The World in a Cook Book

Oz: the melting pot for the world's cuisines. 

Whenever I travel, I love buying cook books from the places I visit and that are written in the English language. And I have accumulated 87 from the world over, since starting this endeavour in 2006. And while I love using the recipes written in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and various countries in Asia, my favourite cook book authors are Australians writing for Australians.

Be it Stephanie Alexandra, Donna Hays, Bill Granger and a host of others from the land of Oz, their cook books set themselves a world apart from the rest of the world. Why? Because you get, say, authentic Italian recipes from Italy, African fare from Africa, Moroccan dishes from Morocco and India spiciness from India. That is all and well if the cook book collector's ambition is to be deadly faithful to the roots of a particular cuisine.

But my ambition is to put under my belt a taste of every cuisine under the sun. So Australian recipes enthrall me because these cook books take a leaf from various parts of the world and making their recipes Australia's own. You get a taste of the world in one Aussie recipe book.

And what thrills me even more is this: the Australian chef cum author has better captured the essence of the the various global dishes one better than the chefs in their country of origin. Bill Granger's Singapore noodles surpasses the dish dished out by the chefs in Hong Kong and his Moroccan fish stew is as divine as one prepared in Morocco. Donna Hays' Vietnamese chicken curry is a definite cut above the ones I've tried in Vietnam.

And I truly belief that what you get in Australian cook books is a genuine reflection of how Aussie folk have whole heartedly embraced the varied influx of immigrants into their home land from the world over. And that the people from the land down under are willing to try the different, internalizing it and making it an integral part of Australian culture.

And then isn't it any wonder that I married an Australian - he supports my love of harbouring the world in my larder.

Spectacular Seafood

Fresh seafood as breath-taking as the Tasmanian seas. 

While the only restaurant in Binalong Bay had magnificent views of the coast line, the one half an hour's drive  away blew us away with its food. The menu in the Blue Shed at St Helens, Tasmania was a tour de force in its representation of everything fresh and local in Tassie.

Not only were its oysters farmed in the sea right off its coast, they were fantastically seasoned with yummy pancetta and a superb hot sauce and then grilled to perfection. After we had swallowed the dozen of morsels of pure muscle, we were compelled to ensure that not even the generous serving of sauce remained.

Its calamari out-rivals the way Italy best prepares this dish, and that is done with an Asian twist. The feather-light crumbed rings of melt-in-your-mouth flesh has to be sparingly dipped into a groovy light gravy to introduce the vast contrast in taste that as yet complements this catch from the sea. Regular patrons make their pilgrimage from where ever in Tasmania to St Helen's just to repeat the divine experience of savouring this dish.

Fortunately, I have a few seafood recipes under my belt to ensure that hubby's taste buds continue to be similarly pampered when we are back in Singapore. So I'll be serving lovingly stewed oysters, American style but plated on its shell, as an Asian tapas to start the evening. This is followed by an Australian inspired recipe of charcoal grilled prawns specially seasoned with sweet paprika and freshly squeezed lemon juice. The mains will take its honours from Latin America - a paella-like fragrant rice dish with plenty of ocean fresh mussels thoroughly stirred through the spicy grains.

  

 

Inspirational Pies

Pies as iconic in Australia as kangaroos. 

Tasmania is an island with a best kept secret in its pastry industry that's not shared with mainland Australia, much less the world. And come lunch during my holiday week there, I've been stuffing myself silly with it. I just can't get enough of it.

Just what is it? Well, besides the usual range that you can get in every where else in Oz, the Tasmanian bakeries offer as their signature specials scallop pies. The richly creamy versions show case the shell fish's unique flavour to its best advantage. And the bakery in Oatlands has mastered that to perfection. The curried ones, though spiced to favour the Caucasian palate, sing in sweet harmony with the generous morsels of juicy scallops: the cake shop along Hobart's Battery Point even offers these in neat little bite sizes - just the ticket to perfect your afternoon tea.

Still it's just as well that mainland Australia doesn't offer this delectable treat. Otherwise I wouldn't have ordered the beef and mushroom pie in Denmark, Western Australia. And thus would have missed out on a palatable sensation made for heaven. The gravy in this pie spurts loads of piping hot woody mushroom flavour. You literally can't put it down until you've taken the very last hearty bite. Ummmm... my mouth's watering just thinking about it.

So it's little wonder that this Australian road trip has inspired me to steam back into my kitchen to whip up some gastronomical delights of my own. Hubby will be taking to work sumptuous slices of his favourite beef and Burgundy pie. It would be slices as he can never get through his lunch without some work colleague wanting to take a bite or two. So taking along more than one ensures there's sufficient to share.

I'm also putting into my oven my version of a chicken curried pie so that the spices are loaded to better suit the discerning Singaporean palate (yes, after 8 years working here, hubby has become acclimatized to the local spiciness). I intend to cook the meat the way the local curry is made, and then adhere to the Caucasian recipe of adding peas and carrots to the pot. Thus creating a pie by taking the best of two national cuisines.

And to keep my vegetarian friends happy, I'll offer them a really cheesy tattie pie. And this should be eaten piping hot so that the cheese remains runny through the multiple layers of thinly sliced creamy potatoes, with skins still intact to enhance the nutritional value of this pastry.