Recently, I received an email from a close friend asking for a bit of advice on some kitchen tools. Here’s the core of the email, slightly edited for relevance and for anonymity:


[From: GS - 11 October 2008 9:09:10 AM

Hi Will,

I had a couple of foodie questions I thought you might be able to help me with.
 
The first is slightly embarrassing. With the weather warming my thoughts turn to my annual summer menu trauma. I’m very much a hot food winter cook.
 
I’m thinking this year I might try to do more stir-fries through summer, but EVERY time I cook a stir fry the place completely fills with smoke. The meal’s OK, but the smoke lingers here for hours. I figure I’m doing something wrong, but want someone to perhaps witness my mistakes (hence the discomfort) and let me know what I’m doing wrong.
 
Onto more fun things, I’m wondering if you’ve ever seen a home nut-roasting setup?
 
I roast nuts on a weekly basis (even if it’s just a packet of pine nuts) and I’ve been thinking for some time of building (if I can’t buy) a setup designed to roast nuts. I’ve taken inspiration from the chocolate-coating machines at Haighs that resemble concrete mixers! I think a metal vessel (like a small mulk-frothing jug) rotating off axis with a hair drier (or “heatshrink gun” – similar to hair drier but DANGEROUSLY hot) stuffed into the opening is probably going to do the job nicely, and on the sort of scale I require.
 
But the overpriced eBay jobbies are an interesting approach. Or just the drum on its own.) What do you think. Had any ideas, or seen devices that are designed to do that job?

G.]


Happy to try and help you out with your foodie questions if I can.

As far as your stir-fry problems are concerned: Yes you can have the heat too high. The temps are important for stir-fries, when you add meat or veg to a wok it lowers the temp and releases water. If the temp is too low, the vegetables, meat etc will stew in their own juices instead of searing and sealing which is the point of stir-fry. Too high a temp and your oil will start to burn causing smoke and flavour changes in the food; or you know, a fire. 

Who ever it was that said to cook things like steak and stir-fry at the highest possible temp probably said it when domestic stoves couldn't get above 200ºC (can we blame Bernard King?). Your stove is a bit more than standard domestic so yes, it could be getting too hot. 

Sounds like you're using a fairly neutral tasting oil because the smoke isn't affecting the taste of the food, just your ability to see it. There's a Table of Smoke Points at Cooking for Engineers that will give you an idea of what oil can do what. Stay clear of oils with a flavour to them because if they do burn, you'll taste it in the food. If you want the flavour cheat and drizzle a little bit over once it's cooked. 

You can use a low temp oil for stir-frying, the catch is that your wok will be have a lower maximum temp due to the oil so you will have less of a range to cook in. Each time you add something it will lower the temp for a while and take longer for the released water to evaporate so it’s fine if you're cooking small amounts but otherwise you might need to cook each ingredient type in batches so they don't stew until everything is cooked. At that point you can add everything in together to warm  through. If you use a higher temp oil your wok can be hotter so there is a bigger range to drop in temp before it's too cold so you can add more stuff at a time.

Your nuts:
The overpriced internet jobbies are just coffee roasters with the word coffee scratched out and replaced with a 20% premium which is hard to do on something that's already as marked-up as coffee.

I'm sure there are others, but a 2 minute google search came up with Sweet Marias, that have a variety to choose from and what seems to be cheap compared to the ebay one you sent me.

If you want to make your own, you might want to have a look at this design for the UglyRoast

OR; also from Make, but in the physical magazine I've got here are the instructions for a more McGyver esq coffee roaster made from a metal sieve locked into the head of a cordless screwdriver which together are mounted at 45º  to a small camp stove so that the sieve is above the flame. Toss in a cup of coffee beans (or nuts), light the stove, turn on the drill and the sieve rotates al la haighs drum.

Tags:Asian, Nuts

Someone who knows exactly who he is recently formally introduced me to Korean food. Given the [positive and negative] association of Korea with China and Japan there are some obvious similarities with each regions cuisine. The fundamentals of Korean cooking seem to be relative simplicity and common ingredients, being garlic, ginger, pepper, various onions, soy and sesame seeds and oil with relatively few spices and herbs being to be used. For tonight’s exploration into Korean cooking I picked what seemed to me to be two basic Korean dishes, Dak Busut Jim, or Braised Chicken and Mushrooms, and as a side Oyi Namul, or Cucumber Salad.

Dak Busut Jim (Braised Chicken and Mushrooms) and Oyi Namul (Cucumber Salad)

Every meal is served with rice and one or more small side dishes that can be used to add variety to the taste and texture of the main course, especially the ubiquitous kimchi which is style of pickling vegetables that includes a fermentation process and usually starts with a base of cabbage. As you’d expect for a national dish, every region and every grandmother has their own recipe. If you can’t wait the several weeks it takes to make, good asian supermarkets sell fresh kimchi in the chilled foods section. If you can only find the commercial version in a jar, you might want to skip it unless someone can recommend one to me?

Unlike Japanese food that tends to take 1 teaspoon of a dozen ingredients that you’ll never use again and are only sold by the kilo, the only thing I was missing from my cupboard for tonight’s meal were bamboo shoots that you can pick fresh at good asian supermarkets or either canned and vacuum packed, all for around $1.

The braised chicken and mushroom was great with the black pepper being the surprise front runner and the chinese mushrooms giving a good mix in texture. The cucumber salad had a nice refreshing but not overpowering sourness that was needed against the strong flavours of the chicken, but with some cayenne pepper, keeping a spicy note.

Dak Busut Jim - Serves 4-6
(Braised chicken and mushrooms)

10 dried mushrooms
1 x 1kg chicken
3 Tablespoon light soy
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper of chili powder
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 white onion, in 8th and layers separated
125g bamboo shoots, sliced thinly
4 spring onions, sliced, including greens
2 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Cooked white rice to serve

Soak mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes then remove stalks, slice and return to soaking water.
Cut chicken into joints then into small bite sized pieces, including the bones, place in a bowl. Add in the soy, sesame oil, garlic, cayenne and black pepper. Mix together and marinade for 30 minutes.

In a wok, add the drained chicken (keep the marinade) and fry until brown. Add the mushrooms, the soaking liquid and the reserved chicken marinade. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.


Oyi Namul - Serves 6
(Cucumber Salad)

2 large green cucumbers
3 teaspoons coarse salt
1 Cup of water
2 Tablespoons mild vinegar (eg: rice)
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 spring onion, sliced
3 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Peel (if desired) and as thinly as possible, slice the cucumber and put into a bowl with the salt and water. Let stand for 15 minutes. Drain off all of the water then add all of the remaining ingredients, combine well and serve chilled.

Tags:Chicken, Rice, Cucumber, Vegetables, Asian, Korean

A little while a go my neighbours recomended a chinese take-away down King Street called Good Wok (587 King Street, Newtown). I’ve always seen a couple of people in it but dismissed it as a cheap dodgey little store that I would end up with the squirts. As it turns out, it’s clean, very clean. Sure it’s got wood panneling, vinyl covered chairs and laminate tables but it’s tasty stuff. A few times this past week I’ve been running much later than I’d have liked to get home so I’ve stopped in and picked up something on the way or had something there.

Good Wok - 587 King Street Newtown

I haven’t spotted anything out of the ordinary or a speciality on the menu, it’s all the usual stuff you’d expect, mongolian beef, cashew chicken and all that but it was the bbq wonton noodle soup that I’ve gone back for. It definitley isn’t the best I’ve ever had but Good Wok’s version is the type of soup you go to when you’re stomach is compleltey empty and you need to fill it with carbs, hot broth, meat and vegetables.

The soup has a good chicken and vegetable stock, fresh bbq pork and some very fresh vegetables including perfectly cooked brocolli. Even I struggle to get mine tender-crisp but this was pretty much perfect not to mention generously served.

Good Wok - BBQ Pork Wonton Noodle Soup

Good Wok Chinese Food
Ph: 02 9565 2175
587 King Street
Newtown

They don’t do delivery but do take phone orders, it’s cash only too.

Tags:Noodles, Wonton, Soup, Asian, BBQ, Newtown, Restaurant, Review

I don't think anyone ever really, or vary rarely, plans to go to a specific restaurant in Newtown (save the one or two places where you actually have to book). Everyone else just wanders up and down King Street soaking up the atmosphere until they see something that catches their eye like a heaving plate of prawns or a luscious piece of beef being served to someone else through the window.
So after meeting some wonderful company at the station we began walking up the eastern side of King Street until we started to realise that we were almost of restaurants. Just at that point we were standing next to The Dumpling King (194 King Street, Newtown). Declaring my love for dumplings we headed in, sat down and went over the menu looking for some rare and tasty dumplings I'd never heard of before. Bitterly disappointed given the name of the place there were only four dumplings! Northern Meat Style, steamed or pan fried, and Vegetable Dumpling, steamed or pan fried. How can you call yourself the Dumpling King if you only have two types of dumplings?! We decided to order the shallot pancake and the meat bun and of course, both types of dumplings - steamed.
 

You won’t find many dumplings at The Dumpling King (194 King Street, Newtown)

Twenty minutes later the pancake (that I don't think had even met a shallot) arrived along with the pan fried flavourless northern meat buns. Chewing through those and washing them down with some weak green tea (from a bag) we sat and chatted. Pleasant and engaging conversation, thankfully, which made the next forty-five minutes waiting for our dumplings bearable.
Eventually, after physically getting up and asking the wait-staff that had ignored us since we ordered where the rest of our meal was, two steamer baskets turned up with an excuse that the Dumpling King had run out of dumplings and he had to make them fresh! Two things are wrong with that, one - the DUMPLING KING ran out of dumplings; and two - if he did have some on hand they wouldn't have been fresh! I know I'm probably arguing for two different sides here, do I want fresh dumplings or do I want quick service but that's not the point. We weren't the only table that didn't get their meals, I noticed two or three other tables having to stop the wait-staff and ask where their food was.
At the end of the night, I have to admit the dumplings were actually quite nice, but the experience was terrible with poor service and a promise of a plethora of dumplings that just don't exist. The rest of the menu looked quite uninspired and with the variety available on King Street I'm not going to be in any hurry to visit the illegitimate Dumpling King again. I'd rather go to Happy Chef.

Tags:Dumpling, Newtown, Review, Restaurant

Isn’t it always the way, you’ve got a day off work but all you do is more work than you’d do at work?

0900 Breakfast with Puppet
1100 Orthopantograph (full mouth dental x-ray)
1200 Optometrists Appointment
1400 Meeting with new employer
1530 Pick up remaining belongings from existing employer
1600 Pick up washing from laundromat
1700 Hardware store - new light bulbs
1730 Clean kitchen
1900 Cook dinner
2000 Clean kitchen again
2030 Blog about dinner

So with that schedule, I wanted something quick and easy for dinner and with left over crispy skinned duck in the fridge and a packet of wild rice in the cupboard a jazzed up fried rice was great choice. Simple and easy and best of all, using those little bits of stuff you’ve got laying around.

Fried Wild Rice with Crispy Duck

Fried Wild Rice with Crispy Duck - Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side
2 eggs
2 cups of wild rice
2 cups of cooked duck, shredded
4 rashers of bacon, diced
½ cup frozen stir-fry veg (or peas, carrots, corn etc diced)
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
1 star anise (optional)

Whisk the eggs together and fry in a wok, swirling around to create a thin omelette. Turn the omelette out and dice.
Cook the rice and leave to cool.
Fry the spices, duck and bacon until the bacon is crispy, add the vegetables and fry until almost cooked and add the rice. Fry until the rice is loose and not clumping any more, add the egg and heat through. Serve.

Tags:Asian, Rice, Duck, Vegetables, Eggs

Ever since I first went to Billy Kwong’s a few years ago for a birthday dinner (thanks again Tony) I’ve been in love with Kylie’s crispy skinned duck in blood plum sauce and I’ve been trying to get around to making it for myself ever since and this weekend came the opportunity.

It was a bit of a nightmare getting to make this, I went to eight different places to find a whole duck and twice as many to find either blood plums or blood oranges. I ended up settling for standard oranges and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening wondering if the dish would still retain it’s quintessential tastiness. Luck won with a not as sweet, but with a nice piquancy the original blood plums didn’t have.

Orange Crispy Skinned Duck

Crispy Skinned Orange Duck - Serves 2
1 whole duck, approx. 1.5kg
1 tablespoons of sichuan pepper
3 tablespoons of sea salt
¼ cup plain flour
vegetable oil for frying
1 cup of water
1 cup of white sugar
250 grams of oranges, juiced (or blood plums)
⅔ cups of fish sauce
6 whole star anise
2 cinnamon quills
⅓ cups of lime juice

Trim away the excess fat from the cavity of the duck. Grind the sichuan pepper and salt together and then rub all over the duck. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Boil some water in a wok or large saucepan and place a steamer basket over, the duck inside, cover and leave for an hour and a half. Take the now cooked duck out and leave it to cool.

Once the duck is cold enough to handle, slice it in half lengthwise, from neck to tail. Gently pry the carcass out, leaving the drumstick and wings intact. Cut each half into half again so you have a wing and a leg piece.

To make the sauce, mix the water, sugar, oranges together and bring to the boil in a saucepan, reduce the heat to a simmer and add the fish sauce, star anise, cinnamon and lime juice. Simmer while you fry the duck.

Heat the vegetable oil a wok or deep saucepan, cover the duck pieces with flour and deep fry each piece separately until the skin has gone a crisp golden colour. Drain the pieces after they’ve cooked on paper towel. When their all cooked, cut the duck down into bite-sized pieces, except for the bones.

Pile the duck on a serving platter and pour over enough sauce to coat the duck.

Eat it with your hands and have a bowl of rice on the side.

Tags:Duck, Oranges, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Asian, Frying

Tonight when I had a friend coming over for dinner and not really knowing what to cook I thought I’d give one of my newer cookbooks the test. 3 Ways With Stale Bread by Ross Dobson is an interesting concept, picking out all of those ingredients that sit in a cupboard for ages never being used because they were surplus of something else you’ve made be it some lentils, frozen berries or peantus as I used here with a peanut curry as a way to use up the jar of red curry paste, peanuts, coconut cream and pretty much everything else in this recipe except the thai basil and the rump steak. I would have looked into those cupboards for hours trying to figure out what to do with each one of these. In the end, I still had to adjust a few things because I couldn’t find any thai basil at the grocer but what the hey.

The book itself is split between things you’ll find in the cupboard, fridge or freezer and is really well cross referenced eg: “Peanuts also used in recipes on pages, 18, 21, 36...”.

The curry, which I renamed a satay wasn’t bad but it could have used a bit of fresh lime juice over the top to give it the salty/sweet/sour flavour combination that thai cooking is famous for.

Beef and Broccoli Satay

Beef and Broccoli Satay - Serves 2
500g Rump Steak, cut into strips across the grain
2 tablespoons of red curry paste
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
½ peanuts
1 tin of coconut milk (or cream thinned with water)
1 cup of broccoli foretts
1 cup of sliced red capsicum
1 lime cut into wedges
2 cups of cooked jasmine rice to serve
corriander to garnish (optional)

In a very hot wok, fry the beef in batches until it’s brown all over and set it aside.

Add the red curry paste to the wok and fry for a minute until it becomes fragrant. Keep stiring it or else it’ll burn. Add the peanut butter, peanuts and the coconut milk and simmer until the sauce has reduced by half. Add the broccoli and capsicum and simmer until tender. Mix the beef back in and simmer for a minute until the beef is hot again.

Serve over rice and with a wedge of lime on the side to help cut through the thickness of the sauce and to give it a bit of an extra tang.

Tags:Satay, Beef, Rice, Peanuts, Peanut Butter, Curry

Wonton Noodle Soup has to be one of those meals that really picks up my spirits, hearty and warming to the core. Just a pity it's so hard to find a good one. Last night I tried to make it with the Light Chinese Stock suggested in Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking but for what ever reason the stock ended up quite disappointing. I've never made a good stock so I can't pin the problem on Kylie. I guess I'm just going to have to keep trying. At least the wontons had a descent amount of prawn in them that you could really taste; most commercial wontons put in more of the cheaper minced pork than anything else.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make a good wonton soup??

Wonton Noodle Soup - The Enternal Struggle

Tags:Wonton, Stock, Chicken, Seafood, Pork

Trawling through the supermarket over the weekend for something to have for dinner I buckled at the knees with the picture of the chicken leek and mushroom pies on the cover of this month's Donna Hay. They looked delicious so I picked up a copy and went right a head and made... The Sticky Hoisin Pork with Steamed Beans, Peas and Rice recipe instead.

This thing was a little messy to make due mostly due to my clumsiness, but I am glad I used a non-stick frying pan. I haven't washed it yet but Im not looking forward to it. Other than that, it was quick, easy and bloody delicious. The pork in the picture in Donna Hay looked a little dry and overdone so I dropped the cooking time back a few minutes and it was extremely tender and the lightest of pink.

Sticky Hoisin Pork with Steamed Beans, Peas and Rice

Sticky Hoisin Pork with Steamed Beans, Peas and Rice
1T of Hoisin sauce
1T of Honey
1T of Soy sauce
450g Pork Loin
250g of Sugar snap peas
250g of Green beans
Rice to serve
Sesame seeds to garnish

Pre-heat your oven to 180℃
Mix the hoisin, soy and honey in a ziplock bag and place the pork loin inside and leave for 15 minutes.
Remove the pork and in a non-stick pan, fry the pork each side for 1-2 minutes. Pour the remaining marinade over the pork and turn to coat. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes (the recipe said 15, I cooked mine for 12).
Once the pork is ready, remove and place on a chopping board and rest for 15 minutes.
Steam the beans and peas together.
Slice the pork diagonaly into disks and serve over on a bed of rice with the greens to the side. Drizzle the pan juices over the pork and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Tags:Hoisin, Pork, Rice, Peas, Beans, Donna Hay

For my birthday my brother and his fiancé got me Kylie Kwong's "Simple Chinese Cooking". It's big, blue and designed for the coffee table with full page pictures of each recipe. It's not what I'd call a serious cookbook; it's really more about the pictures which is fine but I don't need to have a recipe for prawns with chili ginger and soy dressing, and chicken with chili ginger and soy dressing, pork with chili ginger and soy dressing... I also don't need to stir-fry or deep-fry everything!
Having said that, I made the whole garfish recipe last night and the dressing was delicious but could have used a little less oil (modified recipe below). It was tasty sure, but next time I'm going to try the dressing with less oil and another fish like sea bream or mahi-mahi that are suggested alternatives in the book. The garfish was a pain the arse to eat with lots of sharp little pin-bones.

Whole garfish with ginger, chili and soy dressing

Deep Fried Whole Garfish with Chili, Ginger and Soy Dressing
4 Whole garfish, cleaned and gutted
Flour for dusting
Peanut oil for deep frying
1 Long red chili, sliced thinly
2 Spring onions, sliced thinly
¼C Coriander leaves
1 knob of ginger, grated finely
2T Dark soy
2T Light soy

Heat the peanut oil in a wok until the surface is shimmering
Dust the garfish in the flour and shake off the excess
Place the chili, spring onion, coriander and ginger in a heat proof bowl and pour over a spoonful of the hot oil and stir. Add the soy sauces and stir to combine.

Slip the garfish into the hot oil, two at a time and cook until the flesh is firm and white, about 3 minutes. Place the first two garfish on a plate with paper towel and cook the remaining two. Don't be tempted to cook all four at the same time because the oil will cool down too much and the flour coating won't go crispy.

Serve with the garfish draped over a mound of rice and the dressing spooned over.

Tags:Fish, Seafood, Asian, Recipe, Kylie Kwong

Another recipe from Nigella Express, her Crunchy Salad with Hot and Sour Dressing is damn nice and surprisingly filling as she points out in the introduction to it. It's a fairly substantial salad given the dense vegetables and the strong flavours from the Tom Yum paste. If you don't have any tom yum paste, try fish sause, lime, sugar, ginger and chili as a substitute. I added some dry cunchy noodles to mine since it was all I was having for dinner tonight and it added a nice texture but it's really not needed with the other blanched veggies.

I think I'll be adding this as a staple salad, it's super fast since you're really only just tossing things into a bowl and really nice, not too hot or sour. Heck, if you were pressed for time and wanted extra crunch, you probably don't even need to cook the veggies.



Crunchy Salad with Hot and Sour Dressing - Serves 4-6

Dressing:
2tsp Tom Yum Paste
1tsp Sesame Oil
2Tbs Rice Vinegar
1tsp Honey
2Tbs of Canola or Peanut Oil
Sea Salt to taste

Salad:
125g Broccoli (I used broccolini)
125g Fine Beans (I used sugar snap peas)
125g Baby Corn
25g Button Mushrooms (I forgot them)
100g Chinese Lettuce (I used regular mixed lettuce)
150g Bean Sprouts

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together

Cook the broccoli, beans and corn in salted boiling water for two minutes then plunge in ice cold water to stop the cooking

Drain them and add the remaining salad ingredients and dressing. Serve.

Tags:Nigella, Nigella Express, Nigella Lawson, Salad, Broccoli, Peas, Asian

Tuesday in my week of Nigella Express-ivness I decided on her Noodle Soup for Needy People listed in the chapter Instant Calmer where she's collected some nice quick comfort food like the Cheddar Cheese Risotto and a Berry Crumble for dessert.

This is probably one of her lazier recipes, and IMHO they don't belong in a serious cookbook, just those that are for table decoration and the quick flick through the pictures for inspiration type books. Mind, what did I expect for a TV Chef cookbook anyway? I guess she tries to absolve herself by saying when she makes it she throws in anything that's handy and the only key ingredients are stock, noodles and vegetables. For those that haven't made a noodle soup before, I guess following her additions of some brown sugar, soy, ginger and star-anise do make a difference in tilting the soup to an asian flavour as opposed to anything else. I took her advice and made some additions and substitutions.

Noodle Soup for Needy People - Serves 2
(note, this is what I made, not quite Nigella's)

175g of Soba Noodles (she used udon)
750mL of Chicken Stock (I used the stock I made from the roast chicken over the weekend)
1t Soft Brown Sugar
1 Star Anise
1t Crushed Ginger
2T Soy
75g Bean Sprouts
750g Sugar Snap Peas
75g Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms
Sliced Spring Onions to Garnish (she used coriander)

Add any other vegetables or ingredients you like, I added some carrot and some store bought fish cakes I found next to the noodles at the supermarket.

Cook the noodles to packet instructions, set aside in serving bowls. Bring the stock, sugar, anise, ginger and soy to a boil then add the remaining ingredients except the garnish. Spoon the vegetables over the noodles and top up with liquid.

Tags:Nigella, Nigella Express, Nigella Lawson, Soup, Noodles, Asian

I’ve never been that keen on Thai food, mind you I’ve had limited exposure to it and what I have was probably not particularly authentic, however last night I had a craving for something spicy and with fish. After flicking through some recipes I came across a nice picture of what was titled a fish curry, although it looked much more like a soup so I made some changes to the recipe and came up with this.

On the whole it was nice, but lacked something. Monkey put his finger on it. More seafood. Prawns would have been ideal and some coriander for garnish. Next time…

Thai Fish Soup **

500mls Vegetable Stock
1 Cup of assorted chopped Asian themed vegetables (baby corn, bean sprouts, water chestnuts) – I used frozen packet vegetables
2tsp Dried Chilli Flakes
1tsp lemon grass, minced
1tsp ginger, minced
1tsp garlic, minced
Fish sauce, to taste
Palm sugar, to taste
300grams of salmon filet, cubed
300grams of green prawns, shelled and de-veined
Picked coriander leaves for garnish


Bring the vegetable stock to the boil, add the remainder of the ingredients except for the salmon and bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are almost ready.

Add the salmon and prawns and simmer for 5 minutes until both are pink. Serve in small bowls with coriander as garnish.


PS** Is it poor food-blog etiquette to post a recipe with alterations to the one you’ve actually cooked and posted a picture of? In this case, the addition of prawns and coriander.

Tags:Fish, Soup, Salmon, Prawns