Gingernut biscuits

I've always had a thing for Arnotts gingernut biscuits, so hard and toffee-like you had to dip them into your tea to soften them, or risk cracking a tooth.

There are no nuts in gingernuts, but apparently they're named as such (mainly in Australia and the UK) because of their specific hardness--they're hard as a nut to crack. Americans prefer to call them ginger snaps. I just call them delicious.

I made these gingernut biscuits on the weekend, and trust me, they're a keeper. They weren't hard to make at all, and their super crispness and honey-like sweetness make them rather addictive.

My newest Swedish friend said they reminded him much of pepparkakor, the thin ginger biscuit traditionally served at Christmas in Scandinavia. He mentioned that often they are served with blue cheese, a combination which sounds deliriously good.


Gingernut biscuits

200 g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup golden syrup
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons ground ginger (use more if you prefer)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)


Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line baking trays with baking paper.

Cream the butter and the sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy.

Add the golden syrup (grease or oil-spray the measuring cup before pouring in the golden syrup to stop it sticking).

Add the flour, ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda. Use the electric mixer on low/medium until the ingredients are well-combined.

Pour a little plain flour (about 1/4 cup) into a bowl. Use the flour to lightly dust your hands, then roll tablespoons of mixture into small compact balls. I weighed mine so they were 20 grams each - this means they're more likely to be the same size by the time they've finished baking (oh the joys of an electronic scale).

Place the balls onto the greased baking tray and using floured fingers or a fork, press down gently. If you prefer chewy cookies, you will want to make fatter squatter cookies. If you prefer crisper cookies, make them flatter, pressing down evenly so they become a reasonably thin disc.

Bake at 350F / 180C for 15 minutes. Leave them on the tray for about 5 minutes to harden slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serve with cups of tea or sandwiched with vanilla bean ice cream. Or try them spread generously with your favourite softened blue cheese.

Makes 56 biscuits (20g balls)

Dashi Korean Cafe and Restaurant, Sydney

Deep-fried chicken in sweet and spicy sauce $17.99 (normally $28)

KFC is set for world domination. Long live KFC!

No we're not talking about the Colonel and his seven secret spices, but Korean Fried Chicken and boy, are we talking!


Panchan side dishes

Figuro can't wait to show us his latest find - a hole-in-the-wall eatery that serves "fried chicken to die for!!" Like the jolly Pied Piper he leads us down one of the tiny alleys that run off George Street, opposite the cinemas.

Dashi is a low-key no-frills eatery with a design mantra that follows function rather than form. There's only one table of Korean students dining, and once they leave we have the place to ourselves.

An assortment of panchan Korean side dishes keeps us occupied whilst our order is prepared. Various morsels of pickled vegetables and the obligatory spicy kimchee whet our appetites.


Mak ku le Korean fermented rice wine

The Bearded One, who has visited Korea before, insists we share a bottle of mak ku le, the traditional Korean wine made from fermented rice. It's a home brew, we're told, as if the bulging re-used milk carton wasn't proof enough.

The milky liquid is dispensed into squat wide-mouthed silver drinking cups, the liquid pouring freely like soy milk, but the smell more reminiscent of rotten old potatoes.

It tastes much like it too. The initial whisper of sweetness is followed through with a left hook of mouldy starch and an uppercut of fermented yeast. It tastes so wrong, a rough and ready Asian moonshine, and yet it's somehow addictive, furtive sips between each dish reiterating the fact that no, I do no like this stuff, but hang on, let me check again...


Shallot pancake $12.00

We try two different types of Korean pancake: the shallot pancake has a lacy pattern of golden brown, layered generously with long stems of garlic chives.


Kimchi and shallot pancake $12.00

The kimchi and shallot pancake has a fair portion of kimchi, but I find this just makes the pancake thick and stodgy, without the benefit of heat.


Pan-fried dumplings $8.00

We continue with pan-fried dumplings, crisp moon-shaped pockets that house a surprisingly lively combination of fresh pork and cabbage, the filling light and tasty.


Deep-fried chicken $14.99 (normally $25)

Finally our first serving of deep-fried chicken. The secret to Korean Fried Chicken, they say, is the double fry method. The chicken is lightly dusted with flour (potato starch or corn starch) then fried for ten minutes at a moderate heat, removed for two minutes and allowed to cool slightly, then fried for another ten minutes for maximum crunch.

And oh, what a crunch. The chicken skin shatters with an amplified crunch. Rendered of fat, the paper-thin shard has an exquisite brittle quality that reminds one of pork crackling, even the taste.

A shallot saucer of salt and pepper provides a seasoning boost. The mini drumsticks are moist and juicy, although my weakness has always been for the crispy mid-wing.


Jok bal pork hock steamed in ginseng and herbs $22.00

Our feast for eight continues with an enormous platter of jok bal or pork hock slices. Steamed with ginseng and herbs, this traditional Korean dish arrives with assorted condiments with which we make parcels, the compressed disc of pork meat, skin and fat, rolled up in lettuce and garnished with garlic, chilli and kochujang chilli paste.

After another ten minutes, even more chicken. We're clutching our bellies at this point, but the glistening platter of deep-fried chicken in sweet and spicy sauce [top pic] must be sampled. I find the sauce a little too cloyingly sweet, especially as there's just so much of it, each piece of chicken drenched in the shiny laquer that is sweet and sour and a little bit hot. It's only half-way through the dish that Figuro remembers that he usually has this dish with the sauce on the side. On the side! Ahhh... that would make everything different!

But it still wouldn't change the size of our stomachs. We've ordered far too much and eaten more than we ever should have. Maybe next time we'll learn. Huh. I doubt it.


Dashi Korean Cafe and Restaurant
7-9 Wilmot Street, Sydney
(perpendicular to George and Pitt Streets,
one block south of Bathurst Street)

Tel: +61 (02) 9266 0100 / 9266 0300

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Korean--Dae Jang Kum
Korean--Hanabi
Korean--Madang
Korean--Milliore
Korean--Nagoya Japanese BBQ
Korean--Se Joung
Korean--Seoul Ria

The Wentworth Hotel, Homebush West

300gram T-bone steak $5.00
Available every Friday 5pm-9pm
only during the month of May

I've been dragged to The Wentworth by Veruca, who insists this is one of the best $5 steaks she's even eaten.

She's right. There's plenty of meat on that T-bone, along with a hunger-busting mound of crunchy steak-cut chips and a cursory nod to some salad. Even better, the steaks come with your choice of sauce: mushroom, Diane, pepper or gravy.

My steak is the only one that arrives over-cooked--more medium-well than medium rare--but everyone else's looks the business. I seek solace in the charred caramelised edges of crispy rendered fat (happy days!).

We gleefully notice that the normal menu T-bone weighs 400grams but costs $23.50. We're happy to trade in a hundred grams for a $18.50 discount.

In addition to steak, there's the usual gamut of pub bistro offerings: burgers, schnitzels, bangers and mash, and Guinness pie, as well as seared kangaroo, sticky barbecue pork ribs and char-grilled tandoori lamb fillets.

We don't mind the get-your-own cutlery, serviettes and communal sauce and mustard dispensers, but we have to eat our dinner off a sticky table when noone can be found to wipe it down.

A cover band entertains in the games room at the front, and the crowd gets decidedly younger as the night kicks on. Amidst a sea of Jägerbombs, mohawks and monkey hoodies, Veruca leans in and mutters "I feel like I'm in the Big Brother house".

We laugh on the outside, but inside we're weeping as our youth slips on by.

The Wentworth Hotel
195 Parramatta Road, Homebush West
Tel: +61 (02) 9746 6400


Related GrabYourFork posts:
Steak--Ablaze Grill and Bar
Steak--Charr, Rydges Jamison
Steak--Oscars
Steak--Prime
Steak $5--Forresters
Steak $5--Slip Inn
Steak $10--St James Hotel

Lamb leftover special

Who doesn't love a fridge leftover special?

There's a little bit of magic that happens when you turn fridge leftovers into something that both looks and tastes good. Like you deliberately planned on having half a bunch of yellowing parsley and some cold slices of leftover roast lamb in preparation for a lazy weekend lunch.

Lamb leftover special

Make a rough tabbouleh salad by finely chopping half a bunch of parsley, dicing one tomato and dousing liberally with the juice of half a lemon. A tablespoon of burghul will also plump nicely if you let it sit in the lemon juice for about twenty minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Gently warm the last few slices of roast lamb in the microwave for about 20 seconds or so. Lay the slices of lamb down the middle of a fresh round of Lebanese bread. Slather generously with the last of the olive tapenade (pitted Kalamata olives are even better but hey, it's all about whatever you find in your fridge) and thick dollops of Greek-style natural yoghurt.

Top with the drained tabbouleh (too much lemon juice will make the bread soggy) and whatever salad veggies need using up in the fridge. I found cucumber, red capsicum and an iceberg lettuce that I sliced and shredded accordingly.

Season with salt, pepper and a good squiggle of fiery chilli sauce if you prefer.

Roll up and eat over a large plate. Trust me.