Curry Favour

We take the spicy route through asia, then through to spain, and end up stalking our food. This week we talk about Jackie M's Malaysian cooking masterclass, Mo Vida in Melbourne, and Truckr - a great way to stalk food trucks.

Download the audio file here (3MB, 6:06), or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes

here!

From the Frypan - Sedap! (00:23)

In From the Frypan, we whip up an authentic and tasty Beef Rendang. I learnt the secrets to malaysian cooking from Jackie M herself, in a Malaysian cooking masterclass.

Waka Waka - Tale as old as time.. (02:49)

For Waka Waka this week we have a disappointing experience at Beauty at the Beast, but a marvelous one at Mo Vida in Melbourne! The Seafood pasta at Mo Vida is EPIC! Just sayin'.

From the Ice Box - Appsolutely Fab! (05:08)

Technology helps us in so many ways, and this week it helps us hunt down those food trucks!

What's your favourite way to get the latest food truck news?

Victor Churchill, Woollahra

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From left: Me, Mark, Romeo, Anthony Bourdain (!), Luke (giving his best blue steel) and Anna

Have I gotten your attention? Yes indeed, that is the Anthony Bourdain! Some of you might know that I've been all atwitter about meeting him, and it definitely has been the highlight of my week.

But before I tell you about that, let me first share with you why I've been so quiet; why I've been neglecting my poor bloggie.

It all started at the Good Food and Wine Show. I had gone for the first time last year, and had the opportunity to attend a charcuterie talk by Romeo. I was (am) in awe by the sheer amount of knowledge and, before I knew it, I had somehow finagled my way into being gifted with the opportunity to do work experience at Victor Churchill.

I immediately arranged to take 4 weeks off work so that I could fully apply myself and learn as much as I can. After humorous taunts from my friends about me probably only being allowed to clean the floors, I was extremely excited to actually be able to cook.



One of the first things I learnt was how to prepare plums. Finicky, ripe, delicate, but oh so delicious blood plums. Theoretically you can just twist them apart and pit them like peaches, but in reality, some of them were so delicate that I mangled my first few. It took me a while before I managed to get little (intact) heart shaped plum halves bountifully piled into a gastronome. They were then poached in a beautiful spiced syrup and left to infuse in the fridge for a couple of days. Every time I walked into the cool room I wondered what would happen to the gorgeous plums and the gorgeously deep magenta syrup they were poached in. I finally did get my answer:



Incredibly crumbly, jammy Frangipane Plum Tarts were the result. The buttery pastry melts into your mouth before being chased by the luxuriously comforting flavour and aromas of the ripe plums and spices. The flavour fills your senses before it slowly fades, leaving you with just the memories of being transported to a rural village where you've just nicked a cooling tart off a grandma's windowsill.

But those of you who know me well know that although I love a good dessert, cured/preserved stuff is really what I get excited about. And boy, did I have a reason to get excited.

Once every so often, Romeo cures whole salmon fillets, and then cold smokes them in-house.

Wood chips get set aflame in a cast iron pan and then quickly extinguished and put into an oven where the cured salmon sits. Thick grey smoke quickly fills the cavity and the salmon magically disappears into the smoke like a cheap magician in Las Vegas. After an impatient wait, the smoke finally clears and the gorgeous, coral salmon is released, dry to the touch but moist to eat, and not at all greasy and fishy like some of the commercially available smoked salmon that you can get from the supermarkets. As someone who has developed an expensive addiction to salmon, let me tell you that after tasting that smoked salmon, I can never bring myself to buy the regular stuff. Usually I can only eat a few slices of smoked salmon before it gets a bit much, but I can honestly say that I'll quite happily sit there and devour the whole fillet with no problem at all.


Besides the food that comes out of the kitchen, there is also the delicious cured meats.

Most of the meats are sourced from people who share the same philosophy as Victor Churchill, but there are actually meats that are cured in-house! There is a spicy chorizo that cures for three weeks that is the most delicious chorizo that I've had. And I'm not saying this because I've seen it made and am hankering after the recipe. This is actually a chorizo that, when it came time to taste the first batch, I was shamelessly eyeing the final piece that was sitting on the bench. And when Romeo kindly offered it to me, I eagerly pounced on it like a hungry hyena. Not my proudest moment, but the things I will do for delicious food.

And I guess it quite sums up my experience. This is but a start to my quest for deliciousness, and what a start it has been. Even though I have so much more to learn, I feel like my heart was filled every day with the knowledge that was bestowed onto me, the patience and generosity that was shown to me by Romeo, and the friendship that was shared by everyone that I had the luck to work with. Too quickly my 4 weeks was over, and I struggled to cling to my final week, willing the days to pass as slowly as possible so that I can extend the whole experience. Truly an experience that money can't buy.

But enough about me, I know that you want to hear about how I got to meet Anthony Bourdain!

Well, in my final week there I saw that beautiful chorizo in the cool room marked Do Not Sell. Curious as to what was wrong with the chorizo - and more importantly whether I would get to eat it - I asked why it wasn't to be sold. And then I was told, in hushed voice, that Anthony Bourdain was coming to Victor Churchill to film No Reservations.

I nearly had a heart attack.

Thankfully my near coronary disaster was averted by the sheer possibility of a culinary dream come true. This is something to tick off my bucket list, and years from now I will be telling my grandchildren that I was part of the team that fed Anthony Bourdain.

O.M.G.

A revered yet excited silence fell when he walked in the door. The air was electric.

Camera men were like silent ninjas who were every where at once, which I guess is what you have to be to work on a show like No Reservations.

It was crunch time, and Romeo carefully selected the best of what we had to offer and beautifully arranged it on a platter.

And there's Luke carefully arranging the meats.

The adrenaline was pumping, the anticipation was high, and all too suddenly, it was over. And he emerged from the back room.

For such a culinary rockstar, I really didn't know what to expect. For the most part I was just staring him like a dumbstruck fangirl trying to keep quiet the crazy screaming that was going on inside.

And he was so nice. He complimented us on the food that he had tasted, and very kindly stayed to pose for photographs even though his producers had informed us that he had to rush to the next location. He was so friendly and had a kind smile and a hand shake for every one who had worked so hard to create the experience.

Even typing this brings a slight tear to my eye. I miss everything: I miss waking up at 5:30am, I miss the aching joints, I miss the sore knees, I miss standing there pushing pastry into tin after tin, I miss the aromas of the busy kitchen...but most of all I miss the learning. The knowing that every day that I wake up to go there is another day that I will learn new, different things that will expand and impact the way I cook in future.

I'm so glad and grateful for the experience, and it's something that I will never ever forget.

Victor Churchill
132 Queen Street, Woollahra NSW 2025
(02) 9328 0402 ‎


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Homemade Fine Foods, Tempe

Apparently it all started with Lemon Curd. Homemade Fine Foods was founded on a 'real food' philosophy - food that you can buy, that will taste like what you've made at home. The upside? Not having to spend hours making it yourself. And while I love cooking, that idea sounds fantastic to me - especially after a long day on my feet where I don't even really feel like cooking dinner, much less dessert.

And they don't only do desserts, they teach you how to make it too!

I was invited over the weekend by a very lovely Merna from Homemade Fine Foods to a Mousse Class!! This was an especially exciting piece of news for me since my only (failed) attempt at a chocolate mousse ended up with whipped cream in a glass and bits of chocolate that had hardened because of the coldness of the cream. Go figure. Lovely, aerated, velvety dessert just seems to elude me. After having to admit recently - with much embarrassment - that I had no idea how to create a proper mousse, I was thankful for the opportunity to be taught the proper techniques.

The class was at 11am, and because Sean was working the night shift, we had not had anything to eat and were starving. No worry though, they feed you!





I love events that feed you.

Great cheeses from Small Cow Farm and luscious, ripe fruit really started the day off well for me. Even Sean - who had worked all night - was happily relaxed and ready for some chocolate.



And boy was there chocolate.

We were taught the difference between using compound chocolate and coverture - compound can be heated to a higher temperature and so will pasteurize your eggs - and what temperatures to look for when melting your chocolate.

Interesting fact - while cocoa butter has a melting point of 35C, compound chocolate contains fats that allow you to heat it higher, hence allowing the pasteurization of the raw eggs!































The class also covered whipping and incorporating the meringue...

And the whipped cream, amongst other things.



Now, Sean isn't the biggest cook around - in fact, he hardly ever gets to step into the kitchen because I'm always in there doing something or the other - but there's at least one part of the class that he absolutely LOVES.



How can anyone say no to that finished product! Sweet, creamy, and comforting, we got to take home two massive tubs of mousse that had been decorated with swirls of dark chocolate. The mind-boggling thing was that such a simple technique looks so pretty and polished. Definitely something that I'll try on my next dessert served in glass.

There were some moments that we had to wait - for example, the chocolate mixture had to cool down before mixing in the whipped cream - and guess what happened?

They feed you some more!





Did I mention that I love being fed?



And while I have a weakness for Bread and Butter pudding - it's a comfort food that many members of my family have in common - and Sean devoured the Sticky Date Pudding, the Raspberry Panna Cotta was my favourite!

This story is too cute - you've gotta see it for yourself:

SO CUTE!

Apparently Cuttaway Creek Raspberry Farm also supplied raspberries to many well-known Sydney restaurants. I have to pay a visit to them some day.

But anyway, back to the class. I left with arms full of tubs of mousse and a belly full of delicious desserts. Both Sean and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and that was a feat for Sean after pulling an all-nighter.

It was a great way for us to cook together as a couple, and a great pre- (or post) Valentine's day present!

The class costs $80 per person and is held at their factory store in Tempe.


Homemade Fine Foods
Unit 4, 3 Wood Street, TEMPE NSW 2044
(02) 9559 4449
info@homemadefinefoods.com.au


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Note: Insatiable Munchies was invited as a guest of Homemade Fine Foods

Baegopa!!

Baegopa (배고파)- I'm hungry - indeed. In fact, I'm always hungry, which is why I was so excited when I got the opportunity to attend a Korean Cooking Class at the Korean Cultural Office!

I attended two of the 8 scheduled classes for the Jul/Aug term, and I must say that I didn't hold that high an expectation for it - most cooking classes that I've been to, save for Cheeky, are demonstration based, and you're not allowed to do very much. This one, however, was FANTASTIC!

First of all, the teacher, Heather Jeong, is so lovely and helpful.



She was ready to answer any questions relating to Korean food and culture, whether they related to the dish we were meant to prepare that day or not.

Speaking of dishes to prepare, we had BBQ Galbi as the main attraction on the first class.



Apparently Australia have really good quality short ribs, and this meat, which is usually braised for maximum tenderness, is nicely marbled and imparts plenty of flavour.

The Koreans have come up with a very ingenious method of cutting the meat so that it cooks quickly and isn't tough to eat!



The short ribs are carefully butterflied so that it folds out into one long strip of meat. This is done by very carefully using a sharp knife to cut in a spiral inwards. This is to ensure that the meat is in as thin a strip as possible, which then shortens the cooking time dramatically.

Then the meat goes off for a soak and marinade!





Apparently the meat tastes better after it's been frozen!! Which works by me, since I am a staunch believer of weekend marinading - doing the grunt work of cooking on the weekend so that yummy meals on a weekday is easy peasy.

And what's a Korean meal without sides!



I've always loved Korean sides, like the spring onion salad, but have never been able to get them quite right. This class not only gives you the chance to sample all these sides, but also allows you to ask the teacher for the recipe!

And as if that wasn't enough of a feast, we also had short ribs on their own, and
some pork belly as well.







As with most tabletop BBQs (great for parties!), we had veggies and such that lighten up each meaty, flavourful mouthful! I really like the Korean style of wrapping meats and condiments in fresh salad leaves that allow you to feel like you're eating a salad without actually eating a salad!

Now you don't think we stopped there did you? All that was one lesson's worth of food, and I chose to pay to attend another one.



This time we made KFC - Korean Fried Chicken! It is so simple, and yet marvellously delicious. You see, maybe the world's got it all wrong. We keep trying to flavour the batter and season the flour...maybe it is as simple as putting a glaze on it!



We made a soy glaze and a chilli sauce for it, and I must say, I'm pretty happy with the results!



Every bite was tasty, crispy, and full of flavour. The coating is super easy too - just some potato starch and plain flour. You can use a mixture of rice flour and corn flour in there too, but personally I just like the starch and plain flour mixture.

Remember the feasting thing? Well, we also made Spicy Pork Tacos!



Using daeji bulgogi, which is Spicy Marinated Pork, we had some rockin' wraps that I could eat all day long.



And the best part is? The dishes that I've learnt from those lessons are not the kind of dishes that I will only make once. Since those classes (it's been about 2 weeks?) I've already got packs of short ribs and pork belly marinading away in the fridge. I've had the adoration of my friends for my awesome chicken wings, and the undying devotion of Sean for the short ribs wrapped in salad leaves. Not that I didn't have it already, but you know, a way to a man's heart and all that.

The lessons cost $70 each, or $50 each if you are a member. It costs $25 to become a member, but if you are going to become a member just for the cooking classes, I would suggest that you check the availability, as the classes are already booked up for the next couple of months. I think Heather, our lovely instructor, is a one-woman Korean-home-cooking invasion! If you think about it, it's like a buffet dinner with recipes AND leftovers to take home!

Awesome isn't it?

And if that wasn't enough to convince you that this cooking class is well worth the time and money, let me leave you with a picture of the BEST LUNCHBOX EVER!



Tammi of Insatiable Munchies attended this Korean cooking class courtesy of the Korean Cultural Office. For more information, please contact the Korean Cultural Office at +61-2-8267-3400 or info@koreanculture.org.au.

Getting Cheeky!

I love cooking events.

After attending Cheeky Food Group's marvellous Masterchef Live flambé class, I jumped at the opportunity when invited by the lovely people there for an evening of food!

The Cheeky Food Group hold lots of corporate and team building events, and also cooking classes that you can sign up for. They've got great, easy recipes, and you get to cook everything that you eat!

Now you know that I'm "a bit" partial to the eating side of things, and that I've gone home and cooked recipes that I've learnt from them both times tells you how good the food turns out! Easy as pie.

Mmmmm pie.

Speaking of eating, there were lots of munchies when I got there, and wine and sangria if you were so inclined. =)



Then on to the cooking.



Leona - the same Leona whom I met at Masterchef Live - showed us the correct techniques to cutting and chopping. While it may seem like a really basic skill for all food enthusiasts, you'll be surprised at how useful her tips and tricks are!

For example, you're meant to KEEP YOUR FINGERTIPS AWAY when cutting food. (Refer to above picture.) Use the midsection of your fingers as a glider, and keep them in contact with the flat side of the knife.

Also (something that is often neglected or forgotten by many) USE A SHARP KNIFE. Like Leona said, "A sharp knife is 10 times safer that a blunt one." A blunt knife can cause you to slip (rather than cutting the food as you should), and you could really hurt yourself.

That's why a good knife is so important in the kitchen. It's not a gourmet thing, it's a safety thing!

We were all using Santouku knives from Chef's Toolbox that night, and they're really handy! Great for chopping as the blade of the knife is flat, and not too curved, so it connects with the chopping board really well and doesn't leave last little bits still connected on the bottom. (If I'm making any sense.)

I also automatically associate Cheeky Food Group with flambé, and they certainly didn't disappoint.



I just love watching that pan catching alight with the bright fluid flames that seem to float just atop it. If you're going to try this at home, just remember to hold the pan away from you and OFF THE FIRE when you add the alcohol! Then just let it bubble and tilt the pan slightly to allow the evaporated alcohol to catch alight.

Of course, when there's cooking, there's always eating!!! Half the joy is in eating the finished product don't you think? =)





A BIG THANK YOU to the Cheeky Food Group and the PR Group for such a fun evening!! Try a class, I guarantee that you'll have loads of fun!

Cheeky Food Group
1/65-67 Foveaux Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 8217 6900


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