Cooking

“French” quinoa “congee”

Posted by Gary

If you don’t want to wade through my rambling, click here to jump to the recipe.

“French” quinoa “congee” with red cabbage, spring onion, and red chilli.

Dear Reader,

I hope you are well and have enjoyed a blissful and joy-filled week. I’ve had a fabulous week and feel happy. I feel lighter from weight loss and the lifting of some other burdens. It’s been good to speak with friends this week about a few matters and have problems resolved.

Monday is a gazetted holiday in the Australian Capital Territory; it’s also a long weekend in a few other jurisdictions in Australia. I’m looking forward to a day at home on Monday.

Because it’s Autumn and Winter is approaching, I’m thinking about some recipes for the colder weather. My favourite food is congee (also known as jook).

I’ve been thinking of variations and trying to enjoy congee while I’m in the CSIRO TWD program. I’ll start with 2 L of water and ½ cup of brown rice, and ½ cup of quinoa.

I’ve posted many congee recipes here; the most recent was in November 2022.

After using a packet of low-sodium French onion soup mix to form a cooking liquor last week, I considered French onion soup a flavouring for congee rather than relying on meat and bones. I also thought I’d mix some brown rice and quinoa while at it.

On the topic of low sodium, you may be interested in a WHO report released this week [1]. I also read an interesting article on a paradigm shift in thinking about sodium regulation [2]. Of course, there is an argument to be salty (English Standard Version, 2012, Mark 9:50) [3].

I’m still going well with the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.

Rugby league

Last week I mentioned it was round one of the National Rugby League competition. It was the first game in the NRL of my new number-one team, the Dolphins. They won. All four Queensland NRL teams enjoyed victories in their round one matches, viz., the Brisbane Broncos, the North Queensland Cowboys, the Gold Coast Titans, and the Dolphins. It was joyous. I was ecstatic. My father and brothers were all happy as we texted each other during the games.

The defeated teams, though, will bounce back in round two and make for better competition. A season has victories and defeats, and it all helps build the excitement of the competition. It is, after all, just a game. That said, in the end, rugby league just gets better.

I tweeted this last week for the DolphinsNRL first-ever game in the NRL.

This week, the Dolphins are playing the Canberra Raiders. Many of my Canberra friends are fans and members of the Canberra Raiders club. I look forward to conversations about the game next week.

Instagram post with my new DolphinsNRL keyring.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • Brown rice (½ cup [100 g], uncooked)
  • Tri-colour quinoa (½ cup [100 g], uncooked)
  • French onion soup mix (low sodium)
  • Tap water (8 cups [2 L])
  • Freshly pounded and ground black peppercorns
  • Spring onions
  • Red chilli flakes (1 tablespoon)

Instructions

  • Wash the rice and quinoa until the water runs clear. Did you know the water draining from the bowl as you clean rice looks like the faeces of patients with cholera? Hence the description, “rice water stool.”
  • Add the rice, quinoa, pepper, soup mix, and water to the pressure cooker.
  • Cook under pressure for 30 minutes and allow 15 minutes for a natural release.
  • Stir the rice gruel and keep heating to the desired thickness.
  • Season to taste (I know I’m trying to lower my sodium intake, so do this carefully).
  • Add and stir through chilli to taste.
  • Transfer everything to a large serving bowl
  • Transfer congee to individual bowls
  • Give thanks to the Lord.
  • Serve with spring onions, shredded cabbage, and soy sauce (low sodium if you have it).

Thoughts on the meal

It’s not often I go meat-free, but tonight I did.

Given a choice, I’d go with the traditional congee using arborio rice and some meat, like chicken or some fatty pork. One tablespoon of red hot chilli flakes is also a bit much. The mucosa of my throat is on fire.

The mass of the food before cooking was 2200 g. The mass of the food after cooking was 1720 g. I’m figuring if I have a cup full of congee it’ll be roughly a tenth of the nutritional value (detailed table of all values) of the total.

It was a bit soupy but I’ve got heaps of time to get it right before winter really hits. I think I may reduce the ratio of quinoa because it really is quite nutty in flavour.

Because I’m lazy and do not like mathematics:

ElementValue per cup
Kilojoules300
Protein2.3 g
Total fat1 g
Total carbohydrates14 g
Sugar
Fibre0.7 g
Sodium17 g
Nutritional values (approximations only)

Final thoughts

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Are you doing anything exciting? Let me know in the comments.

Photographs

Brown rice and tri-colour quinoa
Brown rice
Tri-colour quinoa
Spring onion, red cabbage, and red chilli
“French” quinoa “congee” with red cabbage, spring onion, and red chilli.
“French” quinoa “congee” with red cabbage, spring onion, and red chilli.
“French” quinoa “congee” with red cabbage, spring onion, and red chilli.
“French” quinoa “congee” with red cabbage, spring onion, and red chilli.
“French” quinoa “congee” with red cabbage, spring onion, and red chilli.

Nutrition information

Brown riceQuinoaFrench onion soup (Sodium reduced)
 Nutrition per 100 gNutrition per 100 gNutrition per 100 mL
Kilojoules1450158055
Calories34737613
Protein7.9 g15.2 g0.3 g
Total fat3.1 g7.3 g<0.1 g
Saturated fat0.5 g1 g<0.1 g
Total carbohydrates69.1 g68.4 g3.0 g
Total sugars1.1 g5.2 g0.5 g
Fibre3.5 g10.6 g0.1 g
Sodium2 mg5 mg160 mg
Alcohol0 g0 g 
Beta carotene equivalent0 μg8 μg 
Caffeine0 mg0 mg 
Calcium7 mg40.8 mg 
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg 
Folate36.8 μg183.1 μg 
Iodine20.4 μg0.5 μg 
Iron0.8 mg4.9 mg 
Magnesium118.4 mg167.2 mg 
Monounsaturated Fat1 g2 g 
Niacin5.8 mg0 mg 
Niacin equivalent7.5 mg2.8 mg 
Omega 3 Fat0 mg48.7 mg 
Phosphorus312.4 mg375.1 mg 
Polyunsaturated Fat1.1 g3.4 g 
Potassium230 mg560.2 mg45 mg
Retinol0 μg0 μg 
Retinol equivalent0 μg1 μg 
Riboflavin0 mg0 mg 
Selenium13.9 μg0 μg 
Starch and dextrin67.7 g49 g 
Thiamine0.4 mg0.3 mg 
Trans Fat0 g0 g 
Vitamin B120 μg0 μg 
Vitamin B60.2 mg0.3 mg 
Vitamin C0 mg0 mg 
Water13.9 g12.3 g 
Zinc1.7 mg3.6 mg 
Nutrition information

References

1.         World Health Organization. WHO global report on sodium intake reduction. 2023  [cited 2023 20230311]; Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240069985.

2.         Kirabo, A., A new paradigm of sodium regulation in inflammation and hypertension. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, 2017. 313(6): p. R706-r710.

3.         Collins Anglicised ESV Bibles, Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV) Anglicised Edition. 2012: HarperCollins Publishers.

Figs and pomegranate

Posted by Gary

Hello Reader, 

It’s Autumn, which means the 2023 footy season has started. 

It began well with the Storm winning Thursday night and the Broncos winning a nail-biter last night. 

It was so relaxing laying in bed, daydreaming about life’s pleasures and checking the NRL app for updates. 

The big game of the weekend is tomorrow arvo. The Dolphins are playing against the Sydney Roosters, and it’s the Dolphin’s first official NRL game. My eldest and youngest children will be in the crowd cheering for the Dolphins. The Dolphins supporters will be screaming #phinsup 

The Redcliffe Dolphins are a well-established club (founded in 1947) in Brisbane and have produced great players like Ian “Bunny” Pearce and Arthur “Arty” Beetson. 

I’ve been a Broncos fan since the team’s formation and entry into the National Rugby League (1987). When the NRL announced the 2023 entry of the Dolphins as an NRL club and Wayne Bennett would be the team’s first NRL coach, I decided to make the Dolphins my number one team. 

Check out more from Rupert McCall.

I wasn’t sure what to cook today, so I drew inspiration from two sources. Yesterday, Lorraine posted five recipes for figs. I saw a salad with figs and pomegranates. Long-time readers know my fondness for pomegranate arils. 

The second source is the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet Facebook support group. Last night I saw someone’s recipe for lamb shanks and marmalade. 

I’ve modified the recipe because I prefer a pressure cooker rather than a slow cooker. I also used shank meat rather than the whole shank. Buying shank meat means I can portion according to weight to ensure I only eat about 150 grams per serving. 

The diet is going well, I’ve spent the best part of this week under my goal weight, and this morning I reached a milestone I never dreamed possible. 

A tweet from @garydlum

In last week’s post, I mentioned I had spent the weekend in Melbourne attending and participating in a medical conference. The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia hosted it. 

Photographers were present and shot me during my talk on Friday morning. 

A tweet from @DrGaryLum

Recipe

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker
  • Saucepan

Ingredients

  • Lamb shank meat – I bought a 550 grams packet. This weight will give me four portions of <150 grams.  
  • Marmalade – I used some homemade whiskey and Seville orange marmalade. I also reduced the quantity of the recipe from the CSIRO TWD group.
  • French onion soup mix – I chose the low-sodium version. 
  • Rosemary – foraged from the sidewalk of my street. 
  • Orange
  • Peach
  • Pomegranate
  • Figs

Instructions

  1. Boil some water in a kettle and add two teaspoons of the marmalade and some French onion soup mix to a cup of boiling water. 
  2. Mix the soup mix and marmalade until it forms a loose slurry. 
  3. Add the shank meat to the cooking vessel and pour over the soup and marmalade mixture. 
  4. Add some fresh rosemary leaves. 
  5. Cook in the pressure cooker for 45 minutes. 
  6. Allow the pressure to equilibrate naturally, and transfer the meat to the refrigerator. 
  7. Sieve the cooking liquor and reduce it in a saucepan. 
  8. The reduced cooking liquor will form a sauce. 
  9. Wash the figs and divide them to create a star shape. 
  10. Remove the arils from the pomegranate by beating it with the back of a cook’s knife. 
  11. Quarter an orange and dissect out the flesh. 
  12. Wash the peach and cut it into small pieces. 
  13. Arrange the fruit and meat on a plate and drizzle the reduced cooking liquor over the food. 
  14. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  15. Eat with a fork or chopsticks. 

Final thoughts

The syrupy sauce from reduced marmalade, French onion, and rosemary was exquisite. 

Cooking meat on the bone will always bear more flavour. I believe that. Life, however, is about compromises, and I am willing to compromise a bit on taste to make it easier to maintain a habit. I rely heavily on routines to optimise my mental health. 

If I were cooking this and enjoying it with someone else, I would use a whole shank and pull the meat from the bone after it has cooked. 

I now have some lamb meat left for this week and half a pomegranate left to enjoy on Monday night with soy-flavoured poached salmon. 

I hope your week to come is peaceful, joy-filled and happy. 

Fig and pomegranate with lamb shank meat
Claire’s marmalade
Fig and pomegranate with lamb shank meat
Fig and pomegranate with lamb shank meat
Fig and pomegranate with lamb shank meat
Fig and pomegranate with lamb shank meat

Sodium bicarbonate and tenderising meat

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

I hope you’ve enjoyed a good week. 

I don’t have a recipe to share tonight. I want to describe how I have used sodium bicarbonate to tenderise meat. 

What is sodium bicarbonate?

Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is an odourless white crystal with a molecular mass of 84.0066 g mol–1. It’s primarily used as a rising or leavening agent to aerate foods like bread. This occurs when NaHCO3 combines with hydrogen (H+) and reacts with the acid, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) plus water (H₂O) and sodium (Na+) are formed. CO₂ is the gas that bubbles through the dough. 

I also use NaHCO3 to clean my stainless-steel cooking utensils in the kitchen, like frying pans and saucepans. 

This week, however, I exploited another feature of NaHCO3, its ability to tenderise meat. Watch Dan from America’s Test Kitchen (YouTube video below); he explains it well. 

How have I been using sodium bicarbonate?

Most people would use sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda) with raw meat. I have been using it with cooked meat. Because I’m a “freestyler” in the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, I design my own meals. This relies on cooking the meat portions on the weekend. I find using a water bath, and water heater/circulator for sous vide cooking the most convenient and time efficient. I know many people do not have this equipment. Many prefer using a frying pan and stove, a barbecue grill, or grilling in the oven. It doesn’t really matter what you use for cooking your meat. I manage my work and life around convenience. 

I don’t know if I’ll stop the weekly meal planning and preparation when I retire. It seems like an excellent discipline to retain. 

Meat cooked this way is always tender; however, the second cooking phase can cause the meat fibres to toughen when using this meat in a stir-fry. I’ve used sodium bicarbonate to avoid this and retain my desired suppleness. It works a treat. 

Another terrific resource on sodium bicarbonate in the process known as velveting is the book, “The Wok: Recipes and Techniques” by J. Kenji López-Alt. Check out page 74, where you will find the “Basic Velveting” section. 

Another blogger you can read for wisdom is Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella. Lorraine, who I think is “Better than Nigella”, has written about velveting in a few of her posts. The main one is velveting Chinese beef, chicken, and pork.

Coincidentally, America’s Test Kitchen tweeted this today.

Why Baking Soda is the Most Useful Ingredient in Your Kitchen

While sodium bicarbonate is not specifically mentioned, I can’t help but share a YouTube video featuring Lan Lam. She is a terrific pedagogue and reminds me of my Mum. 

The Secret To Mastering Burgers, Sausage, and Meatballs

On the subject of my mother, I recall, as a young child, standing next to Mum in the kitchen while she cooked. I would watch her use utensils and toss her wok. I also noted her use of sodium bicarbonate and corn flour (in North America, I think you call this corn starch). 

When I left home, I would try to emulate Mum’s cooking, but I am a lazy man who takes shortcuts. When I’ve taken to using those extra techniques that seemed natural to Mum, my food has brought back some of those pleasurable memories of how soft and delicate meat can feel in my mouth. 

An experiment

In Dan’s video, he also mentions that sodium bicarbonate helps enhance the browning of food. 

I thought I’d see if sodium bicarbonate enhances the browning of a lamb rump steak cooked a few weeks ago and frozen. 

I thawed the lamb overnight and then let it sit in a dilute solution of sodium bicarbonate and water for about ten minutes. 

I washed the surface of the meat and then patted it dry with a paper towel before searing it in a hot frying pan. 

Check out the result in the photograph. 

I don’t think it really helped with the searing of the meat. What it did you is make the lamb rump steak noticeably more tender. It’s a bit of a faff, but worth it if you want to improve the mouthfeel of meat. 

Lamb rump steak with tomato, cucumber, and cheese
Lamb rump steak with tomato, cucumber, and cheese

Photographs

Here are a series of photographs and descriptions of how I’ve tenderised meat this week and enjoyed the combination of tender meats and vegetables.

You can improve the texture of beef, chicken, pork, and lamb with sodium bicarbonate. I expect it will work with any other mammalian and avian meat. 

Curry zucchini noodles with NaHCO3 tenderised pork scotch steak, spinach, fennel, and red onion
Curry zucchini noodles with NaHCO3 tenderised pork scotch steak, spinach, fennel, and red onion
NaHCO3 tenderised steak with vegetable “rice”
NaHCO3 tenderised steak with vegetable “rice”
NaHCO3 tenderised steak with vegetable “rice”
Chicken Cabbage Fennel Onion
Chicken Cabbage Fennel Onion
Leftover tenderised chicken with cabbage, fennel, red onion, and a kipfler potato

You may have noticed in the photographs of my lunch at work, I’m using a new lunch box. I used to use Tupperware plastic containers that were quite good but there was always a rick the lid would detach accidentally.

I’ve now purchased a couple of Avanti stainless steel containers which have a secure fitting lid.

Gifted kipfler potatoes

A workmate grows kipfler potatoes. Potatoes aren’t a big part of the CSIRO TWD. I can’t say no to free spuds though.

Zucchini “noodles” Pork Curry Kipfler potatoes Ginger beer

Final thoughts

I hope you found this post interesting. If you’ve never tried tenderising meat with sodium bicarbonate and you give it a go, please come back here, and leave me a comment on what you think about it. I’d be keen to know if you think it’s worth the extra effort. 

A few people have been asking about how I feel while on the CSIRO TWD. I’m feeling well. I’m feeling more flexible and agile and more energetic. One downside, though, has been the change in bowel habits. It’s not as regular, and the pungency of the aroma, especially of my flatus, can be embarrassing in workplace situations. 

This week’s TWD photo

Photograph of Gary wearing a maroon polo shirt.
Entering week 5 of TWD

Pork and egg burger

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I hope you are well and eating well. 

I feel well myself and am enjoying the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet. When I weighed myself this morning, I noted that I had lost 5.2 kilograms since commencing the program. 

My jeans and some of my T-shirts now feel loose. 

While TWD is more than a low carbohydrate approach to eating and living, reducing unnecessary carbohydrate consumption and replacing it with lean protein is crucial. 

I’ve been eating a small portion of granola with unflavoured and unsweetened yoghurt most nights and still losing weight. 

This is a photograph of Gary after he weighed in on Saturday morning for the CSIRO TWD.
Saturday’s TWD weigh-in photograph

I thought this week, I would explore some low-carbohydrate bread options. 

Recipe

Special equipment

  • Water bath
  • Water heater and circulator

Ingredients

  • Pork scotch fillet steak – I found some steak that was about 150 grams. 
  • Salt – Iodised salt because I support the ongoing need for it. Iodine supplementation prevents cretinism. Anyone who tells you that products like Himalayan rock salt are good for you may not have had enough iodine in utero and during their early childhood. 
  • Pepper – I like using whole peppercorns, and with some of the salt, pound it with a pestle in a mortar. Freshly pounded pepper is superior to pepper which has been cracked or ground and then packaged and sold. 
  • Coles 85% lower carb rolls – One roll has 751 kJ, 19.5 g of protein, 8.4 g of fat, and 2.8 g of carbohydrate. 
  • Egg
  • Tomato
  • Lettuce
  • Praise whole egg light mayonnaise 

Instructions

Pork

  • Season a piece of pork with salt and pepper. 
  • Place the pork into a bag, apply a vacuum, and seal it. 
  • Cook the pork at 54 °C for 2 hours. 
  • Remove the pork from the bag and pat dry the surface with absorbent paper. 
  • Sear the steak in a hot cast-iron skillet. 

Burger

  • Cut the bread roll transversely. 
  • Spread some mayonnaise on the bottom piece of bread. Make it a thin smear; too much is too much. 
  • Toast the bread in a hot skillet until it takes on some colour. 
  • Layer some lettuce leaves on the heel of the bun. 
  • Add some slices of tomato. 
  • Add the pork scotch steak to the tomato. 
  • Lay a poached egg on the steak. 
  • Complete the burger with the top of the bread roll and gently compress the top to break the egg yolk’s membrane so that the egg yolk oozes over the pork to form a rich, luxurious sauce. 
  • If I were still doing YouTube videos, I’d cut the burger in a coronial plane and then pull apart the halves to reveal the cross-section. I did it so you have a still shot in the photographs.
  • Give thanks to the Lord. 
  • Eat with your hands. 

Final thoughts

This pork burger is a basic sandwich. It has minimised the carbohydrate component by using specialty bread. It is high in protein, and therefore it is filling. What it is not is lean. I did not remove the fat from the pork, and while I did use “light” mayonnaise, it is still mayonnaise. 

The Coles 85% lower-carb bread is pretty good. It toasted nicely, and it tasted good.

Photographs

Coles 85% lower carb bread in its packaging
Coles 85% lower carb bread
Pork Scotch steak in its packaging
Pork Scotch steak
Pork Scotch steak unseasoned
Pork Scotch steak
Pork Scotch steak seasoned with salt and pepper
Pork Scotch steak seasoned with salt and pepper
Pork and egg burger with the poached egg exposed
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger with the poached egg exposed
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger with oozing yolk
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger bisected
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger bisected
Pork and egg burger

Lamb and cabbage soup

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet is going well. I’m two weeks in, and everything is moving in a good direction. My parameters include body mass, waist and thigh measurements, blood pressure, and heart rate. 

Popcorn

At the end of the twelve-week program, I’ll make an appointment with my GP and seek a pathology referral for multiple biochemistry analyses and a full blood examination. I expect my GP will also suggest a urine albumin/creatine ratio. 

The reassuring thing about this diet is that I can find something in most restaurants that will be suitable. I went to a Turkish restaurant on Tuesday for a farewell lunch for a workmate and enjoyed a duck thigh and salad. Usually, I’d enjoy zucchini puffs with yoghurt plus Turkish pizzas. 

Turkish Pide House Duck salad

I still have leftover lamb rump steaks and thought for tea tonight; I’d eat it with shredded cabbage, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and red onion. 

Recipe

Equipment

  • No special equipment

Ingredients

  • Lamb rump steak. The steak’s mass is about 100 g. I’d previously cooked it and kept it refrigerated. 
  • Drumhead cabbage 
  • Brussels sprouts 
  • Fennel 
  • Red onion 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper 

Instructions 

Steak 

  1. Because the steak was thin and I had four of them, to save time, I cooked the lamb under a vacuum in a water bath at 52 °C for one hour. Because I’m not eating the lamb like a steak, I’m not bothered to sear the meat. 
  2. For this meal, thinly slice the lamb for the soup. 

Soup 

  1. Finely shred the cabbage, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and red onion. 
  2. Gently sauté the vegetables in a saucepan until some colour develops. 
  3. Add a couple of cups of water and bring it to a roiling boil. 
  4. Season with iodised salt and freshly ground whole black peppercorns (I pound my pepper with a pestle in a mortar). 
  5. Add the shredded lamb and turn off the heat. 
  6. Serve in a bowl. 
  7. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  8. Eat with a spoon. 

Finals thoughts 

The soup is the sort of meal I make on nights after work. The great thing about the CSIRO TWD is that it’s perfect for those making meals for one. Everything can be prepared well in advance to make the cooking part simple. 

You may look at this and think, where is the flavour coming from? Trust me, when you add freshly pounded pepper and salt plus the flavour from the sautéed vegetables, you get the flavour. 

Photographs 

Brussels sprouts and fennel
Drumhead cabbage and red onion
Freshly pounded iodised salt and black peppercorns plus sous vide lamb rump steak
Lamb and cabbage soup
Lamb and cabbage soup