Cooking the Perfect Steak

Now cooking a slab of meat is not hard, what is hard about it is cooking it perfectly. To me cooking a steak is like cooking a piece meat can be the most difficult thing any cook/chef can do. It is about balance, perfecting the right amount of heat and right about of time on in the pan. Yes I said pan, I never cook my inch cut steaks on a grill or anything open as you loose all the goodness that comes from the steak.

While I am Asian, I do not marinade my steaks all that much. Salt and pepper are key ingredients to my steaks. I do occasionally experiment with marinades but to be perfectly honest, most great steaks only require a bit of salt and pepper.

Regardless below is what I recently did with a set of scotch fillets for a Sunday dinner with the family.

Scotch Filets w Potato Gratin and Mushroom sauce.

• 6 Inch cut scotch fillet steaks
• ½ Cup Vinegar (any will do, red wine, white, balsamic)
• Salt and pepper
• 250g Butter Unsalted
• For the sauce
• 100g Butter Unsalted
• 200g Mixed Mushrooms
• 1 Cup Celery finely diced
• 1 Cup Carrots finely diced
• 1 Cup Cooking cream
• 1 Cup stock

Potato Gratin

• 2kg finely sliced potatoes
• Cooking Cream
• Salt and pepper

Ok to start, you need to mill your salt and pepper. I get my salt in large grains and my pepper by the corn. I usually mill my pepper and salt together as the salt is abrasive. I turn everything into a fine dust with some good old elbow grease.

Regardless Put your steaks on a tray, poor the vinegar over the steaks and flip them to coat. Salt and pepper and let rest for 15-20 minutes, any longer and the vinegar will break down the steaks way to much. Drain Vinegar and leave steaks.

Meanwhile, finely slice your potatoes. In a baking tray/cake tin big enough to fit all your potatoes, line with melted butter. Start my layering your potatoes in a circular motion around the tin and ending in the middle, making a nice spiral formation. Once you finish your first layer, brush with butter then salt and pepper. Do this till the in is full so you have a potato cake. Poor in your cream to cover the potatoes, cover with baking paper and place in preheated oven 130º for 60 minutes. You will need to remove the baking sheet 40 minutes in.

Melt 50gms of butter in a pan and bring to a high heat. Place steak into pan, usually you can do 2-3 steaks at a time depending on how many you need to cook and how big the pan your using is. Regardless place steak in the pan and sear, on both sides, turn heat down to medium. Add another 50gs of butter and slowly pan fry your steak. Turn the pan on the side and base your steak with butter. Keep doing this till you cook your steak to preferred degree.

Tip: Use your thumb to determine if a steak if rare or well done. Push down on the tip of your thumb with your finger, which should feel like well done. Compare by pushing down on your steak, if it feels the same then it’s well done. Below the tips if your thumb, the middle section, that should feel like medium. The base of your thumb where it joins the palm is rare.

Regardless keep basting your steak with the butter, if you run out just add more nobs of butter.

Let steak rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For the sauce, take the pan you have cooked your steak with, and on a high heat, fry the celery and carrots with some crushed ginger and garlic. Add stock and bring to boil, add cream and simmer. Let rest, strain the liquid. In the same pan, pan fry your mushrooms with 50gs of butter, salt and pepper. Add liquid and bring to simmer then turn off heat.

To plate, just plate the steak and cut a slice of the Potato Gratin and finish with sauce.

 

Cooking with eggs

The most amazing thing about eggs is that they are so versatile. There are so many things you can do with them and add them too. Yet you can have them on there own since there are so many ways to cook them.There are a so many combinations of recipes and ingredients you can but recently I’ve have been researching the best methods of making scrambled eats. Gordon Ramsay has a method you can view on Youtube to make great scrambled eggs but I was not pleased with the result when I tried to make it myself. It tasted a little bland and a little bit to watery, the eggs where not solid and fell apart while tasting very buttery and creamy. In fact the recipe made the eggs not taste like eggs at all.

My mum had a great recipe to make scrambled eggs but the eggs come out very solid and because it’s the Asian way to make scrambled eggs the colour isn’t right, it’s a brown instead of a yellow when you’re done.

Again Jamie Oliver also has a great way to make scrambled eggs, yet once again it taste to much like Gordon’s buttery, watery and in fact looses that egg taste.

So in the end I had to find a method for myself to enjoy scrambled eggs that didn’t take to much time, that looked great and that tasted like eggs while being wonderfully coloured, a little bit more solid and less buttery like the pros do it.

So I incorporated all the cooking methods I could find on scrambled eggs and set about making my own recipe for MYSELF to enjoy. You can enjoy it to, but remember these are my eggs not yours and you might have to find your own ways to enjoy eggs.

Anthony’s scrambled eggs

• 3 Large Organic eggs
• Chives
• 1 tb Fish sauce
• Cracked salt and pepper
• Butter (40gs every large egg)
• 50ml Cream

Firstly most chefs I have seen usually just crack the egg into the pan and start from there. For me I like to crack my eggs in the bowl, mix together and break the yokes only slightly. Add the fish sauce and mix again slightly, a pinch of salt and pepper and mix again. Then add your cream and mix again.

Then in a very low heat pan, poor in your mix, you should hear a slight searing once the mixture hits the pan but the egg mix should not bubble straight away. Now with a spatular you need to move your eggs around and actually scramble the eggs. On a very low heat this should take about 2-3 minutes for the eggs to combine and becoming a little soggy yet. If you can’t control your heat properly, then you will need to remove the pan from the heat every few minutes as a high heat will burn the eggs and make the eggs cook very unevenly. The eggs should take on a cloudy appearance but you should keep cooking till you sweat the liquid out to the consistency you like. Some people like the eggs soggy while I like the eggs solid. Regardless salt and pepper again, then left settle off heat. Mean while chop up your chives and add and mix again with spatular but without heat.

Then you can serve on anything you like. I like toasting some bread and then grating some cinnamon and drizzling with honey to serve with my eggs. YUM!

Enjoy find your perfect eggs

Left over pork?

This is one of my favourite recipes when it comes too left over pork. It’s great for a quick lunch snack and really is easy to prepare. Also the cooking time is reduced because you are using frozen peas. The best think about this recipe is the amount of work into it, practically nothing.

Regardless roasted pork left overs is the best option as the pork has had time to rest.

Roast Pork and Pea Soup

• ½ Kg of Roasted Pork
• 1 Bag of frozen sweet peas
• 2L of any clear stock, Vegetable/chicken/pork
• 2 Cups water
• 2 Onions finely diced
• 2 Cloves Crushed Garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of One Lemon
• Herb Butter or Normal butter
• Bunch of Mint

Microwave your peas in a microwave safe bowl with a nob of butter. Just follow the instructions on the pack. Meanwhile heat your stock up to a medium heat while your peas are cooking.

When your peas are done just add the lemon juice, mix in your finely chopped onion, crushed garlic and toss like a salad. Olive oil if you want. Then add to your stock and bring to boil. Cook for about 30 mins or longer if you want but it’s really not necessary.

Shred your pork by hand, or if you’re lazy just chop them up roughly and pulse it in a blender.

Combine soup with mint in a blender or use a hand blender and blend to a smooth consistency. To serve just portion out your soup finish with nob of butter and stir in pork bits and serve. If you want it a little sweeter you can garnish with some honey or honey and mascopone.

Enjoy 

More Soup

It is ok to use canned crab meat, many people have an aversion to using crab meat that comes from a can. Regardless this is a variation from a chicken soup. Hopefully you have an already created stock from chicken bones. You should also use already cooked chicken meat either brought from your local takeaway or left overs from previous dinner.
Chicken Crab and Leek soup

• 2L Chicken stock
• 1L Water
• 3 finely chopped leeks
• 2 cups roasted chicken
• 2 cans crab meat
• 1 finely diced onions
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 2 Teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Cup Sweet sherry

Combine vegetables in a large pot and sauté for a few minutes, add sherry and stir. Allow for vegetables and sherry to combine, salt/pepper/fish sauce and then you can add the rest of liquid. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours. When ready to serve stir the beaten egg into the soup and garnish with coriander.

The quest for a new Italy experience

Ok seriously, how long will you wait for food? Already by nature I am impatient; throw in the fact that I now how much time is required to cook things and the fact that am critical of every new restaurant I venture into. The question remains “how long should you wait for food”. So Saturday I am in Haberfield in the mood for Italian and ready to go a massive plate for pasta or a massive pizza.Regardless we sit down at a great little Italian place that I have eaten at once a very long time ago. But since I can not longer eat at Il Galoso since it has closed I am on a quest to find my next favourite Italian place. While I love Bar Italia in Leichhardt I hate the lines and I hate waiting. Its excellent food cooked by Asians but its long lines dissuades me from attending regularly. I like my service, I like my tables reserved and I like the fact that I don’t have to go up and get my own water and drinks.

Another place I adore is Mario’s but price wise it’s a little out of its league, its very expensive but its fantastic food. But not fantastic enough to warrant the price tag. While it has many return customers and is doing very well it rarely gets my business as the prices for the produce is really over priced and I refuse to be cheated. Once in a while I do venture in that area and do pick up a very taste four cheese pizza but besides that I tend to shy away and resist.

So what makes a great Italian restaurant? What I loved about Il Galoso was that simple fact that it was a family restaurant. The service was decent and very friendly. The atmosphere was very relaxed and you never felt pressured to be quick or quite. The price was moderate with mains fewer than a 20 with a few sneaking up to the 30s. The food was consistent the seafood fresh most of the time and the deserts home made.

So regardless I was at Napoli in Bocca Restaurant in Haberfield and it took from the time of ordering to delivery of food 40 minutes. 40 minutes for 2 mains, a salad and an entrée that was to be delivered with the mains. And the most annoying thing is, the food was all seafood which takes no time cooking time. Spaghetti Vongole (clams), Spaghetti Marinara, Italian green salad and Mussels in a Napoli sauce.

Thou to give this store credit, Jo (date) and I both agreed that if we had arrived early or a little later we would have received the food much quicker as it would have been directly before or after some very large parties. Regardless of those 40 minutes of waiting it was horrendous for 3 seafood dishes that take next to nothing to make and should have been away 20 minutes into the service. The big thing for this restaurant was the food and the red checkered tablecloth.

Regardless we are still looking for a new Italian restaurant any suggestions?

Soups for winter series

Winter is really a time for soups and while I have many soup recipes I really enjoy making this easy to master vegetables soup. It’s a wonderfully rich soup with plenty of easy to source ingredients and its vegetarian friendly.

Vegetable soup

• 4L cups Water
• 2L cups Vegetables stock
• 3 cups chopped celery with leaves
• 2 finely chopped onions
• 2 finely chopped potatoes
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 2 finely chopped roasted capsicums
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tea bag
• 1 bunch finely chopped parsley
• 1 bunch finely chopped mint
• 50gs finely chopped ginger
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon five spices
• 5g crushed coriander seeds
• 4 teaspoon honey

Combine all ingredients except for liquid on a medium heat and sauté for a few minutes still soft. All ingredients should finely diced/chopped so it should be fairly quick. Add stock and water and bring to boil, lower to a low heat and simmer. Simmer for 3-4 hours till reduced to half liquid. Add chilli’s if you want to add some heat to the soup. Take the tea bag out half way into the reduction.

 

Buying organic

Knowing your recipes and cooking them can be great fun. But short of sounding like a girl, my favourite thing about cooking is finding the right ingredients. I love searching for the right produce. Great food is not totally about great recipes but great produce.

Find great produce is not hard in Sydney, in fact its as easy as going around the corner or as hard as taking a drive into areas you know a packed out with farmers.

Farmers’ markets are a great way to get all kinds of fresh organic. Road side stores in around these areas also provide delightful (crap I am not sounding like myself today) source of inspiration and excellent produce.

My favourite place to drive to find great produce is the small suburb of Galston. Its a large country like area just north east of Sydney. It is packed full of growers and also has its own small farmers markets on the weekends.

IMO the best strawberries and honeycomb come from Galston.

Regardless here a few markets I frequent in the Sydney area besides Galston.

Good Living Growers’ Market
Pyrmont Day Park
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Every 1st Saturday
7am - 11am

Hawkesbury Farmers’ Market
Castle Hill Showgrounds
Showground Road
Castle Hill NSW 2153
Every 2nd Saturday
8am - 12pm

Leichhardt Organic Market
Orange Grove School
Cnr Perry Street and Balmain Road
Leichhardt NSW 2040
Every Saturday
8am - 1pm

Marrickville Organic Food Market
142 Addison Road
Marrickville NSW 2204
Every Sunday
8:30 - 2pm

North Ryde Organic Farmers’ Market
Eden Gardens
Cnr Land Cove Road and Fontenoy Road
North Ryde NSW 2113

Warwick Farm Market
Warrick Farm Racecourse
Governor Macquarie Drive
Warwick Farm NSW 2170

Camden Farmers’ Market
Lower John Street
Camden NSW 2577
Every 2nd and 4th Saturday
7am - 12pm

While these are clear winners that i have frequent, places like Flemington markets, Parklea markets and Paddy’s Market in Chinatown. These three locations are the easiest places to find inspiration and excellent produce to feed your foodie appetite.

Next week i hope to go to markets to pick up some artichoke as I have been missing the unusual vegetable and I would like the chance to officially cook with one.

Post inspired by http://www.buyorganic.com.au/

kiwi fruit

I love the kiwi fruit, it is a fantastic fruit that is under used throughout cooking. It has been reduced to a mere fruit eaten with a spoon, a rare topping for ice cream and a meat tenderizer. But there are so many things that can be done with this awesome fruit.

Firstly the fruit originated from china and was used sparely as a tonic for young children and for women post birth. The fruit in itself is a berry and is high in vitamin A, C, E, while the skin is a good source fiber and antioxidants.

My favourite way to eat kiwi fruit is to simply wash the fruit and bite into it skin and all. A perfectly rise fruit will be sweet on the inside and a little sour on the skin. A lot of people don’t eat the skin and its a waste.

It is one of my favourite berries and this weekend i plan to do a few things with in cooking so stay tuned.

Happy eating

3 course recipe

1. Pan fried Scallops w Daikon, Snow Pea sprouts and Lemon aioli

• 5-6 Scallops per person
• 100g Snow pea sprouts
• 1 large daikon radish
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup cold press olive oil
• Zest of 1 lime
• Juice of 2 limes
• Salt/Pepper
• White wine vinegar

Salt and pepper your scallops, make sure you coat the scallops and also dress them in olive oil. Leave aside for 10-30 minutes before cooking. Remember that when you cook your scallops you will not need to serve them hot, infact you should serve them warm. Many a time have i served scallops with other recipes they taste under cooked if they have come just off the pan. Resting also lets the heat cook the scallop through.

Peel the Daikon, cut the daikon finely in strips of 4cms. don’t be afraid to really finely chop them, the thinner the better. Now the hard part about daikon, make sure you soak them in white wine vinegar or just plain vinegar. If you don’t when you serve it will be nice and bitter and no one wants that. So soak them!

Aioli is easy to make if you have some patience and some good wrists. First separate all four eggs and in this I mean, split the yolk from the whites, save the whites if you have someone that does not eat scallops. You can make a nice protein rich omelet for them instead.

First start to slowly whisk your egg yokes, slowly add your cold pressed olive oil while slowly whisking, make sure that your always moving your yokes and cold press oil. You will see that your mixture will slowly evolve into a paste. Once all oil is combined, add zest and juice of lime and combine. Your mixture will loosen slightly to a sauce consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. I used fish sauce instead and it worked a freaking treat, please refer to two posts early for an explanation.

Time to cook your scallops, now the secret to cooking great scallops is a non stick pan, if you don’t have one like me (I’m young but I’m old school) you can use a stainless steel pan. just make sure you use a low heat and either ghee or butter as your cooking medium, don’t use oil as oil requires a little more heat to cook. Regardless cook them one side one minute, flip to finish one minute, to make sure they are cooked by pressing down on them with your finger. They are cooked you feel resistance and they pop right back up. Of course as chef your allowed to taste. They should be firm to the bite but not rubbery.

To serve, sauce the plate and decorate with daikon. Place your scallops around your plate and garnish with snow pea sprouts. Top with sauce and your done. Don’t forget the egg whites for the person that does not eat scallops.

2. Pan seared Yellow Fin Tuna w Spanish onions, Scallions and White wine vinaigrette

This can be served as a main if you increase the proportions, but usually three 1cm x 4cm strips of the stuff will quite satisfy your guests.

Recipe for 4

• 400g Yellow Fin tuna steaks. Usually this is 2 steaks, good ones are pale - light red, do not get dark dark red pieces that look like they are bleeding.
• Soy sauce
• 2 Spanish onions
• 2 Scallions aka spring onions
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup cold pressed oil
• Fish sauce (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• Chili if your into the heat

This is the easiest entree/starter that you will ever put together. Firstly, you get your tuna and you splash soy sauce all over it, seal with cling wrap in a bowl and place in fridge.

Finely slice your Spanish onions into fine fingers. Finely slice your scallions at an angle and add to onions. Combine with your vinegars and oil, salt and pepper to taste and finely add a dash of fish sauce (yes i love the stuff). Now chili if your into it, tobacco or hot English mustard if your really into it.

So go play games, read stuff, play with the kid or just do something useful. let your creation flavour itself.

Pan sear your tuna using a non-stick pan, do no cook it through, when i say sear i mean sear. Coat all sides of your tuna in white. A quick tip is to sear the tuna by holding on to it with your fingers and doing the sides, then you can sear the flats and use a spatula to make the final turn. Slice your tuna to size to serve.

Use your clean fingers to plate the food. Start with the onions in a neat pile, and add your slices of tuna. Then spoon the vinaigrette over pile, serve!

3. Venison w Asparagus, Snow Pea Sprouts and Red Wine Chocolate Sauce

• 250g Venison each person
• 3 Stalks Asparagus each person
• Snow Pea sprouts
• 200ml red wine
• 100g Dark chocolate
• Salt and Pepper

Salt and pepper venison, pan fry and brown each side, sweat that meat. People say seal your meat, but thats bullshit, your sweating your meat once you put it the pan and your taking the water out of it, but who cares its going to taste good anyhow. Once all the meat is brown, place in preheated 180º oven for 8 minutes, add 1 minute for each additional steak. You will know the meat is done when its firm to the touch and it still bleeds when your pierce it.

Blanch asparagus for 2 minutes 30 seconds if they are large stalks, 2 minutes if there small stalks. Do them in batches. Set aside to cool and for serving.

For the sauce your going to need your pan that you cooked your meat in. Of course you set it aside with all the juices so you can make your sauce. If you have any brown sauce (refer to previous post about sauces) then you can use a cube here. Add red wine and heat to a simmer, add chocolate and reduce heat. Stir till dissolved and salt and pepper to taste.

To plate is easy, start with your stalks of asparagus garnish with snow pea sprouts, top with your sliced venison and sauce. Congratulations your done, enjoy.

Your welcome!

3 course meal

So I have been cooking for the family every week experimenting with different ingredients.

This week on the menu

1. Pan fried Scallops w Daikon, Snow Pea sprouts and Lemon aioli

2. Pan seared Yellow Fin Tuna w Spanish onions, Scallions and White wine vinaigrette

3. Venison w Asparagus, Snow Pea Sprouts and Red Wine Chocolate Sauce

Pictures links below

http://www.guild-tbg.net/download/pictures/Scallops.jpg

http://www.guild-tbg.net/download/pictures/Tuna.jpg

http://www.guild-tbg.net/download/pictures/Venison.jpg

The Scallops was excellent, the aioli went so well with the sweet scallops it was a match to remember for the next time i work with scallops. The tuna was perfect as usual, i have done this dish before so it was not hard to replicate. Finally, the venison was overcooked and was a bit chewy, it was a complete failure because i let it rest for way to long. NOTE To self venison can not be served well done, it must be eaten red, straight out of the F oven. (Yes, as you see I am quite pissed about wasting venison)

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