20 Questions, 1 Light Dish, Number 1

"20 Questions, 1 Light Dish" is a new, regular Elegant Sufficiency feature that will ask the people who really understand flavour – chefs – to share a light, guilt-free recipe for everyday eating. It’s not about science, just about flavour.

TONY TAN

1. Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay?
For sex appeal, neither. For technique, Gordon. As a human being, Jamie.
2. Chef you’d most like to meet?
There are two of them. One, Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz restaurant in San Sebastian. He has movie-star looks and cooks like a dream. He also has real humility, a zen-like quality, and understands flavours. The second is Yuan Mei, who was a chef for a Chinese scholar during the Qing Dynasty. He understood the harmony of food and the seasons. I’ve been following his life through several Chinese gastronomical books.
3. Restaurant you’d most like to visit?
Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in Berkshire. He’s not afraid and I like to be challenged.
4. Most stained cookbook?
Yan-Kit So’s Classic Food of China (Macmillan, London, 1992)
5. Most memorable meal?
My sister cooked me a meal when I was about five – she made an extraordinary version of dung po pork and to this day I don’t know how she made it.
6. Favourite dish your mum cooked?
My mother’s roast chicken; she made it when she was working as a cook at the government resthouse in Kuala Lipis in the state of Pahang during the dying days of the British Empire. The marinade included Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce and butter.
7. Desert island ingredients?
Garam masala, salt, five-spice powder.
8. Favourite holiday destination?
Ronda in the south of Spain – it’s one of the most romantic spots in the world.
9. Favourite kitchen utensil?
A wok, or a sharp knife.
10. Favourite food store?
Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne.
11. Last food-related purchase?
Mangoes from Prahran Market, Melbourne to make a mango ‘carpaccio’ with basil icecream.
12. Biggest cooking disaster?
Trying to cook foie gras around midnight.
13. Average breakfast?
Wholemeal or multi-grain sourdough with jam or marmalade.
14. Guilty pleasure?
Eating icecream.
15. What would you never give up?
Chocolate.
16. Do you like a drink?
Yes, can’t you tell?
17. Best snack regime for someone watching their weight?
Fruit.
18. Exercise regime?
I walk – early-morning, two or three times a week, along the Yarra River for 5km and every Saturday morning with Stephanie Alexander.
19. Hot weight-loss tip?
Eat seafood – particularly fish – with plenty of greens.
20. Why this dish?
It’s simple – and wonderfully adaptable. It’s one of the most popular salads served in Thai restaurants. The recipe has similar flavours to the northern Thai beef larb, a minced raw beef salad with a heady mix of aromatic herbs including pak chi farang or foreign coriander (cilantro), a long leaf herb similar to fresh coriander. The roasted rice powder isn’t essential but it does give the finished dish a smoky nuttiness.

Grilled Beef Salad (Yam Nuer)
Serves 4-6

½ cup raw glutinous rice (for 1tbsp roasted rice powder – optional)
250g beef sirloin (or fillet)
1tbsp sweet dark soy sauce (kecap manis)
1tbsp vegetable oil
Dressing:
100ml lime or lemon juice
50ml fish sauce
1-2tsp palm sugar to taste (use a sharp knife to shave the sugar from the block)
2 fresh hot chillies (for a good pinch of roasted chilli powder)
Salad:
½ cup mint leaves
½ cup coriander leaves
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 small Lebanese cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 red shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
2tbsp pak chi farang (optional)
3 kaffir lime leaves, julienned

For roasted chilli powder: Toss the chillies in a frypan over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool, and grind to a powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. (This powder can be made in a batch and stored in an air-tight container.)
For roasted rice powder: Dry-fry rice over low to medium heat in a frypan or wok, stirring frequently, until it is golden brown. Cool, then grind in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle to a fine powder.
Rub soy sauce over the beef and leave to marinate for up to 30 minutes. Heat a grill or skillet. Just before grilling, rub beef with oil and grill or fry over medium to high heat until rare, or to your taste. Rest for 10 minutes.
While the beef is resting, combine all ingredients for the salad dressing. Taste – it should taste hot, sour, salty and slightly sweet.
Slice the beef and combine with salad ingredients. Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently. Sprinkle with roasted rice.

Malaysian-born Tony Tan is a Melbourne chef and cooking-school proprietor. In February 2007, Tony will relaunch his cooking school in expanded premises. Web: http://www.tonytan.com.au/

Comments

[Ari (Baking and Books)]

This is my first time visiting and I'm already hooked. What a great idea for a feature! Really enjoyed it. :)