Essentials for Aussie Gourmet Sausage Sizzle - for backyard BBQ or cosy kitchen snack

As the weather turns cooler Down Under, a refreshing outdoor dining experience becomes a preferred option. Sausage sizzle is suitable for backyard barbie, pan-fried, or oven grilled in the kitchen. Serve as mains (double sized portion) or as a snack.

Essential ingredients

Hot :

Gourmet sausages - preferably beef with spices for more intense flavour.
Onions
Carrots (optional)

Cold :
Lettuce
Cucumber
Tomato
Sweet Gerkins

Seasoning and Sauces :
Tomato ketchup (naturally flavoured without additives preferable) Dijon mustard
BBQ sauce
Pepper

Avoid adding salt if possible because sausages are quite tasty as it is)

Hot dog bread (sesame seeds - optional) : slit the centre slightly just sufficient for inserting meat and vegetables but do not cut through.

Method

It is easy if you follow a few golden rules of the thumb :

- Sizzle sausages at medium heat to ensure it is thoroughly cooked. Then adjust the heat accordingly for golden or brown outer. Turn over and cook well especially for chicken and pork.

- Put in onions later or at the sides where the fire is lower because they tend to caramelise and burn easily.

- Assemble the hot dog sandwich, add vegetables and condiments, squeeze and spread sauces.

- Plate and it's ready to be served.

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Jackfruit Ice Cream

This creamy refreshing exotic ice-cream is made from a 500 ml tub of frozen deseeded jackfruit. You could also experiment with fresh durian. Lighter fruits such as lychees and blood orange are more suitable for making sorbet and gelatol. (But try not to use canned fruits - the taste is compromised preservatives.)



Invest in a $50 home ice cream maker. Freeze the container for 24 hours before preparing the contents.
(Or else, follow the traditional way of alternating between freezing and stirring, if you have the time.)

Method :

Prepare gelatine by dissolving 2 tsp of powder in 2 TBS water. Let it stand till ready for use. Add to jackfruit mixture.
Whip jackfruit into pulp with 300 g of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and bring to the soft boil. Add gelatine.
Finally add full cream (small carton of 250 ml) and 1/2 cup of milk.
Optional : two tablespoons of coconut milk.
Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Pour the pre-frozen ice-cream bowl.
Cover, turn on and churn the mixture till creamy.
Switch off. Cover the bowl and return it to the freezer.
Store for at least 20 hours before consuming.
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Fried herb and spice marinated smashed chicken from Indonesia - ayam penyet restaurant recipe

According to this writer, restaurant staff were happy to share the ayam penyet recipe. Though brief, something to start with is better than guessing and digging for trade secrets that other restaurants refuse to divulge. In my travels, I had the opportunity to savour the best fried chicken on earth. Good things are to be shared, so here goes :

http://eats.emedia.com.my/recipe.php?id=262

INGREDIENTS

15 pieces of chicken breast or drumstick
1kg of santan
Ingredient B:
14g coriander (ketumbar)
28g red onions
28g white onions
40g ginger all blended and fried
12g lengkuas
12g daun limau purut
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp turmeric (kunyit)
rice flour

METHOD

1. Wash chicken until clean, then add five litres of boiling water and santan. Allow it to simmer for an hour.
2. Meanwhile, prepare Ingredients B, blend and fry it with oil.
3. While frying the blended ingredients, add in the lengkuas, limau purut and turmeric powder.
4. Add these marinade to the chicken and simmer for another hour so the traditional spices can seep into the meat.
5. Remove chicken from pot, allow to cool and coat with rice flour.
6. Fry until golden brown, then smash it so the bones and meat are separated from one another.
7. Serve it with sambal belacan and white rice.

Spicy minced meat sauce noodles - Chinese sphagetti zhajiang mian

Never mind about the debate whether pasta originated in China or Italy. I like both versions of noodles.

There are also many variations of "zhajiang mian" which cooks in Beijing, Shanghai and Korean communities in Northeast China have devised to suit different palates.


In the northern Chinese recipe, "la mian" which is thicker than Japanese ramien is the noodle of choice. They are more chewy than the southern yellow Hokkien noodles.

For the sauce

Mince meat - pork or chicken are fine. (Preferable to dice into tiny cubes). Marinate with huadiao cooking wine.
Pickled sichuan vegetable : 1 thumb size, rinse with water and cut into small cubes.
Firm tofu (deep fried and sliced into cubes). Set aside as condiment.
Soaked and cut shitake mushrooms.
Spicy Bean Sauce, pepper, Chilli powder, star anise, dark vinegar, sesame oil, sugar. (An easy subsitute is bottled sweet and spicy noodle sauce)
There is no need to add more salt or soy sauce as the pickled vegetable and bean sauce are sufficiently tasty.
Garlic, Shallots, Ginger and vegetable cooking oil for frying.

Method
1. Brown garlic and shallots till fragrant (but do not burn).
2. Add minced meat and stir fry till cooked. Add pickled sichuan vegetable.
3. Add in sauces. Mix well. If necessary, add a little water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add beaten egg and stir. Turn off the heat immediately.
4. Blanch noodles, refresh with cold water, warm up in hot water quickly before putting into serving bowls.
5. Topping : freshly julienned cucumber gives a refreshing touch to the spicy sauced noodles.

Another bonus recipe that can be created from this recipe is the famous Shanghai "dan dan" noodles. One discernible difference between dan dan and zha jiang is that the sauce of the former is less spicy and more sourish. So omit chilli powder, add a little more vinegar and sugar. Dan dan also a soupy rather than a saucy noodle dish. So add more water and dilute the sauce. A thinner noodle would be preferred. Also add thinly sliced spanish onions, green shallots, bean sprouts, broad green beans before serving.
Enjoy!

On the Grill : slow roast pork

This easy and delicious roast wins thumbs up for Christmas entertaining and gathering with family and friends.

Score fat of a few three layer pork belly. Marinate uncut pieces of for at least 2 hours with salt, pepper and good quality vinegar (dark or distilled) or lime juice. Toss over to ensure even distribution of marinade.

Preheat oven at 250 C fan force or set on level 1 grill.

Place fat layer facing upwards on a grill plate. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes till the meat sizzles and crackles but before it turns brown.

Turn down the heat to 200 C without fan and roast for another 30 minutes.

Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before cutting into bit sizes.

Prepare apple sauce or sweet vinegar soy dipping sauce.

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