Aboriginals adapting to modern day society: Aboriginals performing in Sydney Harbor. |
In this blog-post I am moving
away from early American literature and the culinary experiences of South –East
Asia to exploring ‘the land down under’ (Australia) and cuisine inspired by
their Aboriginal ancestors. During my online research I came across a website (www.nativefoodandwine.com) that not only provides a good
selection of traditional Australian recipes featuring their “native” ingredients
but it also gives an historical account of how the Australian food culture has
been shaped. In fact, one of the website’s historical extracts ended up being
my source of inspiration for this blog-post:
“Each of the first explorers, colonists and
convicts who arrived in Australia remarked on how everything seemed ineffably
peculiar. One of the earliest arrivals (1688), Dutchman Dirk Hartog, wrote in
his journal that:” The land is cursed, the animals hop not run, birds run no
fly and the swans are black not white.” (www.nativefoodandwine.com).
The notion of this ‘cursed’
land seems to be what separates Australian cuisine from, for example the
European culinary experiences. Although the Australian land is vast, their
country is significantly secluded and their dry and bare landscape forces them
to think alternatively. One of their alternative meat sources for instance, is
kangaroo meat. Considering how kangaroo\man ratio is close to 2:1, the
Australians seem to be getting rid of a pest problem alongside devising their very
own culinary specialty deriving from their aboriginal ancestors. Native
Australian history reveals however, that until recently so-called ‘native food’
was distrusted. Perhaps even more so, as a tourist, the notion of distrust was certainly
something I touched on when offered kangaroo meat in Australia. Surprisingly
the same kind of distrust is still found among Australia’s native inhabitants. Perhaps
this is due to the fact that kangaroo meat was considered a legalized meat
product nationwide as recent as 1993.
Kangaroo spotted during a barbeque gathering at surf camp. |
The barbeque spot. |
A potential alternative food source? |
Arguably,
Australian cookbooks inspired by Aboriginal cooking culture could be seen as
one of the major influences that have contributed to the acceptance of alternative
food resources like kangaroo meat. In the ‘rare cookbooks’ sub-section of www.booktryst.com I encountered an Aboriginal
inspired cookbook by Wilhelmina Frances Rawson titled Queensland Cookery and Poultry Book (1878) which focuses on
utilizing the scarce resources the Australian landscape has to offer. In a
statement from Rawson herself she seems to convey how she discards any
apprehensiveness towards alternative cooking and writes a matter-a-fact
cookbook: “When I tell my friends that we often eat Bandicoots, Kangaroo, Rats,
Wallaby and Paddymelon, they look astonished, and yet there is no reason they
should not be good for human food”.
Similar
to the astonished look of Rawson’s friends, my first visit to Australia did not
tempt me to consume any of Rawson’s alternative delicacies. Still, my stay in
Australia made me realize how much of an impact the Aboriginal heritage has on
the Australian culinary culture. In some respect, my many barbeque gatherings
at surf camp along the Gold Coast seemed
to present a modern version of the Aboriginal lifestyle. However, as I encountered my first wild
kangaroo during one of these barbeque gatherings it was established that my
childhood obsession with the Australian TV show ‘Skippy’ prevented me from
having the ‘land down-under’s’ somewhat primal culinary experience. Yet, three
years have passed since I saw that wild kangaroo, and I do think that if someone
brought me a kangaroo burger in at a restaurant or at barbeque gathering I
presently would feel inclined to try it. In fact, should you feel inspired by
the Australian cuisine and the their culinary history then try this RooBurger
recipe at home:
Patties
500g kangaroo mince
1 teaspoon native spice mix or
BBQ spice mix
1\2 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons lemon thyme
leaves, chopped
1tsp lemon zest
1 egg, lightly whisked
Sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
Olive oil spray
Wild tomato chutney to serve
Apple & fennel slaw
1\4 white cabbage, shredded
1 small fennel bulb, finely
sliced
4 red apples coarsely
1\2 red onion, peeled and
finely sliced
1\4 cup whole egg mayonnaise
1tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
sea salt and freshly ground
pepper
To serve:
8 x small bread rolls
2\3 cup wild tomato chutney
Place the mince, spice mix,
onion, garlic thyme, parsley, zest, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper together
in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until
required, ideally at least 2 hours, to allow flavours to meld.
For the slaw, add all the
ingredients together in a medium bowl, mixing until well combined. Cover and
set aside until required.
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C
fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Heat a char-grill pan over
medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile shape the kangaroo mixture into
eight equal sized patties, spray both sides with olive oil and cook patties for
3-4 minutes on each side. Place patties on prepared on prepared baking tray and
cook in preheated over for a further 10 minutes.
To serve, halve brad rolls,
then layer with wild tomato chutney, kangaroo pattie and tip with apple and
fennel slaw.
Get the recipe from its
original website: