

By Edwina Liu @erdyeats

AKA an easy way to use your leftover rice paper and eggs (essentially an omelette quesadilla with a nice crunch)

Directions:

1. Place one sheet of rice paper on a pan at low-medium heat. Heating it beforehand will help it lay more flat (I also placed my cooking spoon on top to press it down when it wrinkled up)

2. Mix one egg with your desired toppings: I added green onion, parsley, and onion

3. Pour the egg mix on to the rice paper and immediately spread it to the edges. It won’t spread off the sheet if it is laying flat

4. Let the egg cook for a bit and then rotate the pizza every so often on the pan

5. Add any additional toppings: I added cooked shrimp, cheese, chilli flakes and swirled on some sriracha (+ extra green onion hehe). I think the cheese and its oil helped crisp the bottom up. Other common toppings: mayo, sausage/spam, pork floss, bacon

6. Wait until the bottom is nice and crisp and fold it over! Wipe off excess oil and serve 🙂

7. Alternatively, if you cook it for less time, you can roll it up. This is basically an easy to hold omelette with an added crunch 🙂

miso ramen burger

By Jonathan Nguyen @Jon.without.h

Miso Ramen Burger: Ginger burger, garlic miso aioli, pickled daikon & carrots, cucumber, brown sugar & soy sauce glazed bacon, sunny side-up egg, and scallions.

Note: I typically season everything by taste, so I can't really give you an exact measurement of each thing.

Buns: (2x)

• Bring water to a boil.

• Throw in 1 brick of instant ramen noodles for 3 minutes (I tried this with fresh straight ramen noodles which didn't turn out too great - needs to be curly).

• Strain and place in a mixing bowl.

• In a separate bowl, whisk 1 egg and then mix it with the noodles.

• Season with salt, pepper, sesame oil, tiny bit of sugar, chicken seasoning powder.

• On a clean plate, place cling wrap on the plate and then into a circular mold. Fill the mold with the noodles and use the cling wrap to flatten the top.

• Freeze for 15-30 minutes (until you are able to remove the noodles without it falling apart).

• Fry both sides on medium/high heat with a neutral oil.

Burger

• Make the patty with ground beef, bread crumbs (to counter the moisture), finely diced shallots, minced garlic, minced ginger, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken seasoning powder, and some mushroom seasoning (MSG substitute) for umami flavor (FYI don't buy from amazon, they're super cheap in an Asian market).

• Optionally, you can thinly slice and mix in the soft green part of a scallion. Save the lighter crunchier part for later to slice and sprinkle on your burger.

• Shape and fry on a pan.

Garlic Miso Aioli

• Mayonnaise, garlic, equal parts red and white miso paste.

Bacon

• Use thick cut bacon.

• Make a mixture of brown sugar and equal parts of soy sauce & mirin (sweet Japanese cooking sake).

• Make sure the mixture is just a paste so slowly add in your wet components.

• Apply paste to both sides of the bacon and bake at 400 degrees.

Alternately, if you want the bacon crispier, bake the bacon first half way through (applying to early may cause the sugar to burn).

Toppings

• Thinly sliced cucumber

• Pickled carrots and daikon, recipe can be found here

• Sunny side up egg

• Thinly sliced scallion (crunchy side, closer to the root)

White rabbit ice cream

By Julia Lim

A 3-ingredient recipe. Never got to try it when it was trending but now I have.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of white rabbit sweets 180 g

• 200 ml milk

• 200 ml heavy cream

• Optional: 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cut sweets into small cube size pieces (1 sweet into 3 pieces).

2. Heat milk in a small pot over low heat.

3. Add sweets into warm milk and melt them by stirring occasionally.

4. In a separate bowl whip the cream. Add vanilla extract.

5. Sieve the sweetened milk into the whipped cream mixture.

6. Mix and chill overnight in a container.

Written by Holly Nguyen (@tableflipemoji on Instagram and Twitter), PR & Marketing Manager at 626 Night Market.