The Sharp Knife

According to those in the know, it's the SHARP chef's knife that makes a great chef. For that chef's knife, you need the most expensive brand on the market preferably costing in excess of $200, otherwise it isn't the real chef one. Just about every top chef thinks the chef's knife is his/her favourite kitchen tool, and it will be so for yourself if you own one. Check out Chef Benjamin's website for a chance to win a Japanese Chef Knife.

While such a luxury is beyond the means of most, the next best is a StaySharp cook's knife, as invented by Wiltshire. It's the Aussie invention of "a spring loaded sharpening block inside a sheath or scabbard, which sharpened the knife every time it was taken out or replaced". This 1969 invention resulted from a 1964 survey that showed 80% of Americans didn't know how to sharpen a knife.

Noodle Cook's cheap & reliable Wiltshire knife comes without the sharpening scabbard, and logically, for the knife to remain sharp it needs sharpening. The 1964 survey seems to hold true downunder in 2008, some 44 years later. After 2 hours of negotiating the knife on both coarse and fine sides of an aluminium oxide sharpening stone ($2.20 from oriental stores), it is clear the sharpening technique that Noodle Cook uses, does not work. The factory bevelled knife's edge starts to disappear while sharpness remains same, that is, not sharp enough to cleanly slash newspapers. Perhaps technique has nothing to do with the tough metal designed to reduce the need for sharpening? It's time to get the man of with steel, aka John the villain in this blog, to rescue the knife from doom.  John is an expert at sharpening knives for hunting in the Canadian Prairies before Staysharp inventions.

Leigh Hudson's (Chef's Armoury) professional tips for sharpening on a stone:

• Soak the stone in water before using


• Position knife at 45 degrees to the length of the stone


• Angle the blade at 20 degrees from the stone surface


• Push away firm pressure, push back with light pressure


• Use a sweeping action from handle to tip of knife or up and down movements


• Start sharpening with a coarse stone and polish off on a fine stone. Tip with an iron to finish the sharpened edge. The knife is sharp if it slashes a sheet of newspaper.

Read more...

Roast Chicken for Dinner

Every chef has a favourite kitchen tool. If yours is a good knife you have yet to own, then you can try winning one at Chef Benjamin's website if you register for the newsletter.

Noodle Cook's favourite used to be a pair of secondhand cast iron skillets with seasoning still intact thanks to the previous owner. That was until IKEA reduced their "Made in France" 5 litre enamelled cast iron cocotte to $59.95, a mega 25% savings. At such a bargain price a cheap skase like Noodle Cook has no choice but to queue up and grab. Why wait for a La Creuset or La Chasseur sale? After all, there are only two factories in France making cast iron cookware and the IKEA one probably comes from one of brand name factories. The Kitchen Warehouse sells discount price La Creuset and La Chasseur which you can order online.

There is just one slight problem with this marvellous piece of cookware: Noodle Cook has never used one before! The instructions come with no recipe. OK, you fry some milk in oil to prepare for first use, then what???

It is now up to sly Noodle Cook to hatch a dinner plan for the weekend...

It doesn't take too long for John to announce roast chicken and suddenly out comes the cocotte! John was thrilled with the prospect of cooking with a "camp oven" again, ever since he was volunteered into cooking for the field crew out in the bush. The downside of having John as executive chef means Noodle Cook does the peeling and cutting.

An executive chef cooks to perfection, so a recipe must be found. The first Google attempt returns "Le Poulet de Muriel" by Chocolate and Zucchini, a roast chicken scented with garlic, lemon, thyme and rosemary. An incredibly simple bung it into the oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 3 hours and uncover to brown at 220 degrees Celsius. Before long the Google searches proclaim that it takes 50 minutes per kilo of chicken plus 25 minute at 180 degrees Celsius to French roast a chicken in a Le Creuset cocotte.

Just as Noodle Cook reaches out for the calculator to work out how long it takes to cook a 1.8 kg Mt Barker free range chicken, John interrupts that dinner must be started NOW as it takes 2 hours to cook the chicken his way: it must not be overpowered by garlic, it must have chilli, remove the fat but not the neck, stuff with lemon blanched in boiling water in a pot heated on the stove...

Under intense supervision, Noodle Cook makes one mistake by cutting the blanched whole lemon, intended for stuffing, into halves instead of just slashing the skin which makes the flavouring sour instead of just lemon scented. Like Chocolate and Zucchini's recipe, there really is nothing to the recipe:

1. Defat the chicken
2. Stuff with a blanched lemon
3. Rub the chicken with grapeseed oil
4. Place in the brand new crocotte
5. Arrange quartered potatoes, turnip, and sweet potatoes, and an unpeeled onion around the chicken
6. Top the chicken with chilli slices
7. Season with coarse sea salt
8. Cover and put in an hour preheated at 220 degrees Celsius.
9. Cook for 2 hours at 180 degrees Celsius without peeping.
10. Remove chicken and vegetables to a serving tray and brown at 250 degrees Celsius. Allow 15 minutes browning plus 15 minutes for resting.
11. Decant the fat from the cocotte
12. Use the pan juices to make a gravy
13. Add some plain flour and deglaze with white wine

... and WOW, what an awesome dinner, from a simple chicken scented with intense flavours of onion, lemon and roasted chilli. If there is any secret to roasting to perfection using the crocotte, then it lies in keeping the ingredients dry while letting heat and enough moisture from the ingredients themselves to infuse the aromas.

Read more...

Boneless Beef Shin

There's only one foolproof way of transforming a frugal cut like boneless beef shin into a restaurant meal to please the worst food critic in town, such as John the villain in this blog. The secret is slow cooking at low temperature to melt the tough gristle into sumptuous gelatine.

To get this beef cut, check out Wing Hong, at 402 William Street in Northbridge which offers it at $7.79/kg.


Lightly oil the beef. The oil keeps the roast moist rather than develops the flavour during cooking as the temperature is not high enough.

Season with salt, pepper and fennel if liked.

Refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours. Bring to room temperature before cooking in an oven preheated at 75 degrees Celsius. Place the meat in a ceramic container which retains the heat well during cooking.

Allow 6 hrs to bring 600 g of meat to 60 degrees Celsius for medium rare. Check that the meat is cooked to your liking using a meat thermometer or a skewer to test the juices. If you like medium to well done, the juice should run clear.

Rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. It is best to under cooked as the meat will continue cooking while resting. The cooking can always be finished off by searing in a hot pan


The cooked beef looks pink on the inside and brown on the outside. Don't be fooled by the colour: the meat looks pink even when well done.



A juicy roast tastes great with horseradish sauce and creamed broccoli, cauliflower or spinach as part of a main course. Thin slices, cut after lightly freezing, works well in cold entree platters.

Read more...

Behind Every Success is ...

Ever wonder what happens behind the scene that brings the electronically delicious dishes at this restaurant? There is this reluctant critic acting as the guinea pig, a kind of diner with "attitude" who ensures only quality food gets served. OK, it is the backseat driver!

Read more...

Easy Glutinous Rice Bowl

Ever thought of reproducing that fancy glutinous rice dish wrapped in lotus leaf that you eat at "yum cha"? Here's the cheat method for 4 small cappuccino cup serves:

1 cup glutinous rice (the white opaque chalky rice also known as "sweet rice")
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoon stock
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 Chinese sausage, sliced
1 cup chopped vegetables (or chicken and shiitake)

Rinse the rice to remove some starch. Soak for 2 hours until translucent. Drain in a sieve.

Put the rice in a souffle dish. Pour the boiling water to the level of the rice. Place a dish over to cover. Microwave on 30% power for 15 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, render the fat from the sausage using the olive oil. Add the vegetable and saute for 2 minutes.

When the rice is done, stir in the stock, sesame oil and soy sauce. Next stir in the cooked sausage and vegetables.

Put the mixture in cappuccino cups while still hot. Turn the cup over a sauce. Leave the cup on to keep the meal warm. Microwave for 2 minutes if necessary to heat the meal. Remove the cup at the table just before serving.

Read more...

Happy New Year 2008

As the nightmares of the past year fade with the incoming new year
If there are three wishes to be granted for 2008
Let them be better health, quality time and peace.

Read more...

Life Without the Challenge of Paper Chef ....

... is like eating plain pizza and pasta everyday. Owen of Tomatilla has handed the reins to Ilva of Lucillian Delights. Look for Ilva's announcements in February 2008.

Read more...

Christmas 2007

This beautiful ham terrine for Christmas was the end result of "bring a pork dish with a green theme". Around 12 hours went into making the aspic out of ham bones, leek, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, capsicum and peppercorns. The meat came from lean desalted pickled pork. Chilling took another 12 hours. Mashed minted peas, the green "stuff", gave the terrine the lime green. Unfortunately, the kids hated the green. Anyone for pea and ham soup from the leftovers?

For a 10 cm by 20 cm terrine, allow the following:

2 ham hocks or leg ham bones
1.5 kg pickled pork, fat removed and soaked in cold water for 4 hours
2 tablespoons peppercorn
2 celery sticks
2 carrots
1 onions
2 garlic
1 capsicum
1 leek
300 g frozen minted peas

Blanch the pork in boiling water for 5 minutes. Rinse well in cold water.

Place all ingredients, except the peas, in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to boil and simmer for 3 hours until the meat pulls apart easily.Carefully remove the ingredients. Discard the spent vegetables.

Remove fat and grizzle from the meat. Break the meat into 2-3 cm chunks.

Skim the fat off the stock. Strain the stock and then reduce to 1 cup. Test for setting strength on a cold saucer.

Cook the peas in half a cup of reduced stock. Drain. Save the stock for future use. Mash the peas with about 1 tablespoon of the stock. Mix the peas with the meat.

To assemble, line a loaf tin with plastic wrap. Put in the meat with the mashed peas. Pour in half a cup of reduced stock. Cover the terrine with baking paper. Weigh down the terrine with another. Chill for 12 hours.

To serve, make a cherry balsamic sauce with 100g fresh cherries, 2 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoon leftover reduced stock, 4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, and 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar. If like, thicken with 2 teaspoon corn starch.

... so it was, Christmas 2007.

Read more...

Lemon Myrtle Plant

Read more...

Quandong Plant

Read more...