vegemite

Slow cooker Vegemite pulled beef short ribs

Slow cooker Vegemite pulled beef short ribs

Dedicated to Dad who loves Vegemite

Vegemite in a tube. Photograph by Gary Lum.
Vegemite in a tube

Slow cooker Vegemite pulled beef short ribs along with some Sichuan seasoning and the vinegary goodness of Worcestershire sauce. Odd combinations I know, but regular readers know I like to combine many different flavours in my quest for fusion cuisine.

Who knew that Australian Vegemite, Chinese Sichuan, and English Worcestershire sauce would work together with beef? I didn’t until I tried this.

Pulling my slow cooker meat means I can combine it more easily with salad vegetables.

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Sous vide Vegemite porterhouse steak

 

This is a photograph of Sunday dinner. Sous vide Vegemite porterhouse steak with celeriac mash.
Sunday dinner. Sous vide Vegemite porterhouse steak with celeriac mash.

Sous vide Vegemite porterhouse steak

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Sous vide Vegemite may not come to mind as a first thought when thinking sous vide but please bear with me.

Workplace Vegemite discussion

Earlier in the week, three work colleagues were talking about Vegemite. One person loved Vegemite so much so she was having it with her tinned tuna snack. The other two, not so much. I weighed in declaring my love of Vegemite, going as far as mentioning my love of Vegemite chocolate. I received agreement from my Vegemite-loving colleague who pointed out it was like salted caramel.
As part of the discussion, I mentioned how I like to add Vegemite as a flavouring to some food I cook and that I’ve used it on steak. That gave me an idea about imparting a Vegemite flavour to a steak through sous vide cooking. It was worth a try to get that umami flavour.
As an avid viewer of Sous Vide Everything, I knew that it was possible this experiment could go awry, but what’s the point of living without experimenting. It’s not like adding Vegemite to a steak is going to kill me.

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Vegemite and Coon cheese chicken

Vegemite and Coon cheese chicken

Vegemite has been in the news over the last couple of weeks. Coles announced Vegemite infused snags in time for Australia Day and award-winning chef, Neil Perry, created Vegemite burgers for the Australian Open (tennis tournament).

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Vegemite Coon cheese Yummy Lummy Gary Lum

Yummy Lummy isn’t a site for a discussion about Australia Day and whether we should celebrate it and have a public holiday every 26 January. Suffice to say, from a food blog perspective, my interest in Australia Day is about what to eat.

With Vegemite on my mind, I thought what could I cook with this lovely paste of yeasty goodness? While I was grocery shopping on Saturday (2018-01-20) I spotted a tube of the delicious black paste and thought how I could use a tube.

While grocery shopping at Coles I bought some chicken thigh fillets and I wondered how the black gold might taste with chicken. I know it complements steak beautifully, I just wasn’t sure about chicken.

Recipe

Vegemite and Coon cheese chicken
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
 
Vegemite and Coon cheese stuffed into a roll of chicken thigh, roasted and served on a bed of stir-fried beetroot slaw flavoured with horseradish cream.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 1
Calories: 500 kcal
Author: Gary
Ingredients
  • 3 Chicken thigh fillets
  • Vegemite
  • Iodised salt
  • Cracked black pepper
  • Dried hot chilli flakes
  • Dried mixed herbs
  • Sesame seeds
  • Poppy seeds
  • Grated Coon cheese
  • Beetroot slaw
  • Butter
  • Horseradish cream
Instructions
  1. Flatten and tenderise the chicken thigh fillets (see the YouTube video to see how I do it)
  2. Lay a ‘cable’ of Vegemite along the thigh fillet
  3. Season with salt, pepper, herbs, chilli flakes, sesame seeds and poppy seeds
  4. Add some grated Coon cheese
  5. Roll the chicken and pin with toothpicks
  6. Place on a tray lined with baking paper. Mine still had some bacon fat on it from breakfast which was a bonus.
  7. Cook in the oven for 35 minutes at 180 °C
  8. When the cooking time is complete allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes
  9. Melt some butter in a hot frying pan
  10. Add in the beetroot slaw and stir-fry until the broccoli stalks are soft
  11. Add in some chilli flakes and stir
  12. Stir in some horseradish cream and turn off the heat
  13. Transfer the beetroot slaw to a plate and then add a piece of chicken
  14. Shoot a photograph and then eat the meal
  15. Write the recipe and write a blog post
  16. Share it on social media and hope that people share it around
Recipe Notes

I default the energy to 500 Calories. I have no idea how many Calories are in this dish.

 

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YouTube video

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Photograph

The final product

Chicken thigh fillet stuffed with Vegemite and Coon cheese served with horseradish beetroot slaw Yummy Lummy Gary Lum
Chicken thigh fillet stuffed with Vegemite and cheese served with horseradish beetroot slaw

Questions and answers

Do you like Vegemite?

I love the stuff. I can lick it off a spoon. I like it in hot water with chicken stock. I like seasoning steak and gravy with it. Of course, on toast is a given.

Do you have any advice for people trying Vegemite for the first time?

Yes, try just smearing it on some toast with (real) butter. Don’t trowl it on. As you get accustomed to it you can gradually get to licking it from a spoon as a snack.

Why do you like Coon cheese?

Coon cheese has a great sharp taste. It’s an Australian product like the black gold and I like combining the two products whenever it’s the right thing to do.

Do you know that coon is not a nice word?

Yes, I know that the word coon is offensive, but I’m talking about Coon cheese. It’s a brand and I want to acknowledge the brand.

Final verdict

I was pretty happy with the chicken. The flavour of the salty yeasty black goodness wasn’t overpowering. The chicken went nicely with the beetroot slaw with horseradish flavouring.

How is the new podcast coming along?

I’m still in the planning stages. I’ve drafted the first few episodes. I’ll start recording next month.

Food for Australia Day 2017

Quick and easy one pot roast panko chicken thigh and vegetable rice

 

Food for Australia Day 2017

What did I eat on Australia Day 2017?

Before I get to today, I should mention what I did last night. I left work thinking about Australia Day 2017 and what it means for me. There were also thoughts about the chicken wings I had in the refrigerator.

I decided to go with something that would fill me with saturated fat. I had a bread roll which I split and put on the bottom of a large frying pan. On this, I spread some Vegemite and then added some grated Coon cheese. On top of this typically Australian combination, I put my chicken wings and added some more grated Coon cheese.

Cheesy chicken wings with vegemite and Coon cheese on 'fried' bread Australia Day 2017 Gary Lum
Cheesy chicken wings with vegemite and Coon cheese on ‘fried’ bread {click for a better view]

Breakfast

Overnight I had some weird dreams and as I woke from sleep I pondered breakfast. I decided I’d have something green and gold for Australia Day 2017, so I went with a piece of toast slathered in golden butter, covered in Vegemite and topped with a slice of Coon cheese. To this, I added a fried egg with a golden yolk and garnished with green spring onions. I put this on a green plate.

Australia day Vegemite and melted Coon cheese on toast with a fried egg Australia Day 2017 Gary Lum
Australia day Vegemite and melted Coon cheese on toast with a fried egg [click for a better view]

Lunch

For Australia Day 2017 lunch I had some lime and pepper chips, a Queensland mango and some lime green lime juice in a glass of water.

Happy Australia day 🇦🇺🌏 My idea of green and gold! Queensland mangoes and lime Australia Day 2017 Gary Lum
Happy Australia day 🇦🇺🌏 My idea of green and gold! Queensland mangoes and lime [click for a bigger view]

Favourite things about Australia

Did you know my favourite state is Queensland and my favourite territory is the Northern Territory of Australia?

Dinner

There is a bit of a commercial tradition for lamb, to be featured so I went with a rolled boneless lamb shoulder that was slowly cooked in the oven at 150 °C (302 °F) for 2½ hours covered with aluminium foil and then 30 minutes uncovered. I also cooked a couple of spuds and served it with some peas and corn for a bit of green and gold!

 

 

Australia Day Lamb shoulder roll with potatoes ready for the oven Australia Day 2017 Gary Lum
Australia Day Lamb shoulder roll with potatoes ready for the oven [click for a bigger view]
Australia day 🇦🇺🌏 Roast lamb shoulder with potato, pearl barley couscous and gravy Australia Day 2017 Gary Lum
Australia day 🇦🇺🌏 Roast lamb shoulder with potato, pearl barley couscous and gravy [click for a bigger view]

What did I do on Australia Day 2017?

This morning I went for a walk around Lake Ginninderra and had a coffee.

Lake Ginninderra Australia Day 2017 Gary Lum
Lake Ginninderra [click for a bigger view]
Then I got stuck into writing and recording a couple of podcast shows for next week.

What did you eat on Australia Day 2017?

Hopefully, you had a good day off if you’re here in Australia. If you live outside of Australia, I hope you had a good Republic Day if you’re Indian and a great 26 January for everyone else.

Parting words

I regularly post photographs of food to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Please feel free to connect with me on any social media platform.

Will spam heal my manflu?

The Yummy Lummy Cooking for one podcast
The Yummy Lummy Cooking for one podcast
Will spam heal my manflu?
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What does spam have to do with manflu?

I have manflu, I hate being sick. I try not to use the word hate much, but I really do not like being ill. I wonder, will spam help?

It started as a cough that kept me awake on Tuesday night. On Wednesday it progressed and I had a headache and the beginning of some nasal sinus congestion. On Thursday it was much the same but on Thursday afternoon I started feeling worse. I decided on Thursday evening that I would have to stay home from work on Friday. I hate that. I really like work.

So the question remains will spam heal my manflu? This could become a new form of healing. I can’t imagine it could be any worse than naturopathy, acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, herbal medicine, homoeopathy, and ozone therapy. I’ve recently completed a short course in evidence-based medicine. I will need to think about a randomised controlled trial to determine if spam can make any difference to manflu. Just imagine if I find the cure!

Thanks for visiting. Please check out the rest of Yummy Lummy. I’d love it if you shared this site with your friends.

I’ve discovered the fun of Snapchat filters. Snap me at garydlum

I hate being sick #manflu

A video posted by Gary Lum (@garydlum) on

Throat of fire #manflu

A video posted by Gary Lum (@garydlum) on

Spam, vegemite and cheesy chicken

So tonight in my weakened state I decided to eat something comforting with the piece of Chicken Maryland I had in the refrigerator.

I’ve already shown just how good vegemite and chicken can me so adding spam must make it better! Am I right?

What you need to make this dish

  • I used a piece of Chicken Maryland
  • I used a slice of Swiss cheese because I ran out of Coon cheese
  • Two slices of spam
  • a few rings of red onion
  • a dessert spoon from a jar of caramelised onion
  • a good smear of vegemite
  • Toasted light rye bread
  • Coleslaw and avocado with garlic aioli

How do you put it all together?

  1. Toast the bread
  2. Spread a good smear of vegemite on the toast
  3. Lay on the slices of spam
  4. Add the red onion
  5. Spoon the caramelised onion onto the spam
  6. Put the chicken on top
  7. Lay the slice of cheese on the chicken
  8. Place into the oven at 200 °C for 20 minutes and then at 150 °C for 40 minutes
  9. After 60 minutes remove the chicken and allow it to rest for 10 minutes
  10. Plate up with the avocado coleslaw

Get it ready to photograph

  1. Shoot the photograph
  2. Eat the meal
  3. Wash the dishes
  4. Write the recipe
  5. Make a nice picture using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop
  6. Blog and Vlog (verbs)
Spam, vegemite and cheesy Chicken Maryland with avocado coleslaw
Spam, vegemite and cheesy Chicken Maryland with avocado coleslaw
Spam, vegemite and cheesy Chicken Maryland with avocado coleslaw
Spam, vegemite and cheesy Chicken Maryland with avocado coleslaw

How did it taste?

The chicken was moist and tender and the skin was crisp and cheesy. The bread had a nice crunch and had absorbed the chicken, spam, onion and vegemite flavours. Obviously the coleslaw, avocado and garlic aioli contrasted nicely with the saltiness of the vegemite and spam. I did use salt reduced vegemite but I’ve never used salt reduced spam. I must try it to see what it tastes like.

 

Check out this YouTube video

Final words

This made me feel happy. Let’s see if it makes me feel better! Taking an aspiring before cooking dinner probably helped as well.

If you try this please let me know. I’d love to see a photograph of your meal and read any comments. If you’re a regular reader you will have seen more recently I’ve started a YouTube channel. Please take a look at the videos and I’d love you to click on the thumbs up, leave a comment and subscribe as well.

Thanks for visiting. Please check out the rest of Yummy Lummy. I’d love it if you shared this site with your friends.

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