D.I.Y. Sweet Chili Sauce

Been meaning to put this one up for a while now, just haven't gotten around to making it myself! So just like everything else, the real thing is completely different and a hell of a lot better than what you'll buy in the shop, and making it is really simple + easy.

Ingredients are:

2-4 Red Chilies

3 Coriander Roots + few leaves to garnish at the end with

4 Cloves of Garlic

1 Tsp Salt

1/2 a Cup of Coconut Vinegar

1/2 a Cup of Water

1 Cup of White Sugar (or Castor Sugar)

1 Tbsp of Fish Sauce

First off, stick the chilies, coriander root, garlic + salt, all chopped up, into the mortar and pound it up a bit, doesn't have to be a paste, but mashed up a fair bit. I use 1-2 big red chilies for the flavor and 2 small chilies for a bit of heat. Be sure to wash the coriander roots, and scrape them a bit with the knife to get off some of the furry shit on the outside.

Then, stick this in a saucepan, and add the sugar, coconut vinegar and water and put over medium/high heat. Stir it regularly, to stop the sugar from burning on the bottom. Bring it to a light boil, and then let it simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring as you go. Can always leave it a bit longer if you feel it needs it, but don't expect it to get anywhere near the texture of "sweet chili sauce" you buy in the shops. It'll still be pretty much water consistency when you're done, the way it should be.

Take it off the heat, and add the tablespoon of fish sauce. Might need to stir it for the first minute or two, just to make sure that it doesn't burn on the bottom, and then leave it for a while. If you're making it to use straight after, chop up some coriander and add it in just before you serve, otherwise just wait until it's cool, add it in and stick it in whatever airtight jar you got. Vinegar - it'll keep, might wanna keep it in the fridge just to be safe but up to you. I usually go through it within a couple of weeks of making it, so never tried keeping it for a long time, so I don't know if the coriander leaves will cause any problems being stored for ages? Anyone got a clue on that one? Will the vinegar stop them from killing your family?

And there you have the best friggen sweet chili sauce you'll ever have. It's delicious. Let me know how it goes!

~Sydes

Wings with Vanilla Coke Barbecue Sauce.

A little recipe inspired by the Superbowl and all things Americana. 

Because chicken wings are so cheap (like me), I dare say you can make this to serve four people for less than $15.

Ingredients.

The Chicken;

2kg Chicken Wings

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil.

The Sauce;

2L Vanilla Coke.

1 cup Ketchup

2tbs Honey Mustard

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar.

Salt and Pepper

Juice of 1/2 Lime.

Method.

Prepare the chicken wings by cutting them at each joint and discarding the wing tips as they do not yield much meat. 

In a bowl, season the wings with S&P and olive oil and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight (or whatever time you can spare).

For the sauce, pour the vanilla coke into a large stock pot and boil until the coke has reduced to around two cups.

Add the ketchup, mustard, vinegar and reduce the heat to a light simmer. Whisk until the ingredients are combined thoroughly and season the sauce depending on your preferences for sweetness, sourness or saltiness.   

When sauce is ready, transfer around one and a half cups of the sauce to the marinated wings, and marinate for a further half hour. 

Preheat the oven to 230 C, and place wings snuggly on baking trays (with baking paper) that  have been lightly oiled.

Cook for 20mins and turn wings over and cook for another 10-15mins.

Once the wings have been cooked, transfer them to the rest of the BBQ sauce and serve with a tree's worth of serviettes.

    

Better latte than never

Brisbane. It’s fair to say the long forgotten younger sibling to Melbourne and Sydney has had its fair share of criticisms. Cries of ‘just a big country town’ and ‘unsophisticated backwater’ have been heard across the southern states for decades. That is, until now.

Finally, it appears Brisbane has come into its own. Can Do Campbell steadfastly believes we are the next ‘World City’, whatever that might be. And most importantly, it seems great coffee has well and truly arrived in Brisbane.

Across Brisbane, excellent cafés, coffee carts, holes in the wall and independent roasters have seemed to sprout up everywhere, producing a veritable plantation of coffee institutions to discover.

Of course, when one thinks of coffee in Brisbane, thoughts immediately track to the big names such as Merlo, Di Bella and the multitude of chain cafes that seem to multiply like antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

However, if you’d like to detour a little way from the well-worn pedestrian coffee thoroughfares, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

First on the list is possibly my favourite café in town, Dandelion and Driftwood. A relative newcomer to the Brisbane coffee scene, this Melbourne ex-pat offers up one of the most delicious coffee brews in Brisbane in idyllic surroundings on the Northside of Brisbane. Located at 45 Gerler Road, Hendra, customers can choose from several constantly evolving single-origin or blend varieties as well as several brewing styles. Ranging from traditional espresso to French Press and Kamex filters, it is not hard to see why Dandelion and Driftwood has attracted a loyal following of coffee connoisseur’s through its short history in Brisbane.

A little closer to home for many of us lies Cup Coffee at West End. Serving up further single-origin options and their own 5-star blend, Cup Coffee appears a true contender for Best Brisbane coffee. While recent visits have offered varying quality and taste, when it’s good, it’s really good.

Nearby lies Blackstar Coffee, which undoubtedly serves up Brisbane’s best iced coffee. Brewed on site in recycled beer bottles, the coffee is strong and flavoursome, the perfect pick-me-up on a hot summer’s day.

Finally, the old favourite, Campo’s coffee at James Street deserves a mention. One of the most dependable and high-quality coffees going around, they too roast their own beans on-site offering both single-origin and blend options. Also a migrant from southern Australia (NSW this time), Campo’s must be regarded as one of the finer coffee spots in Brisbane, if not for the coffee, then at least for the ever-changing and ever-enticing menu.

Cold Pressed Coffee Conspiracy Revealed!

Cold pressed coffee. It's really easy to make at home with no special equipment! After a bit of a read, and a chat to some relevant experts, I have had some pretty good success. I'm going to share the love.

I use a 250g bag of beans, which I have ground (coarse) at the coffee shop. To the grounds I add about 1 - 1.5 L of cold water kind, of alternating grounds/water/grounds/water etc. to make sure the coffee is dampened. Leave to steep overnight...

The morning after, carefully strain your brew. I use a fine sieve, but cheesecloth, or a paper coffee filter would also be the go. Some peeps also use a french press / plunger for this too. Store the liquid in the fridge for your enjoyment, chuck the grounds in the garden for the enjoyment of your plants.

The resulting coffee is quite concentrated - normally I put a bout 1/4 of a cup of coffee and top up with milk or water. You could also add some sugar, maple syrup or whatever! The upside is it stays fresh and ready to rock better than hot brewed coffee, up to 2 weeks.


Tips:

• Stronger espresso roast beans work best
• Use filtered or bottled water
• Use clean containers so that your coffee will stay fresh
• Don't stir the grounds at all, just agitate a little at the beginning to remove air pockets
• Keep the stuff cool, if the weather is warm brew it in the fridge
• Steep time can be from about 8 hours to 16 hours - the longer the stronger
• Try out your favorite / different beans (my favorite so far is Saint Coffee's PNG sundried beans)
• Grind as per fresh press / plunger ie. quite coarse
  

I think this covers it all, hit me up with questions if I have missed anything. This is really easy to do at home, and I urge you to try it. For junkies like me, it's a good alternative when you have to be sleeping away from your espresso machine, at some philistine friend's house that doesn't have coffee facilities.

Enjoy.

D

Thai Chili Jam

Here's a quick and easy recipe favourite of mine. 

It's great on fish or even just as a spread for crackers and cheese. 

Thai Chili Jam.

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
• 6 red onions, diced.
• 10 red birds-eye chilies, chopped. 
• 6 cloves of garlic, thickly sliced.
• 2 knobs of ginger, chopped.
• 100g dried shrimp.
• 3 tbs tamarind paste.
• 70g palm sugar, chopped.
• 2 tbs fish sauce.
• 1/4 cup of water.

Heat the oil in a wok, add the onion.

Cook for several minutes until golden brown.

Add the chilies, garlic and ginger and cook for a further few minutes. 

Add the fried shrimp and cook for a further few minutes.

Add the tamarind paste, palm sugar and fish sauce. Stir and cook until sugar has completely dissolved and the tamarind paste has lost some of it's 'punch'. 

Remove from the heat and add the mixture, along with the water to a food processor and blend until the mixture has come together. 

Store in a sterilised jar with a bit of oil on top so it will keep and refrigerate.    

Campos Coffee

Breakfast & Brunch seems to have been the biggest craze in food for the last little while (right behind the horrific amounts of Spanish/tapas inspired eateries...I'm yet to be converted still), and as a result everyone seems to be on their own individual search for 'the best' breakfast spot in Brisbane. Is it Gunshop? Tognini's? Perhaps even Anouk? A special mention must go to Anouk by the way, whose menu had my dining buddy and I in a painfully slow decision making process - a heads up: if your indecisive and hungry, Anouk will tease you with its tasty menu, and once you think you have finally decided, you'll spot the extensive list of delicious daily specials and be back to square one. But this isn't a post about Anouk. It's a recommendation for another breakfast hot spot - the favorite of my Anouk dining buddy - and certainly the current front runner in my own search for Brisbane's Best Brekky.



Campos Coffee is the name, and a consistently good brekky experience is the game. The coffee brand was started in Sydney originally, and they consider themselves 'the coffee specialists'. I'm definitely not a coffee connoisseur - although I can tell between good and horrific - but if the food is as good as it is and it's only their second priority, then I'm gonna agree with my taste buds and say that the coffee is definitely a solid brew.


I visited Campos for the second time, mid-morning on a Thursday. Even at this time there was only one table free, but thankfully nothing near the crowds of Gunshop. The weekend, however, is a completely different story. The first time I visited I was in the mood for sweet, so I tried the banana and pear bread with vanilla mascarpone. It was just perfect, and if I hadn't discovered my own personal recipe for a killer banana bread, I'd say it would be the best I've had. My dining aquantences on this occasion had the traditional eggs benedict, which looked fantastic, and apparently (Ok, I MAY have snuck a taste in myself) tasted delicious too.



On my second visit I decided it was time to get the real hot breakfast experience. I ordered the bubble & squeek hash with semi-sundried tomatoes, watercress, grilled haloumi, a perfectly poached egg and amazing chive hollandaise (see above). Again it was unfaultable and simply delicious! My friends both ordered the Asparagus with sourdough bread, fried pancetta, poached egg and brie (see below). Equally as perfect and great! The Campos 'Fry Up's were coming thick and fast out of the kitchen and looked fantastic and huge, giving me a clearer idea of what I will order next time. Although, with a food menu that is changed every couple of weeks by the head chef, who knows what breakfast goodies I'll be tempted with next time!


You definitely have to check this place out: 11 Wandoo St, Fortitude Valley (behind James Street Markets). The entrance leaves something to be desired, as you feel like your walking into the back-dock area, but once your inside you can forget about all that and get stuck into, arguably, 'Brisbane's Best Breakfast'

Food Inspiration

Possibly my favourite blog is Szymon Błaszczyk's 'Inspire Me Now'.