Chinese Food Review 2: Zongzi/Sticky Rice Dumplings

Chinese/Malaysian Food Review

Zongzi (sticky Rice Dumplings): Glutinous Rice with pork belly, Mung beans, Shitake Mushrooms, and Chestnut wrapped in Bamboo Leaf.

Zongzi or Zong for short is a traditional Chinese dish not so common in Australia, it is traditionally eaten around late may to mid June for the annual Duanwu Festival they are available all year round in Chinese communities.

The dish itself comes in a triangular pyramid shaped bamboo leaf package. Most Zong can have a variety of filling, such as chicken shredded pork, taro and chinese sausage, the one that I was served had inside it is a fusion of sticky rice, pork belly, tons of secret spices, shitake mushroom, chestnut, mung beans and a salty egg. All that I really know about the cooking process is that the ingredients are compacted together inside the bamboo leaf, tied together with string and than steamed/boiled.

The end result is a delicious, sticky mix of goodness. As for taste I’d say it’s an acquired taste, savoury and salty (especially that egg). Each component of the dish really shows its flavour especially through that steaming/boiling process. The portion size of the dish, although small in appearance, is actually super filling and quite dense.

The dish is not very common around Australia but can probably be found in specialist Asian restaurants or Asian markets, places such as Eastwood and Cabramatta are probably your best bet.

Picture were taken at home on my iPhone :)

-Lucas

Pacific Island Review 3- Pucha Salad

Pucha Salad for dinner
From the Solomon Islands

The simple dishes made in the Islands, Pucha Salad is one of them. Mostly prepared in homes, this vegetarian dish is quite nice to have with baked fish or with other meals like curry eggplant but it’s even filling enough to have on its own. Pucha is really just edible fern that’s half cooked in boiling water and creamed with fresh coconut cream and layered with other vegetables like tomatoes, capsicum and onions. Everything about it is fresh and like anything from the islands, the coconut cream gives a natural sweet taste to the fillings. Another style of this half cooked salad dish is using Palmer amaranth shoots that can be found in Chinese shops around Sydney and the local way of scratching coconut to extract its coconut cream can be attempted. Not an ideal thing to try and make but when wanting that taste for the local food, anything is worth trying to do. 

Photo courtesy of G.Galo

-Melanie-

Asian Style food review - something different

ASIAN CUISINE

KOREAN BBQ 

What better way to finish off my food reviews than with a cuisine that is a polar opposite to the reviews I have discussed thus far. Believe it or not, this was the first time I had eaten Korean food and what better place to start than at a Korean BBQ. 

The concept behind eating at a Korean BBQ restaurant is there is always a big stove in the middle of the table, utensils to cook with and plenty of sides to chose from. These side dishes are referred to as Banchan.

"The basic table setting for a meal called 'bansang' (반상) usually consists of bap (food) (밥, cooked rice), guk or tang(soup), gochujang or ganjang, jjigae, and kimchi." - Source

To start the night off we begun with some delicious Wagyu Beef. Definitely one of the more expensive options on the menu but worth every cent. Once lightly cooked, you then have the option of choosing one of the many banchan or rice to eat with it. 

Third on the menu (after some great tasting chicken) was something I never in a million years would of thought of eating...This one was hard to swallow at first. Ox tongue. What started out making myself queasy, actually turned into a delicious piece of meat. Chewy, but delicious. Beef tongue is a dish enjoyed by many cultures around the world and as a result is served completely differently. 

In North America it's most used in an open face sandwich. Mexican cuisines often find use for it in tacos, where as in France it's boiled and served with mushrooms and sauce! Japanese cuisine and Korean alike however enjoy their beef tongue grilled! - Beef tongue

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts, I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed eating the food! 

- Nick

Filipino Food Review 3 - Dried Mangoes

Cuisine: Filipino
Category: Snack food
Name: Dried Mangoes
Where to get it: Asian supermarkets

Dried Mangoes is a classic filipino favourite that has found popularity not only in the Philippines but also internationally, being sold in major US supermarket chains such as Costco and Walmart. In Sydney, you can find them in almost all Asian supermarkets. It consists of mangoes which have been coated in a sugar mixture then sun dried. The finished product is a golden yellow with a semi-translucent, plump appearance, chewable texture, which is neither crisp nor leathery and a flavour characteristic of sweetened mango. However, for a treat that largely has sugar as one of its main ingredients, it is not that sweet, and that's what i love about them.

There are many different brands that sell dried mangoes however my favourite is the Cebu brand. I find their mangoes to be a lot more moist and tender than all the other brands. The Cebu mangoes are often more tasty and full of flavour than its competitors, which is probably why its one of the more popular brands on the market. Also, its smooth and natural texture is one of the main reasons why i keep coming back for more.

All in all what i love the most about dried mangoes is the fact that i can literally take them (and eat them) anywhere! When i have a long day ahead at uni, or just craving something healthy, dried mangoes is always my go to snack. Trust me, once you try them you'll be craving for more!

- Raissa

Western Style Food Review Pub & Club Food

Western Style Food Review
Pub & Club Food

Crispy Fried Chicken Burger on a Brioche Bun with Asian Slaw,
Sriracha Mayonnaise and Hand-Cut Chips.

This is yet another classic that can be found in a majority of take out restaurants, pubs and clubs around the country. This burger is best described by Best Burgers in Melbourne with "There seems to be a trend away from old school burgers to burgers that incorporate more gourmet and quality ingredients. The trend is away from the huge burger to something almost stylish and smaller - yet packs a punch."

A fitting description for a delicious burger, small enough to fit into one hand. Hot, crispy chicken with a complimenting Sriracha Mayonnaise sauce served with large hand cut chips in a trendy deep frying container. This is the perfect burger to enjoy in between a round of golf. Usually the clubhouse is a space to be used for after the 18th hole, but not in this instance. There was nothing better than playing nine holes on nothing but breakfast then devouring this beauty. 

Where? This was served up perfectly by the staff at Sitting Duck bistro, located at The Springs Golf Course - however this can be found in many bistros, clubs and takeaway shops around Sydney. 

- Nick

Pacific Islands Review 2- LengaLenga

Solomon Island Food Review
Name: LengaLenga

LengaLenga is another local food that any Solomon Islander would have you taste to have an idea of what it means to be in the islands. For islanders, it is a meal made from cassava.

 To prepare this, the cassava is grated to pulp and then squeezed to remove its starch water. Its pulp is then mixed with fresh coconut cream. Depending on how rich one would have the lengalenga, about 2-4 coconuts would be grated and have its coconut cream squeezed from and used with the cassava. The mixture is poured onto banana leaves that have been heated prior and acts as wrapper which covers the cassava thoroughly. It is left to be motued (cooked) by the heat of the hot stones from the outdoor oven for a good 3hrs. 

The outcome is like a cassava cake base that can be served with just about anything. For vegetarians, having it with seasoned petu is great for the evening meal. Petu is edible mangrove beans scratched to fine layers and provide a substitute for the regular cabbage.

Not forgetting those who like fish or other seafood like prawns or crayfish and crabs, lengalenga can also be served to have with.

It's not a meal that can be normally found in Sydney but if attending any pacific cultural gathering with people from the Solomons, it sure has from time to time, been placed on the menu. 

- Melanie

Western Style Food review

Steak served with pepper sauce, asparagus and chips

Bistro Food

The fan favourite for any Aussie going up to the pub for a bistro feed, or out to eat at any fine dining establishment, without a doubt involves the steak. This quality cut sirloin - cooked medium/rare (anything cooked longer than this is a travesty) sided with a delicious and fresh pepper sauce, laid on a bed of hot chips and asparagus with broccoli and tomato to taste. This meal can be found almost ANYWHERE in Australia. This meal ended up costing around $27 and it was worth every cent - this is one of the cheaper prices you will pay for a nice piece of steak. The only way this meal was made better was to be had with a cold beer. 

To elaborate on the different levels of cooking a steak: there are 6 different types -

Blue: 1 minute each side, fully sealed; 10 - 29 degrees celsius inside temp

Rare: 2.5 minutes each side; 30 - 51 degrees celsius inside temp

Medium Rare: 3-4 min each side; 57 - 63 degrees celsius inside temp

Medium: 4 minutes each side; 63 - 68 degrees celsius inside temp

Medium Well: 5 minutes each side; 72 - 77 degrees celsius inside temp

Well Done: 6 minutes each side; 77+ degrees celsius inside temp

- Nick