Tuesday, March 14, 2017 « the blue mountains record
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We can learn plenty from some of our favourite cuisines We’ve fallen in love with international foods, and they can inspire you to shake up your traditional meals at home with exciting new flavours...
Kate Reid Nutritionist kate.reid@ westernweekender.com.au @kate_reid6
It’s no secret that Australians love Asian cuisine. These days even the smallest rural town has a Thai or Chinese restaurant; sushi is a staple in shopping centre food courts; while Vietnamese, Malaysian and Korean restaurants are becoming increasingly popular. There’s certainly plenty to love about Asian cuisine, so what can we learn from some of our favourite foods? How to build flavour When it comes to flavour, Asian cuisine has it in spades. Chili, garlic, ginger, wasabi, coriander, miso, mint, lemongrass – the options are endless and varied enough to suit all tastes whether you prefer mild or spicy, hearty or fresh. Getting the balance of sweet, salty, spicy and sour isn’t always easy, but when done right there’s nothing quite as delicious. If you’re new to preparing Asian cuisine at home start with ready-made curry pastes and sauces, add Asian herbs like mint and coriander to salads, or try simple stir-fry sauce combinations like
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soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, brown sugar and a little chili sauce. How to achieve balance Asian meals are generally quite well balanced nutritionally, often including a protein source (e.g. beef, chicken, seafood or tofu), a generous helping of vegetables/ salad and a side of rice/noodles. While heavily processed foods don’t feature as much as they do in Western diets, sugar is definitely still on the menu when it comes to Asian desserts, proving once again that moderation is the key to a balanced diet. To increase the nutritional quality of your Asian meals, try swapping white rice for brown rice, and aim for a serving
size of around a quarter of your plate for your carbohydrate portion. How to foster a sense of community There’s one reason why Asian dining options are so popular that has nothing to do with the food itself, but rather the way it’s eaten. Asian countries tend to place a strong emphasis on group and shared dining. Meals are often placed at the centre of the table and are designed to be enjoyed among dining companions. This focus on communal dining helps to highlight the social nature of food, but it also has nutritional benefits as it encourages variety and the sampling of new flavours and ingredients.
WINE LIST
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altarni have wrapped a Fume Blanc label around a 2015 Sauvignon Blanc, a lovely wine whose 56 per cent fruit from Tasmania’s Coal Valley and the remainder out of Victoria’s Pyrenees, makes for a really cracker stand-out drop. With no such thing as a Fume Blanc grape, makers stick the Fume Blanc moniker on Sauvignon Blanc that they’ve aged in oak, the wine taking up a nice touch of smokiness from that oak. And this Taltarni’s got that touch, along with luscious, mouth-filling flavours ranging from ideas of passionfruit to white peaches, citrus and acidity, and all making for a great lip-smacker on its own, or as a rewarding accompaniment to a whole diversity of lighter food options. At $26 it’s good-value buying for such food match ideas as easy garlic prawns to chicken saltimbocca, dolmas to simple fish and chips, lemon-herbed pork chops or flavoursome crab cakes. One to note: Rymill Coonawarra have released just the third vintage of their Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon (pictured), a moreish wine from 2015 that’s showing all indications of being another bolter like its 2013 and 2014 predecessors. One of those reds to buy now and enjoy now – although it’s showing plenty of signs of hanging in there to give rewarding drinking over the next five to seven years – this one’s all about forward dark cherries and mint on the palate, and dusty, chocolatey tannins. Overall smooth and with just a delicate showing of oak, it’s a $23 drop that its maker, Sandrine Gimon, suggests will go really well with roast pork and plum sauce, or equally ravioli with mushrooms and pecorino.
DAVID ELLIS