Simon Food Favourites: Chef's Armoury

Showing posts with label Chef's Armoury. Show all posts

01 August 2010

Chef's Armoury: Japanese Stocks and Soups, Rosebery (19 June 2010)

Shop 251, 747 Botany Road, Rosebery NSW 2018
http://www.chefsarmoury.com

Making soups from scratch

If you're looking for a free cooking class that's bound to inspire your Japanese cooking appreciation then you can't go past the Chef's Armoury. The Japanese Stocks and Soups free event was well attended and we learnt how to make four light tasting soups based on dashi which we got to sample. The freshly made Miso soup was one of my favourites of the day along with the Basic light pork broth with kim chi, pork and noodles which has a bit of a taste bud kick with the kim chi.

For more information on the recipe notes check out the Chef's Armoury Blog and to book yourself into any future events check out their website.

Other visits to Chef's Armoury:

• 19 June 2010 - Japanese Stocks and Soups

• 15 May 2010 - How to make Takoyaki (fried balls of octopus)

• 27 Mar 2010 - Wagyu Tasting

• 30 Jan 2010 - Professional Knife Sharpening Service

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Free cooking lesson, Tasty samples, Simple recipes

CONS: Events book out quickly

MUST TRY: All things Japanese

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Suimono clear soup with buckwheat noodles and shitake mushroom

Fish head soup with cabbage

Miso soup with shallots

Basic light pork broth with kim chi, pork and noodles

Katsuobushi Bonito Flakes

Konbu kelp

Red and white miso

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17 May 2010

Chef's Armoury: How to make Takoyaki, Rosebery (15 May 2010)

Shop 251, 747 Botany Road, Rosebery NSW 2018
http://www.chefsarmoury.com

Fun way to cook

This was a free cooking session on making Takoyaki which are round savoury pancakes filled with Tako (octopus) smothered in a tasty bbq style sauce and Japanese mayo. We learnt Takoyaki is the quintessential street food of the Kansai district in Japan and traditionally these sticky fried balls are filled with octopus (tako) but in recent times ingredients such as prawn, crab, wiener sausage, mochi and cheese are also used. When you cook a few different fillings at the same time it becomes a bit of a mystery bag of what you'll end up eating. It's a fun a way to cook if you've got a few party guests around — and they might even want to have a go themselves.

After the session I bumped into a fellow food blogger Yee from Brunch Lunch Munch who had found out about the cooking class through my last post on the Wagyu tasting event. The next free cooking class is How to Make Japanese Soups and Stocks on 19 June — bookings essential.

RECIPE NOTES – Chef's Armoury

The Takoyaki Pan
Make sure you choose a heavy cast iron takoyaki pan, as these are best for even heat distribution. The pan must be properly seasoned. Before first use and any time when the pan starts to stick, fry some vegetable scraps in the pan with neutral oil such as rice bran or grapeseed.

Pan set includes oil brush, turning spike, takoyaki flour $68.50

Basic Takoyaki Batter – makes about 60 balls
300g plain flour
3 eggs
1 heaped tablespoon kuzu
1 litre pre made dashi stock
2 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
1.5 cups finely diced cabbage
1.5 cups finely sliced shallots – green part only

Mix all ingredients well and chill in fridge for 1 hour. The batter should have a consistency of pouring cream. There are some pre seasoned takoyaki flours on the market that you can simply add water and egg.

Other visits to Chef's Armoury:
• 19 June 2010 - Japanese Stocks and Soups
• 15 May 2010 - How to make Takoyaki (fried balls of octopus)
• 27 Mar 2010 - Wagyu Tasting
• 30 Jan 2010 - Professional Knife Sharpening Service

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Free lesson, Tasty sample, Fun way to cook

CONS: Takes a bit of time to cook a batch of takoyaki

MUST TRY: Visiting Japan one day for culture and food

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Mochi, prawns and fish cake cut up for fillings

Cooked octopus

Cooked octopus cooled to room temperature then sliced up

Oiling the pan

Pouring takoyaki batter

Fillings added

Pour batter over

Fold over edges

Turn balls over to cook other side

Takoyaki BBQ sauce added

Japanese mayonaise added

Katsubushi fish flakes added

Katsuobushi fish flakes

Bulldog Osaka Takoyaki Sauce $7.50, Kenko Ofu Mayonnaise $7.95

Kenko Ofu Mayonnaise $7.95, Bulldog Osaka Takoyaki Sauce $7.50

Kibun Kamaboko fish cake $5.95

Takahashi kintsuke mochi $17.25 (1 kg)

Yee from Brunch Lunch Munch and me

Brunch Lunch Munch blogger in photographic action

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19 April 2010

Chef's Armoury: Free Wagyu Tasting Event, Rosebery (27 Mar 2010)

Shop 251, 747 Botany Road, Rosebery NSW 2018
http://www.chefsarmoury.com

The art of Japanese cooking

The last time I visited the Chef's Armoury to get my knifes sharpened I spotted a free Wagyu Tasting event promoted so I booked myself in. It was a good event where I learnt how to cook a simple Nikujaga dish which had a really nice broth flavour and was prepared all in about 30 minutes. The 20 or so participants also got to try some lovely waygu beef prepared 2 ways. One version had been quickly pan fried about an hour earlier and then wrapped in foil and placed in the fridge to cool. It was then brought back to room temperature and thinly sliced. It melted in your mouth and we were provided two dipping sauces of Sushi Soy Sauce and White Soy Sauce. The other version of wagyu was pan fried as well and served warm. I was able to appreciate the tender quality which wagyu is known for — I think grade 5 wagyu was used. The wasabi was made freshly on the spot from Yamahiro Wasabi powder and I tried the zesty Yuzu Kosho paste for the first time which was really interesting on the taste buds.

The next event is 'How to make Takoyaki' on the 15 May 2010 which is round savoury pancakes filled with Tako (octopus). Check out the website for more details.

Nikujaga recipe:

350 g thinly sliced beef

300 g potatoes

1 large carrot

1 onion

600 ml dashi

3 Tablespoons mirin

1 Tablespoon cooking sake

5 Tablespoons soy sauce

Lightly fry onion and beef, add stock and other ingredients to pan, Skim surface of any deposits. Drop lid into pan and simmer until meat and potato is tender. Serve with rice.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: It's free, It's wagyu, You'll learn something new

CONS: Your $5 pub steak won't be the same

MUST TRY: Cooking Nikujaga at home

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Cooking demonstration

Cooking the wagyu beef for Nikujaga

Slicing wagyu beef

Plating wagyu beef

Nikujaga

Yuzu Kosho, Yamahiro Wasabi

Japanese Soy Sauce, Hinode Ryorishu: Japanese Cooking Seasoning, Hinode Mirin: Sweet

Sushi Soy Sauce, White Soy Sauce

Japanese stock

Rice Bran Oil

Yuzu Kosho

Frozen Darling Downs Wagyu

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30 January 2010

Chef's Armoury: Professional Knife Sharpening Service, Rosebery (30 Jan 2010)

Shop 251, 747 Botany Road, Rosebery NSW 2018
http://www.chefsarmoury.com

Finally sharp knives again

I've been using my set of Mundial knives for about nine years now and have not sharpened them once until today and what a difference it makes. They used to struggle cutting a tomato but now they slice them beautifully and it even makes a scary 'Freddy Krueger' slicing sound on the wooden cutting board which I've never heard before — probably because it's been so long since they were actually sharp. The Chef's Armoury provide a same day service which is good if you just want to drop them off and pick them up later in the day. They also have knife sharpening classes and food tasting events which I hope to check out like the Wagyu Tasting Event, oh yeah! Hopefully I won't take as long to sharpen them next time because it makes such a difference having super sharp knives — check out my video of the paper cutting test below.