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The Cook Up with Adam Liaw - Season 9 Episode 45 - Unexpectedly Tasty
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00:00MUSIC
00:21Hello, I'm Adam Liao, and welcome to The Cook Up,
00:23the show with a say-oh on how to enjoy your mayo.
00:26On tonight's menu, fish sauce banyakowda,
00:28whipped chocolate yoghurt mousse
00:30and nettle and greens tart with cheddar pastry.
00:32Let's meet our guests.
00:33As a two-time Paralympian, world champion
00:35and the first woman to captain and represent Australia
00:38in wheelchair rugby, Shea Graham cleans up on the core,
00:41but when it comes to cooking,
00:42she's not as keen on the whole cleaning up thing.
00:44Hello, Shea. Hello.
00:46Aaron Ward's resume reads like a list of Sydney's go-to restaurants.
00:49Now executive chef of Two-Hatted Bathers Pavilion,
00:51he previously worked at Shell House, Sixpenny and Lumi Dining.
00:54He also has a cult carrot cake recipe that I'd like to get my hands on.
00:57Wish me luck. Hello, Aaron.
00:58Hello, Adam.
00:59Aaron, what makes a great carrot cake?
01:01I think oil-based.
01:04Ah.
01:04So you either choose two types of, well, a couple of different varieties of cake,
01:08but two types, like a butter-based cake or an oil-based.
01:12I opt for the second, the oil-based.
01:15Yeah.
01:15Fantastic.
01:18Shea, what's it like?
01:19So to explain, wheelchair rugby is a mixed sport.
01:23Men and women play together on the same teams against men and women on other teams.
01:26What was it, what did it feel like for you to captain Australia for the first time?
01:31Yeah, I mean, it was unexpected and loved it.
01:37It was an interesting challenge to be able to kind of, after the Paralympics,
01:43get on a court and captain a team for my country.
01:46Yeah.
01:46Great experience, but I'm so glad it's not my full-time job.
01:51Amazing.
01:52Tonight, expect the Unexpectedly Tasty.
02:00That was one of the ones like, you know, balsamic vinegar, strawberries,
02:04crack of black pepper was like, wow, it blows my mind.
02:06But actually, balsamic vinegar is a very sweet vinegar.
02:10Shea, you travel all over the world with your sport.
02:13Is there a country that has surprised you food-wise that wasn't quite what you expected?
02:18I think all of them are quite surprising.
02:21Every time I go to Japan, I'm surprised by the food that's on offer
02:25and the things that turn up, obviously, that are surprisingly tasty together.
02:31You're not the Shane Warne of wheelchair rugby
02:33where you just eat baked beans when you go to another country?
02:35No, no, yeah.
02:36I'm making myself little fried rices and all sorts of things, yeah.
02:41Aaron, when diners go to a restaurant like Baylor's Pavilion,
02:44do they expect to be surprised or do they just want food that tastes good?
02:47If they're not surprised, then they would just make it at home.
02:51True.
02:51We can get things at the restaurant that they can't get,
02:54whether it's the proteins, the vegetables and the seafood and things like that.
02:58So to have that sort of side of things, yeah, it makes it a little bit different
03:03and a little bit more special.
03:04Yeah, very good point.
03:05Tonight, I'm making the case for the unexpectedly tasty fish sauce Bagnacotta.
03:11What?
03:16I love Bagnacotta.
03:18Bagnacotta is Italian for like a, basically a hot bath.
03:22And it's an anchovy dip, essentially, for vegetables.
03:28And I was making it one day and I went to grab my anchovies out of the fridge
03:34where I always keep them and I used them all up and I was out of anchovies.
03:37And so I was like, well, God, I've come all the way down the road here.
03:41I've got the garlic and the milk already boiled and everything else.
03:45I guess I'll just use some fish sauce instead.
03:47And it turned out great.
03:48And so I was like, oh, I just found a new way to make Bagnacotta.
03:50I was quite chuffed.
03:51So it was very, it was unexpectedly tasty.
03:54And now it's kind of a bit of a feature at my place, actually.
03:58So it's basically just the, we'll make the dip.
04:01So I'm going to soften the garlic there in the milk
04:03and then we'll add the other ingredients into it.
04:07Aaron, I think people don't realise sometimes
04:10just how much effort goes into the sourcing of restaurants.
04:14You know, you were saying before, you know,
04:16you have access to ingredients that people at home don't have.
04:18And it's such a huge part of restaurants these days.
04:20People think that, you know, restaurants are going to be great
04:22because everyone's so good at cooking in there.
04:24But it's the thought process that goes into how you design the menu.
04:27And also, you know, forming those relationships with suppliers.
04:30Is it not?
04:30Yeah, definitely.
04:31I think, like you said, forming that relationship with a supplier,
04:35like whether it's a farmer, whether it's someone that produces beef,
04:39whether it's the fishermen, knowing where the product's from.
04:44And I think guests in the restaurant also want to know that these days as well.
04:47So it's a point of difference from restaurant to restaurant as well.
04:51And I should say that, like, that's not exclusively a restaurant thing.
04:55You can do that for yourself at home.
04:57Like, if you've got a good relationship with your greengrocer, you know,
05:00I like to shop at the same places and I've lived in the same area
05:02for quite a number of years.
05:03So I've got pretty good relationships with the people that I buy my ingredients from.
05:07And so, you know, I'll chat with the greengrocer about, you know,
05:10how's the fruit this season?
05:11Where are you getting good stuff from?
05:13And, you know, we've got some amazing peaches from WA
05:15or whatever it happens to be.
05:16And your fishmonger and your butcher, all those kind of things,
05:19they're relationships that I think are really important to a household.
05:24Shady, do you know your butcher by the first name?
05:26I actually get my meat delivered from a company that sources from farmers,
05:35like Australian farmers.
05:37Yeah.
05:38And it all comes, like, packaged with the story of the farming family on it.
05:43So I try very hard to buy as local as possible.
05:48That's fantastic.
05:50Yeah.
05:51So I'm just keeping this milk down on sort of a low simmer here,
05:58because I want to soften the garlic without frothing the milk over and burning it.
06:03I'm going to serve this with a mix of cooked and raw vegetables.
06:08So I've got some new potatoes here.
06:13Don't really want to serve those raw, so I'll just take those and drain those off.
06:17And I'm going to boil some of my cauliflower and broccoli.
06:25Water, a salt, that.
06:28I have an awful lot of very lightly boiled vegetables at home.
06:33I find it really useful for a lot of dishes.
06:35So I'll keep, I'll boil these and just keep them in the fridge, drained off.
06:40And then, you know, if they cook some meat and then the kids want something for dinner,
06:44I'll just put a few broccolis on there or whatever.
06:47So it's a really useful thing.
06:48So this has only been in there for, you know, just not even a minute, I'd say.
06:54And just because I take it out and don't blanch it, don't cool it down,
06:56it'll just continue to sort of steam on its own there.
06:59So it's almost sort of just cooking it 30 seconds or so and then letting it sort of cook on
07:04its own.
07:04Shae, how did you get into wheelchair rugby?
07:09I lost a bet to my brother.
07:14I was really sporty growing up and I was a backseat passenger in a car crash.
07:22And I kind of took the car crash and the spinal cord injury as a sign to go into retirement
07:28from sport.
07:28Right.
07:29So stubbornly, I stuck to that for I think it was like eight or nine years.
07:34And for years, my brother and family and friends had been trying to get me like back involved with sport.
07:41And my brother saw an opportunity when I was being wrong about something.
07:47And he had a little bet with me that if I was wrong, we were actually overseas.
07:53So he was like, when you get back to Australia, if you're wrong, you've got to give wheelchair rugby a
07:58go.
07:59And yeah, I was wrong.
08:00So when I got back to Australia, like months later, I got online and Googled how to give wheelchair rugby
08:06a go and instantly fell in love with the sport.
08:11And yeah, now I play for Australia.
08:14You regretted it ever since.
08:15And you kept in Australia.
08:17Okay.
08:17It was the best bet I ever lost.
08:19It was like, sometimes other people know you a lot better than yourself and your stubbornness is just holding you
08:25back in the end.
08:26Amazing.
08:27All right.
08:28My garlic should be softened now.
08:31So I'll take that off.
08:32And now I want to finish this off with some butter.
08:38And this all looks a bit weird in here.
08:40I completely understand.
08:43The milk's kind of all up the sides here and a bit curdled.
08:46But trust me, it all comes together very, very nicely.
08:49Scrape that down.
08:51Add my butter in.
08:52And now with the fish sauce, I'm just going to be quite generous with that for starters.
08:57And then blitz all of this together so that that softened garlic kind of breaks down and thickens this up
09:02a touch.
09:06All right.
09:07And then I'll put a little bit of cream in there too, just to give it some richness.
09:17And I'll put that back on the heat while I finish chopping up my veggies.
09:23I like to kind of serve this.
09:25I think traditionally it's more of like a starter type of thing, like an appetizer.
09:31But I actually use this as a vegetable course for a main meal.
09:34Like when I made it, the time I was telling you about it was just we were having a steak
09:38for dinner.
09:39And this was just kind of the vegetables on the side of the steak.
09:44So some potatoes on this side as well.
09:49Aaron, what's the thing that surprised you most about becoming a chef?
09:54Is the job what you thought it was going to be before you started doing it?
09:57Yes.
09:57To a degree.
09:58Yeah.
09:59I think so.
10:01It's definitely changed over the years.
10:03Yeah.
10:03But it's always been similar to a team sport.
10:07Right.
10:08Very, very similar to a team sport.
10:09And I think that's what I like about it the most.
10:12Obviously the cooking and that sort of thing.
10:13I love the food and that sort of thing.
10:15But being in that team atmosphere and having, I guess, fellow players around you
10:22and helping you out.
10:23And, you know, if you're someone's what we say,
10:26that they're going down in a service or struggling in a service,
10:28there's always someone there that sort of jumps in and helps out as well.
10:31So I think that's probably the biggest part that's kept me in the industry for so long.
10:36That's fabulous.
10:37I guess, yeah, you don't think of it as things sport, but you're there with the brigade.
10:40You're doing it all.
10:41Exactly, yeah.
10:41All together.
10:43A little grind of pepper on top.
10:45And that is fish sauce banyakata.
10:52Regardless, this is a heck of a lot cheaper than a whole tin of anchovies anyway.
10:57Mm-hmm.
10:57It certainly is.
10:58It's delicious.
10:59It's nice and light.
11:01You know, the vegetables still shine and that sort of just accommodates each other.
11:05I think it's delicious.
11:06Yeah, it's a great mixture with the fresh and the cooked as well.
11:11I like it.
11:12When we return, you know what to expect.
11:14Shea and Aaron and cooking.
11:27Welcome back to The Cook Up.
11:28Tonight is all about keeping an open mind as world-class athlete Shea Graham and world-class
11:32chef Aaron Ward make some unexpectedly tasty food.
11:35Fingers crossed.
11:36Shea, what's your dish?
11:36I've got a Greek yogurt and dark chocolate mousse.
11:40Exciting.
11:41And Aaron?
11:42We've got a nettle and greens tart with a cheddar cheese pastry.
11:45Beautiful.
11:53Aaron, nettle and greens.
11:56What are we talking here?
11:59Pretty much anything that's in your crisper at home.
12:02So any greens, pretty much anything can go in this.
12:06Shard, silverbeet.
12:07You know, kales, anything.
12:10Spinaches, you know.
12:11I would just put some nettles in it today.
12:14Yeah, talk me through that because I've not cooked with nettles before.
12:17So nettles, you know, just be careful, they're quite spiky.
12:22No, but they're a nutty, really nutty, sort of earthy sort of flavour.
12:28This is the stupidest thing I could be doing, right?
12:30Because they are an irritant.
12:32Like if that touches your skin, how bad does it hurt?
12:35Should I just do it?
12:36I wouldn't say it hurts.
12:37It just sort of itches for a couple of hours afterwards.
12:41Yeah, okay, I'm not going to do that.
12:42I'm going to put that down.
12:43That's sort of something.
12:44I don't think many things get rid of it either.
12:46You know how some things say put vinegar on it or put cold water on it.
12:50That doesn't affect it.
12:51So in terms of cooking with nettles then, how can you eat them?
12:56As long as they're cooked.
12:57Yeah, okay.
12:57You know, any sort of heat, whether it's been blanched.
13:00We blanch these nettles and now we just sweat them off in the onion and garlic.
13:04Right, so you basically, I'm not sure how you did it, but maybe with gloves you pick the leaves off
13:10there.
13:10Pick them down, exactly.
13:11Blanch them in some water and that just stops.
13:13And that stops, that gets rid of the little nettle.
13:15It's also used a lot in Europe for tea as well.
13:18Oh, okay, okay.
13:19They use it a lot in teas.
13:21So yeah, it's another element.
13:23Amazing.
13:23So you're just sweating all these greens down.
13:25So all of these greens will become about half a teaspoon.
13:28Yeah.
13:29Fire filling.
13:29It looks like a lot and then you just sweat it down until basically nothing.
13:33Amazing.
13:34All right.
13:36Shay.
13:37All right.
13:38Yeah.
13:39I'm intrigued by this mousse.
13:42Yeah.
13:42Greek yogurt.
13:43Yeah.
13:43And chocolate.
13:44Yes.
13:45I do like very tart, sour-y things.
13:48So yeah, it was an odd combination, but in my head it's healthier.
13:55Well, yeah.
13:55I'm not sure if it actually is.
13:57Well, I guess if you're making a ganache or something like that, what you're generally
14:01doing is chocolate into cream and you're just using yogurt.
14:06Yeah.
14:06And then it gives it that little bit of an extra sour edge so it's not too sweet.
14:12I am all for it.
14:14Oh, that's great.
14:15That's great.
14:16You keep mixing that and I'll do the scraping.
14:19Thanks for your help.
14:21Yeah.
14:22So, I mean, it was surprisingly tasty, right?
14:25Well, I'm all for the sour taste of this because a lot of the things that we think are
14:33bitter, which are bitter, you know, things like coffee and chocolate, I actually prefer
14:37on the more sour end of the spectrum.
14:38Yeah.
14:39So I drink black coffee and I prefer sort of lighter roast black coffee because it is slightly
14:44more sour than bitter.
14:46So I think you're onto something.
14:48Yeah.
14:49Well, I hope that it works out because it's very hitting me.
14:52And now you're putting cocoa powder.
14:54I've chucked some cocoa powder in as well.
14:55And that is another thing.
14:56Cocoa powder is really quite acidic, so it is actually quite sour as well.
15:00Yeah.
15:00So you're doing all the right things.
15:02I'm going to make the sweet, the sweet part at the end.
15:05Okay.
15:05Just for those people, you know, that don't like sour as much as me, we can make it as
15:12sweet as you want.
15:13Sure.
15:13Yeah.
15:14And then I just basically...
15:17Oh, wow.
15:18Mix it together and make a mousse.
15:22I'm excited to try this.
15:23I've never tried it before, but I'm excited to try it.
15:27Okay, Aaron, I like the fact that this is a recipe that you can make with anything green.
15:31Anything.
15:32Absolutely anything.
15:33You know, spinaches, kales, anything.
15:37As executive chef now at Bathurst Pavilion, I guess, you know, you're responsible for the
15:42kitchen, you're responsible for the restaurant in that respect.
15:44You're also responsible for a lot of young chefs.
15:48What...
15:49If there's a young chef out there starting out wanting to, you know, get to the level that
15:54you are in your career, what advice do you have for them?
15:56Be patient.
15:58Be very patient.
15:58It's definitely key, I think.
16:01I think a lot of young chefs want to, as I was saying, you want to run before you can
16:05walk.
16:05Yeah, right.
16:06But yeah, being patient, be very respectful of other chefs, and to listen, basically.
16:14Yeah.
16:14Yeah, listen.
16:15So how long is the learning phase?
16:18I guess in every career, you spend a lot of time learning how to do the job.
16:23For a chef, how long is that kind of learning phase, do you think?
16:27Indefinite.
16:28Yeah, right.
16:28You're always learning.
16:29You know, you're always learning.
16:31There's new products, you know, new ingredients, new machinery or things to use.
16:38But then there's also different, when a new chef comes into the restaurant, they've got
16:42different techniques, different ways of learning, different ways of teaching as well.
16:45So learning from them as well.
16:46Yeah.
16:47So yeah, it's forever, forever learning.
16:49So you're folding up your pastry.
16:52What sort of pastry is it, by the way?
16:53So it's a cheddar cheese pastry.
16:55Ooh, nice.
16:56So yeah, similar to a short crust, with the addition of like a really strong cheddar cheese.
17:00Lovely.
17:01So pretty much like that.
17:03Again, it's not the most prettiest thing, but it tastes very good.
17:06I know, I know.
17:07This is what you chefs don't understand.
17:10Normal people, we think that's gorgeous.
17:12You know, you like everything to be straight and measured and get the ruler out and do all
17:17that.
17:17Yeah.
17:18This is, this is, I like it like this.
17:21Straight on there.
17:24Into the oven.
17:25And then into the oven.
17:25Oh, the ricotta.
17:26Ricotta on top.
17:27Yes.
17:28So a couple of little, what's chef's fancy called quenelles on top.
17:33Don't tell me you're going to quenelle.
17:34No, not at all.
17:35Not at all.
17:36Woo.
17:37Just a couple of little pieces of that on top like that.
17:40Fantastic.
17:41Brings a nice creaminess to it.
17:42Love it.
17:43Beauty.
17:45Shay.
17:46Hello.
17:47Earlier, you said the sweet part was going to be the sweet part.
17:50And now I see you pouring lemon juice into chili flakes.
17:52Correct.
17:52But there's honey.
17:55So the honey is the sweet part.
17:57And then all the other things are just adding to my like sour, weird taste buds.
18:03Yeah, you're just messing with me at this point.
18:05A little bit.
18:06But I promise there will be like a teeny tiny bit of sweet on top of the tart mousse.
18:15I appreciate that.
18:18Shay, if you're giving advice to a young athlete in any sport.
18:22Yep.
18:24Looking back at your career, what would that advice be?
18:27Um, I think it's really important that you, you dream big, um, you set yourself some really big dreams, um,
18:36and then you work really hard, um, to get to those dreams.
18:41But remembering in doing that, that like, there's small steps and goals that you need to reach in between that.
18:48And just remember to have fun, right?
18:50Like the, the journey is going to be fun.
18:53So enjoy it, work hard, dream big.
18:56Sometimes those dreams don't turn out the way you think.
18:59But, um, I guarantee you like what you get in the end will be worth it.
19:04Amazing.
19:04After the break, it's unexpectedly tasty tasting time and we'll all share our favourite oddly delicious food combos.
19:21Welcome back to an unexpectedly tasty night on the cook-up.
19:24Shay Graham and Aaron Ward are finishing up their boundary pushing recipes.
19:28Shay, how's it looking?
19:29Yep, nearly finished.
19:30Wonderful.
19:31And Aaron, that galette is a thing of beauty.
19:34Yeah, it's turned out really nice.
19:35I actually really like how the ricotta sort of gets that little bit of colour on it as well.
19:39Yeah, it's come out good.
19:40Nice roasted flavours.
19:42Yum.
19:43This is going to be good.
19:48I've got to tell you, I don't know how this is going to taste, but I'm excited to try it.
19:52Um, yeah, fingers crossed.
19:54It's, it's one of the times that it has worked out.
19:57Um, it looks good.
19:58So...
19:59Salt on top too?
20:00No.
20:00A little bit of salt, just to add to the...
20:02Garam masala, whatever.
20:03I mean, you can also, like, have a few, like, chocolate chunks and mix it in as well, so...
20:10Oh, this is...
20:10Um, yeah.
20:11Well, you've hit the brief.
20:13Whipped chocolate yoghurt mousse, nettle and greens tart with cheddar pastry.
20:25These both look unexpectedly wonderful.
20:29Oh, wow.
20:31Mm.
20:31This is delicious.
20:32Mm.
20:34I think it's the nettle that's the different flavour.
20:36Like, that's the, that's the...
20:37You know, I know there's taste of all the other greens you put in there, but...
20:42Nettle I'm not so familiar with, but it's really wonderful.
20:44Yeah, it just has that nice earthy, I guess, earthy sort of flavour, I guess, yeah.
20:50The cheese in the pastry is awesome.
20:52Mm.
20:53Yeah.
20:53It really is.
20:55All right, Shay, do we dare do it?
20:57Mm.
20:58We're going in.
20:59Yep.
20:59You guys go first.
21:02Bitter, hot, salty, sweet and sour.
21:05It's got everything.
21:08Not gonna lie, that is actually delicious.
21:13I nailed it this time.
21:14Your face is very much, I told you.
21:17It's odd, but it's...
21:19That is delicious.
21:19Delicious.
21:20You know, a little bit of a, it's not a hot chilli, it's just that little bit of warmth.
21:24Mm.
21:24You know, it goes really nicely with that.
21:27No, no word of a lie.
21:28I like this better than normal chocolate mousse.
21:30Mm.
21:30Because it's got more dimensions to it.
21:31It's more interesting.
21:33Yeah.
21:34It's so good.
21:36Mm.
21:38All right, let's keep the unexpectedly tasty flavour party going, because I've asked you
21:42for a few of your further unexpected food combinations.
21:50Now, I don't know what we got here.
21:54Aaron, why don't we start with you?
21:56My unexpected tasty deliciousness was raw seafood and green fruit.
22:03Whoa, okay.
22:05Like...
22:05Yeah, underripe fruit.
22:07Yeah, okay.
22:08I get that.
22:08So, like, green tomatoes or green mango, like we got here.
22:12Green mango.
22:13Mm-hmm.
22:14Green peaches or underripe peaches.
22:16Yeah, okay.
22:17Works really well.
22:18I think green strawberries, if you can find them.
22:19Mm.
22:20Work really well.
22:21I think it's just the acidity that brings to the dish.
22:24Absolutely, yeah.
22:25Yeah.
22:25I can see that as a really great combo.
22:27And sometimes I think we...
22:28Like, with green mango, obviously, you've got that in some Southeast Asian cuisines where
22:33it's used for its sourness in salads and soups and that kind of thing.
22:37And in South America, we do a bit of...
22:39There's a bit of green tomato that's used there.
22:42Yeah, but I think sometimes we don't really fully embrace the underripe fruits as much
22:47because I just like...
22:48Instead of the fruit, when it's ripe, being sweet with a bit of sour, it's sort of sour
22:52with a bit of sweet.
22:53Yeah.
22:54Yeah.
22:54And I think most people, like, eat seafood with citrus.
22:59Yeah.
22:59Lemons and oranges and limes and things like that.
23:02So, just swapping those out for the unripe fruit, I think it works really well.
23:06Yeah.
23:06That's a cool one.
23:07Yeah.
23:09Shay, what are we talking to you?
23:12So, Vegemite on toast with eggs.
23:15So, whether it be scrambled eggs, fried eggs, poached eggs.
23:20Yeah.
23:21It's delicious.
23:22I can get behind that.
23:23What do you reckon, Aaron?
23:24Yeah.
23:25I reckon that'd be pretty tasty.
23:26It is.
23:27It's delicious.
23:28So, mine is actually a bit of a weird one.
23:30It is pale ale and cinnamon donuts.
23:34And I'm a bit of a cinnamon donut lover, but I actually made a beer last year.
23:39Yeah.
23:39And this isn't a plug for it.
23:40It's not on sale anymore.
23:41But I made it as sort of a scientific experiment to get a drink to match with a broad variety
23:49of foods.
23:49And so, we made it and we actually really pushed the tannin content of it.
23:55So, it was kind of a high tannin beer.
23:56Usually, when you're making beer, you try to reduce the tannin.
23:58But I think tannin is kind of the key to matching drinks with food.
24:03And I was trying this beer when we were brewing it with all these different foods.
24:06And it went with just about everything.
24:08And it went fantastically with cinnamon donuts.
24:10So, it was kind of like the floralness of the pale ale and the slight sourness of it.
24:16And then the tannin that gave it that sort of drier finish was actually great with cinnamon
24:20donuts.
24:20So, I was weirdly surprised.
24:22Nice.
24:24Shay, Aaron, thank you so much for joining me.
24:26This has been unexpected, but absolutely tasty.
24:28Yeah.
24:29Thanks for having me.
24:30Thanks for being.
24:31Tonight, I implore you not to be hasty when considering our pitch for the unexpectedly tasty.
24:36If you want more of The Cook Up and more delicious food ideas, follow SBS Food on TikTok,
24:40Instagram, YouTube or Facebook.
24:41We are everywhere.
24:42I'm Adam Liao.
24:43Thanks for watching The Cook Up.
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