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Tempura asparagus, grilled prawn dashi and green onion
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“Rice is somewhat of a be all and end all in Japanese food and culture – the basis of meals and the essence of all sake,” says Monty Koludrovic, head chef at Icebergs, the dining institution whose haute Italian cuisine jostles for equal attention with that view.
Koludrovic, whose formative years were spent in Lismore, Byron and Bangalow on the far north coast of New South Wales under the culinary influence and abundant feasts of his Russian Nona, might seem a strange source to call on for expertise in the singular art of Japanese dining but the connection with his cuisine of choice isn’t as farfetched as it first seems.
“Whichever way you slice it the Italian and Japanese share so much through their food culture and absolute dedication to the ritual of eating,” says Koludrovic. “Rice, noodles, amazing seafood, raw and cooked beef, vinegars, alcohols, ferments… Each are blessed with such a good palette to work from.”
Pork neck ramen, Papanui egg, laver and pickles
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It’s a connection the chef and his colleague, wine director James Hird, will seek to explore further for the following month in a series of weekly dinner held every Tuesday and aptly-named Ramen Ragazzi (Italian for ‘guys’) that will transfer the kitchen’s approach to localised Italian food into the Japanese realm.
The feat has occasioned a collaboration with Sydney-based sake importers Black Market Sake who, along with Hird, have sourced rare bottles from some of Japan’s most highly-desired artisan producers for a one-off sake trolley. Think raw tuna, uni, caviar and ginger; followed by pork neck ramen, Papanui egg, laver and pickles; and Blackmore wagyu rump cap with wasabi and mash followed by miso caramel, bookending a dish of warm crab, local Koshihikari rice with sesame and wagyu fat.
The latter is “a play on a dish served in Japanese Kaiseki restaurants as the final course,” says Koludrovic, who has provided GRAZIA with an exclusive sneak preview of the recipe below. “It celebrates the quality of good rice and is essentially seasoned steamed rice. The rice might be seasoned with oyster, or mushroom, or chestnut depending on the season. We use an absolutely amazing local rice, Randall Organic, which I wanted to feature, and seasoned with warm crab, miso and wagyu fat. It’s pretty much as good as it gets!”
The first six course Ramen Ragazzi dinner will take place next Tuesday October 4 from 6:30pm, with recurring dinners every week for the next three weeks as part of Good Food Month. Tickets are available for all four dinners here.
Warm Crab, Local Koshihikari Rice, Sesame, Wagyu Fat
Serves four
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For the crab
300g crab
120g room temp butter
10g shiro miso
20g barley miso
10g dry sake
10g apple cider vinegar
10g laver seaweed flakes
For the rice
200g Randall Family Organic koshihikari rice
12g Olsson’s macrobiotic sea salt
350ml water
Rice Seasoning
50g caramelised rendered wagyu beef fat
35 ichimi
40g lemon juice
30g aged mirin
To Finish
4 Marigolds
80g Crispy eschallots
4 sprigs Fennel fronds
Method
For the Crab
Combine the butter, miso, sake and vinegar and whip to combine and mix. Season the crab with flake salt, and a little of the butter. Cook in a low oven for 4 minutes, stirring regularly. The flesh will be set, and white but still slightly translucent. Spread a spoon of the butter onto the plates and spread out. Sprinkle with seaweed.
For the rice
Wash the rice until the water runs clear, stirring. Combine rice, water and salt into your rice cooker and cook as per your rice cookers instructions.
For the rice seasoning
Once the rice is cooked, gently fold through seasonings in stages tasting as you go to get your desired taste.
To finish
Place seasoned rice on the seaweed sprinkled miso butter, dress with the juicy crab meat. Top with crispy eshallots, marigold petals and fennel fronds.
Tile and cover image: Supplied
