01x03 - Seafood

[bunniefuu]

I'm Jimmy Shu.

My parents were Chinese
but I grew up in Sri Lanka,

working in my dad's restaurant,
and I've been a foodie ever since.

Nearly 30 years ago, I moved
to Darwin in the Northern Territory,

in the top end of Australia,
to open my restaurant,

Hanuman.

And this tropical city has
had my heart ever since.

Closer to Asia than any other
Australian capital city,

the top end is a rich melting pot
of Indigenous culture,

the flavours of Asian migration,
and incredible tropical produce,

creating a vibrant, dynamic food
scene that's one of Australia's

best kept secrets.

Wow, wow.

Welcome to my Taste
of the Territory.

The coastlines of the top end
of Australia are truly breathtaking.

These pristine waters are abundant
with some of the best and most

varied seafood in the world,
loved by locals and visitors alike.

It's not surprising then that fresh
seafood is an integral part of top

end food culture, from our kitchens
at home, to our finest restaurants.

I love cooking with seafood,
and here in Darwin, we have access

to the freshest and the best.

In this episode, that's
what we're going to celebrate.

I'm on my way, to see one
of my closest friends,

as a matter of fact,
my first friend here in Darwin -

Billy Boustead.

Billy lives in the Howard Peninsula
area, about a 40-minute drive

northeast of Darwin.

I love going to Billy's place.

To me, it's paradise.

His property backs onto
the beautiful waters of Shoal Bay,

an area teeming with seafood,
including barramundi,

which is definitely
the Northern Territory's

most iconic fish.

I was in search of the silver
barramundi for one

of my restaurants in Melbourne.

And finally, I got
to speak to Billy.

I said, "Billy, I'm after this
silver barramundi and I heard that

you produce it."

He said, "Oh yes, yes, I do that."

The next day, I got on a flight
and here I was in Darwin.

Billy was there.

Mighty Billy.

In a singlet, thongs,
shorts - but he had the best

and the most genuine smile
I've ever come across.

That's Billy-boy.

My good friend, Billy.

Billy, Billy, Billy.

Hey, Jimmy.

I made it, Billy.

That's amazing.

It's taken you 28 years to get here,
without... and we have to go

and find ya.

This is the Billy Boustead.

This guy, his heart is not
gold, it's platinum.

Well, I've had a charmed life.

So, I grew up in Darwin,
and that was a time when,

uh, it was a small place
and it was marvellous.

When I first got to high school,
I was a disruption in class

and my schoolteacher recognised
it was probably better for me,

to give me a lift down the beach
and tell me to go fishing

for the day than to attend school.

And so early days, I wasn't much
good academically but I soon learnt

how to catch fish and crabs
and, and the likes.

It was Billy's silver barramundi
that brought me to the top end.

And that trip changed my life.

I instantly fell in love
with the incredible produce,

people, and Darwin's
tropical lifestyle.

There was just something about this
place that totally inspired me.

Within six months, I'd
sold my Melbourne businesses

and opened my restaurant in Darwin.

And I've never looked back.

Good spot, that.

You had a good spot there?

Beautiful.

No excuse - there's fish here.

This is a marvellous
place you're living in.

Magnificent.

Back yard, front yard,
is all surrounded by

pristine water.

Just don't tell the world.

This... this area is the home
of the famous barramundi

and the famous mud crab.

The tide comes in and goes out, so
it's... it's become a... a food bowl.

It's a sort of a sedimentary silt
basin that turns over all the time.

It's so rich.

Uh, it's... it's a wonderland.

He's going under your boat.

Oh hell!

Ah! It's a barra!

Whoa!

Get in there!

Hey! Hey!

Bloody hell, Jimmy.

Wow!

Billy, Billy, Billy,
Billy ... high five.

Come on.

Hey!

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy...
Look at that.

Do you know how to cook it?

You just make me jealous.

You know this size ones,
I... I never seem to catch

them, that size.

Whoo hoo!

You... you've done it again, McCain!

Uh, deadly headly.

Well you couldn't get
anything fresher than this.

A wild caught barramundi,
and we're gonna turn this

into my favourite dish.

Look at that sunset,
just about to come down,

and I'm going to cook a dish
that is so close to my heart.

It is a dish that I grew up
eating back in Sri Lanka.

I'm going to beat the sun.

Half a large, red onion.

Always important, when you're
cooking onions, is to have that hot

oil and the sizzle because you need
to caramelise the onions.

Now this dish is also called
Kiri Malu in Sri Lanka.

I used to be dragged
to the markets as a young teenager

and it was a boring thing
for a young teenager.

But, I knew that if I get
to the markets, I get

to eat this dish.

So, ever since then,
every restaurant that I've been

involved, I try to make sure
that this is on the menu.

The onions are nice and caramelised.

About a thumb-sized
ginger, diced finely.

The ginger doesn't have to be
caramelised, by the way.

All you need is some nice,
lovely aromas from it.

I'm going to put in the tomatoes.

Half a tomato, finely diced.

Hear that sound.

Ssss - that's what I like to hear.

One stalk of lemongrass.

Then, I'm going to put
in my curry leaves.

Two sprigs of curry leaves,
and three little bird-eye chillies,

slit in the middle.

Ah,
it's coming along perfectly.

Now turmeric, we always add it
to the very end because if it burns,

it becomes bitter.

And now is the time to put in 800
mil of coconut milk.

And now I'm going to turn
on the flame full-ball and put

the lid on.

You've got to let the lemongrass
infuse the coconut milk.

I reckon the colour looks perfect.

I then add some salt and some sugar,
then it's time for my prized

ingredient - the fresh barramundi
that we just caught.

The fish has been cut into nice
bite-sized pieces and gently put it

into this broiling, boiled sauce.

Once I've got all this fish in,
I'm going to put the lid on and then

let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Barramundi poached in coconut,
infused with lemongrass.

- Cheers.
- Cheers, Jimmy.

You know what we say in my country?

- Tell me.
- More better than good.

How good is this?

To be served by the Hanuman
man in my backyard.

Jimmy Shu's signature dish.

Oh, so good.

Thank you, Billy.

Mmm.

I don't envy anyone.

I've had the best life ever.

I mean, I'm the luckiest one
that there ever was.

And, there is no-one more
Top End Territorian proud than I am

of what a marvellous
place we've got here.

I'm at Darwin's beautiful Wharf
area, right next to the city,

to meet someone who's really
serious about seafood,

Chef Rachael Ciesiolka.

Rachel has been dubbed
Darwin's seafood queen,

and her pop-up restaurant,
Rachel's Seafood Shack,

is built on a philosophy of boat
to belly - showcasing the freshest

of top end seafood that she sources
directly from the fishermen.

Welcome to my favourite
place in Darwin.

This is, um, affectionately known
by the locals as our duck pond.

It's our heart and hub
of the fishing industry.

Well, does that mean there should be
a few ducks around the place?

Well, we would... one would assume,
but our little ducks are these

beautiful boats that go out
and catch our beautiful NT seafood.

Our seafood industry,
our fishing industry,

here in the top end is over
a hundred years old.

Wow.

Generations of knowledge,
all sitting on these little boats.

I was just one of those weekend
fishermen that used to go out

with her husband.

It's our lifestyle here in Darwin.

That little bit of weekend fun,
that turned into passion,

has now turned into a career.

One thing I love, Jimmy,
about my little restaurant is,

I have to work with what I get
from the fishermen on a daily basis.

It's Northern Territory, wild,
ocean-caught seafood - from the top

end, to the boats,
to my kitchen, to the plates.

So in its true sense,
that is really what you mean

'catch of the day'.

- Definite catch of the day.
- Wow.

Jimmy, I would love
to take you down to one

of our amazing fishermen.

His name is Norm.

He has been fishing in the top end
here, for over 38 years.

Normie!

I've got someone
to introduce you to.

Now Normie does, um... he specialises
in Spanish Mackerel,

and that is one of my favourite
fish that I sell at the Shack.

Well that's my favourite fish too.

Well, it's also my favourite.

Oh, there you go.

Every fish that we catch,
we catch by hand.

And it's processed on board
the boats, and we send to markets

in WA, Queensland and even
as far as Melbourne.

My motto is, is when
it's calm, go fishing.

When it's rough, stay home.

So we average around about 210
to maybe 220 days a year fished.

So he's swimming in the ocean,
head off, bled, and in iced water

in under 5 minutes.

People source me now
because they know that

I get fresh fish.

And you can tell me
what that fish is like,

what the season's like.

When you say you can't go out
fishing, well I'm telling

the people, "I don't have Macky
'cause he's not out fishing".

We're so fortunate up here that, uh,
the waters are just pristine.

They... they're just sparkling clean.

You know, we'd have
very little pollution.

So, you couldn't get a better
place to catch a fish.

Most people go to work all their
lives and when they retire,

they buy a boat and go fishing.

I made it my job, and I'm
still doing it and I love it.

After having a pop-up
restaurant for four years,

Rachael's Seafood Shack finally
has a permanent home,

at Darwin's Diner Beach Yacht Club -
a 5-minute drive from the duck pond.

Today, Rachael's gonna cook
with another very special seafood

that the top end is famous for.

We are going to be cooking one
of the most iconic dishes,

which is the Northern
Territorian mud crab.

You know, there's so many ways
of cooking a mud crab.

Well, I always say 'simple'
when it comes to seafood,

um, and especially our top
end seafood 'cause it's

so fresh, so delicious.

I just like to steam it
with a little citrus butter

because then you can taste that
beautiful sweet meat.

Now, to dress it - and dressing
means taking everything

that we can't eat
away from the crab.

So, we raise his little flap
but I stick my finger under the flap

and I put up my finger
on his back flipper here,

and I push and pull
at the same time.

Ah!

So we take the carapace off.

And my father used to call
these 'dead man fingers'.

I just run my thumb across the top
here, and I take that away.

So what I do is, I normally take him
to the sink and I give him a little

bit of a scrub.

So Jimmy, I cleaned him all up.

And now, let's get into portioning.

Now look at that.

It's full of meat, mm.

It's gonna be so flavourful.

Now, we need to get the steam
into the crab, so I only

give him little taps.

I like to use a process
of, um, self-steaming.

So I've got about a cup of water
in the bottom of a wok.

I like to keep everything, sort of,
how it was when I cut it up.

And then, just to keep the steam
in the most important part here,


- from the cold wash.

And this is where the magic happens.

He's gone in nice and green... Mm hm.

and when he comes out, he's gonna
be that iconic... iconic orange.

I'm going to do
a simple citrus butter.

So here we have some beautiful top
end flavour combinations.

You've got, chilli,
lemongrass, lemon, coriander,

local limes, orange.

We love things that are fresh
and pops with flavour.

I'm onto the sauce now,
and it's so simple.

But it has to be done fresh.

Um, allow that to melt a wee bit.

I just want to blanch it
in the butter so the oils come out

of the chilli and the lemongrass
and the coriander.

So straightaway, my chilli,
lemongrass and my onions.

And I just want to soften them
a little bit, nothing too dramatic.

I'll turn the heat down a bit now.

So it's coming to a nice nut-brown.

The coriander root.

Now, what I like to do is get a...
a little bit of flame

on here because the last bit to me,
is quite important.

So citrus - all these
little pulps in your lime,

your lemon, your orange - I love
to make... warm them right through.

But it's got to be
done really quickly.

- And this is where your citrus...
- I can see the juices, yeah.

That's your orange
and fresh lime juice.

And that's it, Jimmy.

I feel like a magician.

- Every time I do this...
- Wow!

Look at that colour!

Look at this.

Our simple butter, I just
pour it over the top.

A little bit of leaf. Over the top.

So this is our Northern
Territorian Mud Crab,

with Rachel's simple citrus butter.

You know something?

I skipped breakfast because of this.

I did too. We must have known.

Let's go for lunch.

Mmm.

I've never used citrus
flavours in my crab,

but this one is outstanding.

I can see why everybody calls
you 'The queen of seafood'.

- Well worth skipping breakfast...
- Your breakfast for.

The Larrakia people
are the traditional owners

of the Darwin region and have been
harvesting the abundant seafood

and shellfish of these
waters for generations.

Today, I'm going into the mangroves
with Larrakia woman,

Leslie Gordon, who is going to show
me how to collect and cook longbums

- a traditional seafood
the Larrakia people have been

eating for millennia.

Hopefully, the mud's gonna
be a little bit dry.

Alright.

Because if it's wet-wet,
I hope you've got good balance.

And you've gotta hang on.

My stress... my stress level has shot
through the ceiling now.

It'll be fine. You know what?

Our ancestors today,
are gonna look after us.

Old people!

Leslie's come to collect
bush tucker today!

I've brought my friend here today.

We're gonna collect bush tucker.

Paying our respects and looking
after country today.

And watch over us while we go
to collect our bush tucker!

Ma!

Okay, Jimmy, let's go.

This is a creek bed, Jimmy,
and it goes all the way down,

out to the ocean.

Larrakia people, being saltwater
people, we mainly ate

a lot of shellfish.

It's like walking with
flippers, you know?

On the big high tides,
it'll come all the way up here.

Yes.

Very, very wet.

This is a mangrove bush.

What do you reckon?

- It's salty.
- It's a salt bush.

I remember having a piece of lamb
and they said their... their feed

was salt bush.

So that's it - that's how
they get the saltiness.

I didn't know that, Jimmy. You see?

We're sharing each
other's knowledge.

Mm.

And if you have a look down,
this is there - this

is where the longbums live.

Mainly, the women come and collect
but we teach the little kids,

we teach our... the
grandchildren...

and the children
how to collect it.

- This is the longbum fella here.
- That's a longbum.

In Larrakia language,
it's Danijarra.

He's mature.

Oh yes, and he's all full.

So I'm just showing you, Jimmy,
the difference between the good

longbums that we're gonna be eating.

They're okay to eat.

These two here, they're
the cheeky ones.

We don't want to collect
these ones today.

- When we say 'cheeky'...
- Yes.

your mouth is gonna swell up.

- Ooh, wow.
- Yeah.

Oh, look at this fella.

He's massive.

That's an absolute mature adult
and we're gonna take him with us.

Well... We're gonna get a good
feed out of this one.

Can you smell that fire, Jimmy?

I'm getting really hungry.

The best way to have
'em is on the coals.

Mm.

Jimmy, I've been, um,
hunting and foraging with my family

since I was about ten,
and there's so much abundance

of food on the Larrakia country
and along the coastline.

And I guess one of the reasons that
I come back to this particular area,

year after year, is to look
after the country and to make sure

that there's lots of food
for the next generations of kids.

Ooh, they're bubbling
really nicely now.

Yes.

Wow, he's just come out like that.

He's... he's cooked, and he's ready.

Whoa!

We call that the... the kaka,
and we chuck it away.

We don't eat that.

I can remember fishing
and magpie geese hunting.

Everything that I've learnt,
I've learnt from my father.

- Your dad!
- My dad was a, um, great hunter.

- That's clean now.
- There's just a little bit here.

What about the top part there?

There's a bit more kaka there.

Ohh, hey, don't worry!
Are you being fussy?

I'm not used to it.

Don't worry about that
kaka, just eat it!

I'm not used to it.

It smells like a prawn.

- Mollusc.
- Very... yeah, mollusc, yeah.

Love it.

It's like a very crunchy prawn.

It's... it's good bush
medicine for the old people.

So I come down and I collect enough
so that the old people can

have a feed, and it
makes them feel better.

- Look at that! Ah!
- You got it?

- Oh! There you go.
- Well done, you.

And this is mine, isn't it, Jimmy?

Cheers.

Absolutely.

I've had my share.

Leslie, thank you so much.

- I salute the Larrakia people...
- And you too.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

It was a really amazing experience,
to be taken through this Larrakia

land by Leslie.

That is some sort of... like,
an electric field going

through my body.

It's just... I... I... it's
hard to describe fully,

but there's a lot of excitement
and appreciation, and I really feel

that coming from the... from my
heart.

I've come to the Beachfront Hotel
in Rapid Creek, a northern seaside

suburb in Darwin.

The Beachfront Hotel
is the oldest pub in the area,

and is also home to Justin Whitrow's
Smokey J's Brew and Que.

Justin is obsessed with the art
of smoking meat, and is bringing

American-styled barbecue to Darwin.

He's invited me to try what he says
is the most unusual taco

I've ever had.

This is our custom-built, 30-inch,
smoker that we use to smoke

all our goodies in.

It's massive.

- Like a locomotive engine.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We get lots of Thomas
the Tank Engine comments,

especially from the kids,
that's for sure.

And I also get this amazing aroma.

Yeah, yeah, that comes from a lot
of what we're cook in it,

but mainly from that cherrywood
that we stick in there,

that just gives the meat that
beautiful sweetness and colour that

we're after when we smoke it.

So, in here, Jimmy, we've got a very
special ingredient for your taco

here to try today.

Whoa!

Hang on.

This looks like... don't
tell me it's a crocodile?

It is a crocodile, definitely.

A whole local one.

Gee, but it's so beautifully cooked.

It looks perfectly smoked.

- Yeah, Look at that colour.
- Yeah absolutely.

And that cherrywood, like we say,

it brings out the sweetness
and colour in the meat.

- Six, seven hours in there.
- Wow!

Beautiful. It almost comes out
like sticky pork.

A real NT specialty,
I think of this one.

- I just can't help but admire it.
- Yeah.

Justin, why crocodile?

Well, we just thought mainly
the fact that it's a really good

top end industry.

It's almost like a wastage
of the handbag industry,

so it's a very sustainable
meat product as well.

And trying to do something different
with a cut that no-one else

really plays with.

And it was just a little
bit of fun too, Jimmy.

- Do you marinate the...
- Absolutely. We do.

We have a couple of house
marinades and house rubs.

You can see the colour on there.

We keep a few of them to ourselves
though really - as you always do.

- Shush!
- Yeah, definitely, definitely.

Very impressive.

I can't wait to try it.

I can't wait for you to
try it either, Jimmy.

So should we go get you this taco?

Oh... And here we go, Jimmy.

And here it is. Wow.

With all the goodies
to make our croc taco.

So I'll just get the little
house tortilla there.

And some local NT green pawpaw slaw.

This is our beautiful pulled, um,
crocodile there that we've just

pulled out of the smoker there.

Ninjin dressing that goes on the
crocodile to bring out the flavour.

A couple of little bits of corn
salsa there for some crunch.

And a beautiful green chimichurri.

That'll be used to finish off,
to break through the smoke.

So time to try it, Jimmy.

Yeah, cheers.

Cheers, mate.

So moist.

Crocodile is supposed to be
a seafood, but there's no seafood

taste as such.

No, none at all. None at all.

We, uh, think it may be the smoke
that takes all that away.

We do hear a few people call them
'angry swimming chickens',

but... and so, a lot
of people say that.

But we like to think there's a bit
more of a depth of flavour

that the smoking creates with it.

- Yeah.
- And the cherrywood.

Where else can you
have a crocodile taco?

- Where else could you have
a whole crocodile taco?
- Yeah, yeah.

Surely only in Darwin, up the top.

- At your doorstep.
- Absolutely.

It is so beautiful.

Beautiful.

It's... you've got me stumped.

With some of the best fishing spots
in the world and easy access

to incredible local seafood,
fresh seafood is as definitive

to the top end as its tropical
sunsets - a staple on most

menus across town.

It's easy to see why Darwin's
diverse and eclectic food scene has

made seafood synonymous
with top end cuisine.

Next time... I'm off to Maningrida,
in West Arnhem land,

to explore the Indigenous
ingredients of the region.

This is my heaven here.

This is nothing close
to what I've eaten before.

I'm gonna try it.