Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Last weekend I was staying in Taumarunui playing in a disc golf tournament – and for me it was like travelling back in time.

There are the old buildings, the slower pace of life and the value for money takeaway food.

I don't often eat pies but the bacon and egg variety along with coffee was required before tee off. The large three dollar pie was the best I've ever had – chock full of bacon and real whole egg.

During the first round of disc golf played at the polo cross grounds, I discovered that Taumarunui also had huge cows about the size of a garden shed! There were not heaps of them like on a dairy farm, rather a few scattered about the course watching 40-odd crazy humans throw plastic at baskets. Anyway, I must have been thinking of the beef for this week's recipe as my first round was 22 over par!

In this week's recipe I use cabbage, beef and black bean, not the sort you get in Chinese-style buffet, black bean paste you make yourself and a version of kim chi, the Korean pickled cabbage. I use sirloin for this marinade and then roast large cubes that are skewed rather than stir-fried. And, baking the meat fuses the black bean into the meat and forms a crust to maintain moisture.

Black bean beef skewer and red cabbage kim chi

4-6 serves

For the skewers

500g sirloin steak cut into large cubes

100g salted black beans

2-3 cloves of peeled garlic

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp soya sauce

2- 3 Tbsp hot water

For the kim chi

1 small head Chinese cabbage, chopped

1 head red cabbage, chopped

Chopped green chillies

¼ cup sea salt

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp minced ginger

2 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)

2 Tbsp Korean red chilli powder (gochugaru)

1 ripe apple

1 ripe pear

½ white onion

Method

In two separate glass or ceramic bowls, soak the two cabbages in a mixture of sea salt mixed with ½ cup of warm water for four to five hours at room temperature.

Meanwhile, prepare the black bean mixture by rinsing the salted black beans under running water and blending with the garlic. Combine oil, soya sauce and water to make a marinade paste and place the diced beef in this mixture in a plastic bag for four to five hours.

The cabbage is ready when it has wilted considerably. Rinse under cold running water and drain. In a large bowl, mix the cabbages and add chilli powder mixed with a little water, onion, pear and apple (blended to a pulp), chopped chillies and fish sauce (if desired).

Mix the cabbage well using gloves to avoid the chilli burn. Pack the mixture into glass jars. Pour on any remaining juice from the bowl and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. This starts the fermentation process up which carries on in refrigeration. The kim chi will become sourer as it ages but has a bright and refreshing taste.

Skewer chunks of marinated beef onto pre-soaked skewers and bake in a

moderate oven at 160 degree Celsius on a well-greased tray for about 15 minutes. Serve with a small mound of kim chi.