This is my take on a great Chinese hotpot recipe.  It’s simple to prepare and delicious on a cold day.  Perfect with steamed rice and some stir-fried greens. This recipe serves four.

Ingredients

About 800g of pork belly, cut into 1-inch pieces (about the size of two dominoes)
1 tablespoon of Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon of oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
About 2 inches of raw ginger, chopped
1 cup of water or stock
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
1 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce or 1 chopped small chilli (unless you can’t handle a little heat)
1 tablespoon of sugar
3-4 medium sized potatoes, diced
4 eggs

Method

1. Heat the oil in a deep dish pot on medium-high heat. In a bowl, mix the Chinese five spice, garlic and ginger in with the pork. Once the oil is hot, fry the pork in the pot.

2. In a bowl, stir together the stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce (or chopped chillis) and sugar.

3. When the pork is lightly browned, pour the stock mixture into the pot. Once the stock starts to boil, turn down the heat, put the lid on the pot and let simmer for about an hour.

4. After the hour, add the potatoes into the pork. Also, start boiling the eggs in a separate pot so they are hard boiled. Once the eggs are cooked, peel them and add them to the pot with the pork.

[To hardboil an egg, place the eggs in cold water on the stove on high heat. Once the water starts to boil (but not a rolling boil), start the clock and after 7 minutes the egg will be cooked through]

5. About 20 minutes after you have added the eggs to the pot, it should all be ready. With steamed rice and stir-fried greens, serve the pork in a large bowl placed in the centre of the table!

As the weather has been getting quite frosty here , this has recently become a staple of my winter recipe repetoire.  It is most definately not one of the healthiest dinners you could treat yourself to, but it sure tastes good.  Perhaps it one of our primal instincts to seek to load up on the carbs when things turn cold.

The following is a recipe for one (to reflect my current situation!), so please adjust accordingly.

Ingredients

3 good sized pork sausages

For the mash

2 medium sized or 1 large potato (about 250g)
2 tablespoons of milk or cream
1 knob of butter
Salt (or, even better, garlic salt!) and pepper

For the gravy

1 medium sized red onion
2 knobs of butter
1.5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
100ml of water (or, even better, stock!)
1 teaspoon of flour
Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Start with the potatoes, because I find they take the longest the cook.  Peel and cut the potatoes in small pieces (about double bite sized).  Put them in a pot of water on the stove, and bring to the boil.  You want to boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to easily push a fork through one of the pieces.

2. Next let’s start on the gravy.  Chop up the red onion into small pieces.  In a small pan over medium heat, sweat the red onion with a knob of butter.  Put a lid on the pan – this will keep the onion from drying out.

3. Now for the sausages.  My preference is to pan fry them over low heat – however, because my stove here is unreliable, I usually poach them in simmering (not boiling!) water for about 20 minutes (to ensure they are cooked through), then put them in a pan for another 15 minutes on low heat to brown them.  So I usually get some water simmering on the stove at this point – but if you prefer to fry, grill or bake them, do what you usually do.

4. After about 15 minutes the onions should be soft – remove the lid, let them cook for another minute or so, then add the balsamic vinegar.  Let the vinegar reduce for a couple of minutes (the onions should have changed colour, but the pan shouldn’t be soupy) then add the other knob of butter, and the water (or stock).

5. Put a lid on the gravy, and let it slow boil for 15-20 minutes.  Taste it, does it need any salt or pepper?

6. Keep an eye on the sausages, the trick is to not cook them too fast, otherwise the outside gets burnt, while the inside is still raw!

7. Now everyone has their own preference as to how they like their gravy.  I prefer mine quite thick, and I find that 1-1.5 teaspoons of flour mixed into the gravy gets it to the right consistency for me.  If you are not sure, I would add 0.5 a teaspoon of flour into the gravy, give it a good stir until you can’t see any lumps of flour, and see whether it is thick enough.  If you accidentally add to much, just add water.

8. By this time, my potatoes are about done.  Check by pushing a fork through one of them – there should be no resistance.   Drain the potatoes, and mash them!  Either using a masher, or the back of a fork, mash them with the milk and butter.  Again, if you like your mash runny, add more milk – but be careful not to overdo it, as there is no way (which I know of) of firming up mash potatoes which are too runny.   Add the salt and pepper to taste.

9. By now the sausages should be cooked (it is usually about 40 minutes since I started on them), but to check, either cut one in half, or insert a metal skewer into one for 5 seconds.  If it comes out piping hot, then its cooked.  However, I’m of the school that you don’t break the skin of a sausage until you eat it – otherwise all the delicious juices escape!

10. On a plate, arrange the mash in the middle, the sausages perched on top, and the gravy covering it all! Bon appetite!

REVIEW: PING PONG

I felt uneasy as soon as I walked into Ping Pong on Great Marlborough Steet.  I couldn’t put my finger on the reason why, and being my first time dining in London, I decided to stay positive and give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt.

However, things did not start well.  Despite having made a reservation for lunch and there being only one table occupied, we were not allowed to take a seat until all of our party had arrived.  I can understand such a rule being enforced when a restaurant is full – but not when it is empty.   And by the time we did take our seats, we were greeted by a couple of surly waitresses.

Of course, being the first time since I have been in a Chinese restaurant since arriving in the UK, I would have forgiven this all for some well made dim sums.

Unfortunately, it was not to be.  The white doughy skins of the steamed dumplings (the har gau and chive dumplings) were far too thick and by the time that they arrived at the table, no longer steaming hot.  And by the time that I munched through the chewy skins, I was only disappointed to bite on, in respect of the har gau, skinny little prawns.

This was largely representative of much of the meal. The siew mai (pork dumplings) and the char siew pao (steamed pork buns) were better than average but underwhelming.  Probably the result of being spoilt by Chinese food in Sydney, I expect my siew mai to be bursting with juices and flavours, my pork buns to be fluffy and filled with rich barbeque pork.  The spring rolls were not crispy, but rather, much too dense and again arrived at the table lukewarm.  On a more positive note, I found the prawn toast to be quite tasty and novel, however, again it didn’t arrive hot with the result that the corners of the little triangle toasts had to be carefully negotiated inside eager mouths.

Yum cha needs to be served hot – so hot that you have to stop yourself from immediately tucking in so that you don’t burn the insides of your mouth.  What made this particularly unforgiveable, in my view, is that the food is brought to your table to order – not from trolleys that ply their way between the tables.  So there is really no reason why the food shouldn’t arriving steaming.

By the time we finished, the restaurant was largely full with a short line at the door.  So maybe there is something to be said for Ping Pong.  All that I know is that I will not be returning any time soon.

Details:

The Place: Ping Pong

Where: 45 Great Marlborough Street, Soho (they have a number of different restaurants in London)

Food: Yum cha

Tip: They do offer some interesting teas on the menu.

Butcher’s Bill: ₤17.50 per head on a Sunday all you can eat deal plus a few extra pounds for drinks.

Who should go: Anyone who hasn’t had yum cha in Sydney or Hong Kong.

I must confess that with limited free time and a poorly stocked kitchen (including having to share a bar fridge with a number of housemates), my typical kitchen exploits have been neglected.  One of my favourite weekend meals is roast chicken, and I have set out below my simple recipe which is perfect when cooking for one.

The only equipment I use is a Pyrex dish.  I picked up mine from Tescos for only ₤2.63 – it measures about 17cm x 10cm and is 5cm deep.

Ingredients

2 chicken breast or thigh pieces, with bones – not fillets. (The lack of butchers/chicken shops has meant I have been buying packaged chicken pieces from the supermarket, and freezing what I don’t immediately use)
Tablespoon of olive oil
Tablespoon of soy sauce (optional)
Salt
Pepper

1 large potato, cut into cubes – there should be enough to make two layers on the base of the dish
2 cloves of garlic – crush them roughly to break the skins and cloves, but leave the skins on
Fresh rosemary (I know, its hard for a student to keep fresh herbs – I have found a large rosemary bush in one of the public parks, and help myself to a few sprigs when I need it!)
2 tablespoons of white wine

What to do:

1.Preheat the oven to 190^oC/275^oF.

2. Mix the soy sauce and olive oil in a bowl, marinate the chicken pieces in the oily mix, then rub the salt, pepper and some chopped rosemary into the skin and flesh.  Let it sit while you start on the potatoes.

3. Boil the potatoes in a pot of water, until you can just push a fork through to the centre.

4. Strain then place the semi-cooked potatoes at the bottom of your dish.  Mix in the rosemary sprigs and the garlic pieces with the garlic, and pour in the white wine.

5. Place the chicken pieces on top, then put in the oven for about 30 minutes (our oven here is terribly inconsistent, so I always check on the chicken every 5 minutes or so).

I have found this recipe to make enough for 2 dinners, but then again, I am quite a small eater.

Also, don’t discard the garlic pieces, I like to use the soft garlic as a paste when I am having the chicken!

It has been over 4 months since my last post, and much has happened during that time.

The biggest news is that I am no longer in Sydney.  However, I am a Sydneysider at heart, and am yet refusing to change the byline!

And I have returned to university, but not in Australia but rather the UK.  This new experience is posing a few challenges, many of which I am hoping to share over this blog in the coming months!

Living in the UK (not London), and on my own and on a student budget, poses considerable hurdles to the food enthusiast.

First of all, fresh food is not easy to come by – fresh fruit and vegetables are not convenient to come by (and by that I mean not prepackaged, and not from a supermarket), and fresh meat and fish even harder to locate.

Second of all, food is expensive in the UK especially with the current Australian dollar and it would be very easy for me, the average student, to dine out on tinned and prepared meals every day and the great expense of my waistline.

Lastly, I am now cooking for one! Despite my nom de plume, I was almost always cooking for others in Sydney, which allowed for greater indulgence and experimentation.   This is no longer the case!

However, I am resolved to eat cheaply and healthily and hope to share some ideas and recipes over the coming months.

Many people stumble across this humble blog looking for a snapper pie recipe, or more specifically, the snapper pie recipe from the Boathouse (my review here). Well, you can find the Boathouse snapper pie recipe here, or you can try this recipe of mine. You could use cod instead of snapper, I think they both work well.

The above photo is of a family size fish pie I did with sweet potato instead of the broccoli, in a deep dish – it worked well too, however, I would have preferred to have used a shallower dish.  The below recipe if for a pie for two.

Ingredients
(The pie dish I use is about 14cmx14cm – so adjust accordingly)

About 500g of snapper fillets, skinned and cut into thumb-width strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
450ml of thick cream (not pouring cream and not double cream – the cream which is in between)
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 handful of broccoli heads, cut to bite size pieces
100g of grated parmesan
Juice of half a lemon
1 handful of continental parsley and half as much dill, each roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Puff pastry to cover
1 egg to egg wash the pastry or a little milk

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 220^oC/430^oF and remove the puff pastry from the freezer so it will be at room temperature when you are ready to bake.

2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, cook the onions.

3. Once the onions are browned, add in the carrots and broccoli. Stir fry the veggies for 4-5 minutes then tip in the cream.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let the cream reduce by about a third (it should be enough to fill your pie dish after the reduction).

5. Once the cream has reduced, remove from the heat then add the parsley, dill, lemon juice and parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir through the snapper then pour into the pie dish. The mixture should be enough to just fill the pie dish. If not, heat some more cream and veggies – don’t worry if the mixture cools.

7. Lay the puff pastry over your dish and press in the sides. Brush with either an egg wash (1 egg beaten with a tablespoon of water) or with milk.

8. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked. Serve with some steam vegetables and (heaven forbid!) tomato sauce.

For those interested in the arts in Sydney, and even for those who aren’t particular interested, it was difficult this week to avoid the controversy over the recent photographs exhibited by Bill Henson, world renowned photographic artist. See recent articles in the SMH, the Australian and on Crikey.

It is clear that, from the very start, the public debate has not been about the artistic merit, or otherwise, of Henson’s work. It has been about whether the photographs constitute child p-rn-graphy, and consequently, whether Henson should be charged with serious criminal offences.

Are the photographs p-rn-graphic?

For my part, from what I have seen of the photographs in the media, the photographs are not p-rn-graphic or s-xual. Although it is very easily to get tied up in defining p-rn-graphy, for me, the test is very easy. Was the work (whether it be a photo, a story, a film or other piece of work) created for the intended audience to m-st-rbate over? A little crude, I admit, but on this test Henson’s photos are not p-rn-graphic.

Now, the arguments put forward by a number of commentators are that these photos will be used by p–dophiles to satisfy their base desires. Although at first blush, this argument has some merit – after a little thought, my view is that this argument completely misses the point. P–dophiles, by their definition, see children as s-xual objects. Accordingly, it is not possible, in any work, to portray children in a way that a p–dophile would not find gratifying. And does anyone seriously think that seizing Henson’s photographs and prosecuting the various participants will prevent the s-xual abuse of a single child?

Is nudity always s-xual?

This was an argument put most forcefully by some commentators, lobby groups and activists to say that Henson should be charged with child p-rn-graphy offences.

A good friend of mine has a picture of her, and her sister, in a bubble bath taken when they were about 3 and 5 years old, respectively. They are each naked from the waist up and smiling at the each other. Her mother has this photo sitting prominently in their living room and it is the only photo of her two daughters which she has on display. She is obviously proud of the photo, and of her daughters. But no-one would suggest that this is child p-rn-graphy.

Nudity is not, by its nature, s-xual. Of course, in many cases it is – and in many other cases, clothed bodies can be s-xual. However, I haven’t heard too much from the current agitators calling for the prosecution of those who s-xualise children in the mass media (see these reports here and here).

The truth is that there is little difference between the minds of the p–dophile and the puritanical. Both are s-xually provoked by the innocent, the only difference is that one rejoices in their perversion while the other is ashamed.

Questions of consent

Both the parents of the subject, and the subject herself, consented to the photographs. However, many commentators (including a former Federal Court judge) said that the issue is really one of consent – and that a child, or their parents, cannot consent to having their photographs taken in this way. In other words, you shouldn’t put a child in a posititon where they can say in adulthood, “Mum/dad, how could you let me do that”.

The question of consent is really a red herring. The photographs are either p-rn-graphic or not. If they are p-rn-graphic, then consent is not an issue – it doesn’t matter whether the subject or their parents consented, they are illegal. If they are not p-rn-graphic, then again consent is not an issue. Parents give their consent for things to happen to their children every day, which, very often, their children do not consent to. We let parents choose their child’s religion, pick their schools, select the musical instrument or sport they will play, influence which friends they hang out with and what movies they see and sometimes, even, who their future partner will be.

Now, in none of these cases, does the law intervene on the basis that a child, many years later, will regret what their parents made them do.

And, quite perversely and ironically, it is the attention given to Henson’s photographs by the child welfare experts and mass media that is likely to cause the subject and her parent more regrets than if this whole brouhaha was never given any oxygen (the current news media rejoices in humiliating individuals – think of the recent Tania Zaetta stories – and this, I fear, is no exception).

Perhaps I am wrong

One of the most influential teachers I had during high school taught us to always admit the possibility that we are wrong. And perhaps I am wrong on this issue. Perhaps, we do need to censor the arts and the media, starting, I suggest, with Home and Away and Neighbours, so that children are not portrayed in a manner which p–dophiles may find appealing. With this in mind, I took out my censors pen, and inspired by the local media who – at the same time – criticised yet published the offending Henson photographs , to produce my tribute to the current state of the Australian arts.

Click on the photo to see the original – all photos were taken from other photographers on Flickr.

The Gaze

Children playing by Thirroul beach

Girl from Vietnam

Race on the beach

Children play at Legzira

Beach cricket at sunset

An armada of nippers

MOVIE REVIEW: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

The original Indiana Jones trilogy were the movies of my boyhood and whenever I have watched them since, they have reminded me so much of the type of films I loved as a kid. For this reason, it is difficult to review the latest instalment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, because, although there are strong glimpses of past glories, this film falls short of what fans of this franchise deserve.

The movie starts on a military base in the Nevada desert, with Indy having been kidnapped by cold war Soviets. Unfortunately, a military base in the middle of the US is not exactly an exotic location and Indy with his fedora, leather jackets and bull whip seemed a little out of place. The opening action sequence was okay but fell well short of the genius of Raiders, the outlandishness of Temple of Doom and the creativeness of the Last Crusade.

Set during the height of “reds under the bed”, Indy finds himself being suspected of communist sympathies (despite his war record and career as a spy – anyone a little confused?). On the outer, and about to abandon his professorship, he is approached by Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who needs Indy’s help to find the crystal skull. Have you ever heard of the crystal skull? Neither had I. And a significant portion of the film is spent explaining what the crystal skull is, who found it, why it is so important et cetera, et cetera.

The Soviets, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) are also after the crystal skull and Indy must battle his way through South America to claim his prize. However, it is not clear why Indiana sets off on this quest – unlike in the original trilogy, his motivations are not at all obvious. On his way, Indy is reunited with Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) from Raiders – no surprises who the love interest is in this film. But what was disappointing was that winning the girl seemed all too easy for Indy – in fact, he didn’t have to do anything at all, just show up.

The only highlight for me was an excellent car chase scene set in the Peruvian rainforest. By the end, I was wishing for the final action sequences to be tidied up and cut shorter. For most of the film, there is little suspense or creativity in the ways the Indy gets himself out of trouble. Having the crew of heroes sail over the edges of three waterfalls safely and without any extra device is not fun at all. Next time they should just give Indy super-powers so the writers do not have to get creative.

It was nostalgic seeing Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, but there was something of the sparkle from the original trilogy that was missing. Although he resembled a much younger man, I found his performance to be tired. The women carried this instalment of Indiana Jones. Both Cate Blanchett and Karen Allen conveyed so much fun and warmth (or lack of warmth in Blanchett’s case) in their performances. Shia LaBeouf was a competent sidekick, although for much of the movie, his character, Mutt Williams, does not actually support Indy but fight his own battles.

Spielberg himself has said that Last Crusade was intended to be the last fim in the franchise. At the end, I asked myself whether Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a better “last fim” than Last Crusade. Unfortunately, my answer is “no”. The storyline and some of the performances just came off as a little lazy – as though putting Harrison Form in the fedora and jacket would be enough to please the public.

One Man’s Rating (out of 5):

Meatballs were never a staple in my household growing up.

I have been watching Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares these past few months and noticed, on a number of occassions, that the “signature” dish he often teaches the struggling restaurant is meatballs. The meatballs on the show are cricket-ball sized monsters. Instead, I decided to try my hand at small golf-ball sized meatballs for a simple tomato based past sauce.

Ingredients:

Meatballs
500g pork mince
500g beef mince
4 rashes of bacon or pancetta, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely diced
1 large spanish onion, finely diced
1-2 teaspoon of paprika (depending on your tastes)
½ cup of breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons of parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon of rosemary, chopped
Salt and pepper

Pasta sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely diced
2 x 400g tins of diced tomatoes
1 spanish onion, finely diced (optional)
Sweet basil leaves, roughly torn

What to do:

For the meatballs:

1.  Preheat the oven to 180^oC (350^oF).

Optional step: Fry the bacon in a pan and when cooked, set aside.

2.  Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. When hot add the garlic and onions.

3.  After about 30 seconds, add the paprika and let cook until onions are soft, then take off the heat.

4.  In a large bowl, add the cooked onions mix, pork mince, beef mince, bacon (optional), breadcrumbs, egg and herbs. Roll your sleeves up and mix the ingredients thoroughly with your hands. Add a teaspoon of salt and pepper to the mix.

5.  Using the palms of your hands, form small golf-ball sized meatballs. This is the most time-consuming part. Place each meatball on a tray lined with baking paper.

6.  Bake the meatballs for about 30 minutes until brown.

For the sauce

7.  Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, then when hot, add the garlic and onions (optional)

8.  When the garlic is browning, or the onions are soft, tip in the tins of tomatoes.

9.  Bring the sauce to the boil, then reduce the heat, and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

10.  Add the cooked meatballs and sweet basil to the sauce, then let simmer for another 20 minutes. This is about the time you should start getting the water ready to boil the pasta.

11.  Serve with some warm sourdough, a simple green salad and a glass of red!

Making a booking at the Moonlight Cinema in Sydney’s Centennial Park is probably the most romantic thing I have done in a little while (I will let you judge if that is a good or bad thing). The first movie we planned to see eventually washed out (Elizabeth 2), so I decided upon the Darjeeling Limited – hoping that the wet Sydney summer would break for one February evening.The Darjeeling Limited reminded me so much of the India I experienced last summer. The director, Wes Craven, managed to communicate on the screen so many of the rich sights, sounds and smells (strangely enough) that I had both cursed and loved on the sub-continent (you have to experience India to understand what I mean).

The story is simple enough. Three brothers take a train trip across India after the death of their father. Each are as strange as the other: Francis Whitman (Owen Wilson) is the oldest brother, who is actually more like a mother to Peter (Adrian Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman). Francis organised the trip and will do whatever it takes to ensure that everything goes to plan. This provides many of the laughs for the film, as Peter and Jack are no longer little brothers.  The movie is rich with symbolism, and having not watched many Wes Anderson movies in the past, I failed to understand some parts such as the Bill Murray scene at the beginning.

This isn’t meant to be a movie review, because I enjoyed spending the night with OP without having to worry about all the things which usually occupy my mind.  In other words, the timing, the setting and the weather was such that I could have watched any movie that night and enjoyed myself.