01x05 - Street Food

[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.

Oh, wow!

Welcome to my Taste Of The Territory.

One of the best ways to explore
a culture, a place, a cuisine

is through its street food.

It's the first thing that I try
when I go to a new place.

And in Darwin, street food
is an essential part

of our vibrant food scene
and tropical lifestyle.

It's at our bustling weekend markets

where some of the Top End's finest
culinary masters can be found,

serving up fresh, authentic street
food as they have for generations.

Beautiful and amazing aromas
wafting through the air.

You could be anywhere in Asia,
but instead, we're here in Darwin

at the Parap Markets
on a Saturday morning.

What I love about the markets is
it's quintessentially Darwin.

It's a melting pot - the people,
the colour, the movement,

and above all, great food.

Today, I'm going to take you
on a little tour

to visit my favourite street food
here in Darwin.

- Can I get a chicken laksa, please?
- Yep. Chicken laksa.

- With chilli?
- Yes, please.

A fitting place to start
our street food journey

would have to be with one of Darwin's
favourite foods, the laksa -

a spicy, creamy noodle soup that can
be found all across South-East Asia,

especially in Malaysia
and Singapore.

Darwin is known as
the laksa capital of Australia.

We love laksa here, and everyone
has their own favourite spot,

but one of the best places to try

a steaming bowl
of this Darwin obsession

has to be at the iconic Mary's Laksa
stall at the Parap Markets.

As you can see, this is
Mary's famous laksa stall.

The queue is up to here.

It is so famous
that everybody talks about it.

And it's also become a ritual
for every Saturday,

for people to bring
their containers,

to have it here and take some home.

Mary and her family migrated
to Darwin from China 35 years ago,

and her laksa stall,

which is one of the oldest stalls
at the Parap Market,

has been a Darwin institution
for over 25 years.

Did you start this stall
by yourself?

Yes, I did.

How did you learn
how to make this laksa?

- Testing.
- Testing?

I taste it, I experiment
and everything, yeah.

And usually it's the mothers
who teach the daughters.

No. The daughter teach herself.
Yeah.

- This daughter taught herself.
- Yes.

What time do you get here
to the market?

And what time would you serve your...
first laksa, yeah?

- Probably 4:00.
- Four o'clock in the morning?

Yep.

Why is your laksa the best?

Because I do it with my heart.

Do it with my love.

Laksa and Darwin go hand-in-hand.

That's it. Absolutely.

On a cool morning,
touching something like this.

- Ooh, it's very, very cool. I know.
- Yes.

- Thank you. Bye-bye.
- Alright. See you.

It's absolutely divine.

She cooks this from her heart.

You can almost feel it
because the spices are very fresh.

And this laksa is quite similar
to the one you get in Singapore,

which is the laksa lemak.

Coconut-based.

I could taste the Chinese influence
in this laksa.

You've got the very beautiful,
luscious barbecued pork,

and also the wontons.

Combine that with this South-East
Asian broth, what do you get?

Magical Mary's laksa.

It's lunchtime
and the market is buzzing.

Our next stop on our street food tour

is Wayne Ta's Vietnamese stall,
Huong Viet,

that his family have been running
at the Parap Markets for 24 years.

Huong Viet has all my Vietnamese
street food favourites,

from pho to rice-paper rolls.

But it's Wayne's barbecue pork
and banh mi

that are legendary
at the Parap Markets.

This barbecue pork here
is a traditional Vietnamese dish.

So, I put it in a bread roll,
in the rice,

in the noodle as a salad.

The banh mi, it is one of
the most popular item,

besides my rice-paper rolls
and the pork itself.

It is traditional
Vietnamese street food, maybe 90%.

No per cent closer to Vietnamese
you can get.

Even this in Vietnam,

the pork itself is probably
half the size of this.

And the stick will be sugarcane,
but we can't get the sugarcane here.

But like I say, it's more...
traditional Vietnamese, Darwin-style.

Well, we start this
when I was 16 years old

and I'm now 41
and I have three kids of my own.

So I have customers here

that's been coming for the last 24
years,

so pretty much you can say I grow up
around the market, pretty much.

The barbecue used to be
my dad's fulltime job

on a Saturday and Sunday.

The hottest, most hectic job.

My father is a political refugee.

So, he joined the south army
as an officer.

He never want to join the w*r
itself,

but unfortunately,
he was forced into the w*r.

As you know, uh, Saigon fell in 1975

and a lot of, uh, officer
were sent to education camp

regardless you were serving the army
at the time or retiring.

So he was fearing for his life
and his family.

After '75, anyone with a skipper
licence were seeking out like gold.

And they were paid to get on the boat
to take people out of the country.

'82, he took 140 people.

And he landed in Bidong,
in Malaysia.

So he rightfully gained his,
uh, political refugee status

and, uh, he landed in Darwin in 1983.

So I was 5 years old
when he landed in Darwin,

and I was without a father
for 7 years.

We good friend now.

I got here in 1990.

So, I was 12 years old,
and I never left.

My dad left Vietnam,
risked his life at sea

to find a better life,
better future for us.

When we come to this country,
and we're new to everything,

we don't know where to start from.

We, we all have our own job,
go to school, and we thought

on the weekend, we maybe try and make
extra money to pay for the mortgage.

We try to help out
the family in Vietnam too.

Mum started, you know,
just trial and error

and, you know, reading cookbook
and asking friends.

And it started from there.

And now it is a fulltime job.

What make my pork ba*ls so good?

Well, I've been doing it
for 24 years.

And it's always been me that mix it.

Mum just tell me how to put it in,
from the first day.

It is about the marinade.

But unfortunately,
I cannot give you the recipe,

and I will probably have to take it
to the grave with me.

It's have to do with love, hey?

You've got to love...
love, uh, your job.

So now, I'm gonna take
your order, if I can.

Yes, I would love a banh mi.

A banh mi?

This is real street food.

Whenever I visit Vietnam,
north or south,

this is the first thing
that I'll be looking for.

It's available everywhere.

It's got everything that
a good banh mi would have.

Fresh coriander, chillies,
cucumber,

lovely carrots, pickled,

and the pork has been grilled
to perfection.

Authenticity oozing out of this.

Known for its incredible array
of tropical fruit and vegetables,

Darwin's Rapid Creek Sunday Market
is a very special place to me.

I'm here every Sunday
at 5:30 in the morning

to buy fresh produce
for my restaurant.

And then I treat myself to breakfast

at one of the amazing
food stalls here.

Like so many other Darwin locals,

it's a weekend routine
I truly cherish.

I'm here at Kanjana's stall, one
of my favourite breakfast places.

Kanjana is one of the best
Thai chefs I know,

and walking into her stall,

you'd think you were
on the streets of Bangkok.

This is my Sunday morning ritual -

to come here and enjoy
this dish called moo palo,

which is also known
as braised pork knuckles

in lovely Thai herbs.

- So, you would sell that very fast?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

About sometime 10 o'clock,
even then they're finished.

This is the only place in the whole
of Darwin that serves this dish here.

And this is my pot.

- Yeah, this one is your pot.
- That is mine.

Yeah.

I come from Thailand.

- This is, uh...
- Oh, wow.

- ..Moo Palo for you.
- Whoa.

So, we've got here the pork knuckle.

A little thin layer
of fat, which is great.

And a hard-boiled egg
which has been steeped in the stock.

Bean curd, same story.

Now, nothing is complete for me
without chilli.

And Kanjana makes one of the best
chilli sauces here.

That and that, that,
it's better than heaven.

Mm. It's so good.

This is Thailand on a plate.

Darwin is full of little
hidden foodie spots,

if you know where to look.

On the Stuart Highway
on the way to the CBD

is Warung Ibu Amye,
a wonderful, quirky eatery

modelled after
the traditional warungs,

or small family-run restaurants,
in Bali,

that serves a mix of Indonesian
and Timorese street food.

Darwin locals come here
as much for the food

as they do for the atmosphere,

and to hang out with chef Amye Un,

who's become a bit of
a Darwin institution herself.

Born in East, growing up in West
Timor. Seven brother, sister.

We live very poor, very hard life,

but we live in full of love.

I know how to cook plenty thing.

So many, so many dish.

But my choice is, uh, my mum dish.

And every time I eat
something, I think of her.

I've heard so much about
your famous charcoal chicken.

My charcoal chicken,
I think the best.

Finger-licking good, OK?

- Wow, finger-licking good.
- Finger-licking good from the sauce.

I like that.

And the marinade I make,
no-one can beat me.

- Wow.
- OK?

First time, when I opened the
business, business not going well

and my sister said to me,

"Are you remember
Mum's charcoal chicken recipe?"

and I say, "Yes. I remember".

Because we live very poor.

So, mum say, "If you're good at
school, or you do all the jobs done,"

we have reward, once a month,
Mum make charcoal chicken.

And my sister said to me,
"Why you not try that one?"

And I only bought two chicken,
and 7 o'clock, finish.

My sister say, "Buy four
chickens tomorrow."

And...end up, until 300 chicken.

And I'm so proud.

I'm so proud because
this Mum recipe.

Amye has been running her business
in Darwin for 16 years now,

and today, she's going to show me

how to make her mother's
famous charcoal chicken.

Amye starts with making
the all-important marinade

for the chicken.

- I use fresh lemongrass.
- Yes.

Fresh turmeric come from my garden.

Turmeric, and uh, galangal.

Ah.

Every young girl, because we no have
blender in the village, we have to.

Real, fantastic technique.

And you just add the chilli.

This just for family, like,
for family cooking at home,

we use this one.

But for the business, you can't,

because, uh, we use, uh,


- Whoa.
- of the paste.

So we use blender to become
very fine like this.

So, after you add in the chilli,
the colour become like this.

And then also, do you add a little
bit more water into the blender?

A little bit water
in the blender, yeah.

- Because this is quite liquid-y.
- Yeah.

Is this a Balinese dish
or a Timorese dish?

Balinese dish, uh, because Timorese
occupied by Indonesia for 24 years.

Of course.

So that's why the mix between east
and west food

become one on the table.

Amye cuts up the chicken

which has been soaked in salt water
for 15 minutes.

I can see the experience there.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

It's almost like, you know...

- Like dancing.
- Yes.

The chicken is marinated
for 10 minutes

and then put on the charcoal grill.

So, you touch the chicken
like you touch your girlfriend

or your wife or someone you love.

Have to touch, like, very soft
so all the paste can go inside.

- So, this...
- Wow.

..now become like this,
ready go in the charcoal.

Ah, innovation.

This is, uh, the blower.

Bring up the fire a little bit.

- Oh, this is your control?
- Yeah.

If I do plenty, I use a hairdryer
from the other side too.

You're an amazing lady.

After put the lid for, 10, 15 minutes
and open and turn around.

Amye, it makes me feel
like I'm really in Bali

down by the street there.

Sometime we have to go back to some
traditional kind of food, situation,

and everybody afford it to buy.

Correct. And that's why street food
is so popular in Asia,

and thanks to you,
you've brought it here to Darwin.

I already seven years old.
I remember all these thing happen.

The time when Communist Party,
they k*ll thousand of people.


military come and ask my mum,

"You saw somebody pass here?"

Mum said, "No, we see nothing."

The military say, "You lying." Bang!

Hit my mum with the g*n
until my mum...

..broken. My mum...

So, since then, we sleep
three months under the bed.

But this memory and this trauma,
I say if my mother alive,

I give medal to her.

Because she's a hero
of her own family.

When I was little girl, every
morning, 6 o'clock in the morning,

my father open Australian radio.

They put a bird, kookaburra.

And I said to my father,
"One day I like to be there."

So my dream become true
and I come to Australia '86.

In my suitcase, I have


Because, because I think
only Asian people can eat rice

and white people only eat bread.

And when customs open my suitcase,
they say, "What this?"

So I said, "For eating."

And they said, "No, no, no.
In Australia, plenty rice."

That was my first experience
when I arrive in Darwin.

Ohhh!

Look at that!

That's an awesome chopper.

This sauce, caramelise the sugar,

and after, I boil again
with the sweet sauce.

Chicken stock and salt,
and a garlic, shallot, and tamarind.

This is the last, uh, garnish.

It's shallot.

Sexy, famous Amye's charcoal chicken.

Ohh!

Magic.

- Magic.
- Wow.

Every time I eat the charcoal
chicken, remind me where I come from.

My love for street food began

on the sidewalks of Colombo
in Sri Lanka, where I grew up.

It was everywhere

and has continued throughout my life

as I've travelled across
South-East Asia.

Indian food is one of my
favourite cuisines.

Street food in India is as varied
and vibrant as India itself

and has inspired many dishes
on my Hanuman Restaurant menu.

I'm going to make aloo bonda,

which is south Indian street food.

You find it in Sri Lanka, and as a
kid, I used to love eating this.

Aloo bonda is spiced mashed potato

deep-fried in a batter
of besan flour,

otherwise known as chickpea flour.

I'm going to now make
the batter first.

So I proceed with the chickpea flour,

baking powder,

some salt and ajowan seeds,

all available
in the Asian grocery shops.

Half a cup of water,

and just make it into a,
sort of a thick batter.

I'll add some more. There we go.

I'm trying to achieve
a fairly thick coating

because it's got to coat
the potato...

I'll call it a rissole, even.

Right, now that's been done,

I'm now going to set that aside
and let it rest.

I'm now going to mash these potatoes

that have been roasted at 150 degrees
Celsius for 15 minutes.

I don't quite have one of those
potato mashers,

but I'm using my trusted ladle.

I'm very happy with that.

Perfect.

And I'm now going to proceed
to make the spice mix

that goes into the mashed potato.

Vegetable oil, some red onions.

Now, this might take a few minutes,

because you need to caramelise
the red onions

to get the lovely sweetness.

It's browning off well.

Finely diced ginger, red chillies.

And this is where
I put the potatoes in.

And now it's time to put in
all the other spices.

Crushed cashew nuts.

I love using sultanas,

which is also a very,
very Indian thing.

That adds the natural
sweetness to it.

And coriander, fresh coriander,
toasted coriander seeds.

Cumin, pepper and turmeric,
it gives it a lovely colour.

Peas, half a teaspoon of salt.

The aromas reminds me
of a lot of things,

all of my growing up days.

We used to make our own curry
powders, masala powders,

in my dad's restaurant.

Then you go to the street and enjoy
the street food there.

All these flavours
are wafting through.

It's still pretty warm,
so I'm going to let it cool down.

While that's cooling down,
I'm going to make the mint chutney.

The first thing
is 500mil of yoghurt.

Some green chilli,
I can just snap it.

Another one.

Four thin slices of ginger.

That's about a half an onion here.

Three pieces of garlic.

Mint, about 15 grams.

Some coriander.

Two st*lks of spring onions just
to give that bit of colour.

A touch of vinegar first,
then some salt and some sugar.

I think this is going to be perfect
with the aloo bonda.

Now that the potato mix has cooled,

I'm going to proceed
with making the ba*ls,

about the size of a,
maybe a golf ball.

Now, I could make a ball
like this here.

I've seen one of the chefs
do it like this.

What it does is it smooths
the little pointed edges and turns

out to be a perfectly round ball.

We're now ready to deep-fry
the potato ba*ls.

I'm going to be using this batter,
which is out of chickpeas.

I'm using a premium vegetable oil

so that you enjoy the real flavours
of the besan flour.

Well, it only takes about 3 minutes.

I'm really happy how
the aloo bonda has been cooked.

Typical colours.

The turmeric, the browns,
and even this little tail.

Very, very authentic.

There you have it.

Typical south Indian
street food, aloo bonda.

Next time, I explore how different
cultures across the Top End

create incredible flavours
from paddock to plate.

No worries.
You can cook in my kitchen any day.

Oh, good.

Food is all about love.

It's perfect.

I want to give you a cuddle.