Top 10 Dishes in Australia
Australia - The Awesome Aussies
I have been thinking a lot about Australia these days, because we have so many interesting Hubbers from that continent country. Aborigines and Aboriginals of the lands in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans also are in my daily thoughts, because they are interesting, determined to survive the 21st century, and deserving of humanitarian justice. Their foods are great, as well.
In addition, I have never lost the sadness I feel at the untimely death of Australia Zoo's Steve Irwin. What I think about most often in this last case is how Terri Irwin is moving forward with Australia Zoo, while raising a young son and daughter. I receive the Crikey Connection Newsletter from the zoo in my email regularly and recently visited the website to find a growing megalopolis. The expansion of lands, exhibits, features, services, partnerships, and research as a total is now greater than that produced by the similarly world renown Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
Jack took an old zoo from a couple of mud holes, two elephants, some cute raccoons, a lion, and some monkeys - and the famous gorilla Colo - in the late 1950s and early 1960s to a massive garden world of infrastructure, exhibits, teaching, and research that continued to explode under the directorship of Jerry Bordin. However, Terri Irwin likely has them all beat. One look at her face in a photo of her feeding a crocodile in the Crocoseum illustrates the powerfully driven determination that she possesses -- Don't get in the croc's way, or Terri's either, as she continues to build Australia Zoo. She, her family and crew, and the zoo receive my best wishes, as do Bob Irwin and his second wife, Judy, in their new venture in conservation in Kingaroy, near Brisbane.
As the Aussie sheila that Mrs. Irwin has stated she intends to be until her last breath, she certainly enjoys Australian cuisine. Some of the favorite recipes below might be among those she enjoys. These may not be the aboslute top 10 dishes enjoyed across the nation of Australia, but they are certainly very good.
In honor of all the people of Australia and the Australia Zoo, please enjoy the following 10 dishes.
Vegemite and More
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Christmas Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Sticks of butter
- 1/2 Lb light brown sugar
- 5 Whole Eggs
- 1.5 Lb Mixed candied fruit
- 1/4 Lb Candied cherries
- 1/4 Lb Candied lemon peel
- 4 Tbsp Rum
- 1 tsp allspice
- 3/4 Lb all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Almond halves for decoration
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 180 Degrees C or 350 degrees F
- Line a 3 Lb. cake or Bundt pan with 3 thicknesses of wax paper.
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat eggs together well and gradually add to butter.
- Gradually add the rum.
- Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and spices alternately with the fruit.
- Place in and decorate with almond halves.
- Bake 2.5 to 3 hours. Cool on a cooling rack and remove from pan, and invert onto a serving plate with almonds facing up.
Brawn Loaf
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Lb or 500g of an inexpensive cut of beef, chopped
- 1/2 Lb or 250g pickled pork, chopped
- 1 Veal knuckle, cut up into quarters
- 6 Whole peppercorns
- 3 cloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- A pinch of your favorite herbs
- 1 large onion, chopped coarse
- 1 large carrot, chopped coarse
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place meat in large saucepan.
- Add enough water to cover, add remaining ingredients, cover and bring to the boil. Then reduce heat to simmer.
- Simmer 2.5 - 3 hours until meat flakes with a fork.
- Drain, reserve stock and remove bones. Strain stock and return 4 cups to the saucepan.
- Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes or until stock has reduced by half.
- Stir into the prepared meat and vegetables.
- Place in a loaf pan moistened with stock.
- Cool on a cooling rack on the counter and then chill in the refrigerator until well set.
- Serve cold, sliced, with vinegar and mustard.
Gold Coast, Queensland
Anzac Biscuits
Deviled Carrots
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 13 ounces or 375g carrots
- 1 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Wash and pare carrots and cut into matchsticks.
- Saute carrot sticks in butter 2 minutes.
- Remaining ingredients and simmer 5 minutes.
Balmain Bugs
INGREDIENTS
- 8 large balmain bugs (slipper lobsters) or 2 large lobster tails
- Mango Sauce: 1 large Mango peeled, seeded, and sut up, 3 Tbsp sour cream, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce. Mix and belnd in a blended until chunky-smooth.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Lower meat into a large pot of salted boiling water.
- Simmer meat uncovered for 4-5 minutes until shells are red.
- Separate heads from bodies. Use sharp kitchen scissors to cut along the soft underside of the bugs.
- Pull shell apart and ease out the flesh. Cut each piece of flesh in half, lengthways.
- Serve with Mango Sauce
Lamb Kebab with Tomato Yogurt
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- About 1 Lb or 400g of minced lamb
- 1 onion, grated fine
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Whole egg, well beaten
- 1/8 tsp each of cinnamon and ground cumin
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- Tomato Yogurt Dressing: Combine 1 Cup yogurt, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp tomato sauce; mix and store in the refrigerator
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine all ingredients except the dressing in bow and mixl.
- Divide the mixture into 8 balls and roll into sausage link shapes.
- Put two "sausages" onto each skewer.
- Place under hot broiler, turning frequently for 5 - 7 minutes.
- Serve with Tomato Yogurt Dressing. Serves 4.
Wattelseed Pavlova
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ounces or 50g unsalted macadamia nuts
- 3.5 ounces or 100g hazelnuts
- 2 ounces or 50g pecans
- Powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 6 egg whites (save the yols fo rsomething else)
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups superfine granulated sugar
- 6.5 fl oz container or 200 ml heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp Wattleseed (Gundabluey) Mud
Gundabluey Mud This preparation is mud-like and made from water absorbed into roasted and ground wattleseeds over a very low flame or electric heat. Never boil seeds or you'll get a bitter taste.
- In a large anough pan, put 3 ounces or 110g of roasted and ground wattleseeds, 2.5 cups or 600 ml of water, and a pinch of salt
- Cook over medium heat until water bubbles, but do not boil.
- Turn down the heat and simmer until the grounds meet the surface of the liquid.
- Blend the cooked grounds in a blender on high speed until smooth.
- Place mud into a tightly covered container and keep it cool in the refrigerator.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 150 Degrees C or 300 Degrees F
Sugar Crust
- In a blender or food processor, chop macadamia nuts finely and place in to a small bowl.
- Chop hazelnuts and pecans in the same way and set aside.
- Place sugar and cinnamon in food processor for 15 seconds, then add all the nuts and process the whole thing for 20 seconds.
Meringue
- Grease and then line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk egg whites with vinegar to soft peaks.
- Add half the sugar gradually to the whites and whisk until stiff. Then add in the rest of the sugar.
Continuing On
- Scrape meringue batter into prepared pan all at once and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the finished crust mixture evenly over the meringue.
- Bake 20-22 minutes.
- Remove the meringue and place a clean tea towel over the top and invert the cake onto a cake rack to cool completely.
- Trim the sides with a knife and remove parchment paper if it stuck.
- Whip the cream half way, add Gundabluey, and whip together until stiff peaks form.
- Spread the Wattleseed-cream evenly over meringue and roll the pavlova carefully like a jelly roll and serve.
Honey Baked Figs with Walnuts
Lemon Chicken in the Outback
Australia Zoo
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A Traditional Christmas Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Cups or 450g candied cherries
- 1 Cup or 225g mixed citrus peels
- 1 1/2 Cups or 300g sultanas or raisins (dark or golden)
- 1 Cup or 150g dried currants
- 3/4 Cup or 175g dates, chopped
- 1/2 Cup or 125g blanched almonds (no skins), chopped
- 1/2 Cup or 120ml brandy
- 1/3 Cup or 50g all purpose plain flour
- 1 1/3 Cups or 250g all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon each of ground cloves, allspice, and cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Cup or 225g butter (2 sticks)
- 2 Cups or 450g dark brown soft sugar
- 6 Whole eggs
- 3/4 Cup or 175ml molasses or light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup or 175ml apple juice or apple cider
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 140 Degrees C or 300 Degrees F.
- In a large non-metallic mixing bowl, place cherries, citrus, sultanas, currants, dates, and almonds.
- Stir in the brandy, place on the coutner to sit overnight.
- Next morning, stir flour into the soaking fruits, nuts and peels.
- Line a 20cm or 9-ince diameter cake pan with parchment paper by folding it into quarters and cutting all into a quarter circle like a paper snowflake. Open the circle and place in the bottom of the pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the second measure of flour with the baking soda, spices, and salt in a small bowl.
- Beat butter in a small bowl with until light and fluffy.
- Slowly and gradually beat in the brown sugar and eggs with the butter.
- Mix the molasses and apple juice and beat this mixture into butter mixture alternately with the flour mixture.
- Into the larger combined mixture, fold the floured fruit and then spread the whole into the prepared cake pan.
- Bake for 3 - 3½ hours until a knife blade comes out of the center of the cake clean. Cool on a cooling rack, remove form pan, and and wrap foil, sitting it in a cool, dry place.
To Serve: frost the cake with a powdered sugar/butter icing and decorate with Holiday items, if desired.
Legacy of Australia Zoo
Irwin Family Statue
Australian Delicacies
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Comments
Very clever response to this request, Patty. As an Aussie myself, I was wondering how I could possibly respond to this. We're a young country and have very few traditional dishes - Aboriginal cuisine was simple fare using fresh ingredients in their natural state.
It's hard to pick "Australian dishes" these days because our cuisine is a melting pot (no pun intended) of all the different cultural influences we've absorbed: our cafe society is thanks to our large Greek and Italian postwar immigrants, and now we all take the influence of Chinese and Vietnamese flavours and ingredients for granted.
Patty! Great hub as always. I'm glad you included the write-up about the Irwins. I too am still saddened by the loss of such a dynamic person as Steve. I'm glad for these recipes and will try a couple of them.
Seasons Greetings to you, regards Zsuzsy
Patty- Pavlova, honey figs, christmas cake and the like is so tempting that all my diet resolutions are going down the drain...LOL
P.S: Even I felt very sad at that news and even now watch his legacy which his daughter is continuing so well in the series "Bindi the jungle girl": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ywo8TQYH7o
BT - as close to authentic as we can likley get is the drippings from the outdoor cookers and pit cooking of meats and root vegetables, I think. But I will ask a food historian at the university. Please keep your antlers abd paws crossed!
Marisa! - You make me smile! Thanks very much for the enlightening information. I could only take a stab at this, really, from some recipes I collected from a couple of cultural anthropologists, from a friend that visited Queensland, and from and a couple of widows that were married to Australians here. So, some dishes may be family favorites and I suspect that they are. I may never get to visit your great country, but I want to do so.
Zsusy - It was fun sharing what I do have, however "Australian" they may or may not be. I will always think about the Irwins. Merry Christmas!
countrywomen! - Just have a small piece of cake! :) Thanks from my whole heart for those links, too -- I will always be sad about the loss of Steve. Terri went over to Australia and from her first sighting of Steve it was only 15 years for packing in about 60 years of living, Now she has such a big responsibility! I see that she is body building to gain strength in many ways. She is an inspiration. Thank you again.
Thank you all.
The recipe names were first a little intimidating to me (lol),not really. Is the Traditional Christmas cake somewhat like a fruitcake? I think after Christmas I will try my hand at the Honey baked figs with walnuts. That recipe sounds very good. Thanks for some unique recipes.
Hi, laringo! -- he Traditional cake is a fruitcake with frosting and I like it best with golden raisins and GINGER instead of allspice. Merry Christmas! The figs/honey/walnuts are delicious and very rich.
very nice stuff
Like you, I have a thing for Australian cuisine. My version of any dish, whether it has an Asian, Mediterranean, American or English ancestry, would include those indigenous Australian ingredients which add the intrinsic essence of this country. Wattleseed, with its coffee, chocolate, hazelnut flavours; or Lemon myrtle sprinkle with its lemony citrus and fruit notes (not just lemon myrtle but the rainforest fruit and herb blend which make up the sprinkle - that's important); or Alpine pepper, Fruit spice, Mintbush marinade or any of the dozens of condiments, herbs, spices, infused oils, extracts, confits and more that are now quintessential to an authentic Australian cuisine.
Please have a look at www.cherikoff.net for more and get some for yourself to experience the best that this country has to offer global cuisine. Join the movement and celebrate it come January 26th.
By the way, forget about not boiling Wattleseed. It won't go bitter if you have the right wattle seeds. I bring mine to a boil in 3-4 times the volume of water to make an extract/concentrate. I add this to unsweetened cream and in a rolled Wattleseed pavlova, there's nothing like it. Please give it a go.
Thanks for the insights and a link to your site. You have many fine products and several I have not seen in the US.
I've never seen Australian dishes in a cookbook or anything like that so I guess I never thought of them as having such unique foods. That was until HubPages and meeting so many of the Hubbers. Thanks for compiling these.
I love passionfruit pavlova and lamingtons and can't live without my vegemite on toast with heaps of butter of course.
Vegemite! - that's what I want to try. Thanks for your comments, Jennifer.
I've heard lots about Vegimite. Thanks for the share of all the great recipes! I have been meeting a lot of people from "down under" and learning about their food is great!
-John
Hi Patty, one of my favourites are Balmain bugs, great on the BBQ in summer washed down with a great Aussie chardonnay. Thanks for sharing!
Hi from Sydney Australia, you're Hub has most of my favourite Aussie meals listed here! Well done! The top meal here would be a BBQ dinner though!
BBQ is pretty popular there, then, isn't it? Thanks for all the comments.
You can buy vegemite from the amazon link on my page vegemite and other traditional australian foods. I like your recipes. I agree about Steve Irwins death being sad.
I find it difficult though to see Terry Irwin as Australian - as a born and breed australian, we like her, but I dont think she is perceived as Australian or a representation of the Australian woman. She is seen as a strong American who married an iconic aussie crocodile hunter.
Hi salt, I'll have a look at your page. I was just thinking last week about how Terry, in fifteen years, went from meeting Steve Irwin to owning Australia zoo. I also stll think of her as an American in Australia and wonder how big the zoo will become, and what her father-in-law is doing at his new installation.
The Wattleseed Pavlova seems delicious, I must try it at once! Great hub!
I like the lamington, that comes with a few flavours. Nougat from Australia is irresistable too.
Funnily enough I just wrote a post about my top 11 meals (couldn't stop at 10!)
I'm from Sydney Australia
Would love to hear your thoughts Patty
Those are different, Operation! Thanks for sending a good link.
Wow! I think it is good to try making this dishes in my free time. I hope my kids will enjoy it :)
Vegemite as a delicacy? Most of us Aussies think of it as a staple part of our diet to spread on toast for breakfast but would add it to the Brawn Loaf (or what we call Meatloaf) for a bit of extra beefy flavour. I must admit I haven't tried Wattleseed in my Pavlova but I'm always happy to bake a batch of Anzac biscuits.
Apart from the backyard Barbie (BBQ), meat pies and pea and ham soup on Australia Day, our dishes are made up of a myriad of culture and cuisine from around the globe. Italian, French, Asian and Indian.
We use a lot of fresh seafood because it is readily available but I have yet to try or have even heard of Balmain Bugs but love the Moreton Bay Bug Tails how ever you want to serve them.
Aboriginal cuisine is something quite different again and needs a hot wood fire burned down to the coals and preferably the whole kangaroo, goanna or bush turkey ready to throw on not long after it has been killed.
Delicacy to Americans, probly! I've enjoyed your comments and info, Karanda.
Nice recipes! Of course, keep away from teflon, which is very bad for ones healh. So don't cook with teflon pans.
i went here to learn how to cook an Australian cuisine and make it in my home and to make my project !
Balmain Bugs sound disgusting.
ilove australia and foods ..
B.T. Evilpants 3 years ago
These look awesome! But, if it's not too much trouble, I could use some authentic Australian gravy to go with it!