01x04 - Bush Foods

[bunniefuu]

I'm Jimmy Shu.

My parents were Chinese
but I grew up in Sri Lanka,

working in my dad's restaurant,
and I've been a foodie ever since.

Nearly 30 years ago, I moved
to Darwin in the Northern Territory,

in the top end of Australia,
to open my restaurant, Hanuman.

And this tropical city has
had my heart ever since.

Closer to Asia than any other
Australian capital city,

the top end is a rich melting pot
of Indigenous culture,

the flavours of Asian migration,
and incredible tropical produce,

creating a vibrant, dynamic food
scene that's one of Australia's

best kept secrets.

Wow, wow.

Welcome to my Taste
of the Territory.

In the top end of Australia,
we're privileged to be surrounded

by the ancient landscapes
of the oldest living culture

in the world, and a wealth
of Indigenous knowledge,

art, music and food.

Native ingredients - or bush foods
as they're also called - that have

sustained Aboriginal
people for generations,

have only just begun to get
the recognition they deserve

in the culinary landscape
of modern Australian cuisine.

As a chef,

I've always wanted to explore native
ingredients, and in this episode,

finally, I get that chance.

I'm going to Maningrida,


in West Arnhem Land.

I'm so excited to learn
about the bush foods in the region

that have been eaten for tens
of thousands of years.

I'm here to meet the team
from Maningrida Wild Foods,

an Aboriginal-owned Collective
that's been harvesting and selling

bush foods and seafood
to the community, and also more

recently, to restaurants
around Australia.

I'm especially excited
to meet Leila Nimbadja.

Leila started the nursery
here in Maningrida over 30 years ago

and is the main driver of
the Maningrida Wild Foods business.

She has an enormous amount
of knowledge of the bush foods

in the area, and their
traditional uses.

My mother taught me everything
when I was a little girl,

showing me places, ...

everything, bush food and,
you know, animals to eat.

We used to go out for mud
mussels every morning.

We used to go down, collect some,
um, water chestnut ...

or water lily.

Then my mother said,
"I'm showing you ...

and I'm passing all that
knowledge to you," ...

and that's how...

like I sometimes take ...

my grandkids and show them ...

how cooking and how camping.

And I just say to them, ...

"You've gotta stay here
and learn all this bush food,

so you will know."

I've got, um, different
bush fruit to show you.

- All these...
- Wow.

I've never seen
something so pretty like this.

I call them red bush apple.

It certainly looks like
the size of an apple.

Language that I call,
it's a proper long name...

Oh really?

I call in my language, I call
mut-gu-mamirrtjiyi.

- Mut-gu-mamirrtjiyi.
- Yeah.

- Nice name.
- Yeah.

And what's this one called?

Billy goat plum,

but I call in language
[SPEAKS INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE].

[JIMMY REPEATS]

When I was a little girl,

we was eating it at night while my
families was talking

stories to themselves.

But all the kids, we was looking
at the, um, Milky Way and stars

and eating all these.

Certainly, there's a tang to it.

When some people get pain
or sick, they eat them.

Do they dry this?

We've got that mill there.

- So you grind it.
- Yeah.

Make it spice.

That's, uh, green ant.

Ah, in a dried form.

I don't know whether I'm
going to be game enough,

but since I'm here,
I'm going to try.

It's a good flavour, try it.

I'll give it a try.

- Give it a go.
- Give it a go.

I'm actually trying to get over that
initial shock... you know,

the mental shock.

- But.
- Yeah.

Because it's dried,
it's nice and crispy,

which is... I love as a texture.

The first flavour that hit my mouth
was something lemony, limey.

Do you sprinkle it on something?

Yes, sprinkle it on top or put
them around in the fish.

This one has always caught my eye
ever since I saw it.

You see, in the olden days,
we never eat orange or a apple.

We had our own bush food
like this, red apple.

- Putting it - our nail...
- Mm-hm.

And then we had to split it open.

- You eat the skin as well?
- You can eat, yes.

Citrus flavours.

A bit sour there.

- Beautiful.
- Yeah.

- People love to eat red apple.
- Mm.

Mix it up with, um, yoghurt,
they love to eat it.

Blackcurrant, this one.

People they make it out
of chocolate cake and all that.

It was so beautiful, you know.

Seasonal.

So, each one of these
would have a different...

- Mm.
- ..time.

All these bush foods,
They don't have any sugar.

You see, that what I really wanted
to eat all this bush food

and showing my grandkids behind me.

Bush food is something
that I've never, never,

never tried before.

It's such an honour
to meet you as well.

Mm.

The Maningrida coastline
is abundant with seafood,

an important food source for this
region, for millennia.

We're in Nardilmuk, about 40
minutes from Maningrida.

Leila has taken me to meet
her uncle, Don Wilton.

Don is a traditional owner of this
area, and is the Fishing Supervisor

for Maningrida Wild Foods.

Don's invited me to spend
the morning with him

and his fishing crew.

Don and his crew catch a large range
of fish by hand-nets and by boat.

They also catch mud crabs,
one of my favourite things to eat.

It is huge.

So, this is a... we call
it a queenfish here.

That is a
magnificent specimen.

Yeah, this... Jimmy,

this is a Spanish mackerel.

Where do you catch all this?

Just round here, over
where that reef is.

- Just at your doorstep?
- Yep.

This is my heaven here.

We've got two groups - the one
fishing and the one...

uh, crabbing boys.

We are saltwater people.

We waited nearly 30,


species that we catch.

Now we're, you know,
we're selling it to,

um, people in community and...
Well... well, I'm proud of the boys

that are working with me.

I think there's a surprise
in here for me.

Yeah, well, this is... Jimmy,
this is the, uh, our mud crab.

Wow. They're huge again.

Look at that!

And I always, whenever I buy crabs,
I just do it like this -

so this, uh, dig into your hand
and that gives you an indication

that it's very fresh.

Don and his crew sell their seafood
through Maningrida Wild Foods.

This is fabulous.

The seafood is mostly
sold in Maningrida,

as well as to the neighbouring
remote communities, and they have

recently started selling the mud
crabs to the Melbourne Market.

Don's going to show me how
they traditionally cook seafood

on the beach.

Gavin is doing it in
the traditional way.

We make a little space with,
uh... it's got a hot sand and,

uh, he's gonna put the uh,
a queenfish in the ground.

- You can see that.
- Wow.

Yeah, and he's gonna
cover all the ashes.

Right.

And we'll do the same thing
as... as the crab here.

Just chuck it in there,
and we just cover the,

uh, hot sand.

That's our Aboriginal traditional
way of cooking back in those days.

So, if people get hungry
and they just uh... just roast them

in the... in the ground.

He's using the casuarina leaves
to get all the ashes

and the, uh, sand.

Look at that!

The crab also has a special -
it has played a special part

in my life.

My growing days back in Sri Lanka,
my father's restaurant,

that was a speciality.

So, sitting here with you,
enjoying this lovely breeze here,

it brings back my
childhood memories.

We all love this crab
here, all of us.

I... I would say Australian mud
crabs, but I think this is the best
one,

I would say.

- I fully agree with you.
- Mm.

Here. And it breaks.

Pull it up like this.

And the... the family comes
around, all the...

the younger kids, we sit around
and we... we enjoy it and we share

with the family.

So simple, but yet so flavoursome
and very, very moist.

You get the reward. You're the
hunter.

So, what do you think, Jimmy?

This is the first time
I've had a grilled crab.

I've tried it where you boil it.

What I like about this one here,
is the flavour is more concentrated.

The flavour is just amazing.

Thank you so much.

Thank you too for coming out here.

I know this is the first time,
but it won't be the last time.

Well, in the fu... future, I'll be...
I know I'll probably... I'll

be walking around
with a walking stick.

- That makes two of us.
- Yeah.

Gotta keep going, going
with the crabbing and fishing

and trying to teach these young
girls and young boys.

And I've got too much
knowledge up here.

I've been around nearly 50,


with my family here.

So, everything... everything, if I
want it, it's all h*... all here.

Leila has brought me
to her mother's country,

a homeland about 45
minutes from Maningrida.

Leila is going to show me how
to harvest long yams,

a very popular bush
food for this region.

Beautiful countryside.

Yeah, this is how people used
to come and look for the bush food

every morning to
feed their families.

The one that, you know,
I was showing you.

I ate everything.

This is red bush apple.

Oh, that's the one, nice
and beautiful colour.

Three to four months
from this stage here.

Yeah, and then it might have fruit.

Let's see if I've got
time, I'll come over.

Yeah.

Your knowledge of the different
trees here...

- Yeah.
- ..is incredible.

All these seeds here.

Yeah?

This one here, we recognise them.

You've got to follow the vine.

- Yeah.
- See?

Follow it, and when it stops,
you gotta start dig.

That's where that long yam is.

Like, that's how our parents that was
teaching us... we went to sit

down, we was cleaning it around,
until we found that long yam.

- Axe.
- Yes.

Just to clear it up.

I appreciate foraging much
more after doing this.

It's... it's going down very deep.

- Yeah, I know.
- So I can feel it.

See, it's all still wood.

You've just got to look
for other one here.

Oh, this is the vine
you're talking about.

- Yeah.
- Oh yes.

And it goes straight
into the ground there.

Having to really, really forage.

That's it, right?

Look at that.

Get it before it runs away.

Oh, there you go.

This is it.

Holding this in my hand,
it's almost like catching a fish

from the ocean.

Harvesting it between us - I'm sure
it's going to taste even better.

It's been a hard day's dig,
for the long yam...

[LAUGHS]

You hold that and I'll hold this

and we'll have a little jam session
tonight,

okay?

Leila's invited me to her homeland,


She's going to show me how to cook
the long yams we harvested today,

as well as some other bush
foods she's collected.

Such a beautiful place.

- Yeah, this is a beautiful place.
- Mm.

We've got all these termite mounds.

You could break them
into little one.

Now, this is something very new,
very special for me.

I've seen it a few times,
driving past, but never come this

close, actually touching it.

Is that the one that you see,
you know, out in the bush there,

the termite mounds, grown
to almost my height or even

higher than that?

It's gives our bush food flavour.

We just wait for this fire to be
charcoaled and then we come back.

Also, you've got to - break it?

Yeah, and then we chuck
all this flame out.

Let me help you.

But you might burn your
hand.

No, no, it's okay.

- So, we'll take these ones all out.
- Yeah.

And you want me to just
smash this up, right?

Yeah, tap it, yeah.

Wow.

It's unusual.

And we mix with this
charcoal and termite mound.

This one here - they're... [SPEAKS
INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE]

- They young one. Mm.
- [REPEATS]

- And this is the long yam...
- This is the long yam.

- ..that we harvested this morning.

We call [SPEAKS INDIGENOUS
LANGUAGE] in my language.

And all this mob here, they are
[SPEAKS INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE].

Me, I call them [SPEAKS INDIGENOUS
LANGUAGE].

I'm putting them like this.

Cover them up for
five or ten minutes.

Mm-hm.

This termite mound's
got flavour in it.

Is that considered
like a... a bush spice?

- Yeah.
- for flavour?

My, um, mother's mother,
she said to me,

"This is Mother Nature.

You can use it for everything
you want, cooking, for bush food,

for beef, for fish, everything."

It's give flavour.

Yeah, this one's cooked.

Lovely texture.

It's got a crunch to it.

I'm waiting now for
the long-awaited long yam.

So, you can get stick
or peel it out.

- Just eat it like this?
- Yeah.

What about the skin?

Scrape it with your nail
or a stick, or just eat it.

- We'll just share it.
- Yeah.

It comes off beautifully
and it's almost like,

um, a kipfler potato.

I love this.

It reminds me so much
of another yam that we eat,

and we eat that together with some
freshly grated coconut.

So I can imagine this eaten
with a fresh coconut.

This is the best so far.

- Oooh.
- It's cooked.

Yes.

The skin comes off very easily.

Mm.

How do I describe this?

It's got a very faint fragrance.

- It's almost like
a flower fragrance.
- Yeah.

And, hang on.

Towards the end, I get
a little bit of bitterness,

a nice bitterness, nothing close
to what I've eaten before.

This is very unique.

I have to admit that out
of all the yams.

My absolute favourite
is the long yam.

Yeah.

I saw how hard it was,
challenging to harvest it.

Leila, I've got to thank
you for an amazing experience here.

The two days in Maningrida
and what I'm going to take back

with me, is experience
and some of the elements

of your style of cooking.

It also gave me a sense
of appreciation, of the incredible

knowledge that has been passed down
from generation to generation.

From the bottom of my heart,
a big, big thank you.

My thank you, Oro. Yeah,
I gotta think of you now.

Yeah, good to meet you.

Thank you Oro, for coming.

I'm heading back to
Darwin from Maningrida.

I'm so inspired to learn more
about bush foods and explore how

they can be used in
contemporary cuisine.

I've come to Darwin's Parliament
House, of all places,

to visit the Speaker's Corner Cafe,
which is run by my dear friend,

Karen Sheldon.

Speaker's Corner tries
to incorporate as much bush food

on their menu as possible.

I've been told they've
recently started working

with Maningrida Wild Foods
and are doing some very exciting

things with the red bush apple that
Leila introduced me to.

I'm thrilled to spend the day
with executive chef,

Alan Hickey, to see
what he's come up with.

Here at Karen Sheldon,
we play around a lot with native

Australian ingredients.

So, today we're gonna, um,
be making some apple pie out of it,

or as we like to call them,
the bush apple bundle.

So, I'll just quickly
finish this off.

We're gonna stew that down
with some, uh, regular apple

and some spices and obviously sugar.

We're gonna make, uh,
our apple pie in just a regular,

sweet shortcrust pastry.

But what makes ours a little bit
different is the usage of,

uh, wattle seed which, um,
comes from, uh, Central Australia.

So, we add the plain
flour, uh, the sugar.

We'll add the wattle
seed in there as well,

so, add the butter.

And as you know, Jimmy,
we have to start rubbing this

between our fingers

to start making some
fine breadcrumbs.

So, we just give them a toss.

Wattle seed, you really don't need
much of it to get the flavour out

of it, especially when you bake it.

I'm gonna say, it almost has some
coffee aromas to it.

It's a really good,
um, ingredient to go

into sweet, uh, products.

Okay, Jimmy, so we've just about got
to the breadcrumb stage

of our pastry here.

But I think before I add
that egg to this, uh,

mix here, we might just start
working with some pastry,

which I, uh, prepared
a little bit earlier on.

The... the pastry, which we made up
before, after you mix it

all together, you know,
it should look like this.

And we generally put it
in the fridge for a couple

of hours to rest.

I have to say, I'm quite excited
to be working with this,

um, bush apple, Jimmy.
'cause I think there's,

uh, quite a lot we can do with it.

This also reminds me, texture wise,
and the tartness of rhubarb.

- Exactly.
- Yes.

There we go.
It's come out pretty good.

Okay, so these are, um,
ones which I've rolled out before.

So, it's basically almost
like making it a little bit

like a pasty.

So, Jimmy, I'm just going to add,
just a small amount of butter.

You getting hungry?

Ooh, can't wait.

And then I'm going to put in some
water in there as well,

so that we've got a bit of a syrup
happening with our butter and sugar.

Mix in the Granny Smiths
in with the bush apple. Great.

Well, let's go with
four cardamom pods.

Four cardamoms.

Is it on high heat, chef?

It is on high heat.

A cup of sultanas.

Maybe a bit over
a cup of brown sugar.

And we'll add that cinnamon
and the mixed spice.

So, I think in about three or four
minutes, when this starts bubbling,

the... the floral kind
of aroma from the, uh,

bush apple will... will
really start coming out.

So you've got to just cook it
so that it's... Just soft.

We don't want mush in our pie.

So I reckon that's,
uh, just about done.

So, Jimmy, I've brought this, uh,
mix out because this is obviously

the same mix as this one, um,
except we've put this in the fridge

for a couple of hours to cool down.

The butter's solidified.

It actually does help, um,
scoop it and portion it.

So when you're working
in the pastry, it generally sta...

helps stay in the same spot.

Now, what we wanna do is just brush
the edges with a bit of egg wash.

A very heaped half cup is a good
amount to go in this

amount of pastry.

What I'm gonna do now is basically
just bring the tops ends,

crimp that a bit, and then I always
just crimp the edges just to make

sure that no extra juice, uh,
leaks out, and then I will roll it

across the top, basically, the same
way as what pasties are made.

So, this is just a whole egg,
you've just beaten it.

Just whole eggs, beaten.

Flaked almonds.

Almonds and apples are always
a good combination.

Go in the... about a 160-degree, uh,
dry oven for 20 to 30 minutes,

depending on what your oven's like.

It's looking sensational.

What do you think that
red stuff is in there?

Ooh, a lovely sweet
and sour balance to that.

We've got some icing sugar
in there with... so that red stuff

is Davidson plum powder.

It's, uh, freeze dried and turned
into powder and we use that

in many of our other dishes.

We will serve this
with some ice cream.

So, this is actually the juice
and the, the... some of the water

when we cooked down the bush apple.

So, I've cooked and reduced that
down with a bit of sugar,

so it's quite strong.

Fabulous, all these new flavours.

It's beautiful.

Towards the tail end,
there's a little bit of bitterness.

- Yeah.
- Which makes it very interesting.

Very nice touch, chef.

So other thing which we've, uh,
tried doing with this bush apple

is dehydrating it.

It definitely adds a different
texture to the dish.

So, here it is, Jimmy,
the Red Bush Apple Bundle.

You've used the hero
ingredient for every element -

the garnish, to the sauce,
and the filling there.

Can't wait to try it.

Wow.

Oh, look at that.

Mm, that bush apple does
have a very special flavour.

Mm.

The tartness and the textures,
that's what really interested me.

Every element that went
into this dish is remarkable.

We want to be able to showcase
the bush apple to as many people

as possible, and kind of normalise
it - give people the opportunity

to try it in something
they kind of recognise,

like a pasty.

A special thank you to you, chef.

My horizons, my tastebuds just have
been hugely broadened.

As the rest of the world continues
to discover the abundant Indigenous

ingredients that we have in this
country, my hope is that we see bush

foods on more and more
menus across Australia,

so that people can experience
the rich, complex, flavours

of this ancient land.

Next time... I explore Darwin's
famous street food scene.

I do it with my heart,
do it with my love.

Traditional Vietnamese,
Darwin-style.

You touch the chicken
like you touch your girlfriend

or your wife, or someone you love.