Maeve O’Meara journeys into the Top End of Australia to seek out wild barramundi with local fisherman Billy Boustead and his chef friend, legendary Darwin and Alice Springs restaurateur Jimmy Shu (Hanuman), who moved from Melbourne when he tasted magnificent ‘barra’ over 25 years ago.
Some of the more unusual treasures of the water include the adored gastropod mollusc abalone which fetches up to $1300 a kilo and is a status present in the Chinese world. Diver James Palanowski works in 8-degree water off Tasmania’s east coast to harvest abalone, which is then used by acclaimed Chinese chef Frank Shek (China Doll) who teaches a home sous-vide (water bath) method to achieve a tender delicious spiced seafood which he incorporates into a spectacular omelette.
Eating whole fish has been a way of life in Australia for over 40,000 years, and for many other cultures around the planet, it’s simply the best most sustainable way to eat. Food Safari Water reveals the secrets and benefits of cooking whole fish, featuring fried Thai style snapper, Malaysian fish head curry, and French rouget ‘en papillote’.
The pure clean taste of the ocean is celebrated in this episode. Maeve explores the natural briny flavour of the three main types of oysters with Clyde River ‘oyster affineur’ Steve Feletti (Moonlight Flat Oysters) and Lee and Suzanne Macefield (Get Shucked) on Bruny Island, exploring Pacific, Angazi, and Sydney Rock varieties.
Exquisite snacks based on seafood star in many cuisines around the world - all beautiful mouthfuls that take taste and texture to a whole new level. Chef Frank Camorra (Movida) showcases a number of seafood tapas dishes and shares his recipe for luscious salty buñuelos de bacalao (salt cod croquettes).
Cooking fish over fire is an instant call to the tastebuds, a combination of two of the most pure elements on earth that together take seafood to the next level. Chef Lennox Hastie (Firedoor) cooks only over fire and takes his grill to a NSW south coast beach to cook a perfect whole flathead over coals, serving with broccolini and an ingenious pil pil sauce learnt from his days cooking in Spain’s Basque country.
Shark-defying scallop diver Paulie Polacco braves cold water and strong currents to harvest some of the world’s most prized queen scallops off Kangaroo Island, adored for their purple roe and savoury taste with a hint of nutty sweetness. Adelaide-based Calabrese chef Salvatore Pepe (Pepe’s Cucina) uses queen scallops to create a delicious mouthful called capesante gratinate, using a garlic, herb, and breadcrumb mix to grill on top.
The simplicity of cooking and serving seafood in one pot is a hallmark of cuisines around the world. Chef Angie Hong shares the secrets of Vietnamese clay pot cooking, starting with a visit to a supplier in Cabramatta with live fish.
Maeve explores how preserving fish creates whole new worlds of flavour - in smoked salmon, bottarga, and XO sauce.
Food Safari Water features famous seafood and meat combinations from around the world. Pairing the proteins of ocean and earth leads to an intriguing episode with some diverse and inspired flavour combinations. Vietnamese chef Dai Duong (Uncle, Uncle Collins) shows how prawns are pounded into a paste with pork lard and shaped onto sugarcane skewers to make the classic Chao Tom, which are grilled to golden perfection.
Food Safari Water celebrates freshwater fish with recipes for the legendary Murray cod plus eels, mountain trout, and yabbies. Tasmanian-based chef Masaaki Koyama (Masaaki’s Sushi Geeveston) heads out in the misty mornings on the Huon River to haul up nets set the night before, later grilling his catch and brushing with a delicious soy glaze and says he always feels incredibly healthy after eating eel.
Food Safari Water celebrates the hearty deliciousness of seafood with touch-your-heart dishes and stories from northern England, Lebanon, Portugal, and Sri Lanka. A cheese and leek topped pie made with perfect white fish, smoked fish, salmon, and plump prawns in a rich béchamel sauce baked in the oven and brought steaming to the table is chef Nelly’s Robinson’s (Nel Restaurant) favourite dish from childhood in North Manchester, and he shares his brilliant recipe with many tips and tricks along the way. Refugee and fisherman Nigethan Sithirasegaram (Tamil Feasts), makes a classic Sri Lankan crab curry. Talented home cooks Aurora Charabati demonstrates a fish and chips variation from Lebanon using the whole garfish. The fish that launched a thousand ships – salted dried cod – is a delicious comfort food treat for chef Jose Silva (Bibo Wine Bar) – his Bacalhau à Brás recipe sees cod soaked and cooked in a rich sauce with slowly cooked onions, eggs and shoestring potatoes.
Every year Singaporean chef Alex Lee (Alex Lee Kitchen) makes Yusheng to celebrate the new year. The cold clear waters off Bruny island Tasmania are where lobster fisherman Clive Perryman harvests Southern Rock Lobster, a delicacy close to the heart of chef and wok master Chris Jin (China Doll), who grew up in Shanghai and always associated the lobster with a lucky dragon. Jin demonstrates how to cook the lobster with ginger and shallots, flamed with cognac for a truly show-stopping dish. In Senegal, the national dish of fish and rice is called thieboudienne, served on a huge communal platter. Aissatou Ba (Tastes of Senegal) shows how thieboudienne is made. In Brazil, seafood is very popular and the Bahia region in the north is home to a much-loved dish called bobó de camarão which is made with prawns, cassava and dende oil, a favourite of chef Luiza Yu Gomes (1821, Civic Hotels, Universal Hotels Catering) who serves it with the beloved staple farofa made with cassava flour. One of the best seafood dishes of celebration comes from Lebanon – sayadieh, the pinnacle of many banquets and cooked by wholefoods chef and writer Fouad Kassab (Quirky Cooking's Life-Changing Food).
