INTERVIEWSAMANTHAJONESPORTRAITPHOTOGRAPHYSHARYNCAIRNSFOODPHOTOGRAPHYCHRIS COURTSTYLINGKIRSTEN JENKINSTHE CHEF ANDTHE BUTCHERC:I’llembracethis.I’mglobal,mate.
A:Global!You?I’mMrWorldwide.
C:I’mnotglobalthen,I’muniversal!
A:I’mMrWorldwide, you’re still stuck
inMalabar!
C:I’mglobal,justlikethisissue!Let’snot
makeit beige,let’smakeit rage.It’snota
hotpot,it’sa Col-pot.Getit?Andit looks
likewe’regoingtousea goodbeef.
A:Yes,a wagyuchuckhere.Andwe’llbe
swishingthemeataroundin a flavoured
stocksoit’sjustdeliciousandrich.Meat
is underattack,butmyopinionis balance
willbringyoua long,happyandhealthy
life.AndwithmeatI believethatmeansit
hastobeaboutqualityoverquantity.
C:Okay,thatdoesmakea lotofsense.
Sowitha qualitychuckI’dbringin some
rootvegetablesandgarlic,ginger,star
aniseandorangezest.Thena beef stock
withsoysauceandmirin.
A:Yourcontribution is the broth. Mine
isthemeat.
C:I’mtheengine,you’retheoil.
A:I thinkit’stheotherwayaround.
Anyway,it’sJune,right?It’ssoups,broths,
comfortfood.ButwithanAsiantwist.
I liketheideaofbuildinglayersin this.
Vegetables,mushrooms,broth.Eatthe
meat,drinkthebroth,boom.Healthy!
C:I thinkit’saboutthebroth, good meat,
richstockwithflavour.
A:Yes,a high-qualitychuckis goingto
makeallthedifferencetotheflavour.
C:Whatdoyouuseif you can’t get
high-qualitychuck?
A:Scotch.Butwe’reusingchuck.And
nowI willteachyousomething useful:
soshabushabu...
C:Is thislikea rap?Croatian rap? Col-pot
andshabushabu!
A: It means ‘swish swish’ in Japanese, you
idiot.Whichis
exactlywhatwedo,
right?Swishthemeat
aroundin thestock?
C:No,I didno
swishing,wejustlet
thebeefcookin ourstock.
A:Youruineverything!
C:NoI don’t!Thiswillbefullofflavour.
A:Yes,layersofflavour,likea fashion
outfit.Layerthetextures.This is what
AnnaWintourwouldeat.
C:Anthony’s showing his age.WAGYUBEEF HOTPOT
SERVES 4-6(^1) / 2 cup(125ml)extravirginoliveoil
1.25kgwagyuchuck, trimmed, cut into
6cmpieces
6 eschalots,quartered
400gdesireepotatoes, cut into
3cmpieces
300gcarrots,cutinto3cmpieces
2 garliccloves,thinlysliced
3cmpiece(15g)ginger, cut
intomatchsticks
5 staranise, crushed
4 cloves
2 eachcinnamonquills and bay leaves
Zestof2 oranges
2 tbsplainflour
1 cup(250ml)Chinesericewine
(shaohsing– fromAsianfood shops)
(^1) / 4 cup(60ml)soysauce
(^1) / 4 cup(60ml)mirin
6 cups(1.5L)beefstock
200gfreshshiitakemushrooms
(^1) / 4 cupfirmlypackedflat-leafparsley
leaves,shredded, plus extra torn
toserve
Steamed gai lan, to serve
Thepot’shotandthetemperature’srisingas
ColinFassnidgeandAnthonyPuharichdebate
a winter warmer that’s all about a star cut of beef.
Preheattheovento160°C.
Heathalftheoilina largeovenproof
saucepanoverhighheat.Addbeef,
seasonandcook,stirringfrequently,for
6-7minutesoruntilbrowned.Remove
frompanandsetasideona plate.Add
remaining^1 / 4 cup(60ml)oliveoilwith
eschalot,potato,carrot,garlic,ginger,
spices,bayleavesandorangezest.Cook,
stirringregularly,for4-5minutesoruntil
eschalotbeginstobrown.Returnbeefto
panandsprinkleoverflour.Cook,stirring
fora further 30 secondstoquicklytoast
theflour.Addthericewine,scrapingthe
bottomofthepanwitha spoon.Stirin
soysauce,mirinandstock.Bringtothe
boil,reduceheattomediumandsimmer
for5 minutes.Coverlooselywithfoiland
placeintheovenfor2-3hoursoruntil
meatis verytender.Addmushrooms in
last 30 minutesofcookingtime.
Removefromoven.Stirinparsleyand
season,thendividebeefamongserving
bowls.Scatterwithextraparsley and
servewithsteamedgailan.
Originallybredin Japan,wagyubeefis
famedforitsfinefatmarbling,buttery
textureandintenseflavour– notto
mentiontheoftenheftypricetagit
attracts.Wagyuchuckis takenfrom
theneckandshoulder,andis a more
affordablecutthatdoesn’t sacrifice
flavour or tenderness.
BUTCHER’SCUT
WAGYU CHUCK
42 delicious.com.au
MEAT MARKET.