The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Japan

It is the turn of Japan to be represented today in the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010. In the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Japanese team take on Denmark tonight with a place in the last sixteen awaiting the winners of that encounter. That could be quite a tasty match as both sides have provided some decent entertainment, with Denmark featuring in what for me has been the most entertaining match of the tournament thus far, against Cameroon last Saturday night.

Before then, however, it is time for a taste of Japanese food. Although most people will automatically think of sushi when Japanese food is mentioned, there is clearly much more to Japanese cuisine. I am delighted to introduce today Helium writer and trainee chef Erikson Arcilla, from the Philippines, who kindly accepted my invitation to feature as a guest representative of Japan.

Shrimp in Tempura Batter

What we have here is a tempura made from beer batter...

Batter:

1/2 can of beer ( your choice )
3/4 cup of flour
1/2 tsp of allspice
1/2 tsp of salt

Directions: Pour the beer in bowl then sift the flour into it. Add in the allspice and the salt and mix it until frothy.

Shrimp:

De-vein the shrimp and put it on a separate plate. Season it with salt and pepper and add olive oil and melted butter (just enough to coat it.)

Add finely chopped rosemary or any herb of your choice. Mix and coat well.

Cooking the tempura:

In a separate bowl. Put in flour. Coat the shrimp before dredging it in the batter.

Heat the oil until it reaches tempura frying range. To test for the right temperature, place a drop of batter into the oil. The batter should rise after 1 or 2 seconds. That is the right time. Cook until golden brown.

Dip:

The dip here is real simple. You can make it by using 1 tbsp. Mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp of oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp of mustard and lime for acidity.

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Greece

The group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2010 begins to conclude today and for the next four days, four teams each day will be eliminated from the tournament and make the journey home in disappointment. I am happy to say, however, that this does not apply to the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 and we are going to be here for what is nearly the three full weeks which remain of the tournament. Today on the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 it is the turn of Greece to feature and Helium.com's Internet Channel Manager, Rena Sandou, favours us with a traditional dish from her native land.

Mediterranean food as a whole is of course renowned for its fresh, healthy properties and attractive, colourful presentation. This Souvlaki with Pita Bread which Rena has devised for us is a perfect example of such fine cuisine.

As Greece prepares for what is a huge challenge tonight in that they are required to defeat the might of Argentina to progress in the FIFA World Cup, her players are likely to require every bit of nourishment and goodness their national cuisine can provide...

Souvlaki with Pita Bread

Greeks have a unique, Greek way, of celebrating big sporting events! And Mundial is definitely one of them! By combining tasty and colorful ingredients and good Greek mood, we know how to live the special moments of the national football team and enjoy traditional flavors!

Souvlaki with pitta is a famous, traditional dish, highly appreciated by millions of tourists that visit Greece during summer season each year. There is no doubt that Greek cuisine is ranked among the best in the world and souvlaki has become one of most famous words around the globe!

If you don’t have the chance to visit Greece and taste souvlaki in a traditional taverna on a beautiful Greek island, while enjoying the view of crystal clear waters and pure white scenery, you can always taste souvlaki at home.

Here are the simple steps on how to prepare souvlaki at home (wherever that is!):

Ingredients

* 2lb pork cut in 1 inch cubes
* 2-3 potatoes
* 2 tomatoes
* 2 onions
* 6 pita bread
* Mustard, ketchup and/or tzatziki
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* Lemon juice
* 6 wooden skewers



Preparation

- In a large bowl, mix together pork, olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir until all ingredients, blend together. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

- Remove meat from the refrigerator at least 45 minutes before cooking. Put 5-6 pork cubes in a wooden skewer. Do the same with the rest skewers until there is no meat left.

- Cook over a barbeque, gas or oven grill. Turn souvlaki regularly for even cooking. Keep in mind that pork meat is tender and does not require too much cooking time; 10-15 minutes will be enough!

- While cooking meat, put pita breads on the grill rank and cook until they become crunchy. Pita breads need only a couple of minutes!

- In the meantime, cook french fries to add them later in your souvlaki.

- When all souvlaki are cooked, place them on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and lemon juice. This is not a required step and it is all up to personal taste!

- Take a pita bread and put the skewer in the middle of it. Fold it, hold the pita tightly and remove the skewer from the meat. Add mustard and ketchup (if you wish), tzatziki, french fries, tomatoes cut in slices and onions.

Serve with a cold glass of beer and enjoy! Bon appetit!

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Australia

Good morning, Australia!

It is the very early hours of Saturday, 19th June, 2010, here in Great Britain but I am aware that it is late morning in Australia and that this is the dawn of what is likely to be Australia's big make or break day in terms of the FIFA World Cup 2010 when they take on Ghana. Regardless of what happens on the pitch some hours from now, this is Australia's day in the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 and it is therefore my great pleasure to introduce you to Melbourne's Susanna Duffy.

Susanna told me that she rejected the kangaroo and crocodile options for her dish in order to make it more accessible to people the world over and I hope that you appreciate what she has come up with today.

Zucchini Pie

In Melbourne, football is not football without a pie. Now here's a pie with zing - using zucchini. Eaten hot or cold, as a side dish or as a main meal, it's deliciously different whichever way you choose.

Preparation - 20 minutes. : Cooking time - 40 minutes : Eating time - 3 minutes

Ingredients

500g - 1lb zucchini (courgette in UK)
4-5 bacon rashers
1 medium - large onion
110g - US 1/2 cup self-raising flour
4 good sized eggs
1 large cup of vintage or tasty cheddar
80mll - US 1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt & pepper

Method

Firstly, remove the rind from the bacon and chop the meat into small pieces. Peel and chop the onion. Put the bacon and onion into a heavy-based nonstick pan and fry over a medium to high heat for approximately 5 minutes. The onion needs to be softened, not browned. Set aside to cool.



Wash the zucchini, slice off the ends and finely grate the rest. After you've grated them all, squeeze over the sink to get rid of excess liquid.

Mix the grated zucchini mixture, the cooled onion and bacon, the cheese and flour in a large bowl.

Break the eggs into a separate bowl, add the oil and stir to combine.

Pour the egg mixture into the large bowl of zucchini mix. Stir them thoroughly together. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Pour this combined mixture into a slice pan, lamington pan or baking dish. Spread it out evenly.



Bake this combination in a moderate oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. Check with a skewer to make sure it's cooked through.

When it's cooked through, take it out of the oven and let it set for about 10 minutes.



The pie is thereafter ready to be sliced and served.

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Germany

Today sees the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 assume what will be its more usual format, featuring one country and one food writer per day. Tonight, Germany open their World Cup campaign in South Africa when they take on Australia and it is my great pleasure today to introduce you to Chef Keem, a native German now resident in the United States.

Germany of course received a huge blow in advance of the World Cup when their inspirational skipper, Michael Ballack, sustained an injury playing in the English FA Cup Final, which ruled him out of the tournament. How that will affect Germany's chances in South Africa, only time will tell but I am happy to confirm that no such issues have affected Chef Keem in the kitchen.

Cooking for Germany: Chef Keem

Consider this German Beef Rouladen recipe a consolation prize for all the poor teams that have lost against Germany in the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Since I'm writing this on May 18, I might end up falling on my face with this mouthful of braggadocio, eh? Well, in case things don't work out as I hope (and Germany doesn't win the title), at least I have something really good to fill my mouth with on July 11.

How To Make German Beef Rouladen Worthy of A Culinary World Cup

1. Tenderize an 8 to 10-ounces slice of beef (inside round or top round), but don't overdo it so the meat rips apart. Season well with salt and pepper.

2. Now spread the following ingredients over the meat: 1 Tblsp thinly-sliced smoked bacon, 1 Tblsp chopped onions, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 Tblsp mustard (any kind), and 1 pickle spear. (In the video, the first 4 ingredients are already mixed together.)

3. Make a tight roll and secure the end with 2 tooth picks.

4. Brown the rouladen from all sides in hot oil; remove from pot into a bowl.

5. Cook a handful of chopped onion and one or two teaspoons of minced garlic until translucent and lightly browned; add one bay leaf.

6. Pour 1-2 cups of red wine into the pot and loosen the brown bottom bits with a spatula while boiling the liquid for 3-4 minutes.

7. Put the rouladen back into the pot and barely cover them with good beef stock (broth).

8. Bring everything to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook for about an hour.

9. Remove the beef rolls to a covered dish and keep warm.

10. Whisk a 1/2 cup of sour cream and some cold thickener (roux) into the liquid to add body and flavor to the sauce; cook on high until lightly thickened.

11. Don’t forget to remove the tooth picks before serving the rouladen covered with sauce.

12. Great side dishes include mashers, pasta, rice, potato dumplings, bread dumplings, carrots, green beans, red cabbage or sauerkraut.

OK, I'll try to be impartial and generous: May the best team win the 2010 Soccer World Cup! (Which is what's going to happen, anyway.)

Update!! - Sunday Evening (UK time)

I promised Chef Keem earlier this week that I would enjoy a Weissbier or two as I watched the game tonight. I did not forget, Chef! I poured this Erdinger beer only minutes ago and am savouring it as I watch the match, where Germany currently lead Australia 2-0 at half-time.

For those who are unfamiliar with Weissbier, it translates in to English as, "Wheat beer." The word weiss in German can mean either, "White," or, "Wheat." I drank quite a few of these while in Germany for the FIFA World Cup 2006! To be enjoyed at its best, Weissbier really has to be poured in to a proper Weissbier glass as this one is and which I was given as a gift in Munich a number of years ago.

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2010 is about to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa. It will be attended by dignitaries including the President of the United States, Barack Obama, and will be watched by a global TV audience of more than 500 millions.

Before I get myself comfortable to watch the festivities and the opening match of the World Cup between South Africa and Mexico which will follow, it is time to formally announce the beginning of the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010. In so doing, I would simply like to spend a little time looking in general at what this blog is going to feature over the course of the next calendar month and how all who visit it can make the most of both World Cups and have as much fun from the procedures - on the pitch and in the kitchen - as possible.

The FIFA World Cup is often thought of simply as a sports' tournament. In truth, however, it is much, much more: it is mostly about the football, yes; but it is also about a coming together and celebration of different peoples and cultures. I was privileged to attend the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany and even although I very often did not understand the nature of the celebrations of the different peoples - never mind their language - it was wonderful to sample the friendly atmosphere generated by so many different nationalities coming together in one place for the purpose of enjoying themselves as much as possible.

Starting tomorrow, Saturday 12th June, it will be my great pleasure to introduce a number of cooks and food writers from around the world, who will during the course of the tournament share with all who visit this blog their culinary talents and creations. I will include this feature three or four times each week, for the duration of the tournament. I also have a number of other ideas which I hope to incorporate, all geared towards enjoying this magnificent global celebration period to the full.

So how can you get in to the spirit of the World Cup? How can you use the occasion to sample different cultures and cuisines, broaden your knowledge and have a great deal of fun at the same time?

As stated above, there will be a number of dishes shared here which you can have a go at making at home. Why not, however, host your own World Cup Party and come up with your own, innovative creations? You may well choose to host such an event when your own country is playing in a match and have the food and drink as you cheer your team on - that will no doubt be by far the most popular option. Why not, however, broaden your horizons and branch out in to the unknown...?

A few nights ago, I decided to cook a dish for one of the lesser known countries in a culinary sense which are participating in the FIFA World Cup. I picked a number of candidate countries and drew one at random - Ghana. I then simply searched Google for Ghanaian recipes for which I could obtain the principal ingredients and cooked a disk called Shoko, which is a beef and spinach stew. It was delicious!

Why not therefore look at the fixtures for the FIFA World Cup and select a match which is taking place on a night convenient for hosting your party, which features two countries with which you are unfamiliar with their national cuisine? Google is a wonderful tool in this respect and you may be surprised what tasty recipes you can find simply by searching the name of the country along with the words, "Food," or, "Recipes." There is no need to prepare anything complicated - you may simply wish to prepare a buffet style meal, which can be enjoyed by all as you watch the match.

What is a party, of course, without a drink? Even if you do not wish to incorporate alcoholic drinks, a lot of fun can be had preparing non-alcoholic fruit cocktails. I am one of those people who does enjoy a beer watching the match, however, so I spent some time last night browsing the beer aisle of my local supermarket, looking for unusual brews.

I found a great many candidates from around the world which I will sample as time goes on but for the opening night of the tournament, I could not resist the quaintly named English Ale, "Piddle in the Hole." The beer is produced by the Wyre Piddle Brewery and I will share with you at a later time what I thought of the brew.

Finally, today, I would wish you all a fun-filled time for the duration of the World Cup and although only one nation can be happy at the end of the FIFA event, I hope that people across the globe can get involved in and enjoy the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 to the full.