Fermented rainforest yam roti, smoked kangaroo, sesame cream, hot sauce and crispies

Fermenting the yam really adds a depth of flavour to the roti, packing a punch of flavour to balance the smoked kangaroo.

Credit: Taste of the Tropics

• serves

  4

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  6 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 2 kg kangaroo tail, or any other fillet
• 50 g caster sugar
• 60 g oyster sauce
• 100 g fish sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 pieces cassia bark
• 4 star anise
• 2 oranges, halved and squeezed
• 250 ml (1 cup) Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing)
• 2 finger limes
• 50 g fried curry leaves
• Thinly sliced garlic
• Red Asian shallot, to serve
  

Yam roti

• 100 g rainforest yam
• 300 g wholemeal flour
• 2 tsp salt
• melted butter, for brushing
  

Sesame cream

• 45 g crustless sourdough bread
• 70 g milk
• 18 g tahini
• 14 g red Asian shallot, chopped
• 4 g confit garlic paste
• 80 g vegetable oil
• 2 g honey
• 4 g salt
• 16 g lemon juice
  

Hot sauce

• 10 garlic cloves
• 10 very hot small green chillies
• 1 bunch mint, leaves picked
• Pinch of salt
• Fish sauce, to taste

Fermentation time: 5 days

Instructions

1. To prepare the yam roti, peel the yam, chop into chunks and steam until tender. Weigh the cooked yam and add 4% salt by weight. Mix thoroughly, then put in a fermenting crock or zip lock bag and stand to ferment at room temperature for about 5 days. After fermenting the yam paste should taste pleasantly sour.
   
2. On the day of or before eating, preheat a wood fired offset barbecue smoker. Choose a flameproof container just large enough to fit the kangaroo tail snugly.  Add the sugar, sauces, bay leaves, spices, oranges and Chinese wine to the dish and stir to combine well. Add the kangaroo tail and turn to coat well. Cook in the smoker, basting and turning occasionally for about 6 hours or until sticky and falling off the bone. Remove from the smoker and when cool enough to handle, pick the meat from the tail and mix with any leftover smoking juices.
   
3. Mix the fermented yam and any resulting juices with enough flour to make a soft dough. Divide the dough into 8 balls, then roll into flat discs. When ready to serve, heat a heavy based dry frying pan over high heat. When the pan is smoking, cook the roti, one at a time until lightly scorched on both sides and cooked through. Brush with melted butter and keep warm until needed.
   
4. Meanwhile, to prepare the sesame cream, place the bread, milk, tahini, shallot and garlic paste in a bowl and stir until well combined. Stand for 20 minutes, then transfer to a small blender. With the motor running, gradually add the oil until completely emulsified. Add the honey, salt and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve and refrigerate until needed.
   
5. To prepare the hot sauce, pound the garlic, whole chillies, mint and salt in a mortar and pestle until coarsely chopped. Add the fish sauce and lime juice to taste. The resulting sauce should be unapologetically intense.
   
6. To serve, spoon a good dollop of sesame cream onto each plate and top with the smoked kangaroo. Douse in hot sauce, then squeeze over the finger lime pearls and sprinkle over some crispies. Spoon the mixture into the warm fermented rainforest yam roti and eat immediately.

This recipe and image is from Taste of the Tropics - Troppo Kitchen.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.