An afternoon brunch (or Barbie) dish of Down Under: prawn toasts as well as skewers of salty-sweet chicken and hispi cabbage that has been grilled in an umami bechamel
Prawn toast
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Chill for one hour
Serves 4
For the mix of prawns
200g shelled Prawns with shells, 50g chopped roughly
1 1/3 1 tsp (8ml) sesame oil
2/3 1 tsp (4g) salt
1 1/4 teaspoon (4g) freshly chopped coriander leaves
One loaf of sourdough bread, cut into slices
Sesame seeds in white and black seeds
To make the Korean sweet-and-sour sauce
20g grated garlic
Sunflower or any other neutral vegetable oils
250g of sugar
25ml mirin
75g gochujang
50ml lime juice
25g cornflour
Make the sauce first (I love plenty of it, so I usually prepare twice as much). In a heavy-based skillet on medium heat, fry the garlic with the smallest amount of oil. Then, add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and 100ml of water. Let it simmer and then simmer gently for up to an hour or until it’s reduced to an opaque glaze. Pour in another 150 of water, heat to boiling, and go through a fine-lined sieve with muslin into a glass container. Allow to cool, after which it is covered and chilled.
Then, you can make a mix of prawns. Place the entire prawns as well as sesame oil into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and then add the chopped coriander and prawns salt. Stir to mix, then place aside.
Cover one side of each bread slice with the prawn mix, followed by the sesame seeds. Pour up to 1 liter of oil into a large pot large enough to accommodate a slice of toast. Then heat it until it’s sufficiently hot to turn a piece of bread golden in about 15 minutes. Slid a piece of bread coated with prawns into the hot oil and cook for a few minutes on both sides until the prawn mixture is cooked. Remove the bread with the help of a spoon. Drain onto a plate covered with paper. Then, repeat with the rest of the bread. Serve hot, accompanied by the sweet-sour sauce.
Chicken yakitori
Prep 15 min
Marinate for 30 minutes or more
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 4
Sesame sauce (or gome dare)
100g of tahini
50g miso paste
15ml light soy sauce
15ml mirin
15ml rice-wine vinegar
1/2 1 tsp (5g) crushed garlic
For marinade (or tare)
60ml of sake
60ml mirin
25g brown sugar
50g of brown onion peeled and then thinly sliced
50g of fresh ginger Peeled and then thinly sliced
250ml chicken (or vegetable) stock
120ml dark soy sauce
40ml light soy sauce
For the Yakitori
Eight boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Cut in half if the size is large.
One bunch of spring onions, one bunch of spring
4-8 Skewers (if made of wood, make them, soak the skewers in cold water before washing)
Mix all ingredients for the sesame sauce in the bowl, then set aside.
The marinade is now ready. Pour the mirin and sake into a heavy-based pot that you can bring to a simmer, and then slowly ignite to extinguish the alcohol. Add the sugar to the pan until it melts, and then add the sliced ginger and onion and simmer for 30 minutes until the liquid has dark caramel. Add the stock, along with both sauces and soy and cook slowly for 5 minutes, skimming away any scum that forms on the surface. Remove the heating. Let cool, then finely strain the mixture through a fine sieve and into a container, and then add the chicken thighs and put in the fridge for at minimum 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
The oven should be set at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Then, cut spring onions into lengths of 5cm. Remove the chicken from the marinade. Place one spring onion on a skewer. Next, one chicken thigh (or, depending on its size, half a Thigh) and fold over. Repeat with a different spring onion and one of the thighs (or half a thigh of a chicken). Continue with the rest of the skewers, chicken, and onions. Then, place the skewers onto baking pans covered with greaseproof papers. Sprinkle the remaining marinade on each skewer and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or till the meat is done and charred in spots. Serve hot, with the sesame sauce to dip.
Grilled his-cow slaw
Prep 10 min
Infuse 30 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4
To make the Vegemite bechamel
500ml full-fat milk
125g Spanish onion thinly cut and peeled
2Twocloves of garlic crushed, peeled and peeled
Two sprigs of fresh Thyme
30g of butter
30g plain flour
100g grated gruyere
40g Vegemite
For the cabbage
2 TSP salt
1Onehispi of cabbage and cut in sections lengthways, through the root
25g crispy shallots that have been fried either shop-bought or made for serving
25g chives Finely chopped to the point of finishing
Add the onions, milk, garlic, thyme, and milk in the pan of a heavy base and heat to a simmer. Please turn off the flame, cover the pan with an apron, and let it cool, then infuse for 30 minutes.
Pour this milk through a bowl or jug, clean the pot, and put it back on the stove at the lowest temperature. The butter will melt, and then mix in the flour until they blend. You don’t want the mixture to change color. The heat should be increased and pour in the milk, and whisk it to stop any lumps from developing. Bring the bechamel down to a simmer, and then add the Vegemite and gruyere. Check the taste, and add more Vegemite as needed before removing the heating.
Make sure to fill a large saucepan with water, then add the salt and bring to a boil. Prepare an ice-cold bowl. Take the cabbage wedges in the boiling water, and then blanch for about five to six minutes until they are tender. Remove the cabbage using tongs and then dunk it in the water that has been iced, cleaned, and set aside in an oven-proof dish or on a tray coated with greaseproof material.
The grill should be set to the highest setting. Then, generously cover the cabbage in the bechamel, making sure that some of it is in between the leaves. Grill until the sauce and cabbage are browned and caramelized. Brown. Then, take them off, sprinkle them with the crisp shallots and chives, and serve hot.