Secret Ingredient No. 6

Red rice goes under the microscope as Secret Ingredient No. 6. Pictured above is a long grain version with a red-brown bran. Red rice comes in short grain or long grain varieties under a few names and "brands" including: Bhutanese Red Rice (short grain), Himalayan Red Rice (long grain), Wehani (long grain red basmati), Russet and Camargue French Red Rice (short grain). For more pictures, check out the Cook's Thesaurus. Like brown rice, red rice tastes nutty with a chewy texture. The long grain varieties of red rice contain higher fibre, and hold an equal or lower glycaemic index (GI) than long grain white rice, making the former a healthier choice. Nutritionists suggest non-glutinous basmati the best choice. Most red rice varieties cook in the same time as white rice.

Red rice recipes, especially for the short grain Bhutanese variety, can be found at the World Pantry website. The beautiful red colour makes the rice a great addition to salads. For more recipes do a search with Google using the above red rice names.

To make rice porridge, allow 1 litre of water or stock for each 3/4 cup of rice. Bring to boil and simmer for 45-60 minutes to achieve the required consistency. A crockpot comes handy for overnight cooking of the next day's breakfast. For serving suggestion, try Noodle Cook's Oriental Breakfast.

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Tea and Coffee - Wattleseed Tofu Slice

Baked wattleseed tofu slice with a nut and biscuit crumb crust. An egg and dairy free, vegan slice which can be easily made without gluten. Sweetening comes from a mandarin and pear jam made with fruit juice and commercial pectin.

Nut Crust
1/2 cup nut butter, made milling roasted nuts to a paste
1 cup crushed soda crackers, water biscuits or dried bread crumbs
1 teaspoon macadamia oil, or flavouring of choice

Filling
1 cake tofu (250 g)
1 teaspoon tapioca starch
1 tablespoon fruit jam
1 teaspooon wattleseed
1/2 teaspoon cocoa

Combine crust ingredients and press into a baking paper-lined 15 cm tart dish. Process the filling ingredients in a blender until creamy. For an interesting texture, reserve some tofu, dice and add after the processing. Spread the filling over the crust. Bake at 150 degrees Celsius until the surface firms up and looks golden brown.



Serve the slices as petit fours with tea or coffee. For a drinks suggestion, try orange and wattleseed herbal infusion.

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Akudjura Tapenade

A vegan tapenade made with akudjura (Australian native bush tomato) and brined oriental black olives. Fermented black oriental olives and mustard vegetable add a twist to this tapenade. Great with the tofu and vegetable lavash stack, described in an earlier post, or with your favourite pasta dish. To make half a cup of tapenade, use the following:

Ingredients:
4 large brined oriental black olives, pitted and finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fermented black oriental olives and mustard vegetable in rapeseed oil
2 teaspoon akudjura (bush tomato), ground

Combine all ingredients. For a finer texture, mill the mixture, otherwise the mustard vegetables give an interesting texture. Allow 30 minutes for the akudjura to marinate. Store refrigerated in a clean jar until ready to use.



As described in Paper Chef #8 Challenge, the fermented black oriental olive and mustard vegetable preserve is very salty and pungent, with a fried fish-like aroma, kind of crossed with black beans and soy sauce. The aroma makes an excellent substitute for anchovies. Preserved black oriental olives, fermented or brined, are found in the condiment section of good oriental stores.

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Lunch Special - Vegan Tofu and Vegetable Lavash

Healthy tofu, tomato, spinach and tomato sauce layered on lavash flatbread. A modern oriental fusion equivalent of the Italian lasagna dish, designed for the vegan. It is possible to make the dish gluten-free with the use of a suitable flatbread. Serve cold or toasted, on its own, or with a side salad. Recommended with vegetarian tapenade , and a light dressing of trinity olive oil infusions.

To make the dish as meal for one, allow the following ingredients:

Ingredients:
1 cake of firm tofu (250 g), sliced 0.5 cm thick
1/2 sheet of lavash flatbread, cut into four 10cm x 10cm squares.
2 tablespoon tomato paste or home cooked tomato sauce
1/2 cup cooked spinach puree or chopped, cooked seasonal vegetables of choice
1 tomato, sliced thinly

For serving suggestions:
trinity olive oil infusions, optional
vegetarian tapenade, optional
wasabi, optional
ground mountain pepper berry, optional



Assemble the stack in neat layers, alternating the ingredients. Season to taste. If required, heat in an oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes until toasted. Serve immediately with suggested accompaniments.

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Lunch Special - Vegan Potato and Carrot Timbale

An attractive potato and carrot timbale, served with seasonal vegetable, toasted tofu, and mushroom in mountain pepper berry sauce. A vegan meal on its own, or enjoy as an entree, or as a side dish, to a main course. The fruity and zingy mountain pepper berry sauce highlights the taste of the dish. The akudjura (bush tomato) in the tofu and carrot pastry adds an extra dimension to the taste. General instructions follow.

Mountain Pepper Berry Sauce:
Make a roux out of 1 tablespoon onion and garlic infused olive oil, 1 tablespoon plain flour, 1 tablespoon tapioca startch, and 2/3 cup water. Remove from the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1.5 cups of sliced champignons and 2 teaspoons of ground mountain pepper berry.

Potato and Carrot Timbale:
To 150 g of pureed cooked carrot, add 1/4 salt, 1 tablespoon of trinity olive oil infusions, and 75 g toasted glutinous rice flour (obtained from oriental stores). Mix to a soft dough and rest 30 minutes to soften the rice flour. For each timbale, roll out 30 g of the carrot pastry between baking paper dusted with rice flour. Place 60 g ball of cooked mashed potato in the pastry and wrap up. Press into a well oiled mould such as an expresso cup. There is enough pastry for 6 timbales. No further cooking is needed as the rice flour is cooked, other than perhaps a quick warm up in a microwave.

Toasted Tofu:
Marinate slices of tofu in trinity olive oil infusions. Just before cooking, drain and coat with chickpea flour. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes until golden.

Assemble the dish as shown and garnish with fried onions and garlic left over from the olive oil infusions.

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Tuna Mousseline with Mushroom in Mountain Pepper Berry Sauce

The great tasting fruity and zingy mountain pepper berry features in this tuna mousseline as an experiment. Like wasabi and mustard, mountain pepper berry looses its zingy sensation when heated, although not its aroma or flavour.

In this experiment, mountain pepper berry was added to a cooling mushroom roux. The roux was chilled in the refrigerator prior to incorporation into ramekins of tuna mousseline. The mousseline was cooked at a low temperature of 150 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes in a water bath. Despite all the care, the zing dissipated during cooking. Perhaps a cold gelatine set version works better, or serve the dish with the mountain pepper berry sauce warm or at room temperature, on the side.

Regardless, the dish tastes great with the mountain pepper berry sauce strongly resembling fruit chutney without the sweetness or sourness. The quandong inspired coulis from Paper Chef #9 works well with the tuna and the mountain pepper berry sauce.

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Australian Cajun Spices

Bush foods experts herald the combination of wattleseed, mountain pepper berry and akudjura as Australia's answer to Cajun spices. To most people, Cajun spices refer to the blackening spice mixture use in grilled meats. Does the bush spice combination taste or work like Cajun spices? To find out, Noodle Cook goes behind the scene and tests the spices out on grilled chicken.

There is no rocket science to making up the Aussie Cajun spices: 1 teaspoon each of wattleseed, ground mountain pepper berry and ground akudjura. Add a few shakes of ground black pepper (or mountain pepper leaves), and pinches of herbs like oregano and thyme. Sprinkle the spice mix over skinless chicken drumsticks. Splash over some trinity olive oil infusions. Grill at 180 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes.

Does the chicken taste like the normal Cajun grill? The blackening works, however the taste is quite different. With John the "secret reviewer", as the critic, giving the thumbs up, one can't go wrong with the taste! Although, Noodle cannot convince John to eat all the chicken because the inside is still raw....

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"An Electronic Restaurant" Starring ....

The judging panel reintroduced using "South Park"-style cartoon characters created with "South Park Studio Version 2". From left to right:

The junior judging team:
Ninja Nath
Cathy Roadrunner
Tiny Tom



... and
Princess
Chubby Chup



The senior Ladies judges:
Jetset Nan
Nutri Jan
Chairman
Super K



The senior Men judges:
Oz Grunt
Big Tom
Action Man



... the Hero and Villain:
A mini-series would not be one if there is no hero or villain! So here are Noodle Cook, the electronic masterchef hero, and home food critic John the "secret reviewer" as the villain:



John's "secret" visit, the first to this weblog, was recorded in the guestbook for all to see!

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Trinity Olive Oil Infusions

The success of confit salmon lies in a delicately herbed and spiced oil infusion which helps distribute the heat during cooking at low temperature around 100 deg Celsius or lower. Both Tetsuya and Chubby Hubby use grapeseed oil. Strong tasting olive oil also works well for gently heated infusions. To recreate the Creole "trinity" flavours and the the spectacular colours for the confit salmon dish for this electronic restaurant, try the following combinations with olive oil.

Herbs and spice suggestions:

Green Infusion:
1/2 teaspoon each of dried
basil
thyme
mint
parsley
oregano
celery seeds (or slivers of fresh celery)

Yellow Infusion:
1 teaspoon lemon zest, slivered
1 garlic clove, slivered
1 French shallot onion bulb, slivered

Orange or Red Infusion:
1 teaspoon ground akudjura (Australian bush tomato)
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon paprika

For each infusion, use 4 tablespoons of good quality olive. Place the herbs/spices in cold olive oil and slowly warm to just bubbling. Wait for the aroma and colour to develop. Remove from heat and cool. Let the infusions develop for 2 hours. For the salmon marinate and the leek linguine dressing, use the ratio of about 2 teaspoon of orange, 1 teaspoon of yellow and about 1/2 teaspoon of green. The idea is to create a bright orange infusion to match the salmon. Adjust the flavours to your personal taste. The garlic, lemon zest and onion make great garnishes, while the darkened spices give added taste to normal salad dressings. Drizzle excess infusions over plated salads for spectacular presentations.

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Nature Does Not Lie with Colours

It's Friday again and the restaurant closes! Oops not quite as Noodle Cook waited till Sunday this time, for another romantic dinner. The confit salmon cooked to perfection after an earlier run for the new Degustation Menu. Unlike Chubby Hubby, Noodle didn't have a makeshift studio to photograph the dinner! When Noodle's romantic dinner photographs went out of focus and got ruined by backlighting, it seemed like yet another dramatic end to a dinner cooked by Noodle.

According to "Does My Blog Look Good In This" (DMBLGIT #8), the food blogger photography competition: "Those that didn't do so well suffered from poor focus and poor lighting. So for the next round take a little time with the focusing (a tripod perhaps) and give some consideration to the light source and overall illumination...".

Well, good lighting and photographic opportunities are not always found together in real life. So, what does one do with a photograph considered "bad"? Expert photographer, Stephen of "What's for Dinner?" suggested to use the shake to the advantage what he did with his pizza and ice cream. While Stephen expertly achieved moods through clever lighting, Noodle's immediate approach was to cheat with Photoshop, and play with colours...

The reminder of the ambience for the dinner was a beautiful vase of daisies. The poor focus was disguised using a "wind" filter in Photoshop, which seemed very appropriate as the dinner went smoothly and quickly, a bit hazy, like in a "breeze". The poor lighting and colour were adjusted by referring to colours in nature. In design, the expression "Nature does not lie" is applied to harmonising colours by looking at examples in nature. In the absence of formal studies into colours, using nature is a great idea.

It was decided after studying a daisy from the garden that orange works well with the blues and purples as a complementary colour.



To show that the colour works, an orange cookie cutter, placed over the daisy, frames the daisy perfectly.



After adjusting the background to orange for the vase of flowers, the photograph really captured the mood for the dinner. Also, the confit salmon looked wonderful after digital removal of backlighting and brightening of the foreground with deeper, richer colours and a matching orange.



The pictures for this post work well even though they were out of focus or have bad lighting, proving the point that poor focus and poor lighting aren't the end of everything!

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Reflections

... enjoy the picture for now, the post eventually gets written!

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Degustation Menu - Confit Salmon

Mountain pepper berry crusted confit Tasmanian salmon with leek linguine and akudjura (bush tomatoes), served with an exquisite akudjura Creole "trinity" dressing.

A deliciously juicy, and delightfully gelatinous dish accomplished by cooking the freshest salmon at low temperature using the technique perfected by Tetsuya's Restaurant. The dish, which features Australian bush spices, tastes mildly spicy, with distinctively Creole flavours heightened by caramel-tamarillo tasting akudjura. The akudjura aroma resembles fried sun-dried tomatoes. Fruity and zingy, like the heat of mustard, mountain pepper berry complements the taste sensation.

The confit salmon forms part of the new Australian Bush Tucker Degustation Menu for this electronic restaurant. Click here to read the background on menu changes to reflect changing trends in "classic" Australian cuisine.

In view of the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, which brought about a resurgence of interest in Creole/Cajun foods, it seems appropriate to introduce Creole flavours to this first dish for the new Degustation Menu. The design of the dish carries the message of support to keep New Orleans above water, as with Paper Chef #10 Menu which celebrates the united spirit of support for Hurricane Katrina survivors. The akudjura represents the AUD$10 million contribution by Australians to the disaster relief effort. Donations can be made at the Red Cross.

To make successful confit salmon, follow instructions by Chubby Hubby, cooking at 100 degrees Celsius for 7 minutes only. Refer to "Trinity Olive Oil Infusions" for flavour suggestions.



Confit salmon is also available with a seasonal garden salad as part of the main menu.

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Dessert Menu - Green Tea Pastries

Green tea snowskin pastries with sweet red bean filling. A vegan addition to the dessert menu. The savoury pastry is made from toasted glutinous rice flour flavoured with green tea, ginger infused olive oil and sesame seeds. The slight saltiness of the pastry complements the sweetness of the red bean filling. A modern take on snowskin mooncakes , designed as a dessert course instead of a confectionery snack. The idea for these pastries comes from the "Fried Green Tea Ravioli with a Red Bean Paste Filling" created by Anthony (Man that Cooks) of Spiceblog. To make your own red bean paste, follow Anthony's instructions.

Ingredients
200 g toasted glutinous rice flour, sifted
200 mL iced water
2 tablespoon ginger infused olive oil
1 tablespoon green tea, milled
2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, milled
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 can (510 g) sweentened red bean paste
extra toasted glutinous rice flour for dusting

The ingredients make 36 pastries using a 6-cm pastry press. The ready to eat rice flour requires no cooking. Obtain the flour from an oriental supermarket. Glutinous rice flour gives a sticky, chewy, gelatinous texture which improves with the addition of other cooked, more starchy rice flour, such as toasted red rice flour. Omit the green tea if using red rice flour.

To make the pastry, mix all ingredients, except the red bean paste, to a soft dough and rest for 30 minutes for the rice flour to soften. For each pastry, roll 1 tablespoon of dough between non-stick baking paper. Dust with rice flour. Peel the pastry over a dusted flip-over pastry press. Add 1 teaspoon of red bean paste. Lightly seal. Transfer to a baking paper lined tray. Store tightly covered in the fridge until ready to serve. Best eaten within four days.



Serve cold or at room temperature with ginger liqueur or a sauce of honey (or maple syrup) and ginger. Garnish with sesame seeds and fried ginger strips (left over from making the olive infusion). Although it is possible to flambe, toast or fry the pastries, the filling breaks out on heating and makes the presentation undesirable.

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Beef Carpaccio Encore

All that TV watching didn't go to waste when Noodle Cook discovers how to make beef carpaccio watching Jamie Oliver's every move. The end result is a superb main course for Friday's romantic dinner which leaves Noodle hungry. There are leftovers as Noodle does not eat raw beef! What to do with the leftovers?

... a Thai beef salad.

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Romantic 2-Course Dinner

When the restaurant closes on Friday night, Noodle goes behind the scene, experimenting with Jamie Oliver's beef carpaccio and ends up with a surprising result. In the mean time, an impressive entree of Cajun sausage chips with basil tomatoes and Cajun prawns gets served with smokey, caramelised (OK, burnt) jambalaya soup as a dip. As usual the meal receives loud exclamations of "WOW". Now for the main course, drum rolling, hold your breath ....

Yes, it's a success for Noodle! Here's the proof! A quick sear in a very hot pan followed by resting in a warm oven at 100 degree Celsius for 20 minutes, and the carpaccio is ready for plating.



Arrange neatly in a circular fashion with cauliflower mash in the middle, top with pan-tossed garlic hearts, leek and red chilli...



... garnish with fried garlic, onion and ginger



and serve with celery, capsicum, onion and pepper sauce.



There is just one problem with this meal: Noodle does not eat raw beef and spends the whole evening with a rumbling stomach craving for more food. Next morning Noodle rushes out of bed at the crack of dawn to dig in the fridge for anything remotely edible, such as the leftover beer-smoked Creole hot sausages from Paper Chef #10!

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Banana Foster Tribute

Here's a tribute to all participants in Paper Chef #10 New Orleans edition, an invention from Brennan's Restaurant, Banana Foster, "a quintessential New Orleans dessert, and a favorite among most locals" according to Chuck Taggart.

Click here to view the flambe in action. Alternatively, go to Google Video and search for "Banana Foster" playable:true. You will need the Google Video Player to view. Please donate to Hurricane Katrina disaster relief at the Red Cross if you enjoyed the video.



Everyone is a winner for participating, but here are official ones from judge Kevin of Seriously Good:

Paper Chef September:
Stephen of What's for Dinner (StephenCooks.com) with Beer-Boiled Shrimp Po'boy.

Kevin's "Special" Award:
June of June's Blog with Tempura-style Beer Battered Shrimp and Crispy Sausage Strips, Fried Basil Green Tomato Rings. Check out Noodle Cook's visualisation of a similar dish with baked Sausage Chips.

Kevin's "Blog I Most Wanted to Eat" Award:
Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl with Red Beans and Rice.

.... and the unofficial 2-minute Noodle Cook Awards:

....to be completed with Links from Owen's roundup

Did you miss out on an award? Please post in the comments. Congratulations to all, and don't forget to battle it out all again for next month's Paper Chef in the great spirit of this auspicious internet cooking show for all internet savvy cooks, chefs, and dreamers.

To wind up the Cajun, Creole, New Orleans and IMBB virtual party, here's a toast to all winners, participants, judge Kevin, and host Owen, with loud singing (put on cowboy hats first) of the chorus from "Jambalaya on the Bayou" by Hank Williams Sr, 1952 :

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and file' gumbo
'Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou

...not sure what the words mean? Try a dictionary. For Australians, this song is a happier, Cajun country equivalent of eating lamb beside a billabong: in the swagman ballad "Waltzing Matilda", the fellow leapt into the water to avoid capture before he had a chance to cook his stolen lamb for dinner! Given the chance, one imagines ChubbyCat's "Beer Marinated Lamb" roasting in the campfire next to the "bayou"....

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The Soup Kitchen Behind Paper Chef #10

With relief finally reaching Hurricane affected New Orleans, the inspiration for this post comes from the numerous "soup kitchens" for Hurricane Katrina survivors.

In Paper Chef #10 New Orleans Edition, Noodle Cook celebrated the united spirit of support for Hurricane Katrina survivors through an artistic and interpretative presentation of cocktail foods. While Noodle Cook convincingly produced a luxurious cocktail party for Paper Chef #10 out of a budget of AUD$10 for four people using frugal turkey meat and watered down beer, real life is a far cry from electronic reality. Come behind the scene and have a closer look at how to "turn simple to special" using Donna Hay's philosophy .....

Fancy burning jambalaya in the crockpot and inventing a new smokey, caramelised tomato taste?



The vegetables cooked to an unrecognisable pulp resembling porridge....



But pour the stuff down a strainer instead of the sink, because not all is lost....



Electronically transform the botched up jambalaya into a soup or a sphagetti sauce!

So how about Soup of the Day

Hurricane Jambalaya Soup, a deliciously refreshing Creole rice and vegetable soup with yoghurt and celery. Suitable hot or cold. Served with Cajun Prawn, Creole Hot Sausage and crusty bread. Pasta available on request.



The styling of the soup continues on the theme of support and help for Hurricane Katrina disaster, show by a prawn above the soup. Donations can be made at the Red Cross.

Most restaurants, including Noodle Cook's electronic restaurant, design "specials" menus to make use of well priced, bulk-purchased seasonal produce, and quite often of excess ingredients from "unpopular" menu items. Why not? The English invented Bubble and Squeak from left over roast and overcooked vegetables, the Italians called theirs frittata, and the Chinese crafted the Emperor's Soup using tamarind.



Was there really a cocktail party at Noodle's restaurant? You can invent a fitting conclusion by leaving an imaginative comment on how the cocktail party went....

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Kids Menu - Sausage Chips for Fussy Diners

Mildly spiced crispy Cajun sausage chips with basil tomatoes and Cajun prawns inspired by June's Paper Chef #10 entry which received a special Award. Intended as a meal for the younger diners, this dish borrows flavours from Italian pizzas. Serve with fresh crusty or toasted bread.

The recipe includes the New Orleans inspired ingredients of tomato, shrimp, beer and sausage of Paper Chef #10 and serves the purpose of raising awareness of children to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The dish can be made by children with a bit of adult supervision with the cutting (using plastic knifes and paper scissors) , and cooking in the oven. To make 4 serves:

Ingredients
1 large tomato
2 teaspoon garlic infused olive oil
1 polony sausage knob (250 g), use tofu or paneer cheese for vegetarian versions
1 tablespoon Cajun spices, approximately (made without cayenne using paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, black/white pepper)
1/4 cup chickpea or other flour
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoon beer, use ginger ale or fruit juice for non-alcoholic versions
8 prawns, optional
lemon juice, optional



Cut the sausage into matchsticks. Moisten with beer or fruit juice. Dust with Cajun spices, then roll half of the chips in chickpea flour. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes until crispy. Note Cajun spices blacken on cooking.

Cut the tomatoes into circles. Sprinkle with basil. Sprinkle lemon juice and a small pinch of Cajun spices over the prawns. Drizzle tomato and prawns with garlic infused olive oil. Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

The dish can also be toasted in a non-stick or baking paper lined pan on a stove.

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