July 10, 2011: Tempeh Rendang

Cindy's enthusiasm for her newest cookbook spilled over into Sunday, with our afternoon plan revolving around the long, slow process of making ourselves a rendang. The original recipe in Sri Owen's book was for a beef rendang, but she provided some basic instructions on how to switch the beef out for tempeh, the traditional Indonesian veg protein. Making this dish is a commitment! We ended up simmering things for around three hours to reduce the 2 litres of coconut milk down to the dryish final product pictured above.

I made a mistake in transferring the mix to our electric wok while it was still too watery, meaning it didn't quite fry off and brown the way I was hoping it would, but it still worked out okay. The spice paste seemed like it would be super flavoursome when I whizzed it up, but the coconut milk took most of the sting out of it, making this a bit milder than I prefer. Next time I'd probably increase the various spices by 50% or so and maybe drop out a can of coconut milk - I wonder if maybe beef soaks up the liquid more than tempeh does? Still, it was pretty fun to watch this slowly turn from a big soupy mess into a wok full of chunky spice-crusted tempeh. I reckon we'll make this again, but with the few tweaks discussed above.


Tempeh Rendang
(adapted slightly from the recipe for rendang daging in Indonesian food by Sri Owen)

6 shallots, sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 inch piece of turmeric, peeled and chopped
6-10 fresh red chillies, seeded
1 inch piece of galangal, peeled and chopped
(I would increase the quantities of all of the above next time!)
2 litres of coconut milk
1-2 bay leaves
1 lemongrass stem
2 teaspoons salt
1.2 kg tempeh, cut into 2cm cubes

Blend the shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chillies and galangal with 4 tablespoons of the coconut milk until it all turns into a smooth paste.

Combine this paste with the rest of the coconut in a large pot, add the tempeh and the rest of the ingredients.

Stir it all together and bring to a gentle simmer, uncovered for an hour and a half or so. I gave up after 90 minutes, but probably should have kept going. You want a fairly thick coconut milk mush that has reduced down substantially.

Transfer the whole mixture to a wok and keep cooking, until the coconut milk starts to turn oily and starts to fry rather than boil. Once the frying starts, you need to stir constantly. Keep cooking until all the coconut milk has disappeared and the oil has been absorbed into the coating on the tempeh. Take out the lemongrass and bay leaves and serve with steamed rice.

July 10, 2011: Cibi

Cibi has been on our list of places to visit for ages - who wouldn't be keen on the idea of Japanese style breakfast in the backstreets of Collingwood? It's not far off Smith Street but it still managed to be well hidden - the rest of Keele St is a pretty quiet mix of warehouses and homes, and all the foot traffic we saw was heading straight towards Cibi. Inside it's a cute mix of trendy Japanese design shop and slightly ramshackle cafe. We didn't spend any time wandering through the expensive kitchenware displays, instead focussing our attention straight onto the breakfast menu.

There are a mix of options, from fairly standard dishes like bircher muesli ($8.5) and avocado on toast ($7) to their more renowned Japanese-style dishes. Inspired by Jess' positive review, Cindy went for the tofu burger (Cibi home-made tofu pate with light teriyaki sauce, shiso leaves, cucumber and green leaves, $9.5)

I snuck a quick taste and was very, very impressed - the tofu patty was superb, the sauce sweet and salty and the bun (despite its imposing size) was fresh and light. Cindy found it a little challenging to eat - the patty was pretty squishy and saucy and the bun was dusted with mess-making flour.

I went for the obvious choice - the vegetarian Japanese breakfast (Pumpkin ninimo, free range egg tamagoyaki, seasonal green vegetables and potato salad, served with organic brown rice and heartful miso soup, $16.5). It's worth noting that these are only available on the weekends.

The miso soup (sneaking in the corner of the picture) was outstanding, rich with vegetables and tofu and loaded with flavour. A good warming start. The tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) was light and delicate, the pumpkin sweet and tender and the potato salad creamy and delicious. My favourite component of the dish though was the little plate of gloriously seasoned green beans - I could have eaten a whole plateful. I need more Japanese breakfasts! The only downside was the weather - Miso aside, this is a brekkie better suited to a warm summer's day.

We couldn't resist ending the meal with some sweets - a moist and tangy raspberry frangipane tart and a couple of cute little rum'n'raisin white chocolates were a great end to a fantastic meal.

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Cibi is uniformly popular - check out reviews at: Happiness is a Warm Gut, Ryan on Coffee, Mel: Hot or Not, Fitzroyalty, The Jess Ho, NYC Life, Sarah Cooks, The Big V, 6lumens, Melbourne Gastronome, My Delicious Blog, Tomato and Tummy Rumbles.

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Cibi
45 Keele Street, Collingwood
9077 3941
Vegie meals: $6-$16.50
http://www.cibi.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is flat and the tables are spread out enough for easy manoeuvrability. Ordering happens at the table and payment happens at a low counter. There's a small step on the way to the unisex bathroom.

July 9, 2011: Peanut rice chips

During our Easter holiday I picked up a heavily discounted copy of Indonesian Food by Sri Owen. It was a great buy, well timed. Our days by the beach were largely rained out so I had plenty of hours to browse the gorgeous glossy photos and read the text from front to back. Owen links the recipes and ingredients to the various phases of her life and a little of the local history and customs, from cooking with her grandmother as a child through to street snacks, the dishes of her student days, travelling all over (and eating and making ice cream!), setting up her own shop in London, writing book after book and modernising the recipes of Central Java.

There are a few vegetarian recipes scattered throughout (Indonesia is the home of tempeh after all!) and there are plenty more that I'm determined to adapt - the spice mixes are just too irresistible. (And did I mention the ice cream? Ahem.) The first recipe I've tried out is ready to go as-is: vegan and gluten free, straight up. Rempeyek kacang had me hooked the moment I read Owen's translated name: savoury peanut brittle. I wasn't even perturbed by the prospect of deep-frying.

This is essentially a thin batter made from rice flour, dotted with peanuts, and shallow-fried first into small rounds. Then the rounds get deep-fried for extra crispiness and deeper flavour. I had trouble getting the peanuts to stick within the batter (hence the free-floating ones in the picture above) - they just clumped in the centre while the batter stretched out across the pan, then fell off the dough as I transferred it to a plate. The reference picture was ruthlessly cropped and I wasn't quite sure what these were supposed to look like or if they were going to get crispy enough. There were totally crispy enough... just not containing many peanuts. Imperfect but delightful!

Next time I think I'll try spooning out the batter to fry and then spreading the peanuts on top, instead of mixing them directly into the batter. I might also try doubling the garlic. Owen notes that rempeyek kacang can have chopped chilli, garlic, chives, crushed peppercorns or shredded kaffir lime leaves stirred into the batter. The latter is going into my next batch for sure.

Peanut rice chips
(adapted slightly from the recipe for rempeyek kacang in Indonesian food by Sri Owen)

2 macadamia nuts
1 clove garlic (I'll double this next time)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra
100g rice flour
optional: chopped chilli, garlic, chives, crushed peppercorns or shredded kaffir lime leaves
100g peanuts
200ml water
peanut oil

Mush together the macadamias and garlic in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. Put them in a bowl and blend in the coriander and salt. Mix in the rice flour, then whisk in the water. Add any optional flavours you want. Sprinkle in the peanuts and stir them through the batter (or don't yet - leaving them to the dry-fry stage next time).

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick frypan and have a plate lined with absorbent paper at the ready. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the hot pan and fry them for 1-2 minutes, then rest the fried discs on the paper-lined plate. (Next time I will try sprinkling the peanuts directly onto the frying batter discs before they set.)

When all the batter is cooked, transfer any remaining oil to a saucepan or wok; add more so that you can deep-fry and heat it all up. Line another plate with absorbent paper. Deep-fry a few discs at a time until they're golden and crisp, transferring them to the new plate to cool.

When you're ready to snack, transfer the chips to a bowl and sprinkle them with a little more salt. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

July 8, 2011: Chin Chin

Chin Chin has been open little more than a month and attracted much blog attention, nearly all of it positive, in that time. Twitter chatter with Ed Charles and Jess Ho convinced us that they'd cater (fish sauce and shrimp paste free!) to us vegos and we checked it out on Friday night. There are no bookings permitted for groups of less than eight, and we were hardly surprised that even at 6pm Chin Chin was packed out. Jess herself was on the door and squeezed us onto the 'chef's table', a high bench overlooking the kitchen. She knew our drill and helpfully pointed out the meat-free dishes across the menu - a small proportion of the total and a bit tofu-heavy, but more than two can consume in a single evening.

We were in the mood for cocktails and there are nine originals on offer (each $15). Mine (pictured right) was a sweet, very floral and ice-heavy mix with Thai basil, pink grapefruit, rose water, vodka and lychee. Michael had a zippy mix of tamarind syrup and fresh mandarin with tequila, orange curacao and a Szechuan salt rim.

Jess had recommended the salad of organic silken tofu, Thai basil and a hot sweet bitter dressing ($16). I'm not sure that I picked up much heat or bitterness but liked it nonetheless - the fried tofu pieces soaked up the dressing, there were lots of light fresh veges and a modest portion of rice noodles.

As we finished off the salad, out came our rice ($3), roti ($6) and dry curry of stir fried vegetables, spice crusted organic tofu, kaffir lime leaf and Thai basil ($13). Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to eat it five minutes later, the roti was already cold and tough. (It was still pretty great for mopping up the last of the curry sauce). The curry was lovely - thick and spicy - though I didn't pick up the kaffir lime tang that I was looking forward to.

Strangely the last of our dishes to arrive was the "little something" we ordered - spicy corn and coriander fritters with iceberg lettuce and chilli jam ($8). They were worth waiting for! Each lettuce leave held a sliver of fresh ginger, and there was mint to add to the parcel as well. Usually I'd prefer more corn and less batter, but as part of a watery lettuce wrap the soft batter-heavy fritters really worked. A brilliant bar snack.

While glancing over the dessert menu I spied the palm sugar ice cream sundae with salted honeycomb and lime syrup ($12) that so pleased Em. Thai food always has me craving ice cream for afters so I was all over this. Like Fatbooo I found it crazy-sugary-sweet. The lime syrup offered a bit of respite but not quite so much as I would've liked. I was glad to try it but'll look further down the dessert list next time.

My second favourite thing after those corn fritters was receiving the bill - the food portion was less than $60 for the two of us, including dessert, and I'd expected it would cost us a lot more. While Chin Chin was in Friday night bar mode, we received excellent service - Michael had a little panic that our curry contained stray meat and our waiter patiently checked it out and cheerfully reassured us that it was oyster mushroom. (Michael tipped more than usual given his graciousness.) I didn't enquire about vegan options but most of the veg food looks suitable including a couple of the desserts!

City bars are rarely our scene but we'll happily make an exception for Chin Chin's friendly energy, cocktails and corn fritters.

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Almost everyone loves Chin Chin! The Big V even wrote a poem about it. The restaurant's also been covered by Tomato, melbourniangirl, half-eaten, essjayeats, "...it pleases us", donisbaked, Black Garlic, the guilty stomach, my seasonal table, wine nomad, let's get fat together, jeroxie, I'm so hungreeeeeeeeee and foodie about town. Only Kaz's Food For Thought was disappointed.

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Chin Chin
125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD
8663 2000
veg snacks and mains $8-16, desserts $9-12
http://chinchinrestaurant.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is wide and flat; space between tables is mixed. All service is at the table and there's a 'disabled'-labelled toilet.

July 8, 2011: The Mercy Seat

Edit 07/06/2012: The Mercy Seat is now closed.

The veg*n grapevine is pretty amazing - it seemed like the news of The Mercy Seat's existence had hit Facebook before it had even opened its doors. Cindy gave them a few days to sort themselves out before heading in to meet me for a quick weekday lunch. The Mercy Seat occupies the daylight hours of the space that newish bar 99 Problems uses at night. It's all vegetarian, doing a short menu of breakfast and lunch dishes - think tofu scramble, bagels and burgers.

We sampled both their burgers: Creole soul chicken burger for Cindy ($10) and a blackened tofu mushroom burger for me ($12).

My burger was burstingly full with fried mushrooms, tofu cubes, salad, avocado and a smear of vegan mayo. The success of this burger is driven mostly by the wonderful Mexican salsa that the tofu is cooked in - there's a smoky spiciness to it that takes this from good to outstanding.

Cindy's chicken burger looked a bit less exciting to me - its centrepiece was a highly processed  and perfectly round 'chicken' patty. Still, the Creole spices added a bit of spark and the house-made lime-infused vegan mayo didn't hurt either. Cindy enjoyed the sesame-seed heavy bun as well, but this couldn't live up to the spicy chicken burger standards set by The Gasometer (admittedly at a much higher price).

We were pretty impressed with The Mercy Seat - the food was tasty and affordable, the space is pleasant and the staff were friendly. There's lots of vegan options - everything on the menu bar the scrambled eggs is vegan or vegan-adaptable, as are most of the sweets, although there's nothing gluten-free at this stage. We'll be back for brekkie soon - the scrambled tofu and BLT bagel both sound worth a shot.

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I was sure we'd be first to review The Mercy Seat, but Vetti and Garden of Yoga were even quicker than us.

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The Mercy Seat
31 Johnston Street, Collingwood
no phone
brekkies $7.5 - $10, lunches $10-$12
Facebook page

Accessibility: Flat entryway with a small step between the front room and the room with the counter (which is where you order and pay). It's fairly spacious and easy to get around, although we didn't suss out the bathroom situation.