With their intimate knowledge of the characteristics of plants and the habits of animals and sea creatures, Aborigines know what is edible and what is not, where and when to find it, how to capture or collect it, and how to prepare it for eating.   Food is closely interwoven with the rich spiritual life of Aboriginal people.  Aborigines believe that people, the land, animals and plants are part of a vast system created by the ancestral spirits of Dreaming Each food was created by the ancestral spirits, some are even ancestral spirits changed into another form, such as the honey ants of Papunya in Central Australia.   Customs, rules and religious laws govern most aspects of hunting, gathering, cooking and eating of traditional bush tucker.  Certain people or groups of people have special links with certain foods which are their totems.  These people may be forbidden to kill or eat their totems, except in special ceremonies. 

TRADITIONAL COOKING METHODS

Aboriginal cooking methods appear deceptively simple that popular accounts of Aboriginal culinary expertise provide little insight into the range of procedures used or the suitability of each process for particular foods.  General accounts talk 'of throwing the animal whole on the fire and eating the meat near raw' or 'cooking damper on the coals'.  In reality there are different methods for preparing and cooking each food.

The most common methods are roasting on the coals, cooking in the ashes, steaming in a ground oven and boiling.  Some foods such as turtles, stingrays and sharks are cooked by a process unique to themselves.

  

This is basically a technique for cooking flesh.  Foods roasted on the open coals of a fire include most meats, fish and small turtles.  Meat is usually cooked in this way when it has to be eaten quickly, though it is generally agreed that it is better cooked in a ground oven.
 
A freshly killed animal is generally first thrown on to the flames of a fast burning fire.  In the case of a kangaroo or rabbit, the fur will singe quickly and the animal is turned over to remove all fur.  After approximatley ten minutes, when it is bloated, the animal is taken off the fire, the intestines removed and the fur scraped off with a sharp implement.  The animal is then returned to the fire which has subsided to form a bed of hot coals.

If large animals such as wallabies are cooked using this method, the result is near raw or red meat in which the blood still runs.  This warm partly cooked blood is a delicacy drunk by men and rubbed on weapons for greater efficacy.
 
Small long-necked turtles, snakes, goannas and fish are also cooked this
Small long-necked turtles, snakes, goannas and fish are also cooked this way and are quickly cooked through.  Meats of snakes, goannas and turtles are well done, whereas kangaroos are more commonly eaten rare because of their size and the hunger of the hunters.
 

When combined with slow cooking in the coals, the roasting method produces very juicy cooked meats which have a hard skin.  The flesh of the game stays chewy - considered by Aboriginal gourmets as a reason for their excellent teeth.

  BAKING IN THE ASHES  
All types of dampers, seeds, nuts and root vegetables are cooked in the hot ashes.  It is important to select good wood for this cooking fire; many Australian nativc bushes have slightly irritant properties and some ashes are never used by Aborigines for cooking.  Acacias are safe and fast burning.
Some foods such as witchetty grubs are simply rolled in the hot ashes; some such as damper and goanna are placed on the hot ground beneath the ash and covered with more hot ash.
  STEAMING IN A GROUND OVEN     
Aboriginal cooks have developed a range of ground ovens with distinct regional variations.  In Arnhem Land, ground ovens are the preferred method of cooking large game.  The oven is prepared close to where the catch has been made.  A pit up to sixty centimetres deep is dug and the fire is set balancing over the hole, stones are placed on top of the fire.  As the fire burns, the red-hot stones fall into the pit, along with ash and coals.  The ash and coals are quickly swept out, leaving as far as possible, a clean bed of hot stones lining the pit.
 
Meat, fish, vegetables and turtles are all cooked this way.  Sometime food is wrapped in paperbark bundles and placed straight on the stones.  Although the procedure for earth oven cooking may appear relatively straightforward, variables such as the size of the game or vegetables determine the size of the pit, the number of stones and the cooking time.
 
In many areas these purely traditional cooking methods are improved with modern inventions.  Food is sometimes wrapped in aluminium foil before being placed in the pit.
  BOILING  
In most Aboriginal communities the local store sells billies and large aluminium boilers which enable large quantities of meat and other foods to be boiled.  Consequently ground ovens are not made as frequently and daily meals are now more commonly provided from the boiler.
Kangaroo legs are often boiled, the sight of the bent foot and claws over the edge of the pot is perhaps the most common is outback camps.  The advantage of boiling for large families is that the meat or seafood juices can be utilised in big rice stews.      

 


CONTEMPORARY RECIPES     Cooking at home can now be far more tempting by incorporating the wild tastes of the bush.  Leaves, berries, nuts, native eggs, bugs, witchjetti grubs, and moths can all be used to create very different tastes in the kitchen.

 

Quick Lillipilli Vinegar Bundaberg Bunya Bunya Stewed Quandongs & Sugarbark Wattle Mousse Macadamia Nut Crisps Illawarra Plum & Chilli Sauce Emu Egg Pavlova Bugs in a blanket Witjuti Grub & Bunya Bunya Soup Moth Damper Kurrajong Muffins Warrigal Pasta Wattle Icecream Pop-Moth  
QUICK LILLIPILLI VINEGAR

This vinegar has a bright pink colour which darkens slightly with age.  The small-leaved lillipilli fruits add a delicate touch of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg flavour to the vinegar.

4 kg magenta lillipilli
200 g small-leaved lillipilli fruit
6 litres good quality white wine vinegar
Bring all the ingredients to the boil, preferably in a stainless steel pot.
Simmer for 4 hours.  This should reduce the mixture by half.  Stand overnight in cool place.  Drain the Vinegar.  Bring gently to the boil, strain through muslin cloth and bottle in sterilised jars.  Store in cool place upright to allow sediment to settle.
 

 

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BUNDABERG BUNYA-BUNYA

This recipe is probably best for the Early Bird Chef as it needs to be stored for at least 3 months prior to usage.  It is recommended that the storage duration is longer, however 3 months is sufficient for tasty bunya nuts.  Bundaberg bunya-bunya nuts make uniquely Australian gifts.
 

2 kg bunya-bunya nuts, boiled, shelled and halved
3 cups (800g) castor sugar
1 litre Bundaberg rum
water
preserving jars, sterilised
Prepare a toffee by bringing 200 ml of water to the simmer and add sugar while stirring constantly.  Continue stirring until the mixture turns a golden brown.  Cool slightly.  Lay out the halved nuts on to a greased tray and cover each nut with the toffee.  Leave to cool.  Bring the rum and 500 ml of water to a gentle boil in a saucepan.  Carefully bring a flame to the liquid to ignite the vapour.  Extinguish the flame after 5 seconds by covering with saucepan lid.  Place the toffee bunya-bunya nuts into the sterilised jars, cover with the rum and seal.  Store for at least 3 months before using.

 

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STEWED QUANDONGS AND SUGARBARK

Quandongs or native peaches are a delicately acid fruit with  a peach-like texture when stewed.



FRUIT STEW

150 g dried quandongs
³/4 cup castor sugar
juice of 1¹/2 lemons
500 ml water
Soak the dried quandongs in the water until they soften.  Bring them to the boil with the sugar and lemon juice and simmer for no more than 5 minutes, otherwise the fruit will discolour and lose its texture. Stand overnight.  This is the only way to obtain the real flavour of the quandong fruit.

*For the Sugarbark recipe, refer to Emu Egg Pavlova

 

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WATTLE MOUSSE

Delicious recipe made to suit any season.  Best served with whipped cream, crushed macadamia nuts, and chocolate shavings, hmm.....YUM!!
 

250 ml milk
¹/4 cup castor sugar
3 eggs, separated
2 tsp. Australia's Own wattle seed mix
1 ¹/2 tbsp gelatine
750 ml thickened cream
Prepare mousse moulds by lightly brushing with vegetable oil.  Soak the gelatine in enough water to make a paste.  Set aside.  Add the wattle and half the sugar to the milk and bring it to the boil, stirring.  Make a mixture of the egg yolks and the remaining sugar and pour in the hot milk while stirring.  Add the gelatine paste and stir to dissolve.  Cool at room temperature. Half whip the cream.  Whip the egg whites until firm.  To the cool wattle milk mixture, fold in the beaten egg whites and then the cream.  Pour into the mould and refrigerate for a few hours.  To serve, tip out onto a plate and garnish with custard or fresh fruits.

 

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MACADAMIA NUT CRISPS

Sick of chocolate biscuits?, well here's the answer.  These mouth watering biscuits are sure to tempt your taste buds, and keep you away from chocolate......at least for a little while anyway!!
 

250 g butter or margarine
¹/3 cup castor sugar
60 g macadamia nuts
1 ²/3 cups plain flour
¹/2 cup desiccated coconut
Cream the butter and sugar until light brown and fluffy.  Grind the macadamia nuts in a food processor or blender until the nuts resemble coarse breadcrumbs.  Mix into the creamed butter and sugar mixture.  Add the flour and mix well.  Spoon heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto a lightly greased baking or biscuit tray.  Flatten slightly with a fork and sprinkle each biscuit evenly with coconut.
Bake in a moderate oven (180⁰C) for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.  Allow biscuits to stand on the trays for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to completely cool.

Makes app. 25

 

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ILLAWARRA PLUM AND CHILLI SAUCE

This delicious sauce has three flavours which separate on the palate as sweetness, then chilli heat and lastly the delicate pine and plum flavour of the plums.  Lamb or fish dishes are well complimented bv this sauce.
 

1 kg Illawarra plums
1750 ml water
¹/2 cup sugar
¹/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp. fresh chillies
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. grated ginger
2 tsp. clarified butter
orange liqueur
3 heaped tbsp cornflour
extra ¹/2 cup water
In a stainless steel saucepan add the washed plums to the water.  Do not use aluminium cookware.  Simmer for approximately 2 hours.
Drain and push through a sieve, measure the volume.  Cool and store overnight.
Make a syrup from the sugar and vinegar.  Add 1 ¹/2 cups of the syrup to the strained plum liqueur and reduce the volume by ¹/4 over low heat.  If the sauce at this stage is overly bitter or dry, add more of the syrup.

Very gently fry the chopped chillies, minced garlic and grated ginger in clarified butter.  Add to the plum syrup and add a touch of orange liqueur.  Bring to the boil and thicken with a slurry of the cornflour in the remaining water.  Store refrigerated in a sterile container.

 

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EMU EGG PAVLOVA

Emu egg has a very strong game flavour which can be made a little less noticeable.  If desired, by leaving the separated egg to stand overnight.  This dessert is certainly a contender as a trade mark of Australian cuisine.
 

 1 emu egg
1 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar
2 cups (465g) castor sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp Australia's Own wattle seed
¹/2 cup macadamia nuts, finely ground
300 ml whipped cream
CRUST
Mix 100g castor sugar with cinnamon and a small handful of ground macadamia nuts.
CREAM FILLING
In a saucepan bring to the boil 200 ml water, 2 heaped tablespoons Australia's Own wattle seeds, and 3 tablespoons sugar.  Reduce the volume by 25 per cent, strain syrup, then return half of the grounds to the liquid.
PAVLOVA
Whip the egg white with lemon juice and 160 g of the sugar until stiff.  Fold in another 160 g of sugar.  Line a Swiss roll tray with greaseproof paper.  Lightly grease and coat the paper with cornflour. Spread the meringue and sprinkle with the crust mixture.  Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 150⁰C.   Turn on to a tea towel to cool then spread with the cream filling and roll up like a bush man's swag.
SUGARBARK GARNISH
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 tbsp coffee crystals
To make the sugar bark:
Lightly grease a sheet of foil on a tray and evenly sprinkle the castor sugar, raw sugar and the coffee crystals.  Bake in a hot oven  (220⁰C) until a 'glass-sheet' of sugar forms - about 4 minutes.  Cool and peel away the foil sheet.
 

 

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BUGS IN A BLANKET

Balmain bugs can be replaced by any local crustacean: yabbies, marron or crayfish.  The burrawang flour imparts a very delicate yeasty-cheese taste, but note that it needs extensive preparation to render it safe.


 

BLANKETS (pancakes)
2 large eggs
1 ¹/2 cups milk
1 cup plain flour
1 -2 tbsp burrawang flour (processed)
1 tbsp finely chopped, boiled warrigal greens
butter for frying
Blend all the ingredients to a smooth mix and leave covered for  1 hour.  Heat and butter a frying pan.  Ladle in sufficient pancake mix to thinly cover the pan.  Cook until bubbles appear and surface is dull, then turn and cook the other side for 1 - 2 minutes.  Place pancakes on lightly greased dariole moulds (shallow dishes).  Bake in a moderate oven for 5 - 8 minutes.
 
BATTERED BUGS
1 2/3 cups (250 g ) plain flour
3/4 cup (125 g) kurrajong flour, milled from roasted seeds
pinch salt
warm water
Balmain bugs, 2 or 2 per serve
extra flour
oil for frying
warrigal greens, blanched
honey (sugar bag)
lemon juice
Blend flour, salt and enough water to make a batter and  leave stand for 20 minutes.  Coat bugs with flour, dip in batter and fry in hot oil until golden brown.  Place in pancake lined with warrigal greens.  Heat honey until frothy, add lemon juice and drizzle over bugs.  Garnish with shallot curl and red capsicum strips.

 

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WITJUTI GRUB AND BUNYA-BUNYA NUT SOUP

This delicious soup will vary in flavour depending upon the particular grubs used.  It will most often be described as nutty.

 

15 large grubs (or 20 smaller ones)
15 boiled and peeled bunya-bunya nuts
4 sticks celery
1 leek
2 onions
2 litres chicken stock
seasoning
bay leaves
whole black peppercorns
Bring chicken stock to the boil and add finely chopped celery, leek and onions.  Bring back to the boil.  Puree grubs in a blender (partially frozen grubs blend well).  Roughly chop bunya-bunya nuts and add nuts and grub puree to the simmering stock.  Add bay leaves and peppercorns and simmer for 1 - 1 ¹/4 hours.
Season to taste.  Garnish with cream and freshly chopped parsley.

 

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MOTH DAMPER

This damper is a delicious alternative to plain white bread, and complements many foods, such as the Witjuti and Bunya-bunya nut soup.
 

A generous handful of moths
1 cup plain flour
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup powdered milk
1/4 tsp. raising agent
water
Using a mortar and pestle (or near equivalent, e.g. bowl and the base of a tin cup) pound up the moths with the powdered milk.  Mix  in the remaining dry ingredients.  Add sufficient water to make a stiff dough and shape into a ball.  Flatten the ball to a height of 2.5 centimetres.  Lightly flour the surface and cook in ash, camp oven, bedourie or domestic oven until cooked through.  Serve hot when cooked or as toast.

 

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KURRAJONG MUFFINS

These muffins can be made in a microwave oven using a variety of bush foods, including wild tubers from native parsnips, yams, bush carrots etc.  As flavouring try wattle seed, whole small-leaved lillipillies, wild ginger fruits with a few ground seeds or the kurrajong flour as below.  This flour gives the high fibre muffins a peanut buttery taste.  Try them with sour or whipped cream
 

1 cup grated tubers (use carrots if wild tubers unavailable)
 1/ 2 cup muesli or corn flakes
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup kurrajong flour
1/3 cup brown sugar or honey
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 / 4 cup milk
1 tbsp macadamia oil
Combine all the ingredients, add remaining items and drop teaspoons of mixture into a greased muffin pan.  Cook in a microwave on high for two minutes.  Turn out to cool.

 

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WARRIGAL PASTA

Perfect served hot for a winter night's supper or chilled as a summer dish with fresh damper.
 

2 large handfuls warrigal greens
250 g plain flour
150 g semolina flour
4 medium eggs
pinch salt
Blanch the warrigal greens in a large volume of water for at least 3 minutes.  Drain and lay out the leaves on a towel to dry.  Chop finely.  Mix the dry ingredients in a food processor and with the motor running add the chopped warrigal greens and the eggs.  Add extra flour if the dough is still sticky or a few drops of water to take the dough from the meal stage.  Knead the ball by hand for 3 - 5 minutes.  Rest the dough for 15 minutes covered with a tea towel.  Pass through a pasta machine and allow to dry.  Store frozen and prepare as for commercial pasta.

 

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WATTLE ICE CREAM

The similarity of the wattle to a flavour mix of hazelnut, coffee and chocolate comes through strongly in this chilled dessert.
 

250 ml cream
500 ml milk
3 / 4 cup (180 g) sugar
4 egg yolks
1 heaped tbsp Australia's Own wattle seed
Heat the milk and sugar in a saucepan, stirring.  Remove from heat.  Slowly pour onto beaten egg yolks while beating with a whisk.  Add the wattle seed and return the mixture to the stove over low heat and stir until it begins to thicken (5 - 10 min).  Allow to stand for 15 minutes, then add the cream and mix well.  Cool and churn in an ice cream machine.

 

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POP-MOTH

Heat a little macadamia oil (or other less exotic import) in a saucepan.  Throw in a handful of popcorn and two handfuls of whole Bogong moths.  Cover the saucepan and continue heating while mixing the contents by shaking the pan until the corn has all popped and the moths are hot.  The oil can also be sweetened by adding a spoonful of golden syrup or honey after popping the corn.

 

 

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