Many of twitter friends has heard me moan and whinge about the Metro last week. The trains are late almost everyday for the last 3 weeks. It is such a failure and it’s frustrating during peak hours to travel in jam packed trains. The current transportation system is just not ’smart’ and ‘fit’ enough to handle the increased population. It gets worse when it gets hit with extreme weather conditions.
Some of you may not be aware of our recent flood and hail that happened in Melbourne. We were fortunate to be home. The hail stones were as big as golf balls! And have a look at one of the many videos that can be found on YouTube.
But enough of my ramblings. For this week challenge, I really wanted to make the beef pho but as it is very time consuming, I will have to leave it for another day. It is near the end of a work project and so things are a little crazy at the moment. Our weekends are always packed with errands to run, challenges to cook and places to eat! I am not complaining. I will glad do this every single day!
Anyway, Mister was in charge of getting groceries as I attended a TEDx Melbourne event in the city. I am now completely in love with Temple Grandin. She is such an inspiration and here the video that explains why the world needs different minds.
Ok. Now back to the recipe that I adapted from the book that I love very much – The Songs of SAPA by Luke Nguyen. The recipe has recommended Mackerel but Mister was unable to find any in Victoria market and so he settled for cutlets of Yellow tail Kingfish. It was not ideal but it will have to make do and I am thankful that I had fish to cook the dish!
Fish marinating in bowl
Cubed pineapples
Ingredients:
1kg Yellow tail King fish butlets but recommend using Mackeral cutlets, thinly sliced
2 tbsp of finely chopped spring onions + more finely chopped spring onion for garnish
31/2 tbsp of fish sauce
1/2 tsp of dark soy sauce
2tsp of oyster sauce
3 tbsp of sugar
500g of chopped pineapples
350ml of water/ chicken stock
11/2 tbsp of hot chilli garlic oil (finely chop garlic and chilli, add 1 tbsp of oil and microwave on high for 1 min – Mister’s recipe!)
2 -3 chillies
Finely chopped coriander for garnish
Remaining marinate liquid
Chilli and garlic in oil
Method:
Use half the garlic, 2tbsp spring onions, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and 1tsp of salt to coat the fish. Marinate the fish for at least 15mins and please serve the marinate for use later
Heat the pan with oil and add the cubed pineapple and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Remove. Add more oil and brown the fish over medium heat.
Once the fish is browned on both sides, add the pineapple and the stock. Bring to boil. Remove any scum and turn down the heat to low. Simmer without any cover for at least 2omins or until stock level is halved
Remove the fish first. Add the remaining garlic and hot chilli garlic oil to the pot along with black pepper to the sauce and stir to combine
Spoon sauce over the fish. Garnish with fresh coriander, spring onions and/or fresh chilli
Caramelised fish with pineapple
We had it with a fried egg and a side of freshly chopped cucumbers. It had a very rich flavour from the sweet sauce. The pineapple did not overpower the dish at all. The fish took in the flavours really well except that it was a little too flakey for a recipe like this. We will definitely make this again. it was fitting for a rather cold autumn night.
Where do you draw your inspiration from to move on when you are down?
The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.
I wished I had a little more time for this challenge as risotto is one of my favourite comfort food in winter. It has been such a jam packed period and with parents-in-law coming over for a visit, this is what I can offer and I hope it is not too shabby!
Spare home made vegetable and chicken stock is always available in my freezer. So I happen to have a box of vegetable stock that I had used for this month’s challenge. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the frozen stock. It is a very simple vegetable stock and I usually use odd pieces and cuttings from vegetables that I use for other cooking.
Basic vegetable stock (makes 2L)
Ingredients:
Just to note that you can use whole carrots, celery stalks and parsley, I just happen to keep these off cuts.
Spare heads and tails of carrots
Spare ends and leafy tops of celery stalks
1 onion roughly chopped
Parsley stalks
1 sweet corn
3 bay leafs
5-6 peppercorns
2L of cold water
Method:
Chuck all the ingredients in cold water and slowly bring it to a simmer
Remove any scums that floats to the top
Allow it to simmer at low heat for about an hour. Pass the stock through a sieve
Allow it to cool to room temperature and then store in air tight container in the freezer or place into ice trays and bag them once it is frozen
Diced pumpkin and carrots with sage in the background
Pumpkin, carrot and barley risotto
Ingredients:
240g butternut pumpkin, diced into small cubes
200g carrots, diced into small cubes
140g pearl barley, soaked for at least 1 hour
40g shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
20g of unsalted butter
4 sage leaves
1 handful of basil
1/2 cup of white wine
Sprigs of fresh parsley for garnishing
Sat and pepper to taste
Soaked and drained barley
Method:
In a heated pan or pot, add the onions and brown it. Then add the pumpkin, carrots and minced garlic and fry till everything is lightly browned.
Add the drained barley and white wine. Cook till white wine is all evaporated
Add the stock, cover and allow it to simmer for approximately 45mins. Remember to check on water levels to make sure it does not dry up
Taste to check that the barley is soft. Make sure that the mixture is not dried up and is just a little soupy. Remove from heat and add in the butter. Stir through and the mixture will start to thicken
Add the cheese and give it another good stir. Season accordingly, add sprigs of fresh parsley and serve immediately
Pumpkin, carrot and barley risotto
Surprisingly, I loved it! It is still quite rich as a risotto is but also felt quite light as a dish. It is a breeze to cook this and a big advantage because unlike normal risotto, barley does not need constant stirring. Once everything is in the pot, it is left to simmer till ready. This makes a really good vegetarian dish. The taste is very clean and the sweetness comes from all the vegetables. And I am glad that even Mister gave it a thumbs up!
Do you have a dessert recipe that uses barley? Please share!
In my earlier post about ‘The search of the best tonkotsu ramen in Melbourne’, it did conclude and mentioned that a few Melbourne food bloggers and myself have decided to embark on a one day ramen adventure. After many email exchanges, we have confirmed on a rating system and its criteria.
Broth
Noodle
Toppings
Each one of us will rate the restaurant/ cafe from one to five. The highest average score will take the crown of being Melbourne’s best.
This is our current list and we have yet to drill it down to 6 which we believe is achievable in one day. So if you think that there are any others that deserve to be on the list before we make our final decision, please leave a comment below
A little obsessed with this ramen adventure, I found a series of Ramen Top30 videos on YouTube to share with everyone. This is just one of the many.
Due to the nature of adventure, it is rather difficult to get everyone that expressed their interest to join us (physically) this time. This group have to kept tight as we will be travelling from one place to the next. And also some cafes/restaurants may be put off by a large group of people with only half an order. So please forgive me! And there is no doubt that there will be more of these food hunt in the coming months. But we still need your RAMEN support!
~~ the ramen hunters
What other food do you think is deserving of our attention?
I am always on the lookout for simple and yummy meatless recipe every week. This week’s meatless day dish is inspired by Christine’s Stewed Beancurd Puffs with Daikon & Carrot. It fits the bill and it has been awhile since we have cooked with daikon or also known as white radish. Daikon has a nice subtle sweet but clean taste and it takes on flavour really well. I love it chunky in soups or julienne raw and served in salads.
After a trip to Footscray market, I decided to ditch the tofu puffs and got Enoki mushroom, baby corns and fresh shitake mushrooms. This dish is a collaboration of myself and Mister. I prepped the ingredients, he cooked and I took the photos. And I have to say it turned out pretty good.
Chopped daikon and carrots
Ingredients:
2 large daikon, sliced or diced
3 large carrots, sliced or diced
250g Enoki mushrooms
100g baby sweet corns
100g fresh shitake mushroom
chestnuts, chopped
2 fresh red chiilies, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 tbsp oyster sauce
60ml of shao xing wine
500ml vegetable stock
1tsp of sesame oil
Enoki mushrooms
Method:
Heat the work with 2 tbsp of peanut oil. Add the chillies and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the daikon, carrots, baby corns and stir through
Add oyster sauce, shao xing wine and sesame oil. Stir through to coat the vegetables. Add the stock and allow it to simmer for about 15 mins or until vegetables are al dente
Add in chopped chestnuts and the mushrooms and allow it to simmer for another 10mins
Serve hot with chopped coriander or chives as garnish
daikon, carrots and mushrooms
I can’t believe that it has been 12 weeks since I started this challenge. Sometimes I do struggle to think what I could cook for the week. It is easy to search the Internet and blogs for ideas but it is hard to find quick, easy and interesting ideas. I am still urging you to join me. It can be quite motivating.
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