01x02 - Flavour

[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.

- Oh, thank you.
- Here you go.

- Enjoy your food.
- Oh yum!

Dumplings, pork dumplings.

Shantung food, from China.

I grew up eating this.

Mum and Dad, from Shantung Province,
that's what they made.

Mmm.

Real, authentic flavours.

Flavour.

To me, it is a sensation.

It can evoke childhood memories,
authenticity, excitement,

something new, and innovation.

This episode is all about
the wonderful world of flavour,

from the spices of Syria,
to the aromas of Indonesia

and everything in-between,
found right here in Darwin.

I'm here at the Malak markets,
in the northern suburbs of Darwin.

Held every Saturday evening
during the dry season,

this market is known for its very
contemporary and eclectic food.

What interests me here is way how
they treated the ingredients.

Very, very bold, very unusual,
and extremely interesting.

- Well, I...
- So this is a hot,
mango chilli relish.

That would drive a plane!

I'm starting to take off.

I love chillies.

And I love that!

That's it. Bye.

Hot, but beautiful.

Just what I love - chilli, the
sweetness, and the mango overtones.

Having grown up in Sri Lanka, working
for my dad and cooking curries.

Ever since then,
I've had this obsession of spices,

herbs, constantly foraging.

That's what flavour is all about.

Darwin is one of Australia's most
multicultural places,

and the Greek community
particularly, has a long and proud

history in the Northern Territory.

Greek migration was instrumental
in the early economic

development of Darwin.

With their culture and skills
of industry, the Greek community

also brought the flavours
of the Mediterranean to Darwin.

This enduring history is celebrated
each year at the Glenti Festival -

a weekend where thousands of Darwin
locals come together to celebrate

the Greek community
and their culture.

With the festival only
a few days away,

I've come to the Greek Community Hall

to see how all the food
preparation is going.

What is the meaning of "Glenti"?

Glenti' is having a festival.

- Having a festival?
- Opa! You know?

Dancing, eating, drinking.

- Yes, yes.
- Right.

- A celebration.
- And making- making merry.

All these beautiful ladies
are cooking a speciality,

which is dolmades with minced beef,
rice, onions, tomato

and tomato paste.

If you've never tried them,
dolmades are a perfect introduction

to the zesty, fresh flavours,
typically found in Greek cuisine.

And the grandkids,
everybody loves dolmades.

I don't think there's anyone
who doesn't like them.

They all love dolmades.

It's a traditional dish,
which, uh, most households

will cook on Sundays.

And it's a dish that, unfortunately,
the grandmas will cook more often

now because the young ones work.

Dolmades do taste better if they're
with fresh leaves.

Most, uh, Greek homes have
vine trees growing just

for the, uh, leaves.

And you pick them when they're
tender, and we freeze them as well,

so we've got them
all the year round.

This is fantastic.

There's trays and trays of dolmades
being made for this year's

Glenti Festival that's
being held in a few days,

and I can't wait to try them then.

Greek migration to the Northern
Territory began as far back

as the 1850s and was at its peak
from as large numbers of Greeks

from the island of Kalymnos came
to Darwin, to work as builders

and pearl divers.

Today, this significant legacy
continues in more than four

generations of Greek Australians
that now call Darwin their home.

Okay, I'm going to try it, okay?
Yeah, yeah.

Flap number 1, flap number 2.

See, it's almost like a lovely
little packet here.

We just fold it in.

- Very nice.
- There you go.

Ladies and gentlemen,
my instructor, Paraskevi.

- Thank you very, very much.
- Beautiful.

The day of the Glenti Festival has
arrived, and the atmosphere

here is absolutely electric.

How are you?

Good, good. Good.

- Lovely to see you.
- Yeah, me too.

I- I promised to see you,
and here I am.

- This one, yeah?
- You want two?

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you very much, thank you.

I finally get to try
the dolmades that I helped to make

in a small little way.

A little bit of yoghurt,
there's a bit of sweetness in it.

The tanginess in the yoghurt,
the lovely texture of the rice

in there - beautiful.

You get this very special feeling
about food when you see

it being made.

The connection, the history
all behind it, the community,

is all rolled up into one
of these things here.

I love it.

As Darwin becomes more
and more cosmopolitan,

people from all over the world
are coming to live in this tropical

city, adding the flavours
of their heritage to Darwin's

rapidly growing food scene.

I'm spending the day with Nadem
Turkia and his mum, Taghreed.

Nice to meet you.

Nadem and his family run
the very popular food truck,

Flavours of Damascus,
and are bringing a taste

of the Middle East to
the streets of Darwin.

If you want to start in our culture,
we are knowed by their food.

When you have a taste,
then you will said, "Ah,

that's got so much flavours",
you know, as much flavour,

as much history.

So my mum, she's Jordanian.

My father is Syrian.

We're born in Jordan,
and during the summer holiday,

we go to Syria.

So we get all this inflecting
of food between Syria and Jordan.

Before 2011, we never feel
that we are different than any

Jordanian.

It kills us in the time.

Now we are here in Australia - that
what give us the passion to continue

what we are doing, to...to show
people that we don't

want to be a number.

The first thing we noticed
in Darwin, that it's

as multicultural
as you can get, ever.

We started to look around, we didn't
found any Arabic shop here.

You know, nobody selling any Arabic
food and Arabic spices.

I saw a big opportunity.

To be here after 3 years in Darwin,
to have my own business,

we came here as refugees,
we had no money at all.

The community that we faced here,
it was a magnificent community.

We want to show them some
of our experience - the food

that we love.

- This is a very special coffee?
- Yes.

This is our way to
welcome our guests.

Today, Nadem and his mum
are showing me how to make Kabsa,

a spiced rice and meat dish that's
very popular in Arabic cuisine.

It's one of the most traditional
dishes that we have.

Nadem tells me, this dish
is inspired by the Silk Route.

When the Arab people
going from Middle East,

and they go from Morocco,
Middle East, and to go to China

and Asia, so wherever they go,
they take some of that spices,

they add it to it and they add some
of their own spices to that dish.

We have here Loomi, which is a
black, dry, lemon.

Oh yes! The fragrance.

And then here, we have coriander,
cloves, bay leaves, some mixed

pepper, nutmeg, and of course,
for most of the Arabic dishes we use

cardamom, cinnamon, orange,
orange juice, fresh coriander.

And what's that?

That, we're gonna see
in the end what it is,

before we finish.

I'm very, very interested
in that fellow.

Yeah, we're gonna see
how we're gonna use it.

Growing up in our neighbourhood,
we had friends and neighbours

from Lebanon, Armenia and Palestine.

In the morning, all the womens,
they go together for a coffee

and then they started
to talk and sharing,

you know, secrets and, uh,
what - what they use these spices

for or from, and these spices from.

My mum, she always
been our inspiration.

She...she learnt how to cook
by herself, and by watching her

cooking, we just get to learn lots
about food and about spices.

So we're gonna start
adding the oil in the pan,

and we're gonna add to it
all the spices that we've

shown you before.

This reminds me a lot of that
Malaysian style of cooking. Yeah.

where you infuse the oil
with the dried spices.

The dried spices.

The lamb shanks have been boiled
in plain water and are now added

to the oil and spices for browning.

So the meat now is getting a colour,
and giving some of that flavour.

So my mum said this special dish,
we cook it when we have,

like, wedding - a big
celebration, you know.

After light browning,
they are taken out.

So now we're gonna add
the garlic and the onion.

So we always cook them
until they get a little bit browny.

So we add the capsicum, tomato.

So we just want everything
to get all these spices.

Taghreed also adds the coriander,
orange peel, orange juice and tomato

paste to the pot.

Now that's give it this sour touch
of the all the - on the top

of the flavour.

After the sauce base comes
to the boil, the lamb shanks

are added back in and covered
with boiling water.

Salt is added to taste.

So now we're gonna just wait
until it's gonna cook.

Twenty minutes later,
the meat is taken off the heat

and the pressure cooker
is put aside to cool down.

Taghreed then grinds the spices
needed for the rice.

We're gonna use the same spices
that we used for the meat,

we're gonna use them
again for the rice.

We move it slowly, slowly
because it's gonna fall apart.

The lamb shanks are taken out
of the pot and the remaining stock

is used to cook the rice in.

Everything we need,
it's inside this sauce.

The... we have the vegetables,
we have spices, we have the meat

stock, we have water.

Wow! How do you say "number 1"?

- El ula.
- El ula.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

So now we're gonna step to our last
stage of Kabsa - cooking the rice.

So we use basmati rice
and we use jasmine rice.

We're gonna add some carrots,
and then we add the spices to it.

So now, as you see, Jimmy,
it's started to boil.

So that is the time that we have
just to cover it, the lowest flame

on it, just we wanna
cook it slowly, slowly.

It's nearly take 10 to 15 minutes.

So now, Jimmy, we are
using our secret ingredients.

We are using the - our coals.

So this is what we give
our food, the smokey.

This is the first time that we share
this secret in public.

I've been waiting all day,
I've been staring at it.

- I've been asked not to touch it.
- Touch it, yeah.

or smell it, by you.

And finally, I got
to know what it is.

What it is.

How we're gonna get the smoke
out of the coals. Yes.

is just we add a teeny bit of oil.

What a fantastic idea!

Thank you so much for
sharing this technique.

Shhh.

Yeah. When we cook, we give it,
you know,

our passion and our
love and... Yeah.

We put all our effort,
all our love.

Here you go, Jimmy.

- Welcome home.
- Thank you very much.

- Magnificent.
- Oh, thank you so much.

All those spices
all coming together.

And of course, the lamb
cooked to perfection.

It falls apart.

Beautiful. Beautiful.

Thank you.

This, to me, is more
like my comfort food - rice,

basmati, spices that
I'm very familiar with.

It's delicious.

And when it's time for
you to open a restaurant,

well, I'll just come
and wash your dishes 'cause I know

I'll be able to eat
some of these things.

No, we'll never Jimmy.

I always feel sorry that
when you talk to people

about you have come Syria,
all that they know that people

fighting, or that w*r.

I want to show them the other side,
that Damascus is the oldest city

in the world, that
people still live in it.

We have a history.

Every dish, it has a big story
behind it, you know.

So this is what inspire me.

I wanna be able to know
more about our culture.

This is what make us who we are.

Darwin is often called
the gateway to Asia.

Given that it's quicker to fly
to Bali than it is to Melbourne

or Sydney, it's not surprising that
we've developed a real taste

for the fragrant, spicy
flavours of Indonesian food,

here in Darwin.

And today, I'm going to take
you to one of my favourite lunch

spots, right in the heart
of Darwin's CBD, Sumatra Cafe -

which in my books, serves the best
Indonesian food in Darwin.

Originally from Central Sumatra,
Harmiati and her husband Frankie,

were pioneers in bringing authentic
homestyle Indonesian food to Darwin.

Don't let the no
frills decor fool you.

This place has a cult following.

It is certainly a foodie spot.

I learnt to cook from
my mum, and my auntie.

I start to learn about 16 years old.

I have my auntie and my
mum cooking at home.

Sumatra food, you have different
ones - chilli chicken,

hot, spicy... all spicy in Sumatra.

I come to Darwin, just
follow my husband.

Otherwise, work with
somebody else, you know.

But uh, I try to open
the business by myself.

Nearly 30 years, I'm always cooking.

Everything is from my mum
and my auntie, recipe

not different.

My cousin now moved
to Adelaide, to Brisbane.

When they come to Darwin,
they come here.

They come here - eat.

And sometimes they buy
and put in the freezer

and bring to Adelaide.

I cook them fresh.

Every day I cook fresh, you know.

Yes, that's why maybe
people like it.

- Thank you.
- How about the tempeh?

- Tempeh?
- A little bit.

Yes, please.

The beans and the jack,
my favourite dishes.

- The chilli chicken please.
- Chilli chicken?

Thank you so much.

I look forward to this
meal every week.

This is my favourite.

Young Jackfruit Curry.

Another favourite is the green
beans poached in coconut,

Galangal flavours.

Chilli chicken, then
hiding underneath this,

a Beef Blado marinated overnight,
deep-fried, crispy,

full of flavour.

Tempeh, locally made.

Eggplant - harvested locally once
again,

smothered with fresh chilli
Sambal.

Heaven on a plate.

Every dish has its
individual flavours.

They all complement each other.

This is authentic Indonesian food.

Recipes handed down
by generation after generation.

It is these flavours that bring me
back here time after time.

Darwin's tropical flavours are found
not just in the food,

but in the architecture as well.

Today, I'm visiting Burnett House,

one of Darwin's most historic
buildings.

Built in 1938 by architect
Beni Burnett, Burnett House

is an iconic example
of tropical architecture.

Being here, has inspired me
to create a dish using an equally

iconic Darwin ingredient,
paired with quintessentially

Top End flavours.

Today I'll be preparing the most
exquisite ingredient you can find

in Darwin, pearl meat,
and I'm going to turn that

into a ceviche, and that's
going to be dressed with citrus

flavours and you've got
something very, very unique.

I'm going to start off
with slicing the pearl meat.

Now, this pearl meat has to be
actually thawed in ice water,

so that you slow down
the process of it thawing down.

I've come up with this contraption
so I could cut all the meat

wafer-thin and uniformly.

The thinner the better.

There's that wafer-thin pearl meat.

Now, for those of you who don't
have access to this,

all you do is put it
on your board and then using a thin

knife and just control it.

But go slow and this can get
a little bit slippery

because it's quite slimy.

And once again,
wafer-thin pearl meat.

So, we're going to start
off with the chillies,

three chillies by the way,
five to six pieces of garlic,

half a thumb piece of ginger,
three st*lks of lemongrass

and three st*lks of coriander root.

And then of course,
there is a bit of the sugar.

We've got quarter cup of lime juice,
one third cup of fish sauce,

quarter cup of champagne vinegar.

Champagne vinegar is my
special ingredient here.

With the liquids, I would recommend
that you just put half of it

because while blending,
you don't have this excess liquid

and all your hard ingredients
just swirling around.

A bit more fish sauce.

I've still got
the champagne vinegar.

So, the whole idea is to grind
all your hard ingredients

with the least amount of liquid,
and once it's all pulverised,

then we add the rest.

Well, I held back a bit more sugar
and I've got to put that in.

So, 40 grams of sugar.

I'm very, very, very
happy with this dressing.

And we're going to now finish
off this pearl meat.

Since it's raw and fresh,
we always like to cure it

and what better way to do it,
is with some fresh limes.

Just a little squeeze.

And because this is very finely
sliced and is still very,

very, um, delicate,
I've got a pair of tweezers.

So this way I can handle it very
delicately to cure the pearl meat.

And then I'm going to proceed giving
it a bit of a partner,

of this dressing that I just made.

So, this is going to infuse further.

It's got all the citrus flavours
like the lime juice and also

the champagne vinegar, and that's
what I'm using to cure this meat.

Now, with the pearl meat,
while you're slicing,

you've got the nice,
big, full-framed one,

and then you get the little
odds and ends, perhaps

something like that.

And I would start with
the smaller odd cuts.

You lay the first one at the bottom,
the second piece which is not as big

and perhaps a third one,
and I finish it off

with a nice large one.

I'm going to roll it up
so it's like a rose.

The biggest one is going
to form the outer layer.

There's a bit of an overlap.

I've also thought of something
a little bit different.

There's a fresh beetroot.

And that gives us
beautiful red colour.

Final stage - plating.

It's coriander.

It's a beautiful microgreens that
have just started to be grown

here in Darwin.

This is the red beetroot.
Beautiful colour.

Well, here you have it,
my pearl meat ceviche,

made with lots of love.

I think this will win a few hearts.

The exquisite pearl meat ceviche,
at beautiful Burnett House.

Flavour holds the stories
of history, culture and people.

And with its melting pot
of culture and cuisine,

both old and new, Darwin certainly
has a flavour all of its own.

Next time, I explore
the incredible seafood the top end

is so famous for.

- Oh, hey!
- Ah!

- It's a barra!
- Wow! Look at that colour.

- Are you being fussy?
- I'm not used to it.

Don't worry about that
kaka, just eat it.