Cooking With TZU
Aper ita conditur (Roast Pork in Celery Seed Sauce)
What were your food influences when you were growing up and what kind of food did you eat at home or with your family?
My mum was always a bit of a gun in the kitchen, she was always trying out new ideas and flavours with us for better or worse, but I know I left home with 3 recipes… Her chicken and green peppercorns recipe, her napoli sauce recipe and her recipe for cheese scones. She actually entered the Guinness Book of Records last year for the world’s largest scone and yes it was massive and yes it was made in a purpose built oven.
What dish or cuisine do you most like to eat on tour and why?
Thai food I think. I love food and most of the time on tour you are thinking about places to eat. You spend so much of your time rushing to wait, from the plane to the hotel to soundcheck, that by the time soundcheck is over you’re thinking maybe I could stuff a chicken inside a lamb, inside a cow, inside a camel, deep fried and served with a yogurt and mint sauce. Or maybe just a Pad Kra Prao…
What type of food do you hate, and what is the most disgusting thing you’ve ever eaten?
Well I don’t know if I hate anything, but I’m really trying hard to like anchovies and blue cheese.
I also ate some sort of squirrel type thing (I think it could fly) when I was travelling in Laos about fifteen years ago. I was a vegetarian at the time but felt obliged to eat the damn thing. The whole village had come out to see us eat. I’m pretty sure they don’t even eat these things, they just wanted to see if we would, which we did and I’m pretty sure I even said it was delicious. Which it wasn’t.
What type of food do you make sure to avoid before a gig or going on stage?
Anything too heavy – I like to leave a large section of stomach for beer.
Imagine for a second you can request anything on your rider at a gig. What food do you put on it?
Truffles. Like any good rider it’s not about what you have at the gig, it’s about what you can take home! (I just got back from italy where I bought a small stash of truffles. They really are little nuggets of awesome.)
What has been your biggest cooking disaster to date? Tell us the story.
Well I’ve had a few… I remember a failed attempt to sell sausages at the MCG and being left with 300 sausages rotting in my backyard. The only way we could think of to get rid off them was to blow them up in a park with fireworks (the dogs ate well that night ). Also, as a kid I decided to make some popcorn with my brothers – we got as far as turning on the burner with oil in the pan, no popcorn, but we did manage to set the stove alight.
When you tour overseas, what food from home do you miss the most?
Good bread and coffee. Nowhere does coffee like Melbourne except for Auckland maybe.
This is your last day on earth, what is your final meal?
There would be no final meal. I’m pretty sure if I knew I would die the next day, like in some sort of apocalyptic type scenario, I would spend as much time as I could, naked covered in food like an orgy from roman times, grapes, wine, chicken, pork, legs, arms, and beer stuck in my chest hair, sounds good to me.
Catch TZU at Sprung Festival Saturday 10 November at RNA Showgr0unds Brisbane - sprunghiphop.com.au
Ingredients
Large joint of pork
2–3 tsp cumin seeds pinch of black peppercorns
1/2 tsp dried oregano crumbled large pinch of lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
large pinch of rue pinch of caraway seeds pinch of fennel seeds
1/2 tsp celery seed pinch of fresh chopped rosemary drop of asafoetida essence
150ml pork or chicken stock
100ml Red wine
1 tbsp honey
25ml butter or olive oil
Flour 2 tsp of ground celery seed
Aper ita conditur (Roast Pork in Celery Seed Sauce)
Method
Prepare the pork by wiping the meat clean and sprinkling it with ground cumin several hours before cooking.
Roast the pork, uncovered in an oven at 180°C for one hour per kilo plus 55 minutes.
Meanwhile, place all the herbs and spices in a mortar and grind together with a pestle. Blend this in a bowl with the stock, red wine and olive oil and honey. Pour this sauce into a bowl, bring to the boil then allow to simmer for 25 minutes.
Thicken the sauce with a tablespoon of flour and allow to simmer for a further five minutes.
When done, take the roast pork from the oven, sprinkle with the celery seed and allow to rest for ten minutes.
Carve the meat and serve immediately with the sauce.
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