Melbourne’s High Tension are set to tour the East Coast of Australia in support of new album Death Beat this November. Consisting of members of The Nation Blue and Young & Restless the four-piece will smash sets in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne’s home of rock, The Tote.
High Tension singer Karina Utomo has been kind enough to share her recipe and delicious food images with us, find out what she would like to cook for their support bands on their upcoming tour…
What were your food influences when you were growing up and what kind of food did you eat at home or with your family?
I had the best childhood in Jakarta; the most delicious food would come past your house, each with their own alert or jingle so you know who is coming past (the sound for Bakso (aka meatball soup – like a better version of pho is always a hollow piece of wood tapped with another wooden stick). The food is freshly prepared and cooked in front of your eyes or cooked that morning; you can even bring your own plate, my mum always wanted us to use our own plate because the plates on hand is always washed in a bucket.
When we moved to Australia, food at home changed quite a bit.
My mum was always a fierce worker but would always dedicate time to feeding us properly; she would get up at 7:00 to cook our dinner and/or lunch so we don’t have to eat mie-goreng for dinner if she got home late; she is THE BEST. My worst food memory was when my mum was wrapping up her thesis- I was in year 5 and as she was spending time in her office a lot, our dinner solutions was ordering whatever could get delivered, so it was always KFC (yes, KFC had home delivery in the 90s), Pizza Hut or when she was home it was baked frozen fish. This was the first time I started to have a go at cooking and started making my own stir-fries. I’ll never forget the day my mum had a sample and said it tasted alright J
My dad is a good cook too; he’s shown me some really amazing Javanese recipes and he makes the best Empal (Javanese fried steak pieces). He never cooks anymore but loves critiquing dishes.
What dish or cuisine do you most like to eat on tour and why?
Pub meal. I am constantly looking forward to a delicious steak and man I love chips. There’s usually a vegie burger for the vegan and vegetarian in the band so everybody wins.
What is your ideal cooking playlist? (rock, soul or maybe even smooth grooves)
Slayer and punk rock so you don’t waste time and always follow your gut (the secret to a successful meal).
What type of food do you make sure to avoid before a gig or going on stage?
Souvlakis are a bad choice, something about the raw onion and sauce when you’re drinking beer and it’s not nice when you sing with the memory of onions between every breath.
What’s the most outrageous food you’ve ever asked for on a rider?
Food on a rider? Maybe when we sell 1 million copies.
What has been your biggest cooking disaster to date?
I’m generally OK in the kitchen, I take risks and it ends up working out. I made a gazpacho once and the recipe called for a whole raw onion, I usually don’t follow recipes…. But this time I did. Man, it was not good and I wish I followed my gut and didn’t put a whole raw onion in.
How much did your diet change while you were in the studio making your new album ‘Death Beat’?
Didn’t change! Taco truck for dinner or some sort of delicious burger, food is important in order to achieve, also drunk more beer.
Where is your favourite music venue to eat at and why?
The Reverence Hotel in Footscray; you can have a delicious taco (and chips) and have a nice time.
If you could invent a candy bar what would it be?
It would be one with multiple layers – it has to have a crispy-ish shell and a ganache centre, it would be like a salty caramel macaroon but with an extra layer of chocolate ganache in the centre.
If you were to cook a feast for your tour supports on your upcoming album tour, what would you cook them?
Providing that they eat chicken, my go-to dish is Ayam Bakar; Indonesian marinated grilled chicken that’s been cooked twice. It’s a good one to chuck on the BBQ; you serve it with rice and fresh vegies and a homemade sambal (chilli, kafir lime leaf, & tiny bit of shrimp paste).
You can make some fancy sides if you can be bothered, like perkedel (fried potato cake), but just some rice, chopped up cucumber and boiled beans with sambal is a perfect accompaniment if you haven’t got all day.
Sambal recipe: chuck heaps of chillies, 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes, palm sugar, salt, shred a kafir lime leaf and a quick squeeze of lime and grind it till it’s smooth in a mortar and pestle add shrimp paste too if you want to make it taste more authentic (get one that’s been pre-fried or it will stink out your whole house, this is also optional, but it gives your sambal a nice kick).
High Tension Tour Dates:
Friday 8 November @ Crowbar, Brisbane
Saturday 9 November @ Spectrum, Sydney
Friday 15 November @ The Tote, Melbourne
