Look Ma, no flour!
He hauled my sleepy ass out of bed today, to drive me all the way to Burwood so that I could finally buy myself a cleaver. Pathetically grateful after a successful shopping trip I had grumbled all the way to, I later bought him a pork bun and a ham/shallot bun from a nearby bakery. They do say a way to a man’s heart is via his stomach!
Filed alongside ‘wok’ and ‘ice-cream machine’, a cleaver is something I’ve always wanted to get. Ever since I put a dent in my Global knife, trying to open a deceptively simple looking coconut, many months ago. It’s not really something I envisage myself using on a daily basis but I can see it coming in handy every now and again. I mean, have you seen the fine and intricate work Chen Kenichi can do with a bear-claw of a cleaver on Iron Chef?
Leung Tim Choppers in Burwood is just the place to visit if you want to buy a chopper. They have a whole wall spanning the length of the shop, devoted to all kinds of cleavers (as well as smaller display cases for Japanese and German branded knives). Forged from different steels into different lengths and widths, they have cleavers for just about any job, including cutting grass! Also, the wonderful lady behind the counter is incredibly nice and friendly. She passes on a few little handy tips about the knives we’ve just bought. The two knives I pick, are an every day household cleaver (not too big, not too heavy, and very very sharp) and a ‘watermelon’ cleaver – one that is long enough to deal with large, unwieldy melons, or in my case, large baked tarts and slices. At first glance it looks too ridiculously big, but we found it immensely useful in the previous kitchen I worked in, and the knife belonged to A, so I thought it was about time I bought one for myself.
Aside from knives, they also have a wide range of restaurant grade utensils. From chopping boards the size of tree trunks and steamer baskets so big you could sleep in them, to nicknacks like an onion slicer and corn cutter. There’s a whisk in the display window that’s just about my height and a big metal cooking vessel sits outside the entrance to the shop. I’m not sure what it’s for, but it looks like a windowless spaceshuttle.
The watermelon cleaver will come in handy this week. I have been instructed to make some gluten-free chocolate brownies for a special event. At first I was sceptical. Is it even possible for chocolate brownies to be gluten-free? Don’t they need that tiny bit of flour in them to hold everything together? Then I stumbled across a recipe by Karina over at Gluten-free Goddess that was written up so enthusiastically that I just had to give it a go. And the results are : stunning. It’s quite close to my favourite (non gluten-free) brownie recipe which also uses brown sugar for that extra depth in flavour and wonderfully moist texture.
If you want to try it for yourself, you can find the recipe here. The only slight change I made was to use gluten-free plain flour (readily available at supermarkets) instead of the specified brown rice flour (which I thought might be harder to find). And check out Myriam’s BrownieBabe event for more Brownie goodness – gluten-free or otherwise!
Leung Tim Choppers Co.
198-200 Burwood Road
Burwood 2134.
Mir said,
April 29, 2007 @ 8:35 pm
Goodness, I have to go and visit and see for myself! Interesting about what the gluten free stuff, one of the girls at work was diagnosed last year and we all ended up joining the journey towards a flourless world. Discovering that almond meal is pretty damn amazing when it comes to marrying it with chocolate. Also finding it rather tragic when going out with her to see most restaurants can’t be bothered to find out what gluten free means and watching her eat her gluten “safe” salads (no dressing, lettuce, tomato and some other bland vegetable) and be expected to pay the cost of a main meal.
Y said,
April 30, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
Are you still gluten free in solidarity? This recipe is very very good. Your friend might want to give it a go if she hasn’t already got a favourite brownie recipe.
And yes, you should check out Leung Tim Choppers – buy a knife or two – they aren’t expensive. Maybe pick up some cuticle scissors or an industrial sized burner while you’re at it. There are also a couple of asian grocery stores on that road that you could pop in to. We saw some interesting things, like tins of corned mutton, and jars of preserved lemons and eggplant selling for less than $2 each! And a shoe store further up the road extolling the virtues of ‘shoes day’ (tuesday) and buying shoes as a ‘hobby’ !