Guest chef Nornie Bero’s taste of the Torres Strait

The Asian flavours of lemongrass, soy and chilli feature in many Torres Strait Island dishes — like this classic, Semur chicken.

Feast: Semur chicken. Picture: Armelle Habib

Semur chicken, in which a whole chicken is cooked in a thick soy broth with vermicelli noodles, is always on the menu at my Melbourne restaurant Mabu Mabu. The Asian flavours of lemongrass, soy and chilli feature in many Torres Strait Island dishes, influenced by Japanese fishers and divers who’ve been living on the islands since the 19th century, and by visitors from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Here I’ve added some fantastic native vegetables such as karkalla and warrigal greens – look for them at farmers’ markets. You can toss the pickled succulents through salads or add to a cheese board for a different spin on the grazing platter.

Chef Nornie Bero. Picture: Armelle Habib

Semur chicken

1 whole chicken

60ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil, preferably macadamia

1 onion, sliced

5 garlic cloves, minced

10cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced

2 lemongrass stalks, crushed and chopped into 5cm pieces

1 tablespoon chilli paste

250ml (1 cup) soy sauce

750ml (3 cups) dark beer (preferably Guinness) or vegetable stock

½ teaspoon whole pepperberries

250g vermicelli noodles

Handful each of karkalla and warrigal greens (see tip)

120g (1 cup) chopped spring onion

Cooked rice, to serve

Chop chicken into large, chunky pieces (leave on the bone). Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat and brown chicken. Add onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chilli paste; cook until onion is browned. Add soy sauce and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add beer and pepperberries, then slow-cook, covered, over medium heat for at least 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and just falling off the bone. Once chicken is cooked, in a separate bowl, place vermicelli in hot water until clear, then drain and add to pot. Add karkalla, warrigal greens and spring onion; cook for a further 10 minutes. Serve with rice in bowls. Serves 6-8

Tip: If you can’t find karkalla and warrigal greens, replace with other green vegetables such as bok choy or silverbeet.

Spicy desert lime & watermelon salad

Spicy desert lime & watermelon salad

1kg watermelon, cut into pieces

125ml (½ cup) olive oil

100ml red-wine vinegar

80g (½ cup) seablite leaves

5g sea salt

80g whole desert limes, sliced

80ml (1/3 cup) lime juice

1 tablespoon native currants

2 shallots, thinly sliced

100g pickled succulents (see below)

80g crumbled goat’s cheese

80g (½ cup) caperberries, sliced

1 spring onion, sliced

10g (½ cup) sea parsley leaves

Place watermelon pieces, olive oil, vinegar, seablite, sea salt, desert limes, lime juice and native currants in a bowl; leave to marinate for 20 minutes. Toss through the other ingredients. Serves 4-6

Pickled succulents

6 cloves star anise

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

5 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon whole pepperberries

1 teaspoon whole cloves

250g caster sugar

500ml (2 cups) white vinegar

250g karkalla

250g samphire

100g seablite

In a large saucepan, combine spices and sugar with 1 litre (4 cups) water and vinegar; boil for 15 minutes. Place sea succulents in sterilised glass jars. Let pickling juice cool for 3 minutes before adding to jars. Leave overnight and eat next day. The pickle will keep for 2 months in the fridge. Makes 5-6 250ml (1 cup) jars

Mabu Mabu

Edited extract from Mabu Mabu by Torres Strait Islander chef Nornie Bero (Hardie Grant, $45). Photography: Armelle Habib