There’s a lot to love about Benjamin Cooper – his crazy mohawk, the Melbourne (and soon to be Sydney) food institution that is Chin Chin and the beautiful cookbook of very accurate recipes that taste just like the restaurant. He has a lot to be proud of, that’s for sure, but the man himself is a humble, softly-spoken family man, generous with his knowledge and keen to share his passion for food. I remember sitting with him in the MasterChef waiting room, and I jokingly asked, “You run one of the most successful restaurants in town, it’s impossible to get a seating, everyone already knows and respects you, why can’t you just let me win this one?”
He said simply, “But I’m doing this for my kids.” And then he laughed. A burst of big, hearty laughter from the belly that just made me laugh along with him. Benjamin didn’t need to be here – he wasn’t after fame, or publicity for the many restaurants that he is now executive chef of. It seems silly but in that moment I understood how ridiculous what it was that I was doing. Cooking against a professional chef, someone who has cooked for upwards of 60 hours a week, for the past fifteen years. Not just any professional but one of the country’s best – and for an immunity pin. Of course I wanted immunity, but in that moment, I understood that a pin is just a pin and MasterChef is TV. Family trumps all that. At the end of the day, we all kind of want the same thing – for our family to be proud of us.
There was a bit of a social media indignation after Benjamin won serving a dish that had fish bones in it. I don’t think I or the viewers believe for a second that the judges can’t tell the difference between the plate of an amateur chef vs a professional one, but I have no doubt in my mind that his dish convincingly whooped my dish’s butt. No contest. In fact I think the judges were probably overly generous with scoring my dish.
A few months later, when I popped in to the restaurant to get a signed copy of the book – a great gift really – an immunity pin is for a few weeks, but give a girl a cookbook… that’s a lifetime of recipes and skills – Benjamin graciously signed the book like this-
His generosity of spirit comes across in the cookbook. It’s amazingly well put together, and I suspect I will have a Julie and Julia-esque few years cooking from it here in Sri Lanka. The recipes are not particularly easy but they’re worth the time invested. They’re very accurate and Benjamin’s done an amazing job in making the dishes of one of Melbourne’s hardest to get into restaurants replicable in your home. It teaches not just recipes, but good cooking skills – how to taste as you go and what to look for.
- 400-500g Japanese or butternut pumpkin, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 silken eggplant, halved lengthwise
- 1 packet of firm tofu, cut to 1cm thickness then into triangles
- 1 cup coconut cream, plus ¼ cup extra to serve
- 5 tbs yellow curry paste (or use storebought)
- 3-4 star anise
- 1-2 cinnamon quills
- 100g palm sugar
- 2-3 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs yellow bean paste (I omitted this because I couldn't find it)
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 tbs tamarind water
- ½ punnet oyster mushrooms
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 bunch Thai basil, leaves picked
- 1 large red chilli, finely sliced
- 1 kaffir lime leaf, finely julienned
- Roast the pumpkin until it is cooked through. Grill the silken eggplant and tofu until browned.
- To a heavy-based pan over a medium heat add the coconut cream, a little oil and a large pinch of salt. Once the cream starts to separate an the oils split out add the curry paste and turn up the heat slightly until it becomes aromatic.
- Add the star anise, cinnamon and palm sugar. Turn up the heat so the sugar caramelises quickly.
- Add the soy sauce, yellow bean paste, coconut milk and tamarind water. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 4-5 mins. (if the sauce is too thick, add a little water.)
- Add the oyster mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes until they are slightly softened.
- Add the roasted pumpkin, grilled eggplants and tofu, tomatoes and thai basil. Stir through and simmer gently for a minute so to ensure the vegetables and tofu are heated through.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with a drizzle of the extra coconut cream, sliced chilli and lime leaf julienne. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Mix 1 tbsp tamarind pulp with 80ml cup hot water and let it soak for about 30mins. Work the pulp with your fingers to help it dissolve. Strain, forcing through as much pulp as you can with a spoon. Discard leftover solids.
Hi Tash!
I have a quick question, which may seem obvious, but what are silken eggplants?
Thank you!!
Maddie
That’s a great question actually – I had copied the recipe from the book without thinking about it but in Asian culture we have round eggplant and long eggplant. I think this refers to the long skinny variety that’s commonly used in Asian cuisine (not the big chunky ones that you find in supermarkets in Australia) – though there’s no reason those couldn’t work if you cut them into smaller pieces.