Posts by tammi

House, Surry Hills

Review October 7, 2011 1 Comment

And, no, it’s not the doctor on TV. Vina and Lauren had heard about a dessert called “Better Than Sex” at House, in Surry Hills. Talk about expectations hey?

Well, there always needs to be a lead up, so first.

We had a great seafood salad – Yum Sea Food, $14. It was a little bit on the spicy side, but the seafood was nicely cooked with a great dressing. It was light, tangy, slightly salty…I thought it went really well with the glutinous rice, which came in this uber cute steaming basket!!

We also had some lovely spiced chicken – Gai Yang, $16.

It was surprisingly well cooked – there are so many places that seem to overdo the chicken for some reason – and full of bursting flavour. The chicken was juicy, and not fatty, and each bite was lovingly dipped into a sweet/spicy chilli sauce that it was served with.

And the last savoury dish that was ordered was the herbal soup – Aorn Gai, $14.

Topped with dill, this soup was really refreshing…in a broth sort of way. It’s quite hard to describe, but it whenever I started feeling a little bit full, the soup actually made me feel…cleansed, and actually whetted my appetite. Served in a little pot on a stand, it was also really cute, and had great visual effect.

And finally.

What everyone has been waiting for.

Better Than Sex is a piece of extremely soft white bread is fried and topped with a gargantuan, monolithic scoop of pandan coconut ice cream and treacle-y caramel syrup. Was it good? Extremely. Did it live up to its name? Well, depends on how you like either I suppose. But it is very good.

In essence, the food was tasty, and the service not too bad. There was a nice flow of people through for dinner, and it got neither too crowded or quiet.

Definitely somewhere that I would go to again.

We ate at:

House
(02) 9280 0364
Surry Hills
202 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills, 2010

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Bacon Pancakes

Recipe October 3, 2011 5 Comments

After watching Man Vs Food – Season 3, Episode 2 where host Adam Richman goes to The Buff Restaurant in Boulder Colorado – I decided that bacon in pancakes was a really really good idea. There were a couple of things that I took away from the episode:

The bacon was first baked, not fried.
The pancakes were semi-cooked before pieces of bacon were pressed into them.
It was all then topped with a ‘basted egg’ which, from what I could gather, was a part poached, part steamed sunny side up egg.

So I decided to do a little experiment. I laid some bacon out on a tray, and put them in the oven. While that was in there, I decided to fry some bacon.

The fried bacon turned out curly, with more extreme caramelization.

The baked bacon seemed more evenly browned, and turned out flat pieces that were more easily pressed into the pancakes, and prevented the batter overspill that happened with the curly bacon. It’s all personal preference, really.

The pancakes used in the show were, I think, buttermilk pancakes. I used my own recipe for pancakes, but feel free to use whichever one you want.

Breakfast Pancakes:

1 cup self raising flour (or one cup plain with a teaspoon of both baking powder and baking soda)
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk

Mix all the ingredients together, being careful not to overmix. Heat a pan to medium and lightly coat with oil. Ladle the mixture into the pan. When bubbles start appearing and the pancakes start setting, place cooked pieces of bacon onto the still-slightly-runny batter. Flip the pancakes.

Serve with maple syrup.

********

The final part of this awesome breakfast dish is, of course, the basted eggs. For this, you need a frying pan, a lid, egg, water, and a little bit of oil.

Basted Eggs

Eggs
Water

Preheat a lightly oiled pan to medium heat. Use butter for an extra richness. Crack an egg (or two!) into the pan. As the whites start to set, add about a teaspoon of water, and cover with the lid. I used a glass lid, which allows me to monitor the eggs, but my stove’s medium heat has my eggs done in about 30 seconds. This does take a little bit of trial and error, but it does pay off in the end.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s the money shot.

The most perfectly runny, silky eggs ever.

Well worth the effort. =)

¡Hagamos una fiesta!

Review September 19, 2011 6 Comments

Which, I’m told by Google means “let’s party!”.

Mad Mex – whose food I’ve reviewed before – has just opened a brand spanking new location in George St in the city. It’s right near Central Station, and shines like a bright beacon of tasty food right before you descend into the yawning maws of the underground tunnel that leads you to the train station.

The opening night had a more-festive-than-usual atmosphere – balloons, colours, and of course, the food.

But before all that, Clovis Young – founder of Mad Mex – brought us through a course in tequila and salsa.

Part of the flavour of the salsa comes from charred vegetables.

Onions, peppers, and tomatoes are blackened over fire and then chopped up and placed into a blender. Sounds simple? Well, don’t go breaking out the gas stoves just yet.

Fragrant, spicy Mexican chillis are then added to the mixture, giving it a kick that I can only describe as piquant and incredibly addictive. The variety of chillies that are used here really give it a certain something extra, which sets the salsas apart from salsas from other origins that can sometimes taste rather…flat. Apparently, Mad Mex uses about 20,000kg of chillies and 12,000 kg of avocados a year!

Now, onto the juicy bit, THE FOOD!

What seemed like every imaginable condiment was laid out before us while the servers worked in a conveyor-belt-type line to keep hungry people fed.

Clockwise from left: Mad Mex menu, Crispy Tacos, Grande Melt

That night, we had a choice of anything on the menu, and boy did my tummy appreciate it.

Beef Burrito

Beef Nachos

Out of everything I had that night, my absolute favourite had to be the Nachos. While the flavour of all the ingredients – and there were some that were pretty common across the board – works together nicely, I liked having the option to just have certain elements on their own. The Burrito was good, as usual, and the Grande Melt deserves special mention – I brought half of it home and it reheated very nicely the next day.

The most obvious thing that I noticed that day was that I didn’t feel overly sick and filled with grease. No, I essentially ate till I dropped and still got away with it! It tasted fresh and light, and while filling, didn’t weigh you down at all! It’s a great change from the typical Mexican fare that can get rather oily and heavy. Especially good for a quick lunch in the city!

Clockwise from left: Clovis Young, founder of Mad Mex, Sean ordering at the counter, the high-energy staff at the George St store.

And what’s a great party without the great people?

There was a mariachi band that night, and friends and family were all invited for a feed. It had great energy that night, and I think it’s great that it was a similarly great energy when I went to the Darlinghurst store previously. No matter how much I like the food, the service is always what I come back for.

Good food, great people – what else could you ask for?

We ate at:

Mad Mex
Haymarket
815 George St
Ultimo NSW 2007

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Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

Review September 14, 2011 3 Comments

View from Flying Fish, where we had dinner.

Isn’t it beautiful? The lovely people at Wine Selectors and Keepleft PR invited a few bloggers and myself to a wedding – to be specific, the marriage of food and wine.

We were first greeted by little wedding favors – Bombonieres – of sugared almonds. Champagne was cheerfully offered, but knowing my extremely low tolerance for alcohol, I tried to politely defer till dinner. In the meantime, I ordered something else to drink in the meantime.

Behold! The only non-alcoholic drink in the room!

Regardless of my (dis)ability with alcohol, I had a very lovely pre-dinner chat with Chris Barnes – consultant wine educator to Wine Selectors and visiting lecturer in Wine Studies at the University of Melbourne – about the science of wine.

From left: 2005 Chrismont Riesling, 2010 Dandelion Vineyards Wonderland of the Eden Valley Riesling

We started out with two really nice Rieslings. The younger of the two smelled distinctly of fresh pears and apples, and the older had a slightly more complex scent of ripe fruit.

Clockwise from left: Toasted Brioche with Duck Rillettes and Foie Gras Mousse, Cornet of Ocrean Trout Tartare with Chive Creme Fraiche, Freshly Shucked Sydney Rock Oysters with Soy and Ginger

The younger Riesling worked really nicely with the oysters, and the older of the two cut through the richness of the Duck Rillettes and Foie Gras. While I enjoyed the lighter, juicier Riesling more, the more layered, older Riesling worked better with food. I guess what I’m trying to say rather clumsily is that I would enjoy the younger Riesling on its own, but would rather have the older Riesling with food.

We then had a choice of two different mains that we could have, and Simon and I went halfsies!

Roasted Blue Eye Trevalla with Textures of Potato, White Anchovy and Herb Vinaigrette

The fish was marvelously flaky, but the best part of this dish for me was the tasty, tingly vinaigrette! There was such beauty in the way that the flavors sparked my tastebuds and the silky-yet-flaky white fish felt in my mouth that the individual elements didn’t really make that much of an impression. It was just a glorious, light, soul-lifting whole.

Dutton Park Duck Breast & Confit Leg Pastilla with Buckwheat, Quince & Pan Juices

As much as I usually prefer seafood – and that fish was divine – this duck was everything a duck should be. Or any meat for that matter. It was chock full of flavor, juicy, and I finally can say that I understand why there is such a tizzy about duck fat. There was just a certain satiny richness that coated my tongue, mellowed out the sharp saltiness of the pan juices and gave a great depth of flavor to the buckwheat.

The mains were paired with two Pinot Noirs – 2010 Riposte by Tim Knappstein No 1 Pinot Noir and 2008 Tarrawarra Estate Reserve Pinot Noir. To be honest, to a wine novice like me, the reds were just a bit much. I could definitely appreciate the jammy berry scents in the older of the two reds, but as far as the tasting, I was just a little bit lost. I did, however, learn about the importance of oxygen to flavor.

The oxidation process apparently allows for a greater complexity of flavor. Chris likened it to the process of cooking – oxygen molecules are excited and the flavor of the food changes. Hence the idea of letting the wine “breathe”, which apparently is a misnomer as the wine doesn’t exactly go through expiration and respiration. The process of oak barrel maturation was explained to me like this – the wood allows some of the liquid to evaporate, and oxygen is then pulled into the barrel, which then interacts with the wine and brings out a more complex, deeper flavor.

At least, that’s how I understand it.

A final red – 2009 Coriole Vineyards Sangiovese Shiraz – was then poured out for us to enjoy with the cheese platter.

We had two different kinds of cheeses that night – an American Cheddar, and a Delice de Bourgogne. The shiraz had a dark, chocolatey flavor, and the tannins cut through the creaminess of the oozy Delice de Bourgogne really well. It was really enjoyable, although I still felt that there was a limit to which I could enjoy the Shiraz because I couldn’t fully understand it.
But that’s the thing.

In my chats with Chris, what I really learnt from him and this wonderful dinner with the people from Wine Selectors is that you’ve gotta start somewhere. The perception of wine seems either to be that it is intimidating – probably because of a lack of exposure – or that it is pretentious. I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t have to be either. It is a little bit like food, I guess, because you win some and you lose some. I’ve just realized that while I wouldn’t consider myself a wine lover, I do like a young Reisling. And seeing as how I started my love affair with cheese with creamy white mould cheeses and now love a good sharp blue, I’m pretty sure that before long I’ll work my way up to appreciating a nice, full red.

A big thank you to the nice people at Wine Selectors and Keep Left PR for inviting me to this lovely dinner, and the intriguing introduction to wine.

Note: Insatiable Munchies and other food bloggers mentioned in this post dined as guests of Wine Selectors and Keepleft PR.

We ate at:

Flying Fish
Lower Deck Jones Bay Wharf,
19/21 Pirrama Road
Pyrmont NSW 2009
(02)9518 6677

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Happy 120 Years TAFE!! Weird Food Dinner

Review September 6, 2011 4 Comments

As you all would know, I love LOVE odd food. Chances are, if it’s really out there and doesn’t really sound like food at all, I’ll desperately want to try it. Which is why TAFE’s Weird Food Dinner – which is part of the Ultimo Science Festival and TAFE’s 120 year celebrations – was my PERFECT idea of dinner. There’s just something about edible creativity that really sparks my interest.

When you first walk in The Apprentice – the resident TAFE restaurant where the cookery and hospitality students get to use all the skills (and probably more) that they’ve learnt in their TAFE courses – two large television screens greet you.

These screens both show footage of what’s going on in the kitchen. The whole dinner is actually prepared by students in Year 2 of the Commercial Cookery Certificate III. The hum of conversation rises as everyone speculates what dish is being prepared in the kitchen. All the footage is live, and provides great insight to the tension, the energy, and the nerves that go on behind the scenes. I actually saw a student’s hand shake as she lifted little white beans (more about that later) from a tray of clear liquid. As a self-confessed food nerd I must admit that I watched with endless fascination like a child at the aquarium.

The dinner started out with baskets of warm bread being rolled out by the Food and Beverage Certificate IV students. Smartly dressed in monochrome tones, fragrant rolls of chewy goodness were waved temptingly under our noses, singing its siren’s song of toastiness. There were a few different varieties (I kinda scoffed them all before I remembered to take a photo. FAIL) but my absolute favourite was the Beetroot Bread (right). There was the subtle sweetness of beetroot, mixed with the amazing chewy texture of the bread. Plus, the vibrant infusion of fuchsia was absolutely stunning.

Appetizer: Diego Munoz, Bilsons. XL White bean, Kurobuta pancetta, black garlic

When the appetizer came, I actually had a really strong impression that I’ve seen this dish somewhere before. Especially the XL White Bean.

Does anyone else get food deja vu?

Anyway, the XL White Bean is actually made up of white bean that has been first poached in ham stock, pureed, then had alginate added, before careful spoonfuls were dropped into a calcium chloride solution. This process is called spherification, and the idea is that a thin skin forms on the outside of the puree, giving it its form. This large “white bean” is then delicately topped with the thinnest sliver of Kurobuta pancetta. Buta is japanese for pig, and Kurobuta refers to a specific sort of (I believe) black pig that has a good amount of fat bred into the species. Sounds exotic? Well, it’s nothing compared to the other element – the Black Garlic.

Apparently, the way you would get black garlic is to ferment it for 40 days at a specific temperature. Most methods that I’ve seen online call for a heating element (but not too hot) and low humidity. The result of all the kerfuffle? Beautiful, soft garlic the colour of inky night skies with a strong umami flavor that leaves your tastebuds tingling in excitement. If ever there was a relatable definition to “big mouth feel”, this is it for me. I was specifically instructed by the cook/chef that accompanied my waiter that I was meant to eat a full bean, the garlic and then the full bean again. It was almost as if the first “bean” was to set me up for the explosion of flavor that the garlic gives, and the second “bean” was there to bring me down gently in a cloud of white bean puree. My only gripe would be that I didn’t really taste what the pancetta brings to the party. After hearing so much about this pig – bless you, Iron Chef – I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t get to experience what this little piggy was really meant to do.

Entree: Patrick Dang, Concrete Blonde. Giant red claw yabby, bisque ice cream, bacon powder, porcini broth

About 30 minutes after the appetizer was served, the dish that I was anticipating the most came through the swinging doors of the kitchen. I have a weakness for crustaceans. There. I’ve said it.

When I first looked at it, I was pretty sure that my scoop of bisque ice cream had fallen of its yabby pedestal, but I like to think that it might have been a creative decision by the person preparing my dish because it kind of looks like an abstract melting Dali crustacean from the side. I think it’s cute. And that’s what I’m sticking with.

I think this had to be my favorite tasting dish of the night. The fresh yabby had a great spring in its flesh, the porcini broth imparted a great ‘meatiness’ to the dish, and the bisque ice cream. Oh, the bisque ice cream! It was divine. I could’ve eaten a whole tub. The shellfish flavor that I’m so addicted to came through all the creaminess like a bright light shining through a paper lantern – its potential glare was kerbed by the soft, melting creaminess that hugged the tongue. The bacon powder sounded like a great idea, but didn’t actually do much for me. The rest of the dish was so yummy that – rather than provide a contrast in texture like I think it was meant to do – it actually kind of sat there like an un-needed appendage.

Still, I feel that all the omnomnomminess outweighed any and all potential negative the dish might have had. It was just yummy. And let me state for the record that it is very difficult to try and scrape your plate clean in a fancy posh setting. Just sayin’.

Main: Alfonso Ales, Jonahs. Aylesbury duck, “Apicus” Hunter Valley

The main came out of the kitchen in a waft of gorgeous aroma. The poached and spiced pears and citrus fruit were carefully arranged in a line beside the duck, adding fresh colour to the earthy palette on the plate. I was actually quite excited by the thought of this dish – I don’t know why, it might have been a fantasy fueled by the visions of Heston Blumenthal’s Duck a L’orange. Somehow the sight of duck with citrus just triggers that fantasy for me.

But anyway.

I’m sad to say that this dish wasn’t exactly my favorite of the night. While the fruit hit all the right notes, the duck was a little bit…overdone for my taste. Excuse my plebeian tastebuds, but it tasted just a little bit powdery for me. Just a little. Maybe it’s an acquired taste for the texture, like liver.

The skin and the sauce however, went really well with the fruit.

Dessert: Nathan Griffiths, Ultimo College. Bistro Burger “all the trimmings”

If the Entree was my favorite flavor profile of the night, then this has to be my favorite visual. As a fan of Heston Blumenthal, I LOVE the idea of a certain food masquerading as something else. And this hit all those targets and captured my imagination. Smooth, custard-y vanilla ‘buns’ were topped with a chocolate mousse ‘patty’, raspberry ‘tomatoes’, pistachio biscuit ‘pickles’, white chocolate ‘cheese slice’, pistachio sponge ‘lettuce’ and another wobbly dome of vanilla ‘bun. And on the side, dehydrated pineapple ‘french fries’, accompanied with raspberry coulee ‘ketchup’ and mango ‘mustard.

HOW CUTE IS THAT???!!!

You can’t really go wrong with those flavors : it’s not exactly ‘out there’ but meh, who cares when it is so CUTE! It tasted good, I don’t think I really have to say anything else.

And when you think you’re done, the dinner is topped off with a white chocolate lollipop (is it scattered with cocoa nibs? I’m not sure) and a selection of chocolates.

In all, it was a fun and informative dinner, which was well worth the $75 price tag. True, it wasn’t exactly my idea of “weird”, but then again, I watch a lot of programs that feature Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria, so maybe I’m a little biased. Hey, at least I got to enjoy the creations of these great chefs, TWO of whom worked for Ferran Adrià!! I’m now only separated by 2 degrees!!! *Squeals like a fangirl*

Anyway. The food was good and the staff were absolutely lovely. I’m not sure what the menu at The Apprentice is like usually, but I wouldn’t mind going there again to find out. And a quick flick through the Ultimo Science Festival program that was given out before dinner showed me all the really cool stuff that I had missed out on this year. =(

I definitely know what I’ll be doing next year though. Any food nerds want to join me? 😀

I ate at:

The Apprentice Restaurant
Level 7, Building E
TAFE NSW Sydney Institute, Ultimo College
Harris Street, Ultimo 2007
(02) 9217-5527
SI.TheApprentice (AT) tafensw.edu.au

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Cocobella

Review August 29, 2011 3 Comments

Guess what I got sent in the mail!!!! Product talk by Nuffnang is where brands get in touch with Nuffnang and Nuffnang in turn, sends product out to bloggers (like me!) to review!

Cocobella is a new Australian company that bottles pure coconut – and some flavoured – water in convenient tetrapack!

Coconut water contains lots of nutrients and anti-oxidants. Water from young coconuts have very mild flavoured water, and the flavour gets stronger as the coconut matures. Coming from a tropical country, I love the refreshing taste of fresh coconut, and this surprisingly tastes remarkably close to what I remember! I’ve been looking for suitable and convenient ways to get my coconut fix, and there are some products out there that just taste plain weird.

And simply because I love fresh coconut, Straight Up is my favourite flavour of the lot. It’s very light, and it’s only 54 calories! I think it’s great for a sweet drink fix that’s not bad for you.

The Pink Guava is Sean’s favourite of the lot, partially cause you can’t actually really taste the flavour of the coconut. It’s got a nice fruity flavour, but it’s more like guava juice rather than coconut juice that’s mixed in with some guava.

The Mango is quite similar to the Pink Guava in that you can’t really taste the coconut flavour, but the mango is still light and refreshing, and not ‘heavy’ and saccharine-ly sweet like some other mango juices can be.

And finally, the Pineapple. This one tasted a little odd to me. The pineapple flavour seem to bring out a slightly metallic aftertaste in the coconut water. Not sure though, it could be just me.

Likes: Great refreshing taste, and amazing low in calories! Great for that quick fix in the middle of a dreary afternoon.

Dislikes: I didn’t like that the flavoured coconut waters had added sugar – to me most of the fruit that it’s paired with has natural sweetness. But, then again, there are quite a few juices out there that have sugar added, so….I’d stick to the Straight Up, which is my favourite anyway!

Cocobella Pure Coconut Water is available at leading supermarkets. Visit Cocobella for more information.

Baegopa!!

Review August 10, 2011 6 Comments

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.

The Wheels on the bus go round and round…

Recipe July 29, 2011 8 Comments

It’s that time of the year again. Sean’s birthday is coming up, and I usually start trying out possible cake ideas in the June/July region. This year’s idea was inspired by Sean’s obsession with the large, individually-packed Wagon Wheels that he gets from work.

The result? A Wagon Wheel cake!

Very much an assembly cake, the elements of this cake can be made the day before – in fact, I recommend it – and assembled on the day.

Wagon Wheel Cake

Butter cake:
250g softened butter
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1.5 cups sifted plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 160 (fan forced). Cream the butter and sugar till the sugar has dissolved, and add the eggs, one and a time, until all the eggs have been incorporated. Fold in the flour, baking soda and baking powder until all the flour has been mixed into the batter, but do not over mix. Split the mixture amongst two circular cake tins and bake till the tops are golden brown and springy to the touch (about 20-25 min). Leave to cool in tins.

Marshmallow filling:

3 tbsp powdered gelatin
1 cup sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 reliable thermometer

Add the gelatin to the bottom of your mixing bowl and let soak with 3 tbsp water. In a pot, add the sugar and 1 cup of water and bring to the boil. You want to bring this to the ‘soft-ball’ stage, which is about 118C/235F. Be careful, sugar syrups can get VERY HOT and you can injure yourself.

Once the sugar gets to the correct temperature, turn on your electric beaters on the gelatin and slowly, SLOWLY pour the sugar syrup onto the gelatin.

The marshmallow mixture will start to froth, and it will begin to resemble a meringue. Add the vanilla. As the mixture cools, it will start to thicken, and the idea is to whip it till you get hard peaks.

Lightly oil and dust (with icing mixture – pure icing sugar isn’t dry enough, you do need some of the cornflour in icing mixture) the same cake tins that you baked your cake in.

Add just enough marshmallow mixture to fill about half the tin. Leave to set for a couple of hours (depending on the humidity of where you’re at) or overnight.

You will almost certainly have more than enough mixture, and you can go ahead and experiment and add different flavours and colours to the remainder of the mixture and set it in different tins!

Jam:

You can use any good jam that you like, or you can make your own. For this project, I used some lovely Anathoth Jam.

Assembly:

First, grab a layer of cooled cake.

Then, top with the set marshmallow and a generous dollop of jam.

Then top with the second layer of cake.

Ganache:
100g thickened cream
175g dark chocolate buttons

Bring the cream to a boil over medium heat. Take the cream off the heat, and pour in the chocolate buttons. Stir well.

Keep stirring as the ganache cools. When it reaches spreadable consistency, cover the cake in ganache!

And voila! A wagon wheel cake that is both yummy and appeals to large and small kids alike. I cut some ‘bite marks’ out of the cake with a spoon because otherwise it just looks like a chocolate cake. =)

Oh, and a note about working with chocolate.

It gets absolutely everywhere. =)

From Spiders to Water Lilies

Recipe July 24, 2011 2 Comments

Ooh look what I got in the mail!! =)

I was very excited to get send a copy of From Spiders to Water Lilies, a collection of Cambodian recipes of food that’s featured in Romdeng, a restaurant that is a project of Friends International, and that is run by children who were picked up off the street.

First of all, let me say that I would have bought this beautifully printed book even if I wasn’t sent it because I believe in the cause. I believe that food is not just nourishment for the body, but also nourishment for the soul, and when children are placed in unfortunate circumstances, food can definitely be used as a tool to help them reach for whatever future they would like to reach for.

Secondly, I can’t believe just how yummy the food is!!!! I’ve never been to Cambodia, and I knew that because of the geographical proximity, there will be certain elements that are similar to many South East Asian food. But what I didn’t realise was that – even though in some recipes there are elements of sour, salty, sweet – the combination is just so new and absolutely delicious!

And so, I’m very happy to share with you…

Spicy Mushroom Dip:
Recipe taken from From Spiders to Water Lilies: Creative Cambodian Cooking with Friends, Pg 28.

1 tsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp Sunflower Oil
4 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp *Chilli Paste
80g Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
1.5 tsp Palm Sugar
1 tbsp **Tamarind Paste
3 tbsp stock
Salt to taste
Thai basil leaves, thinly slices, for garnish

Wash the mushrooms under cold water then soak for 20 min in hot water. Discard stems then finely chop the remainder. Heat oil and stir fry garlic till fragrant. Add chilli paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, mushrooms and tamarind paste. Fry for 5 min and season with salt. Place in a bowl, top with basil leaves and serve with vegetables and bread.

*There is a recipe for chilli paste in the book, but if you don’t have the time (or are afraid that your clothes and house is going to smell like chilli for a while) then I think that sambal (the fried kind, not the fresh kind) is a good and convenient substitute.

**I used a mixture of bottled Tamarind paste and lime juice.

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I found the recipe relatively easy to do. I made my own chilli paste, but ran into a few issues – I forgot to deseed the chillies, and for some reason, my chillies simply refused to rehydrate to the level that I needed. As a result, the dip didn’t seem as fiery red as was shown in the picture in the book, but it was still delish!

I toasted some multi-grain wholemeal bread and Sean practically scoffed the whole lot. And that is coming from a person who does not like mushrooms. At all. I very happily had it for lunch the next day, and the guys at the office seemed to like it too.

In all, I adore the book. I love that it’s for a good cause – the proceeds of the book goes back into Friends-International projects – and it is beautifully photographed and printed. The recipes are nicely broken down, and most of them are relatively quick. Yes, there are quite a few ingredients that are foreign or hard to find, but the book has a great section both in the front and the back of the book that tell you about substitutions that you can use.

Definitely a book that makes me want to go to Cambodia and try the food first hand.

Tammi of Insatiable Munchies was given this book by the lovely people at Beyond the Square Communication.

Comfort Eating 2

Recipe July 18, 2011 5 Comments

As some of you may know, I’ve been a little bit under the weather recently. And in those moments where I think the flu is going to get the better of me, I turn to some comfort eating!

For me, anyway, the best foods to have when I’m sick are semi-solids. I get the works in terms of the flu – burning lungs, solidly stuffed nose, pounding headaches – and eating (although always a priority) is not the most attractive thing.

So here is how I make my congee – a simple recipe that even the partner (who may not be the best in the kitchen!) can make.

Congee recipe

Cooking time: 30 min (roughly)
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Raw Rice (long or short grain is fine. If you have broken rice, it’s better!)
Water (1L minimum)
1 tsp Sesame seed oil (optional)

Warm the sesame seed oil in a saucepan over medium heat (make sure that it’s big enough to accommodate the porridge!) and add the rice in. Once it’s fragrant and the rice starts to fry a little, start adding about 2 cups of the water.

Once the water starts boiling, stir the rice occasionally. For the rice to get to rice porridge stage, it first has to go through cooked-rice stage.

Once the rice grains have puffed up, add more water and reduce the heat to low. Simmer and stir occasionally till the porridge has become the consistency of oats.

You can have it a little more watery or a little thicker if you’d like, and it’s easy to add water to thin it out or cook it a little longer to thicken it.

And as with any sort of plain porridge, condiments are usually in order!

The first jar that I reach for is usually Olive Vegetables (橄榄菜）.

These salty black strands are a source of addiction for me. It has the common savoury taste of olives, and is quite oily. Use sparingly, as this is – as most rice porridge condiments are – incredibly salty. I would suggest, if you were going to get a bottle to try, trying a small amount on a teaspoon before you unload a whole lot into your bowl.

I also like Mushroom and Meat Sauce 香菇肉酱

Thick pieces of fatty-ish pork and mushroom sit in a slightly gelatinous chilli sauce. More people who haven’t grown up with congee tend to take to this particular condiment more easily than the Olive Vegetables. It is still on the salty side, and you can warm it before eating, if you’d like.

The two that I’ve mentioned are of course not the only condiments out there for congee, but it’s definitely the two that I always have around in the house. Some others include Salted Duck Egg with its luminescent yolk, and Fish with Salted Black Beans. These condiments are served like the Korean Banchan – many small plates dotting the table – and the more variety the better!

I hope that this helps widen the types of comfort food you can have when you’re sick (or not! I’d have congee any day, but more so when I’m sick)- I know that this often provides me with warmth and something really easy to eat.