Drink – Cocktails

Bourbon Passion

With all the zing and tingle of ‘summer on the rocks’, this tropical cocktail mixed by the experts at Mr, Nobby Beach is refreshing at any time of the day or night. Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, strain into a short glass and garnish with half a passionfruit.

30ml Bourbon 60ml Passionfruit 30ml Apricot liqueur Dash of Grapefruit bitters Mr. Shop 6/28 Chairlift Ave, Nobby Beach PH 07 5572 5572 mrnobbybeach.com

Sweet as

Box Mixers has launched a range of zero alcohol cocktail mixers, made from all-natural flavours, crafted to make drinking cocktails at home simple and convenient. Designed for the health-conscious, Box Mixers are low in sugar, less than 55 calories per serve, gluten-free, are Australian-made and owned and are available in resealable and recyclable bottles. Available in some of Australia’s most popular cocktail flavours, Box Mixers have been crafted to make at home cocktails as easy as possible, with only two simple ingredients required to mix a delicious Classic Margarita, Cosmopolitan, Espresso Martini or Mojito. Box Mixers can also be enjoyed without alcohol, by simply removing the spirit and serving over ice.

Box Mixers are available from Woolworths online and in stores nationally. RRP $7.50 (10 cocktail serves). @boxmixers

Whiskey with a twist

Westward Whiskey, a leading American Single Malt distiller, has released a limitededition Single Malt Pinot Noir Cask Finish. Created in partnership with Suzor Wines, a coveted producer in the Willamette Valley, Oregon’s revered winemaking region, this small batch release is bound to be a collector’s item. Westward Oregon Pinot Noir Cask Finish is made from scratch at their Portland distillery using Pacific Northwest two-row barley, brewed with American pale ale yeast for outstanding flavour, double pot distilled for exceptional character, and matured in 2-char, kiln dried 53-gallon new American oak barrels. Once fully matured, it’s finished for 19 months in French Oak wine casks that had previously held Pinot Noir from Suzor Wines. oakbarrel.com.au

G & Tea

The Botanist Gin has partnered with Australian tea producer The Sunday Lab (formerly Mud & Gee) to create the ultimate Christmas gift for your cocktail loving family members and friends. The Christmas gift with purchase features a complimentary Botanicus flavoured herbal Tea Tube and infuser so you can become the ultimate forager with your cocktails this festive season. This delicious tea compliments the foraged flavours of The Botanist Gin perfectly with notes of water mint, hawthorn, wood sage, sweet cicely, cinnamon, citrus and soft juniper offering a harmonious combination with a gentle, satin soft texture

Available from retailers, Dan Murphy’s and BWS (while stocks last). RRP: $86. thebotanist.com

WATERFRONT DINING MODERN AUSTRALIAN CUISINE BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER 07 5570 1624 | 7 DAYS | 7:30AM TILL LATE EDGEWATERDINING.COM.AU

TO ASIA, WITH LOVE

By Hetty McKinnon

Cook, food writer and founder of Arthur Street Kitchen, Hetty McKinnon described her new book, ‘To Asia, With Love’ as her “homecoming, a joyous return to the humble, yet deeply nurturing flavours and meals of my childhood as a Chinese girl born in Australia”. It is also a celebration of the exciting and delicious possibilities of modern Asian cooking. Recipes range from the traditional - salt and pepper eggplant, red curry laksa, congee, a perfectly simple egg, pea and ginger fried rice - to Hetty’s uniquely modern interpretations, such as buttery miso vegemite noodles, stir-fried salt and vinegar potatoes, cacio e pepe udon noodles and grilled wombok caesar salad with wonton crackers. Whether it’s a banh mi turned into a salad, a soy-saucepowered chocolate brownie or a rainbow guide to eating dumplings by the season, this is Asian home cooking unlike anything you’ve experienced before.

To Asia, With Love by Hetty McKinnon, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99, Photography by Hetty McKinnon.

ENTER TO WIN To win a copy of To Asia, With Love, by Hetty McKinnon, email prize name and your contact details by 16 December 2020 to competition@labelmagazine.com.au

Dumplings and other small things

Crispy tofu and coriander balls

MAKES 15 GLUTEN FREE

350 g extra-rm tofu, well drained ½ cup coriander leaves, nely chopped 2 shallots, nely chopped 2.5 cm piece of ginger, peeled and nely chopped ½ teaspoon ve-spice powder 2 large eggs, beaten 60 g (½ cup) potato starch or cornour vegetable, sunower or other high-temperature neutral oil sea salt and white pepper 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Five-spice aioli

125 g (½ cup) vegan mayonnaise (or regular whole egg) ½ teaspoon ve-spice powder 1 teaspoon sriracha or chilli sauce 1 garlic clove, grated

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At Kung Tak Lam Shanghai Vegetarian Cuisine restaurant, a looming high-rise restaurant overlooking Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, I sampled a dish of ‘tofu balls’ that felt intensely familiar, almost personal, sparking a faint memory of a childhood food experience. While I can’t quite recall where or when I’d previously eaten these fried tofu balls, it felt important to me, signicant enough that this dish now regularly occupies my thoughts. My version pairs tofu with coriander and ve-spice powder, a happy marriage of aromatic avours. e mixture is quite wet so be assertive when shaping them (or use a small ice-cream scoop to help form a ball). e potato starch gives them a nice crispy nish.

Place the tofu in a large bowl and mash it up with a fork. Add the coriander, shallot, ginger, ve-spice powder and egg, and mix until well combined. Stir in the potato starch or cornour and season well with sea salt and white pepper. Shape into 15 golf ball–sized balls. For the ve-spice aioli, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Pour about 3 cm of oil into a small, deep heavy-based saucepan and heat over medium–high heat until the oil is hot (test with a wooden spoon – if the oil sizzles, it is ready). Drop two or three balls into the oil and fry for 2 minutes on each side, turning regularly until the balls are golden all over. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Continue until all the balls are cooked. Serve the tofu balls with the aioli and lemon wedges on the side.

Veganise

Replace the eggs with ax egg. To do this, combine 1 tablespoon of ground axseeds with 2 ½ tablespoons of water, then rest for 5 minutes. is will replace one egg, so double the quantities for these tofu balls.

Lucky noodles

Sesame rice noodles with ‘everything oil’ and charred broccoli

SERVES 4 VEGAN AND GLUTEN FREE

300 g dried thick rice noodles 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 135 g (½ cup) tahini 1 garlic clove, grated extra-virgin olive oil 750 g (about 2 heads) broccoli, cut into orets 2–3 tablespoons Everything Oil (see page 25) 2 shallots, nely sliced handful of coriander leaves sea salt and black pepper

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Tahini may not seem like an obvious sauce for noodles, but it is not as unusual as it sounds. Sesame noodles is a popular Sichuan dish, traditionally made with Chinese sesame paste and usually served cold. e Chinese version of sesame paste is similar to tahini, but is made with sesame seeds that are deeply toasted before grinding, resulting in a deep brown paste that is slightly thicker, with a consistency akin to peanut butter. Since tahini is much more accessible and a pantry staple, it is my preferred ingredient for this quick weeknight dish. I like my sesame noodles with a hey amount of heat, and the complex avours of my ‘everything oil’ work perfectly here. Make this dish your own by adding whatever roasted vegetables you have on hand.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions until al dente, about 6–7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water, then drain again. Add the sesame oil and toss to coat the noodles. Whisk together the tahini, garlic and 125–185 ml (½–¾ cup) of room-temperature water until smooth, with a pourable consistency. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a large frying pan or chargrill pan over high heat. When hot, drizzle with olive oil, add the broccoli orets and season with sea salt and black pepper. Cook, turning regularly, for 5–7 minutes until charred and just tender. In a large bowl, combine the noodles, charred broccoli and tahini sauce, and drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Transfer the noodles to individual bowls and drizzle with as much (or as little) everything oil as you like. Top with shallot and coriander. Eat at room temperature.

Not too sweet

Mango pudding

SERVES 4 VEGAN AND GLUTEN FREE

500 g cubed mango (from about 3 ripe mangoes), plus 1 extra mango 400 ml can coconut milk 80 ml (⅓ cup) maple syrup 1 teaspoon agar agar powder

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As a child, my version of a candy store was the desserts trolley at yum cha. While I didn’t have a sweet tooth, it just felt magical to see the artistically craed sweets being wheeled from table to table. I always wanted to be the one pushing the trolley – I imagined myself a skilled server-slash-salesperson, condently dishing out plates of multi-coloured jelly cubes decorated with little toothpick ags, wobbly black sesame rolls, glutinous rice balls (mochi) blanketed in coconut and, of course, egg tarts.

Mango pudding is another star of the dessert trolley, luminously orange, topped with evaporated milk and light as a feather to eat. is recipe is vegan, using agar agar powder (a jelly-like substance obtained from red algae) to achieve the gelatinous consistency. You’ll nd agar agar at specialty grocers or health-food stores.

Set aside one-quarter of the cubed mango and 3 tablespoons of the coconut milk. Place the remaining cubed mango, remaining coconut milk and maple syrup in a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Pour the blitzed mango into a saucepan and whisk in the agar agar powder. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, whisking constantly, until the agar agar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened. is should take about 5–7 minutes. Cut the extra mango into slightly smaller cubes and divide among four bowls. Pour the mango and coconut mixture over the top and place in the fridge for 2 hours to set. Just before serving, top with the reserved mango cubes and drizzle with the reserved coconut milk.

Substitute

rice noodles: ramen, udon or egg noodles Everything Oil: chilli oil, Rayu (see page 26) or chilli akes broccoli: kale, cauliower or brussels sprouts tahini: peanut butter

IN FULLBLOOM

Photo credit: EMI Whether she’s gliding above the stage on a trapeze, astride a giant Cherry Chapstick, or demurely attending a charity event in a giant pink tutu with a tiara, Katy Perry, hailed by Glamor magazine as “The Queen of Quirk”, is as expressive with her image as she is with her music. Born in Santa Barbara, California, the daughter of Pentecostal pastors Mary and Maurice, Katy Perry, real name Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, was singing in the Church choir from an early age. She was passionate about pursuing a career in music and attended lessons for a while after High School before her voice caught the attention of rock artists Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp from Nashville, Tennessee, who took her under their wing to polish her writing skills and guitar technique. Changing her name to Katy Perry to avoid confusion with actress, Kate Hudson, she moved to LA and was signed to her first label in 2004, aged 20. By 2008, and a few labels later, Perry released her first single with Capitol, “I Kissed a Girl”, as the lead single from One of the Boys, which went on to enjoy international chart-topping success and a slew of Awards for Perry. Part of her charm and key to her appeal is her chameleon-like qualities and her appetite for collaborating, experimenting and trying different styles, both in music and in her fashion choices. Describing her style as “Lucille Ball meets Bob Mackie”, Perry says there’s more to her outlandish costumes than meets the eye. “It’s about innuendo. I want everybody to get the

joke, but I want them to think about it for a minute.”

BLOOM

Professionally, Perry has co-written and recorded with artists the calibre of John Mayer, Snoop Dog, Nicki Minaj, Zedd, Skip Marley (Bob’s grandson), Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean, Missy Elliott and Kanye. She has also written dozens of hit songs for the likes of Selena Gomez, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora. Growing up, Perry’s musical influences were diverse; from gospel singer, Amy Grant to Freddie Mercury of Queen and the Beach Boys quintessential West Coast sounds, along with Madonna and Alanis Morissette. In 2010, at the height of her popularity, touring the world, bathing in the limelight of Awards, smash hits and recordbreaking sales, Perry met and married British comedian, Russell Brand. The unlikely pair, with a decade’s age difference, were a media delight, appearing loved-up and outrageous at fashion shows, galas and nightspots. Brand ended their14month union, which Perry described as “a tornado”, with a perfunctory text announcing he was divorcing her. “I was in love with him when I married him,” Perry said. “He’s a very smart man. Hysterical in some ways. Until he started making jokes about me and he didn’t know I was in the audience, because I had come to surprise him at one of his shows. “I have to claim my own responsibility in things. I do admit that I was on the road a lot. Although I invited him time and time again, and I tried to come home as much as I possibly could. You saw that in the movie,” she said, referring to the documentary “Katy Perry: Part of Me.” “He wanted an equal, and I think a lot of times, strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, I can’t handle the equalness,” she continued. “He didn’t like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. So that was really hurtful, and it was very controlling, which was upsetting. But I have moved on from that.” What followed was a brief and intense fling with John Mayer, a creative surge, freakishly successful albums, voicing Smurfette in the 2011 Smurfs movie and extremely lucrative gigs on the judging panels of The X Factor UK and American Idol. Completely content, focusing on her career and touring, Perry met Orlando Bloom at the Golden Globes after-party in 2016 and began dating immediately. After a year, they split, which caused Perry considerable heartbreak (and an outpouring of songs), only to reconcile five months later. The couple announced their engagement in February 2019, after Orlando proposed on a Valentine’s Day helicopter ride over LA. Both burnt from the pain of divorce, the couple decided to “take things one step at a time” and “build a strong emotional foundation” before actually making the commitment of marriage. But fate and nature intervened and on August 26, Perry and Bloom welcomed their daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom into the world, announced her arrival via UNICEF, the organisation they serve as Goodwill Ambassadors. “We are floating with love and wonder from the safe and healthy arrival of our daughter,” the proud parents said in their statement. It’s been a fruitful few months for Perry. She released “Smile”, the title track of her new album, which was launched by EMI Recorded Music Australia on August 14. The life-affirming new single is brimming with gratitude and suggests that setbacks often turn out to be blessings in disguise. “I wrote this song when I was coming through one of the darkest periods of my life,” says Katy. “When I listen to it now, it’s a great reminder that I made it through. It’s three minutes of energising hopefulness.” Smile has been declared “quintessentially Perry: buoyant, playful, neon pop”. RIFF Magazine described it as “the album that meets the moment of the age we live in. A fitting celebration of strength, pain and individuality under dire circumstances.” In the lead-up to its release, Katy shared several songs from the album, including “Daisies,” “Never Really Over,” “What Makes A Woman” and “Harleys In Hawaii”. Since its release in May, the track “Daisies” has amassed more than 125 million combined global streams. While in quarantine, Perry has won acclaim for the wide variety of performances she has given of Daisies, including the “American Idol” season finale, the launch of the 2020 “Good Morning America” Concert Series and the “Can’t Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need” livestream. Since Katy Perry’s Capitol Records/EMI Music debut in 2008 with One of the Boys, she has racked up a cumulative 46 billion streams alongside worldwide sales of over 45 million adjusted albums and 135 million tracks. Views of her 2013 video “Roar” recently surpassed three billion – making Katy the first female artist to reach this milestone. Katy was also the first female artist to have four videos surpass a billion views each. Her 2015 Super Bowl performance is the highest-rated in the event’s history. She is one of only five artists in history to have topped 100 million certified units with their digital singles – and the first-ever Capitol Records recording artist to join the elite US RIAA 100 Million Certified Songs club. Aside from being one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, Katy is an active advocate of many philanthropic causes. In 2013, Katy was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Her aim is to highlight the needs of the world’s most vulnerable children, empowering girls and supporting adolescents living with HIV/AIDS, as well as raising awareness for UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts. For her advocacy, she was awarded with the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award in 2016. “All the children I met have incredible dreams. We have to help them fight for those dreams,” she said during a visit to Vietnam. “Investing in the most disadvantaged to give them a fair chance in life is not only the right thing to do, it is the best way to break the cycle of poverty and drastically improve children’s health, education and well-being.”

SUMMER 2021 / 45