And now for something a little more unusual. Takoyaki is a little Japanese snack of little balls made up of little octopus pieces with ginger and spring onions in a white sauce, fried in a purpose-built cast iron pan. They are actually very yummy, especially when served with salty dried bonito flakes, and Japanese barbecue sauce and mayonnaise. Really.
Remember the time when sushi wasn’t sold at every corner, when eating raw fish was out of the question for the average Aussie? I remember tasting my first sushi and sashimi in the early Nineties while in Japan on a short exchange program. While I liked my first taste of sushi, I didn’t really think sashimi was anything to write home about at the time. It was just simply texture with not much taste, I thought.
How times have changed. I wouldn’t say that I’m a sushi/sashimi fanatic, but I do appreciate the good stuff. I don’t eat it often either, because to be honest good sushi and sashimi is a rarity in Sydney. A good sushi should be freshly made, with the freshest fish, and served at room temperature. A good sashimi is even rarer because it requires not only the freshest fish, but also the skill of the chef to slice it so that the flesh melts in your mouth. Add a little wasabi/soy sauce and pickled ginger, and it instantly becomes a feast.
The bottom line is, good sushi/sashimi doesn’t come cheap, but it’s worth every penny when you’re presented with a platter like this.
As I mentioned before, the other dishes that we ordered on my latest visit to Satay Inn were Chinese, or I suppose Australian-Chinese. First came the sizzling chilli lamb, that came on a hotplate. It wasn’t overly hot, and although tasty, not a dish that really got me excited.
That wasn’t the case with the salt and pepper calamari, which was really wonderful. I’d tasted their salt and pepper eggplant before, and the calamari was cooked in the same way – lightly battered, perfectly spiced, with a little crunch. My friends were quite impressed and the whole dish was devoured in less than ten minutes.
BB took me out for a special birthday dinner at Pearson’s in Mortdale. I’d passed this restaurant many times when I lived around the corner, but thinking that it was a posh place, never ventured inside. It turned out to be more homely than I thought. The food was lovely, and lovingly made by the single chef in a tiny kitchen. Considering that he had what must have been 30 customers to serve, it seemed a bit of a miracle to me.
We start out the dinner with two lovely entrees. I had the wonderful scallops wrapped in bacon. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and the bacon were a tasty companion to the soft shellfish.
BB had stuffed mushrooms and was also very satisfied with his choice.
Living in Sydney, one starts to take good, cheap yum cha for granted. Yum cha is the Cantonese ceremony of taking tea and snacks while gathering with family. In Sydney it’s no longer only Chinese families that gather for yum cha but literally everyone, judging by the clientele of a typical Chinatown establishment on a Sunday.
There isn’t any ceremony when I go though. My parents not actually liking this style of food my visits are usually with friends or work colleagues, and these visits most resemble feeding frenzies as we greedily sample plate after plate off the passing carts until everyone’s hunger is sated. And my favourites are the more traditional steamed dumplings and rice noodle dishes, especially those that contain whole prawns, like the one below. It is simply prawns, wrapped in delicate sheets of rice noodles, finished with soy and peanut oil.
It’s a wonder that I haven’t posted a Japanese dish yet because Japanese is one of my favourite cuisines. And it’s not all about raw fish or zany chefs throwing food at you. Remember that Japanese food is one of the most refined cuisines in the world. That said, Teriyaki Salmon isn’t refined. More… homely to me. Forget about the store-bought sauces. They’re not the real deal. You’ll get a more fresher, authentic sauce if you make it yourself. Strangely enough, this dish has a shorter ingredients list than a stir-fry. It consists of:
– soy sauce
– sugar
– rice wine vinegar
– mirin (a Japanese sweet rice wine available at most supermarkets)
Here’s a good recipe to follow.
Served with steamed rice and a few greens, you’ve got a super quick mid-week meal.
There’s nothing better after a visit to the beach than fish and chips. Whether served in a wad of butcher’s paper or more posh on a big plate with salad, I love it when the batter is thin, the fish fresh, and chips are crispy.
We ordered two dishes for mains. First, steamed barramundi fillets and vegetables. It was a very delicate dish that could have used a bit more seasoning, but the veges and fish were all cooked very well.
But my favourite of the day was gai yang, barbecued lemongrass chicken fillets. Lovely marinade and charcoal flavours served with sweet chilli sauce.
I found the recipe in one of my books at home. It looks simple enough so I might make it one day.
I realise that I’ve not posted about food for a long time. Probably because I’ve not taken my camera to restaurants for a while. Well, I’ll try to get back in the act, starting with a Thai lunch.
We’d been to KB Thai in Woy Woy before and had a great meal, so we were keen to try it again. We started off with some prawn won tons that were nice and light with a hint of ginger.
Next was barbecued prawns, which were less successful. They were prawns on a stick really, and after deshelling and desticking, the resulting flesh wasn’t exactly worth the effort.
The teriyaki salmon was good. This is how the marinade is supposed to look, not the bottled crap that you buy in the supermarket. The recipe is actually super easy, so if you want to taste authentic teriyaki salmon it’s better to make it yourself.
Static and Silence 