Tea-smoked oyster salsa

Name: Tea-smoked oyster salsa
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: Smoking mix; 1/4 cup jasmine rice; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1/4 cup jasmine tea; Salsa; 12 oysters, rinsed to remove grit*; 1/2 avocado, finely diced; 1/2 small cucumber, seeds removed, finely diced; 1/2 bunch chives, finely sliced; Sea salt; Freshly ground white pepper; 1 tbsp lemon, juiced; Olive oil; * This is the only time I would suggest washing seafood with water as it removes the flavour - but grit will be stuck to the oyster once it is smoked.

Jeremy and Jane Strode

October 19, 2011

Time:1-2 hours

When Jeremy celebrated 10 years' living in Australia, he held a dinner at Langton's Restaurant and Wine Bar in Melbourne. I was one of six chefs who produced the menu. Each of the chefs was a past or current colleague of his in the kitchen. I prepared the second course - a raw, a steamed and a smoked oyster for each diner. It was a truly memorable night. Here's the recipe for the smoked oyster.

Ingredients

Smoking mix
1/4 cup jasmine rice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup jasmine tea
Salsa
12 oysters, rinsed to remove grit*
1/2 avocado, finely diced
1/2 small cucumber, seeds removed, finely diced
1/2 bunch chives, finely sliced
Sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1 tbsp lemon, juiced
Olive oil
* This is the only time I would suggest washing seafood with water as it removes the flavour - but grit will be stuck to the oyster once it is smoked.

Method

Line the bottom of a wok with a double layer of foil, leaving plenty of foil to the sides. Fold the excess foil over to create a "bowl" in the base of the wok. The "bowl" should be about 15cm in diameter on a regular-sized wok. Mix the rice, sugar and tea and place on the foil to an even thickness, about 1cm. Take a wok steaming rack and sit it above the smoking mix. Put oysters on rack.
Place over a high heat and, once smoke starts to billow, cover with a domed lid or another wok turned upside down. Smoke on high heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to sit for 5 minutes before removing the lid. Make sure the extractor fan is on or the windows are open. Once cool enough, remove oysters and chop roughly.
Place in a bowl with avocado, cucumber and chives. Season well with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.
Stir gently and serve on Chinese spoons or in washed-and-dried oyster shells.

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