I LOVE...A BRIGHTOUTLOOKMYNUMBERONEhopefortheyearis thatwe’llbeabletofreely
andsafelytravelfromstatetostate,toseefriendsandenjoyallthe
dizzyingdiversitythatthiscountryhastooffer.Pariscanwait.I’ll
happilygotoKataTjuta,Katherine and Fraser Island. Or even just
SubiacoandWoolloongabba.
Absencehasn’tjustmadetheheartgrowfonder,it hasgivenall
mymemoriesa rosierglow.Orat leastthosememoriesthatI can
remember,givenhowlongthebreakfromnormal life has been.
So,herearetherestofmyhopesfor2021.
CAFESThemorningcoffeeritualwasoneofthefewthreadsof
normalitythatsurvivedlockdownbutnowI wantmore.A returnto
a packedbrunchservice.Theexcitementofeyeingoffinteresting
saladsorsomenewcakesensationacrossthetables.Thesenseof
beingbathedin thewarmglowofridiculousstories,deliciously
tastygossipfromthenightbefore,orjusta littlepatchofcalmwith
the‘paperas 37 otherbreakfastsswirlaroundme;a cycloneofflat
whites,smashedavo,sunny-sideups,and“morningdarl”s.
RESTAURANTSI justhopewhenyoureadthisthatyourfavourites
havesurvived.Theendofgovernmentsupportandthelingering
ofprofit-killingrestrictionswillmeanmanywillclose.I hopewecan
finda waybacktothevibrantrestaurantculturethatwaspraised
byinternationalvisitorsandlocalsalike.Someinternationalvisitors
wouldbenice,too.I alsohopethatwecanstillaffordtoeatout.
PRODUCERSSeriously,couldlastyearhavebeenanyworseforso
manyofAustralia’ssmallproducers?Evenif youforgetthevirus,
andthedisastrousimpactthatit hadoneveryonewhowasbuying
theirproducts,theyhadtodealwitha cocktailofbushfires,
droughts,floodsandzeroregionaltourism.Throwin a plagueof
cricketsandtapwaterrunningblood-redandyou’dhavea year
thatonlya particularlymeanOldTestamentGodcouldthinkup.
LIVESPORTANDMUSICThereis a thrillwatchinga blockbuster
likethelatestAvengersorBondmoviewitha packedcinemaof
fellowfansyetit stillcan’tmatchthecommunaljoyoflivesportor
music.Themomentwhenthepackedclubora fullstadium lifts at
thattell-talebassriftofthebighit,ora reallybighit.
FRIENDSWhileI lovetheexcitementofvisitingsomegastro
temple,andthepreciousoccasionswhenyoueatsomethingso
deliciousit makeseverythingin theworldseemright,thebest
thingsaboutcafesandrestaurantsaren’tthechefs,thefloorstaff
orthefood– preciousthoughtheyare– butthepeopleyougo
therewith.It reallydoesn’tmatterif it’sat homeorout,breaking
bread with friends, laughing, and leaving with a buzz from the
MattPrestonlooksbackata challenging year
and sets his sights on a sunnier 2021. PEANUTBUTTER & HOISIN BANH MI
SERVES 6
8 chickenthighfillets,cutinto4 pieceseach,room temperature
6 whitelongcrusty(butfluffy)breadrolls(^1) / 2 cup(150g)Kewpiemayonnaise
2 smallLebanesecucumbers,thinlysliced
2 cupslooselypackedmixedVietnamese mint, regular mint,
Thaibasilandcorianderleaves
12 smallbabygemlettuceleaves
Sriracha, and quickles (recipe below), to serve
MARINADE
160gsaltedpeanuts
1 cup(250ml)hoisinsauce
(^1) / 4 cup (60ml) rice wine vinegar
QUICKLES
200gcarrot,cutinto8cmbatons
200gdaikonradish,cutinto8cm batons
(^1) / 4 cup(55g)castersugar
1 tbsseasaltflakes
(^1) / 2 cup (125ml) rice wine vinegar
Preheatovento220°C.Linea largetraywithbakingpaper.
Forthemarinade,placepeanuts,hoisinandricewinevinegar
with2 tbswaterand2 tspsaltin a foodprocessorandwhizuntil
combined.Themarinadeneedstobethickandsaucy.Addmore
waterif needed.Transfertoa bowl,addchicken,season to taste
andtosstocombine.Marinatefor 30 minutes.
Transferthechickentopreparedtrayandroastfor
20-25minutesuntilcookedandcaramelised.Setaside.
Forthequickles,tossthecarrotandradishin a bowlwiththe
sugarandsalt.Standfora minimum10-12minutes,thenpourover
ricewinevinegarandsetasideuntilneeded.(Quicklescanbe
storedin anairtightcontainerin thefridgeforupto2 weeks.)
Slicethebreadrollsin halflengthwise,makingsuretonotslice
allthewaythrough.Pickoutthesoftmiddleofthetophalfofeach
bunandspreadtheinsidewithmayonnaise.Thinkofthislike
buttersobegenerous.Pressthreeorfourlettuceleavesintothe
mayo.Followwithpiecesofthehoisinchicken,a squeezeof
Srirachaorotherchillisauce,thensomecucumberslices,herbs
andfinallya layerofthewell-drainedquicklestoadd texture and
some sweet-sour hit. Press together and enjoy.
conversation.Servethissuper-easypeanutbutterandhoisinbanh
minexttimeyourcrewcomesaroundandletthegoodtimesroll.
Aboveall,I hopethisyear,withyourresilience,finelyhonedat an
all-timehigh,wewillallfindsomeunbridledjoyanda fewmoreof
thosemomentswhenyoutastesomethingsobeautifulthatit
makestherestofyourproblemsandworriesfade away – and it
won’t be your latest loaf of banana bread.
PHOTOGRAPHY
CHRIS COURT
STYLING
KIRSTEN JENKINS
40 delicious.com.au
I’M LOVING.