Harmony Week With Our Shellharbour Unit Volunteers

At Shellharbour unit, volunteers came together to celebrate their culture through home-cooked meals and shared stories.

The evening highlighted the strength of bringing people from diverse backgrounds together, united by a shared purpose-because everyone belongs. View all the featured recipes below.

Khao Niao Mamuang (Thai Coconut Sticky Rice With Mango) Recipe

Prep 5 mins

Cook 35 mins

Soaking Time 80 mins

Total 2 hrs

Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup Thai sweet sticky rice (200 g) (see notes)
• 1 (400 ml) can full-fat coconut milk, blended well to incorporate fat, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar (100 g), divided
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons (6 g) cornstarch
• 2 Ataúlfo mangoes (about 6 ounces or 170 g each), peeled, pitted, and sliced (see notes)
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cover rice with water by several inches and let stand at room temperature 1 hour or up to overnight.
2. Drain rice. Assemble a steamer, line with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel, and add rice, smoothing surface to form an even layer. Set over high heat, bring water in steamer to a boil, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring half the coconut milk to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Whisk in 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and a large pinch of salt until dissolved. The coconut milk should taste salty-sweet.
4. Transfer cooked rice to a large heatproof bowl and pour coconut milk mixture on top (it will look like too much liquid). Stir well to combine, cover with plastic, and let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. (You can let it stand up to 2 hours at room temperature.)
5. Meanwhile, rinse and dry the saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of the remaining coconut milk with the cornstarch until smooth. Add the rest of the remaining coconut milk to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally at first and constantly once it begins to steam. Whisk in the slurry, return to a simmer, and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and glossy, about 2-3 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and a large pinch of salt until dissolved. Keep coconut mixture warm.
6. When ready to serve, mound coconut rice onto plates and arrange sliced mango alongside. Drizzle coconut cream all over rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Serve right away.

Ika Mata from New Zealand

Prep 10 mins

Cook 30-45 mins

Total 1 hr

Serves 2 servings

Ingredients

• 400 grams fresh tuna
• 4 lemons, juiced
• ½ cup coconut cream
• ½ cup red capsicum
• 1 cup cucumber
• ¼ cup red onion
• 1 tsp salt (or, to taste)

Directions

1. Wash and dice the tuna into bite size pieces. Add to a clean bowl.
2. Add the juice of 4 lemons to the bowl of tuna, cover and let it chill in the fridge for 30-45mins.
3. Dice the cucumber, capsicum and onions. Cover and let them chill in the fridge until the tuna has finished marinating.
4. In a new bowl, add the marinated tuna and lemon juice along with 1/2 cup of coconut cream and mix.
5. Add all the diced cucumber, capsicum and onions to the bowl and mix well.
6. Add 1 tsp of salt to taste.

Sri Lankan Pancakes Recipe

Prep 10 mins

Cook 15 mins

Total 25 min

Serves 4 servings

Description

Sri Lankan coconut pancakes are a delicious breakfast/tea time snack made with spiced sweet coconut filling wrapped in a thin crepe. One of my childhood favorites. And they're very, very easy to make.

Ingredients

For the sweet coconut filling

• 2 cup Grated fresh coconut
• 1.5 cup Dark brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp Salt ( taste the filling and adjust as you like)
• 3 Cardomom
• 3 tbsp water

For the Pancake Batter

• 2 cup plain flour
• 2 Eggs
• 3 cup Regular milk/Coconut milk (Dilute if you use canned coconut milk)
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 3 drop Vanilla Essence (optional) (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)

Other

• Oil as needed

Directions

Making the filling

1. Open the shell of your cardamom pods and take the seeds out. Put the seeds with 1/8 tsp of salt into a mortar and pestle and grind them to a powder. Salt makes it easier to grind
2. Into a pan, add your fresh grated coconut and slightly dry roast them to remove excess moisture. Do not wait till they get brown. You just want to get them a little dry, so they absorb the sugar syrup well. And they don't go bad as quickly as otherwise.
3. In a pan, add your dark brown sugar, powdered cardamom salt mix, with 2 tbsp of water. Mix well, turn on the heat and let the sugar dissolve and heat up. Do not keep mixing. If you mix, the sugar will crystalize back. So let it just dissolve and heat up. Keep an eye on this. It heats up quickly and if you keep waiting the sugar will burn. Swirl the pan if the sugar doesn't heat up evenly.
4. Turn off the heat when the sugar is completely dissolved and syrup is heated through. Then add your dried coconut to the syrup and mix well. Let the mixture cool down. If you made this in a pan which retains the heat for longer, then transfer the sweet coconut mix to a different bowl.

Make the pancake batter

1. Add all the ingredients listed under "for the batter" into a blender and blend to get a smooth lump-free batter. Add flour if the batter is too runny and add a bit of coconut milk if the batter is too thick. The consistency should be a little thicker than heavy whipping cream.
2. Heat a small non-stick frying pan and add two-three drops of oil. Then wipe out the oil with a paper towel. Keep the heat on medium-low. The pan shouldn't be too how when you add the batter.
3. Add ⅓ cup of batter to the pan and swirl it around to spread it. Let the pancake cook until it looks cooked all the way through.
4. Shake the pan to loosen up the pancake from the pan. It should loosen up very easily. If not, leave it on the heat for a few seconds. Transfer the pancake onto a plate when it's done.
5. Place some filling on the pancake, closer to one side. Cover it up with as shown in the photo. This way it makes it easier to roll.
6. Then gently but somewhat tightly, roll the pancake. Do this step when the pancake is warm and flexible. While you roll the pancake you can pour batter into the pan for the next one.
7. Serve it as breakfast or as a sweet snack for tea.

Pasta al Forno Recipe

Prep 20 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 50 min

Serves 6 servings

Description

Pasta al Forno is a super comforting and easy baked pasta recipe made with a rich tomato sauce, penne pasta, a creamy, cheesy taleggio cheese sauce and topped with crunchy breadcrumbs before being baked to perfection.

Ingredients

• 4 cups penne pasta or any short pasta shape (400g)

Tomato sauce

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil plus a drizzle for topping
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh basil chopped
• 1 tsp oregano dried
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 cups passata rustica chunky pureed tomatoes (can also use smooth passata) (800g)

Cheese Sauce

• 4 tbsp butter (50g)
• 1/3 cup plain flour (40g)
• 1 and 2/3 cups whole milk (400ml)
• 1/2 cup Taleggio cheese cut into cubes (100g)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to season

Topping

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (30g)
• 1/2 tbsp parmesan freshly grated

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)
• First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook it for 4-5 minutes only. Don't cook it any longer, drain and set aside. Add a drizzle of olive oil to stop the pasta stick once drained.

Make the tomato sauce

• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Fry the chopped garlic with the basil, fennel seeds and dried oregano with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil until fragrant. Add the passata rustica (chunky tomato puree), a good pinch of salt and pepper and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Make the cheese sauce

• As the tomato sauce is simmering make the cheese sauce. Add the butter to a saucepan on a medium heat. Once melted add the flour and whisk to form a paste. Let the mixture cook for about 1 minute whilst whisking.
• Add half of the milk whisking until smooth, once it starts to thicken add the rest of the milk and whisk the sauce until thickened. Add the taleggio cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce has a thick and creamy consistency. Turn the heat off and set aside.

Assemble

• Add the cooked pasta to the tomato sauce and stir until coated well. Transfer it to a baking dish then top with the taleggio cheese sauce. Finally top with breadcrumbs, a tiny drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated parmesan.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the breadcrumbs are toasted and crispy.