Snapper, Spice and Rice

Red snapper mouselline steamed in banana leaf cups

Australia is built on a nation of immigrants. From the first colonial invaders to Gold Rush entrepreneurs to the post-war waves of refugees, Australia wouldn't be Australia without its multicultural melting pot (which still hisses and sizzles occasionally).

In recognition of the South-East Asian voyages taken to reach our shores, a Snapper, Spice & Rice Festival was held at the Maritime Museum last weekend.



There was an extensive range of boats on display, most noticeably the Tu Do (meaning Freedom) which was built in 1975. This hand-built Vietnamese fishing boat survived a 6,000km journey to Darwin in 1977 with 31 passengers on board. Tan Lu helped build the boat and navigated the journey using only a simple compass and a school map of the world.



Of course it was the food stalls that caught my attention and the South-East Asian cuisines we take for granted were celebrated all weekend. Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Cambodian, Indonesian and Laotian delicacies were all on offer, but I only had eyes for the green papaya salad.


Green papaya salad about to be pounded


Sticky rice bamboo warmer


Laotian green papaya salad $5.00


Sticky rice $2.00

I always underestimate my ability to handle chilli Thai or Laotian-style. Medium, I had asked, and then watched her throw in two whole chillies into the mortar.

The salad had a lot more dried shrimp (Good for skin, the stallholder had assured me with a smile) than usual and was served with a side of raw shredded cabbage. Big chunks of tomato and lime were present too, although I did find myself craving the crunch of roasted peanuts.

The plate of sticky rice was starchy and satisfying. It felt rather strange to be eating sticky rice that wasn't sweetened and plump with coconut milk, but it did help the burning tastebuds in-between mouthfuls of fiery papaya salad.



I caught the last bit of the first cooking demonstration featuring Sunthree Pancharoen from Thai Wild Rice preparing hor mok pla, or red snapper moussline steamed in banana leaf cups (see picture at the beginning of this post).

I made sure I had front row seats for the next demo featuring Tony Leung from Sky Phoenix cooking sea cucumber soup.


Dehyrdated sea cucumber on the left;
rehydrated sea cucumber on the right

Sea cucumber is a huge Asian delicacy often served at weddings and other celebrations. The Australian export market is significant and with a retail price of $150/kg this is a lucrative business to get into. Sea cucumber can only be picked up off the ocean floor by divers, limiting supply and hence, increasing demand.

It has only been relatively recently that sea cucumber has been available semi-dehydrated. Most often it is sold in a solidifed dehydrated state which takes some time to reverse into a useable form. Rehydrating, we learned, requires the sea cucumber to be placed in a large pot of cold water and heated until boiling. The flames are then turned off and sea cucumber must then be left in the pot until the water is cold (about 5-6 hours).

The water is drained off and the pot is refilled with more cold water. Again the sea cucumber is heated until boiling, taken off the heat and left in the pot until the water is cold.

This boiling process is repeated 4-5 times or until the sea cucumber is soft and pliable. And three days later, you can finally understand why sea cucumber dishes are so expensive!



Chef Leung prepared a sea cucumber soup with chicken broth, dried scallops and enoki mushrooms, a quick dish which only took about five minutes in a huge boiling wok.


Sea cucumber soup sample

Being a clever front-sitting audience member, I was lucky to receive a sample bowl. As warned, the sea cucumber was flavourless. Much like shark fin and abalone, the flavour lies not in the product, but the soup in which it is served. The chicken broth was tasty and slightly thickened with corn flour.

So why is it so popular? According to Sky Phoenix co-owner, Alice, the Chinese revere sea cucumber as it is high in protein, has zero cholesterol and makes skin look youthful. Sceptical or not, I'd rather have this than botox!


Lighthouse at the Maritime


Durian

The Snapper, Spice and Rice Festival takes place every two years at the Maritime Museum in Sydney's Darling Harbour.

This was the third time the festival has run.