Pickled bamboo, poached chicken and lobster salad

Serves: 4 as a starter
Prep: 30 min, plus cooling
Cook: 5 min

Ingredients
1 live lobster, 700g
90g Pickled Bamboo
2 Poached Chicken Breasts
pinch of racked white pepper, for sprinkling
dashes of extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

For the shallot, chervil and mustard dressing:
50g Shallots, finely diced
3 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp chardonnay vinegar
7g chervil, finely chopped

Method

1. Place lobster in freezer for 1 hour, where it will ‘go to sleep’, then lower into a large saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for 5 minutes. Using tongs, carefully remove lobster, drain and allow to cool at room temperature.

2. To make the shallot, chervil and mustard dressing, combine the shallots, mustard, salt and lemon juice in a bowl.

3. Stir in the olive oil, vinegar and chervil and mix well.

4. To serve, twist off the large claws and the legs. Crack the claw shells and remove the lobster meat in as large pieces as possible. Detach the head from the tail, slice the head in half and remove the greenish tomalley and roe (both edible). Turn over the tail section and cut along either side of the under shell with kitchen scissors. Take out the tail meat in one piece. Slice the lobster meat thickly on the diagonal and remove the intestinal tract.

5. Slice the poached chicken breasts thickly, also on the diagonal.

6. Layer the sliced lobster, chicken and pickled bamboo on a serving platter and spoon over the dressing. Sprinkle with a little white pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Cooks Notes:
“When I created many of the recipes in this book it was Christmas-time,” . “I was feeling particularly festive and indulgent, and I lost count of how many dinner parties I attended and held! Lobster (or crayfish, as it’s often called in Australia) seemed to be on the menu rather frequently, as summer in Sydney is perfect seafood-eating weather, but you can easily substitute fresh prawns or crabmeat; as long as it’s fresh, you can’t go wrong. Talking of freshness, I always take advantage of the season for fresh bamboo – there is nothing more delicious in flavour and stunningly beautiful in a visual sense. You’ll never go back to the tinned version.”

Luscious bacon braised with red wine and fresh cherries

Serves: 6
Prep: 15 min, plus 3-4 hrs marinating
Cook: 55 min

Ingredients
250ml Red wine
150g fresh cherries
115g dried sour cherries
8 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
40ml extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic clove, crushed
125ml sherry vinegar
8 tsp quince paste
6 Bay leaves
1 x 750g piece of fresh, organic bacon with rind

Method

1. Place the red wine, cherries, sour cherries, sugar, salt, olive oil, garlic, sherry vinegar, quince paste and bay leaves in a large bowl.

2. Add bacon and toss well to coat in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 200°C/gas 6.

4. Transfer bacon to a roasting tin and pour over the marinade.

5. Cover with foil and bake, for 35 minutes, then remove foil and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until bacon is cooked through.

6. Slice the bacon, arrange on a platter and spoon over the cherries, bay leaves and pan juices.

Cooks Notes:
“Although braised bacon is traditionally a rather frugal meal,” , “I’ve made it luscious by using the finest organic bacon and adding red wine and cherries. With its beautiful pink meat and a rich, deep-red sauce, this dish is ideal for any celebration. The rind is best left on the bacon during cooking, to keep the meat moist and succulent, but you can remove it before slicing and serving, if you prefer. Dried sour cherries and quince paste are available from good delicatessens.”

Kingfish served raw, with sour, salty and fragrant dressing

Serves: 2
quickcook
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 5 min

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Spring onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp sea salt
4 tsp sherry vinegar
1 medium-sized lemon
200g sashimi-grade kingfish, or tuna or salmon or swordfish fillet
1/2 baby fennel bulb, trimmed and very finely sliced
2 tsp salted capers, rinsed and drained
1 small vine-ripened tomato, cut in half and finely sliced
2 tsp flat-leaf parsley, finely shredded
2 tsp mint leaves, finely shredded
2 tsp picked chervil leaves
pinch of cracked white pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan, add in the spring onions and stir over medium heat for 1 minute.

2. Add in the sugar and salt, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2 minutes, or until mixture starts to caramelise.

3. Stir in the sherry vinegar and simmer for a further 30 seconds. Set aside.

4. Cut a slice from one end of the lemon. Stand the lemon cut-side down on a chopping board and, using a small, sharp knife, cut skin and pith away from flesh by slicing from top to bottom following the curve of the fruit. Slice between the membranes on either side of each segment to free it, then repeat with the remainder of the segments. Take care to remove all pith, otherwise the bitterness will interfere with the clean flavours of this dish.

5. Using a very sharp knife, cut the fish fillet into 5mm slices and arrange on a platter.

6. Top with the lemon segments, fennel, capers and tomato.

7. Spoon over the caramelised onions and garnish with the parsley, mint and chervil and white pepper.

Cooks Notes:
“The Australian yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) – ‘hiramasa’ is Japanese for kingfish – is a natural inhabitant of the waters off South Australia, where it is now farmed” . “Its firm flesh is full of flavour, and is superbly moist and silky.  This recipe is all about the beauty of fresh seafood – it is about having a product so fresh and so high in quality that you really shouldn’t do too much to it. Make sure you use only the freshest, best-quality fish – and your sharpest knife to slice it into super-fine, beautiful sheets. If you can’t get kingfish, substitute any other sashimi-grade fish fillets, such as tuna, salmon or swordfish. The fennel must be young and small, to ensure it will be sweet and tender.”

Japanese aubergines with garlic, olive oil and tomatoes

Serves: 4-6
vegetarian
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 1 hr

Ingredients
550g Aubergines, (ideally Japanese or Chinese)
120ml extra virgin olive oil
7 garlic clove, finely diced
1/4 bunch of Thyme
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, finely sliced
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of sea salt
pinch of cracked white pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.

2. Halve the aubergines lengthways, leaving the stems intact.

3. Place the aubergines in a single layer, cut-side up, in a lightly oiled roasting tin.

4. Drizzle with 80ml of olive oil, sprinkle with garlic, thyme sprigs and salt, and cover the tin with kitchen foil.

5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until aubergines are tender.

6. Remove the aubergines from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 200°C/gas 6.

7. Drizzle the aubergine with 20ml of olive oil and bake, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

8. Arrange the roast aubergine halves on a platter and top with tomatoes. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.

Cooks Notes:
Chinese or Japanese aubergines can be found in Chinese or Japanese supermarkets and some supermarkets.

“Regular aubergines can be used instead of Japanese aubergines” . “I just happen to love the shape of Japanese aubergines. With some crusty bread, this makes a great snack or light lunch; it’s also delicious as a side dish with a roast chicken or some grilled or roasted fish.”

Goong Goong’s pickles

Serves: Makes 2.5 kg pickles
vegetarian
Prep: 30 min, plus marinating and 3 days developing
Cook: 10 min

Ingredients
700g Savoy cabbage
2 Carrots, peeled
1 Cucumber, unpeeled
1 daikon radish, (mooli), peeled
1 bunch of red radishes, halved
110g sea salt
560g white sugar
1.5 ltr white vinegar
1 tsp chilli oil
125ml light soy sauce

Method

1. Slice the Savoy cabbage in half lengthways, remove the core and cut into pieces about 5×2cm. Roughly pull pieces apart to separate leaves.

2. Slice cucumber and carrots in half lengthways, then cut into batons about 5×1cm.

3. Slice the daikon radish in half lengthways, and cut into pieces roughly 3×2cm.

4. Place the Savoy cabbage, carrot, cucumber, daikon and red radish in a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt and mix well to combine.

5. Cover bowl tightly with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

6. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and the vinegar in a heavy-based saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

7. Simmer, without stirring, until reduced and slightly syrupy. Set aside to cool.

8. The next day, pour the cooled syrup over salted vegetables.

9. Add chilli oil and soy sauce to taste, and mix thoroughly.

10. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days to allow flavours to develop before using. The pickles will keep, refrigerated, for several months.

Cooks Notes:
These pickles are delicious as a side dish, or to add piquancy to stir-fries and braises.”

French-style braised octopus

Serves: 6
Prep: 30 min, plus 1 hr marinating
Cook: 1 hr 5 min

Ingredients
1.5kg baby octopus
250ml extra virgin olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled, quartered lengthways and sliced
3 celery sticks, sliced in half lengthways and sliced
6cm knob of fresh ginger root, sliced
8 small spring onions, rimmed and cut into quarters
1 baby fennel bulb, finely sliced lengthways
150g smoked bacon bones, sliced
4 tsp sea salt
1/2 bunch of Thyme
55g Sugar
80ml Red wine

For the marinade:
10 garlic clove, peeled
5cm knob of fresh ginger root, roughly chopped
1 tsp sea salt
125ml sherry vinegar
80ml extra virgin olive oil
55ml Honey

Method

1. First clean the octopus. Cut the tentacles away from head below the beak. Cut away and discard the beak, then turn the body inside out. Remove ink sac and internal organs. Strip skin away from head and tentacles under running water. Rinse and drain well, then cut octopus in half.

2. To make the marinade, pound the garlic, chopped ginger and salt with a pestle and mortar until crushed. Stir in the sherry vinegar and olive oil.

3. Place the cleaned octopus in a bowl and pour over the garlic mixture and honey. Using your hands, mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

4. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan.

5. Add in the sliced ginger, carrots, celery, onions, fennel, bacon bones and salt.

6. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

7. Reduce the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until vegetables are lightly browned.

8. Add in the thyme and sugar, increase heat again and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 2 minutes.

9. Drain the octopus from the marinade; reserving the marinade.

10. Add octopus to a heavy-based pan and stir over high heat to sear octopus and seal in juices.

11. Pour in reserved marinade, along with the red wine, and bring to the boil.

12. Reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, for about 45 minutes, or until the octopus is tender. Serve.

Cooks Notes:
It’s beautiful warm or at room temperature, and it makes a lovely lunch with some crusty bread and a great bottle of red. I really love the smoky bacon bones in this recipe – get your butcher to saw them into slices for you.”

Dry-fried Green Beans with Hoisin Sauce and Garlic

Serves: 4
vegetarian quickcook
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 5 min

Ingredients

For the beans
45ml vegetable oil, for shallow frying
150g green beans

For the sauce
2 large red chillies
1.5 tbsp hoi sin sauce
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a hot wok set over a high heat.

2. Fry the beans for 1- 2 minutes, until just tender and slightly wilted. Remove from the oil, drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

3. Cut the chillies in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds.

4. Carefully empty the hot oil from the wok and wipe it clean with kitchen paper.

5. In the clean wok, combine the hoisin sauce, garlic, salt and oil.

6. Stir in the chillies.

7. Toss the cooked beans into the sauce and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, coating them in the sauce. Serve at once.

Delicious fried rice

Serves: 2-4 as a simple supper, or 6 as part of a banquet
quickcook
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 10 min

Ingredients
100ml peanut oil
4 large free range eggs, beaten
6 tsp Ginger, finely chopped
4 garlic clove, diced
1 medium-sized brown onion, finely diced
100g rindless bacon rashers, or Chinese sausage, roughly chopped
1 tsp white sugar
40ml Shaoxing wine, (Chinese rice wine)
700g cooked medium-grain white rice
4 tsp oyster sauce
50g Spring onions, finely sliced
3 tsp Maggi seasoning
1/4 tsp Sesame oil

To serve:
60ml light soy sauce
1/2 large red chilli, finely sliced on the diagonal
2 Spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal, to garnish

Method

1. Heat 80ml of peanut oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly.

2. Pour the beaten eggs into wok and cook for about 1 minute, lightly scrambling them and rotating the wok to ensure even cooking.

3. When almost cooked through, carefully remove the omelette from wok with a fish slice and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside.

4. Wipe out the wok with kitchen paper, add in the remaining peanut oil and heat through.

5. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until very aromatic.

6. Add the onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until lightly browned and tender.

7. Add the bacon and stir-fry for a further minute, or until lightly browned.

8. Stir in the sugar and rice wine, then stir-fry for 30 seconds.

9. Finally, add the cooked rice, reserved omelette, oyster sauce, spring onions, Maggi seasoning and sesame oil.

10. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until rice is heated through. Roughly chop omelette into smaller pieces as you stir.

11. Divide rice between individual bowls and garnish with the finely sliced spring onions.

12. Combine soy sauce and chilli in a small bowl and serve on the side.

Cooks Notes:
“Fried rice is one of those lovely comforting foods that everyone in the world seems to like.” “No one is intimidated by fried rice. Somehow all these rogue ingredients have crept into restaurant versions over the years, such as corn, peas, ham and the like. I find the trick with fried rice is to keep it really simple and traditional – just some really fresh and fluffy eggs, onion, bacon or Chinese sausage, ginger and some spring onions.”

Deep-fried fillets of snapper served with lively tomato salad

Serves: 6 as part of a banquet
quickcook
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 5 min

Ingredients
6 snapper fillets, each 100g
35g plain flour
500ml vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For the beer batter:
125ml beer
70g plain flour
120g ice cubes

For the tomato salad:
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp White peppercorns
1 small vine-ripened tomato, roughly chopped
1 small beef tomato, oughly chopped
40ml extra virgin olive oil
40ml lemon juice
2 tsp fresh lime juice
10 yellow tomatoes, halved
1 small green tomato, roughly sliced

Method

1. First make the beer batter. Combine the beer, flour and ice in a bowl with a slotted spoon, (using a spoon rather than a whisk keeps the batter thick and lumpy, and the lumps become crunchy when deep-fried).

2. Leave the batter at room temperature until the ice has melted, then use immediately.

3. Meanwhile, make the tomato salad. Pound the sea salt and white peppercorns with a pestle and mortar until roughly ground.

4. Add vine-ripened and ox-heart tomatoes and lightly crush.

5. Pour in olive oil, lemon and lime juices and mix well.

6. Stir in the yellow tomatoes and green tomato and transfer the salad to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

7. Lightly toss the red snapper fillets in flour, then dip in batter to coat completely, letting any excess drain off.

8. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan until the surface seems to shimmer slightly, then add fish in batches and fry for about 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove fish from oil and drain on kitchen paper.

9. Arrange the fried fish on a large platter and serve with tomato salad on the side.

Cooks Notes:
“This is my take on traditional beer-battered fish,” , “given extra zest by a citrussy tomato salad. The success of this recipe depends entirely on obtaining the freshest fish. Other suitable fish include gurnard and garfish.”

Crispy-skin duck with red plum sauce

Serves: 6-8 as part of a banquet
Prep: 30 min, plus overnight marinating
Cook: 1 hr 40 min

Ingredients
1 Duck, 1.5 kg in weight
2 tbsp Sichuan Pepper and Salt
30g plain flour
vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For the red plum sauce:
250ml water
225g white sugar
250g ripe red plums, halved and stoned
160ml Fish Sauce
6 Star anise
2 cinnamon quills
60ml fresh lime juice

Method

1. Rinse the duck under cold water. Trim away excess fat from inside and outside the cavity, but keep neck, parson’s nose and winglets intact.

2. Pat dry and rub the skin all over with Sichuan pepper and salt.

3. Cover the duck and place in the refrigerator overnight to marinate.

4. Transfer duck to a large steamer basket. Place basket over a pan of boiling water and steam, covered with a tight-fitting lid, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the duck is cooked through (to test, insert a small knife between leg and breast – the juices should run clear).

5. Using tongs, gently remove duck from steamer and place on a tray, breast-side up, to drain. Allow to cool slightly, then transfer to refrigerator to cool further.

6. Meanwhile, make the plum sauce. Combine the water and sugar in a small pan and bring to the boil.

7. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until slightly reduced.

8. Add plums, fish sauce, star anise and cinnamon and simmer for a further minute.

9. Stir through lime juice and remove pan from stove. Keep the sauce warm while you fry the duck.

10. Place the cooled duck breast-side up on a chopping board and, using a large knife or cleaver, cut duck in half lengthways through breastbone and backbone.

11. Carefully ease meat away from carcass, leaving thighs, legs and wings intact.

12. Lightly toss duck halves in flour to coat, shaking off any excess.

13. Heat the vegetable oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly.

14. Deep-fry duck halves, one at a time, for about 3 minutes, or until well browned and crispy.

15. Using tongs, carefully remove duck from oil and drain well on kitchen paper, then leave to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.

16. Finally, with a large knife or cleaver, slice the duck, arrange on a platter and spoon over the hot plum sauce.

Cooks Notes:
“This is one of the signature dishes at Billy Kwong,” . “I remember a table of four once ordered four ducks because they’d heard so much about it – they wanted a duck each and that was that! If plums aren’t in season, use blood oranges or regular oranges to add that lovely sourness.”