STIR-FRIED FISH WITH SNAKE BEANS AND TIANJING PRESERVED VEGETABLES

I like Chinese cuisine. I don't like the Chinese language. Or more accurately, languages. Many Chinese recipes translate as things quite unappetising to us westerners. One of these is Tianjing preserved vegetables. Vegetables is a food group, not a specific food. In this case, though, the vegetable is specifically cabbage - which is a group of vegetables. I believe it is what we call bok choy. Chopped, salted and fermented then packed into fat squat stone crocks. Great stuff. Other ingredients in this - peanut oil, snake beans, shao xing wine, soy sauce, ginger, gold band snapper and sesame oil.

STIR-FRIED FISH WITH SNAKE BEANS AND TIANJING PRESERVED VEGETABLES

WAGYU SIRLOIN

Wagyu is such brilliant beef that it really needs very little window dressing. This was seared in a very hot cast iron skillet, allowed to settle for 10 minutes, sliced, drizzled with a very small amount of white truffle oil and a dollop of really good mustard made by the very nice Pommery family of France since 1776. There is quite a lot of beef labelled wagyu that is wagyu crossed with another breed of cattle - usually black Angus. This piece is 100% wagyu - which in Japan would read as 100% cow, since wagyu is Japanese for cow. But it is also a recognised breed. Very confusing. So in Japan, I wonder if black Angus would be labelled Black Angus wagyu.

WAGYU SIRLOIN

SNAKE BEANS WITH ROASTED CHILLI PASTE

Dead simple. Peanut oil in a hot wok. When it starts to smoke, add snake beans and cook, tossing and flipping frequently. Add roasted chilli paste and garlic and cook until aromatic and the garlic has coloured.

SNAKE BEANS WITH ROASTED CHILLI PASTE

COCONUT CRUSTED BARRAMUNDI WITH THAI BASIL, CHILLI & COCONUT CREAM SAUCE

Barramundi is a great fish. It can also be crap. The best is wild line caught. The second best is wild, but netted. The third is farmed. Line caught barra is sparkling blue/white and touches of vibrant red. It tastes of the sea. Netted wild barra is blue/grey, often with touches of red. Farmed barra is grey. It often tastes muddy. Barra is unusual in that the fish becomes less firm as it cooks. This makes it a difficult fish to handle once cooked, because the fillets easily break. Enough on the fish. A nice rich Thai-inspired treatment. The sauce is a reduction of coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar and chilli paste with ginger, kaffir lime leaf and holy and Thai basil. Served with the snake beans above.

COCONUT CRUSTED BARRAMUNDI WITH THAI BASIL, CHILLI & COCONUT CREAM SAUCE

HERB CRUSTED TUNA WITH BLACK BEANS AND TOMATOES

Not sure why, but there's a lot of great tuna passing our front door at the moment. Well, not literally the front door, but swimming along the coast a couple of kilometres away. Bought another slab this afternoon. Deeper than a ruby, but that same translucence. I cut of a piece to slice up for sashimi with champagne. Not entirely a herb crust on the remainder. A mix of celery leaves and epazote. Some richly flavoured baby orange and red tomatoes with macadamia oil and lime juice.

HERB CRUSTED TUNA WITH BLACK BEANS AND TOMATOES

SPAGHETTI AL RAGU

In Oz we call this spag Bol. Bolognese. As in Bologna. But in Italy they don't call it spag Bol, even if Bologna is in Italy. There are hundreds of recipes for this sauce. Some are utter crap - cheap minced beef, tomato sauce - that kind of thing. Decent ones have a mix of beef, pork and sometimes veal. They MUST contain chicken livers because nothing else gives the sauce the sweet richness that livers do. Crap sauces are cooked in five minutes. Proper sauces take an hour or more to concentrate the flavours and reduce to the point where it they are thick mix with no discernable liquid. Enough preaching. Get a good recipe (Dean & Deluca, for example) and start cooking.

SPAGHETTI AL RAGU

RED EMPEROR WITH SHIITAKE, ENOKI & BABY TURNIPS

There's something about the name red emperor that sounds vaguely Asian - even if it is a fish species from the Great Barrier Reef. Anyway, this got a decidedly Asian treatment. Well, Japanese. A broth of dashi, light soy and miso with fine slices of baby turnips and a couple of Japanese mushrooms.

RED EMPEROR WITH SHIITAKE, ENOKI & BABY TURNIPS

OCEAN TROUT WITH HOLY BASIL & COCONUT MILK, HERB & PEANUT SALAD

I went down to the garden to collect laksa leaves, coriander, chillies, kaffir lime leaves, green onion and Thai basil. Brought them upstairs. Rinsed them. Trimmed some ocean trout fillets. Made a sauce of chillies, holy basil, kaffir lime leaves, sugar, fish sauce and coconut milk.  Reduced it in a wok until aromatic and rich ... then the power went out. A blackout cause by a passing storm. At least, that would be the official explanation. If you ask me, the power went out suspiciously close to the beginning of the storm. Maybe even preempted it. I think the local power company just wanted some time out. Anyway, nothing to do but sit and sip rum & coke by candlelight. Very romantic. The power was eventually restored and dinner prep continued. The end result is shown here.

OCEAN TROUT WITH HOLY BASIL & COCONUT MILK, HERB & PEANUT SALAD

SALAD OF TEA SMOKED SALMON WITH FENNEL AND PUMPKIN

This is hot smoked salmon, as opposed to cold smoked. I never understood cold smoked foods - from a scientific point of view. I always thought smoke required heat. You know the saying, where there's smoke there's fire. The sliced smoked salmon in delis is cold smoked. This is hot smoked. I used my usual mix of sugar, rice and jasmine tea. Tea-smoked salmon and slivers of raw baby fennel are a great combination of flavour and texture. The crisp fennel and the soft, sweet pumpkin are another great combination. Sweet pumpkin and salty, pungent preserved lemon are another great combo. Put them all together and you have a mutual admiration society.

SALAD OF TEA SMOKED SALMON WITH FENNEL AND PUMPKIN

TUNA SALAD WITH ROAST GARLIC AIOLI

I remember the first time I saw an American recipe for tuna salad and the shock I felt when I realised it was a mix of tinned tuna, mayonnaise and other stuff whipped into a mess. In my world, a salad means green leaves or at least recognisable chunks of vegetable, often with slices of fish, bird or meat. So here is MY tuna salad - mesclun, rocket, avocado, tuna, aïoli, potato and a dressing of lemon-infused olive oil and caramelised tomato vinegar.

TUNA SALAD WITH ROAST GARLIC AIOLI

ADOBO OF YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH BLACK BEANS & AVOCADO

There is a lot of talk about food miles (or kilometres for the metrically adept amongst us). The black beans had by far the longest journey for tonight's meal - from Mexico. I have yet to learn of any farmer growing them here in Australia. I think the tuna had the next longest journey. It was caught off Mooloolaba, about 3 hours north of here. The tomatoes, jalapeño chilli, macadamia oil and vinegar for the base come from around the region. So too the mesclun on top. Next I might see if I can create a meal entirely from ingredients that have had to travel a minimum of 5,000 kms - but limited to earth.

ADOBO OF YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH BLACK BEANS & AVOCADO

GAZPACHO WITH PRAWNS

There's probably nothing as refreshing as a bowl of gazpacho. Well, ice cubes down your trousers might come close. But of the things one takes orally, this must lead the pack. Some sweet prawns on top. Unnecessary but nice.

GAZPACHO WITH PRAWNS