Today was my seafood BBQ cooking class at the Sydney Fish Markets. Come to find out that the Sydney fish market is 2nd to Tokyo's. It is hard for me to believe that it gets any better than this. I already wrote to you about my first trip to the fish market so I will not bore you with the details and get right to it. So let's just say that I walked into shop (pictured below) and started to tear up.
Fresh, colorful produce everywhere! There were things that I have never seen before. Golden kiwis, custard apples, finger limes and lemons, and beautiful veggies. They call scallions = shallots and the call cilantro = coriander. Yes, I learned that the hard way. Also, their scallions are years long and I don't know how you bring them home on the bus but I will let you know how it goes when I try. Hopefully, I don't fall out of my seat like the last time. So far, so good. I think those days are over. Fingers crossed. The school is beautiful. We started with a demonstration for 2 hours. Take a look at the room.
The chef prepared 6 dishes that we were going to make after the demo. It was like this show "Master Chef" that all Aussie's rave about. It is similar to Top Chef except that all cooks are novices and they are not trained professionals. It is also on 6 out of the 7 nights per week. It is great! I am hooked. I learned so many things even though I went to culinary school there are so many tips that you can pick up. What did I learn?
1. Rice Bran oil is great for cooking. It has a high smoking point so things will not burn and it does not impart flavor. I had never seen this kind of oil in the states so let me know if you find it. If not, I will bring some home.
2. Mussels on the grill. They cook up in their shells in 2 shakes and they are quite delicious. You know how some mussels are orange and some are a bit pale cream color? Girls are orange. Boys are cream. The chics are prettier...naturally. ;)
3. Gar fish is this delicious little fish that you bread and it cooks in 2 seconds. It is similar to a sardine but not as potent in flavor.
4. Still shouldn't put cheese on fish. We grated parm cheese and put it on the gar fish and it just wasn't right. I scraped the cheese off and ate the fish. I also saw oysters with cheddar cheese on top that you bake in the oven. ICK! I am open to most things but I still stand behind that cheese and fish just do not mix.
5. Chili's - smaller the chili the hotter it will be. Red are sweeter than the green. It doesn't mean red are hotter. Look at the size of it.
6. Foil- when using it on the grill always be sure to put the shiny side up so the heat goes into the fish and not the grill.
7. Put the dressing on fish right after it comes off the grill so it absorbs the most flavor.
8. Calamari is a type of squid. Not all squids are calamari. Got that? If the fins on the mantel go all the way down the tube then it is calamari. Calamari is the most tender of the squid family.
What else did I learn?
1. Hygeine goes out the window when you are cooking with people you don't know. Licking their fingers, not washing their boards once they have fish on them and then go to cut herbs on the same board. UGH! I was losing it. It reminded me of the french cooking class that I went to in Nice and the tour guide licked the grapefruit off of her hands and Dave and I were cringing. Just got to move past it.
2. Cooks are a pain in the ass. Everyone thinks they know everything. Not only that but everyone wants their piece to do all of the cool things. One girl on our bench was running around fileting everything and throwing things on the grill that I started to hide fish and ingredients so I could get a turn. It was a game of cat and mouse. She was looking for the prawns...sorry sucker, I got'em! If you already know everything...then why did you sign up for a class? Pains in the ass I tell ya. Kathleen, I wish you were there b/c you would have freaked on these auckers.
3. All I wanted to do was prepare the damn squid and the 3 clowns each took one. Even though at the beginning I said that I wanted to make that dish but the 2 sisters wanted to work on it together so I backed down. There were 3 squids so I asked if I could work on one and it was radio silence. When it came time, the terminator ended up going in there and cutting it right up. That is when the hiding began. I assumed they hate Americans. Simone said, "You just got walloped. That was total carnage. I cannot believe the bung out." Yes, that was English. :) I almost pee'd my pants. Yes, because she is funny but I also had to pee and I didn't want to go to the toilet b/c I was afraid that all that was left to do would be to cut the bread. :)
4. Food tastes so good and I am obsessed with it. I will cook for all of you when I get home. Uncle Matt, I cannot wait for the clam bake. Great recipes for us to try!
I dragged Simone with me to this class and I think she liked it. She was in charge of grilling the veggies and half of them ended up down the grill holes but we laughed and knew that the other chics were livid but it made it that much better. :) See how the bowl is just a tad low.
Here are some pics of the cookery.
The facilities were gorgeous. There were about 60 people in the class but it didn't feel like it. Take a look at our dishes.
BBQ Mussels with Garlic Butter (I hid the chives then couldn't find them...oops)
Char-grilled Veg. salad with Red wine vinegar dressing
Seared Yellowtail Kingfish with wasabi mayo
BBQ prawns with Herb Marinade
BBQ Garfish
Thai-style squid salad
Getting Ready for the Clambake I see.
ReplyDelete