In her saucy new cookbook, Good Food regular and flavour magician Rosheen Kaul gives home cooks permission to use pantry staples in kooky ways.
Cookbooks often offer a window into a chef’s culinary philosophy, and Rosheen Kaul’s latest, Secret Sauce, is no exception.
The former head chef at hatted Melbourne restaurant Etta, and a regular contributor to Good Food, Kaul has earned a reputation as a flavour magician, and she hopes some of that magic will rub off on home cooks.
The cookbook, Kaul’s second, features recipes for 50 “flavour bombs” – sauces, dressings, compound butters and condiments – along with clever ways to use them.
Armelle Habib
But the real goal of Secret Sauce is to give home cooks a free pass to experiment with pantry staples, and discover what works for their palate.
“You can use your pantry ingredients in the most roundabout, kooky ways if you get out of the mindset that you can only use certain ingredients for certain things,” says Kaul.
“For example, you can use soy sauce in whatever you feel needs a little bit of salt and depth, and olive oil in anything that you think needs a little bit of roundness or fat.”
One of her favourite dressings, for example, is made with equal parts light soy sauce, good quality fruity olive oil and sherry vinegar (“the thinking man’s vinegar”).
Though the ingredients may seem like an unlikely trio, Kaul says they create a beautifully balanced dressing that is perfect on creamy burrata, a simple tomato salad, or pan-seared barramundi.
Ready to start a pantry raid with a new perspective? Kaul is offering a head start, sharing recipes for two of her “flavour bombs” and inviting you to see how they can elevate simple dishes in surprising ways.
Roslyn Grundy, Good Food recipe editor
Grilled broccolini with ‘everything bagel’ chilli oil
Beautiful things happen to brassicas when you grill them over high heat. The ample sugars in the vegetables caramelise to delicious effect, concentrating their natural sweetness. You can replace the labne with goat’s cheese or feta if you’re short on time – just whisk or blend in a food processor with a little olive oil until smooth.
INGREDIENTS
- 260g (1 cup) Greek-style yoghurt
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 2 bunches broccolini (about 400g)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp “everything bagel” chilli oil (see recipe)
METHOD
- To make the labne, mix the yoghurt with a pinch of salt. Line a strainer with a cheesecloth and place it inside a large bowl. Add the yoghurt mixture to the cheesecloth and tie it up tightly. Allow the yoghurt to hang in the strainer for 10-12 hours, or overnight, then transfer it to a bowl and stir in the garlic.
- Toss the broccolini in the olive oil and grill it on a barbecue or under a grill for 2-3 minutes, turning halfway through to char both sides. Spread the labne on a plate, arrange the broccolini on top and dress with the everything bagel chilli oil and the remaining pinch of salt. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a side dish
‘Everything bagel’ chilli oil
This oil will last for 2-3 days before it loses its flavour, so it’s best used immediately, but it can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp everything bagel seasoning (see note)
- 30g (about ¼ cup) minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 spring onion, white part only, sliced into rounds
- ½ tsp chicken stock powder
- 185ml (¾ cup) neutral oil
- ½ tsp light soy sauce
METHOD
Combine the bagel seasoning, garlic, chilli flakes, spring onion and stock powder into a heatproof bowl. Heat the oil in a pan until it smokes, about 170C, then carefully pour it over the ingredients in the bowl. Allow to cool completely before adding the soy sauce.
Makes 1 cup
Note: Everything bagel seasoning contains all the ingredients that usually season bagels, such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, onion and salt flakes. It is available in supermarkets.
Green curry wings
The mayonnaise in the marinade helps carry the seasoning – the fat locks in all the flavour, and prevents it from burning on the surface of the chicken. Like the magic condiment it is, the mayo also helps the chicken grill to a gorgeous char and stops it from sticking.
Grilling the chicken wings slowly over medium heat allows the skin to crisp and the fat to render.
INGREDIENTS
- 125ml (½ cup) Japanese-style mayonnaise (see recipe)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp green curry paste
- 1 tsp finely chopped coriander
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- cracked black pepper, to season
- 1.5kg chicken wings
METHOD
- Mix the mayonnaise, garlic, curry paste, coriander, fish sauce, salt and a crack of black pepper in a large bowl, then add the wings and toss to coat. Leave them to marinate for at least one hour.
- Heat a grill or barbecue to medium-low heat, or preheat your oven to 190C fan-forced (210C conventional). Grill or bake the chicken, turning it occasionally, until crisp and golden brown. Enjoy the wings while they’re hot.
Serves 4
Japanese-style mayonnaise
Mayonnaise makes an excellent dipping sauce, dressing base and sauce base, but it’s also the best cooking fat to spread on the outside of toasted sandwiches, and is an excellent base for marinades.
My preferred style is Japanese mayonnaise. The distinctive flavour of Kewpie mayonnaise comes from the perfect combination of vinegar, plenty of egg yolks, MSG to give the yolks some extra umami oomph, and specialised emulsification equipment (aka a giant fancy blender). You can zhuzh up your regular mayonnaise with a little sugar and rice vinegar to give it that Kewpie edge, or here’s a version you can make at home from scratch.
I’ve added layers of acidity from a few different types of vinegar to ensure a fruity, sweeter, more balanced finish. Using egg yolks only (rather than whole eggs) gives it a lush, custard-like richness. This mayonnaise will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp MSG
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 185ml (¾ cup) neutral oil
METHOD
- Combine the vinegars in a small bowl and set aside. Put the egg yolks, mustard, MSG, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor, or whisk by hand if you wish (and you have strong forearms). Blend or whisk – slowly at first – until pale, thick and creamy, almost resembling a mayonnaise. Once the yolks reach that creamy consistency, you’re in the clear, as it’s emulsified enough that it shouldn’t split unless it overheats.
- Slowly stream the oil into the whipped eggs, a small amount at a time. Add about half of the oil, then half of the vinegar. Continue whisking or blending and gradually add the remaining oil until it’s combined and thick. Add the remaining vinegar to thin the mayonnaise to the right consistency.
- Alternatively, according to TikTok, you can put everything in a small jug, place a stick blender directly inside and blend until it’s thick and smooth.
Makes 1 cup (250ml)
This is an edited extract from Secret Sauce by Rosheen Kaul, photography by Armelle Habib. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.
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Rosheen Kaul is the former head chef of Melbourne’s Etta, author of the cookbook Chinese-ish, and a Good Food recipe columnist.
