Beef Brisket Pot Roast Recipe

Since starting this blog one and half years ago, one of the most read posts has been my recipe for Chinese 5 Spice Pork Ribs.  So finally on this second day of winter I will share this recipe so that you can try it over the next three months of roast worthy weather.

 

I put this recipe together by amalmagting a few other recipes I found on the net, it is a cross between a beef bourguiginon and a normal casserole I guess.  I've added spuds to make it more of a hearty stew so I don't have to cook them separately in a mash and added lots of carrot as the vege component.  A one pot wonder.

 

Here is what you need for 2 hungry people with some leftovers for lunch the next day.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 4 hours.

1. Beef brisket 750g - 1 kg (comes in a roll)
2. 3 medium potatoes
3. 3 medium carrots
4. 3 medium onions
5. 8 garlic cloves (I think I added like 16! I love coked garlic)
6. 2 bay leaves
7. Few sprigs of thyme
8. 1 teaspoon of Paprika
9. 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
10. 1 cup of  red wine
11. 4 beef stock cubes dissolved in 1L of water
12. Olive oil
13. Salt
14. Pepper
15. 1 teaspoon of cornflour

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper.
3. In a 4L heavy based pot heat up the oil and wait until it's really hot then brown your beef on all sides.  I tied it up to help it maintain it's shape.
4. Put it aside.
5. Put in the quartered onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, paprika, tomato paste into the same pot with a bit more oil.  Sweat down the onions and then add the wine.  Simmer until reduced while cleaning all the brown bits stuck on the bottom of the pot from with a wooden spoon.
6. Add the big chunks of chopped potatoes and carrots coat in the liquid.
7. Clear a space in the middle of the pot to put the beef back in and then pour in the beef stock.  It should cover the beef halfway. 
8. Bring to the boil and then place in the oven.  Cook at 180 for 20 minutes and then turn down heat to 135°C.  Cook for 3.5 to 4 hours.
9. I turned my beef at half time so all of it got a turn to cook in the liquid.
10. Just before it's ready, mix a little bit of water with the cornflour and add it to the pot to thicken up the gravy.

You can serve with some steamed green beans to brighten up the dish but I just roasted more potatoes and carrots.

Forgot to take a photo of it dished up (was just too hungry)!  It's not a terribly good looking dish anyway but it is pretty tasty and so rich in flavour.  The gravy with all the onion melted into it and the garlic chunks now so soft is absolutely delicious.  It's perfect for a winters night like tonight. 

Here are some pics of the process.

 

 

 

 



Gastro Park, 5-9 Roslyn Street, Potts Point

I have been wanting to eat at this SMH 2 hatted restaurant Gastro Park for quite some time now and I finally did for my birthday last week.  I looked at the menu before hand of course and was really looking forward to the interesting dishes they had on offer, such as the pig's tails!  But alas on the night there were fresh new dishes in it's place, I'll have to look elsewhere for those skinny little things! 

We opted for a la carte and tried these innovative and delicious dishes along with a bottle of Italian Pinot Gris Semillion.  Really loving the Pinot Gris lately!

 

 

Soy and mustard glazed swordfish belly, pickled radish and crisp wasabi peas, $18.  This was a "snack" and it was a beautiful piece of fish.  Reminded me of salmon as it was fatty and melt in the mouth.  I must admit I only had one mouthful as my husband didn't like the other snack below.  

 

 

Foie gras, wild hare, beetroot, plum vinagar and red cabbage granita, $20.  I did not expect the foie gras to be shaved!  It was an unbelievably strange but oh so good taste sensation!  The foie gras which also just melts like snowflakes on your tongue mixed with the zing of the vinegar and ice cold granita was so powerful. It was really good!  The creaminess then the beetroot hit was great along with the chewy hare!  Such a strange combo, you either love it or hate it.  I loved it, husband hated it.

 

Roast scallops, charred prawns, pork powder (!!!), carrot endive and crab sauce, $32.  This was another dish that I so wanted to get while waiting for the night to arrive. Um hello? . . .  Pork powder!!!  It was exactly like pork crackling in chunky powder form!  It was a perfect accompaniment to the soft and bouncy scallops without the hard crunch of normal crackling.  The prawn could've been two instead of two halves, but it was still a first of pork powder, the star of the dish and was worth the wait. 

 

 

Crispy scaled barramundi, smoked potato puree, calamari and tapioca crackling and ink sauce, $42.  This was definitely the star of the night.  Amazing wow factor with the crackling dominating the plate.   The flavours were all so powerful but still the barra stood it's ground.  Perfectly cooked piece of fish which tasted so good with the crispy scales, just amazing to look at and crunchy as!  The ink sauce was strong and salty as were the bits of soft calamari.  The smoked potato puree was so creamy but slightly over salted, we got that as a side as well.

 

Grain fed rangers valley beef fillet, soubise, kale, crispy sauce and tasmanian shitake, $49.  This was my husbands main, but of course I had a taste of it.  The beef was really tender and the bit of toffee on the side was an interesting flavour that worked well with the soubise, a bechamel based sauce.

 

Nitro pavalova, pineapple, papaya and coconut, $22.  Nothing grabbed my attention on the dessert offering.  But I couldn't resist the pav.  It was a bit disappointing to be honest, no creamy nougatty chewiness in the middle of the meringue.  It wasn't that sweet.  The fruits were ok.  I think it was a blessing in disguise though as any richer or creamier I wouldn't have been able to finish it.  It was a light, plain dessert. 

 

Chocolate, honeycomb mandarin sphere, cardomom, saffron and ginger, $22.  This was my second choice.  It was a textural heaven! Hahaha!  The chocolate sphere was perfectly thin and cracked open with ease to let the honeycombey liquid ooze out.  The crunchy bits was where the ginger was, like ginger snap crumbs.  It was pretty good.

 

Gastro Park is definitely worth a try.  The dishes definitely gave my tastebuds many firsts of strong and memorable flavours.  The interior of the restaurant is contemporary industrial and the window seats at the front of the restaurant are the best!  The people watching on the Saturday night made for great entertainment!  The service was good but not the most attentive as we were left a bit parched a few times when the water top ups didn't come when needed.  It's not the best value, mains and entrees are a bit overpriced for what they were in comparison to other 2 hatted restaurants, but we were still happy to have experienced them.  If you haven't been yet, I recommend it for a date night for sure.

 

Tasty Eating House - 480 Anzac Parade, Kingsford

My husband and I decided to head to Wang Wang Shanghai Silver Star for some much craved for dumplings and cheap tasty Chinese, but it was closed!  So we walked around up Anzac Parade and most of the little restaurants looked too busy but then we stumbled upon Tasty Eating House.  It looked relatively new and there were some tables still available despite being a busy Sunday night. 

 

It was definitely a good looking menu with traditional dishes not seen very often.  This is what we ate:

 

 

 

Sweet Corn and Chicken Soup - this was a pretty big bowl for only $4.50!  It was a good consistency but the longer you leave it the wateriness starts to prevail.  I didn't want to fill up on soup before our other dishes came! 7.5/10

 

 

 

Hot and Sour Soup - I love this soup but whoa! This was very, very peppery! It was hot in that sense not chilli hot if you know what I mean. It was yummy but not sour enough. This soup really gets the taste buds jumping! Slightly better than what Wang Wang Shanghai Silver Star serves up.   Again this is only $4.50. 7.5/10

 

 

 

Double Cooked Pork Belly Slices with Chilli, $13.80 - Mmmm this was so good!  The pork sprinkled with chilli flakes was sliced really thin with a lot of fat, as you can see.  All coated in soy sauce and the hot chilli flavour.  If 10 was the hottest, this only is 6.  If you don't like fat then don't get this dish.  The string beans were a good addition to the fattiness.  9/10!

 

 

 

Assorted Mushrooms with Bok Choy.  The sauce wasn't too thick and seasoning perfect.  I love enoki mushrooms, but shitakes are definitely my favourite mushroom in Chinese cuisine.  I  can't remember how much this was but it was a huge serving for just the two of us.  But don't worry, we finished all of it! 

 

Growing up with my mum cooking a few dishes every night and eating them all with plain white rice, one of those dishes she cooked had to be a vegetable dish, or "choy" as we say.  So whenever we go out for Chinese I always have to have a plate of "choy".  I suppose it balances out all the meat or fried dishes we have.  It just makes the Chinese meal complete. 

 

Definitely another great find in Kingsford with a lot more dishes I have to go back and try. Service was great, quick and attentive and best of all the food was very affordable and very tasty, so a name very apt.

 

 

The Fish Shop - 22 Challis Avenue, Potts Point

It's local restaurants like The Fish Shop and Busshari that would tease me over away from the beach to live amongst the many food options in Potts Point.  Bondi Beach needs a kick up the ass when it comes to mid price point, a little bit fancy (no thongs and bikinis) dining options.  There are too many Thai, pizza and hipster tapas places.  Merivale can you please expand your portfolio by opening a place at the beach?

 

Anyway I had been wanting to try out this place for a while and the opportunity came up recently.  I had felt like some good light seafood dishes before the warmer weather ends and the soup and stew season kicks in.

 

It was busy on a Friday night but we were able to get a table for 5 easily and weren't rushed to vacate.  The waitress was swift and attentive but maybe she was a bit busy that she got one of our drinks mixed up and then when the correct drink came, it came in a plastic cup?!  Strange. 

 

Two of us had some oysters to start off with.  A bargain at $2.70 each but when they came out they were tiny.  But they were still fresh and creamy and I could've had more!  Others got the potato scallops which looked scrumptious!  Fatter and smaller than the ones you get at the local fish and chip shop.

 

For mains I ordered the special of salmon cutlet with mash and mushrooms with a splash of some good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.  The mash was so buttery and together with the oily salmon I filled up quickly.  This dish was really simple but delicious.  "It's all about the freshest, in season produce!"  The catch phrase of chef's nowadays.  And it's true.  All you need is great raw ingredients to start with and the skill to cook it perfectly and you have a truly good tasting dish.  The white and blue enamel plates on which the dishes were served  up on adds to the very fishy themed restaurant.

 

I can't remember the price of my salmon as it was on the specials board.  One thing they could do is have it written on the board as the waitress didn't tell us when she was telling us about them. Don't you feel a bit funny and awkward to ask how much the specials are when they are being read out to you?  I do.  It's like you don't want to interrupt  them as they try to remember all of them!



I rate this dish 8.5/10

One of my friends had the special of trumpeter with nicoise salad.  I had never had trumpeter before so I had a taste and it was quite firm and tasted like a mix of swordfish and hake.  Very nice indeed and it was quite a generous piece. 

And of course someone had to have the good old fish and chips, in fact we got two at our table.  It was another generous serving.  I forgot to ask what the fish was but it came with chunky chips and dairy free tartare sauce.  I only remember that this dish was $19 as it was on the menu. 

 

 

We also got the iceberg and cucumber salad, which sounds drab, but it came with the best ceamy dressing ever.  It was so good that I forgot to take a pic of it, but hey, you can imagine those two veges on a plate.  Originally the salad was for my dairy free friend but then when it came out and saw it we wanted to make sure what the dressing was by asking the waitress.  Then she realised it did have dairy in it so she gave us another plate of the salad without the creamy dressing but with lemon and olive oil, salt and pepper instead which was nice of her. Again this salad was suprisingly good as well.  We all noticed that the salt and pepper used was different and much tastier and think it was due to the addition of the underated white peppercorn. 

We didn't have the space for dessert, but they did sound tempting.  So I think I will have to go back and sample some so I can write about it. 

 

The Fish Shop is a great little place for a casual meal if you feel like fresh seafood cooked to perfection.  A definite must try.

Food Stories from Seoul, Korea

Recently I went to Seoul for the first time for work.  I was super excited as I do love Korean food and I always love going to a country I've never been to before.

 

Here are some of the meals I had in the few days I was there.

 

I was wondering the streets of Myeong-Dong, one of Seouls main shopping districts in 4 degree, but sunny weather and my stomach was growling.  Not remembering where I had seen some hot pot restaurants I wondered for a bit and looked at a menu stuck on a wall when I was suddenly whisked into the elevator by an elderly lady shoving the menu into my hand and before I knew it I was in a busy restaurant and sat down at a table.  I looked at the menu properly this time and it was a BBQ and hot pot restaurant, although most people seemed to be BBQ'ing.  So I went ok, I'll have the beef and one rice, pointing to the picture on the menu.

 

The many banchan sides came out.  Some I hadn't seen in Sydney before.  There was a plate of raw garlic cloves, didn't touch that. The bean sprouts were my fave.  Buttery yet fresh.  The dish in the middle with the two browney looking things with sesame seeds is a version of the white jelly things I have eaten at Seoul-Ria.  I still don't know what it is. I think its radish or rice cake??  Anyway the  beef was delicious although a bit chewy.  Wrapped in the lettuce leaf with some chilli sauce & sesame oil, it reminded me of my BBQ experience back in Tokyo. 

 

Next highlight was the ultimate street food.  It was lunch time but I didn't have the time to find a place to eat and I was starving, so I decided to go for it.  I had seen this amazing creation the first day I was in town but my stomach wasn't hungry then.  But this time I walked up to the stall with the creations freshly being deep fried and pulled out 2000 won, $1.70 to pay the lady and pointed.  She smiled, lifted this hot chip covered hot dog out of the oil, pricked it with a skewer, drained it of the oil and asked me if I wanted tomato sauce with it.  Yes! I said, and then she wrapped a few serviettes around the wooden stick and handed it over.  I don't know what to call it, but the hot dog chip steroids looked amazing. 

 

First bite, all chip and sauce.  Second bite, a bit of bread, which was a bit sweet!  Third bite, finally got to the sausage!  I must admit the chips were the best bit.  If there was less bread I think I would've enjoyed this streetfood more.  It was quite hard to eat without getting it all over your face.  Overall a bit of a let down.

 

 

On my to-eat list in Korea is one of my fave dishes, Spicy Tofu and Seafood soup.  I found this in a food court above one of the many fashion malls in Dongdaemun.

 

Again when I ordered the soup I got banchan which I was happy about.  I had never seen beef as banchan before but who cares it was so yummy, with a strong seasame but sweet flavour.  I also got a side of Deokbokki.  Everyday I saw people eating this on the side of the street.  They are little rice cakes shaped into cylinders and cooked in a spicy chilli sauce.  The rice cakes were chewier than I thought, but still nice.  I also could've had a bowl of rice but I told the lady I didn't want it and they thought I was a bit strange.  But lady I just ate that whole plate of Deokbokki and banchan!  Oh well.

 

Then the soup arrived.  Boiling and bubbling hot as it came out in the stone pot.  It definitely warmed me up, although it could've been done with a bit more chilli heat.  There was a good amount of seafood and tofu and I loved breaking the egg yoke into the broth and seeing it cook.   All this was only 6000 won, about $5.20.  Mmmm I feel like this again now.

 

 

On the last day I decided to eat on the street again, this time for dinner in Namadeun.  An area known for the markets that sell everything from spoons to kidswear to cosmetics and also wholesale markets.  There was a lot on offer in terms of food, I didn't know what to get!  I settled on this stall where the lady really welcomed me in, but yes in the end she ripped me off.  So a lesson learnt ask how much before you point at the delicious food you want cooked up and sit down to eat it!!

 

Still a bit pissed off about this whole experience but the food was ok.  Everyone gets a bowl of this mussel soup, which was like a salty, seafoody broth.  Warmed me up quickly while I waited for my pork and shallot skewers and japchae noodles.  Japchae are glass noodles made from potato starch and is very popular in Korea.  It was cooked in a sticky, tomatoey, chilli sauce.  Quite nice I must admit.

 

 

I definitely want to go back and try more Korean food, more unusual dishes, seeing as we are lucky that all the way over here in Australia we do get pretty authentic and good Korean food already.

 

 

 

Wokking Inn - 282 North Road, Eastwood

Gung Hei Fat Choy!  Happy Chinese New Year!  It's the first day of the year of the snake and so I think it is only apt to write about another new Chinese restaurant my family and I dined at.  Despite it also being Mercedes Benz Fashion week in New York.  I would love to share some pics of that but it's fair to say that my food posts outweigh the fashion and also get more reads. . . .  So here is a review of this awesome little restaurant in Eastwood.

We wanted to go here at the end of last year but it was closed for renovation so we went here for my sister's and auntie's birthday a few weeks ago.  My mum knows the owner Helen and knew that they had some pretty awesome entrees and dishes that we had to pre-order.  We didn't want to miss out on the night!

 

Mango and Prawn Spring Rolls, $60. This was the pre-ordered house special entree. It was special indeed! The pastry was really light and crispy kind of like roti bread but the deep fried version and a little sweet but had some salt sprinkled lightly on top. The dipping sauce was mango puree. They were very generous in size, one per person, although I could've eaten 2!

 

You had to see the inside, nice big juicy prawns and fresh mango slithers with a subtle white sauce which was a Chinese style mornay sauce? Kind of.  The mango inside was sweet enough you didn't really need the sauce. 9/10.

 

 

Dried Scallop Poached Chicken, $38.  This was another pre-ordered dish.  It is a course that is served cold.  The display of the whole head always causes a stir amongst us young ones, so my brother covers it with the coriander but to our amusement our Grandad unknowingly eats the coriander and the head is revealed again!!!  Aargh!  Anyway I like this dish cold, it makes it more of a summer dish.  The chicken and soy sauce is flavoured with other spices and is a different take on the Shaoxing wine drunken chicken dish we always have.  7/10.

 

 

Pippies in XO sauce served with crispy vermicelli noodle pancake.  I love this dish although pippes are not the meatiest of sea foods, this dish makes up for it in flavour.  The sauce is thick and salty and the vermicelli noodles are used to mop up this. The best bits are the cripsy edges which always get eaten quickly. 9/10.

 

8 Treasure Whole Duck, $78.  This was the piéce de resistancé!  The dish was massive.  It was so different to anything I have ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant before.  The waitress had cut into the duck before I could snap it unscathed.  The body of the duck was so soft and I was like c'mon what is this? It had no bones and was so so soft to cut up!  The skin was soft and the treasures inside were all so soft as well.  It must have been slowly cooking for ages.  The meat was so tender and flavoursome.  The stuffing comprised of water chestnut, shitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, lotus root and some other ingredients which I don't know.  The duck was surrounded by baby buk choy which made it a more visually pleasing dish.  8/10.

 

Sweet and Sour Pork.  Always a favourite.  The sourness builds the appetite.  The sweet cuts into the fatty bits of pork, which weren't too fatty at all.  The batter was light and crispy.  The addition of pinenuts was new.  Delicious.  8/10.

 

Chilli Soft Shell Crab.  This was my choice.  The little crabs were yummy and the batter which I was expecting to be really hot as it had three chilies next to the dish on the menu wasn't as hot as I wanted it to be despite the dish being covered with a variety of chillies.  It was a generous sized dish though.  7/10.

 

 

Re-hydrated scallops with enoki mushrooms and snow pea sprouts.  The vegetable dish of the night served in a broth which was unusual. The scallops were subtle tasting but added a nice saltiness to the veges.  7/10.

 

All these dishes were eaten with white rice and we were so full by the end as there was so much food, the servings were big.   We all got a take-away container for our lunches the next day!  Yay!

 

Wokking Inn is a hidden jem.  It is quite expensive compared to the other local Chinese restaurants I go to in the suburbs, but it's also a great change of the style of Chinese we are used to.  All up it was $360 for 10 people which is very reasonable by Sydney standards but twice the amount for a regular Chinese suburban meal.