In spite of being primarily known as a vast expanse of land, you can actually still find fresh seafood on the Nullarbor! The Eyre Highway, goes right by the Eyre peninsula, an area well-known for its excellent variety of marine life. In fact, many spots along the journey offer tourists and adventurers the opportunity to catch their own meals.
One of the most coveted fish that you could catch along the Nullarbor is the Mulloway. The Mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicas), also known as the dusky kob, is a silvery (or sometimes bronze-green) fish that can be caught in the area. Catching a Mulloway is quite a feat: the fish can grow to large sizes, and landing one can be challenging. But if and when you do manage to land one, a freshly-cooked Mulloway is a wonderful and welcome change from eating the usual steaks that you might sample in rest stops across the Nullarbor.
Once you have caught a Mulloway, you can decide on how to cook it. As a matter of fact, here are a couple of recipe suggestions from us that you might want to try.
Barbecue Mulloway Cutlets
If you’re up for something simple, try barbecue Mulloway cutlets. You’ll need:
· 4 Mulloway cutlets 2-3cm thick
· 1 tablespoon soy sauce
· 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
· 1 teaspoon lemon juice
· 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
· 2 cloves garlic crushed
· 2 teaspoons golden syrup (or honey)
· 1 pinch chinese five-spice powder
· ground black pepper
· chopped parsley
Just mix together the soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, sesame oil, crushed garlic, golden syrup, and five-spice powder. You can add the black pepper to adjust the taste as you prefer. Pour this over the cutlets, and let them sit for fifteen minutes.
Place them on an oiled, medium hot barbeque hotplate and pour a bit of the marinade over each of them. They will cook quickly—just 2-3 minutes and you can turn them. Add some more marinade. Another 3-4 minutes and turn. Finally, after three minutes more, they’re ready to be served with some chopped parsley and a little lemon juice.
Beer-battered Fish and Chips
Here’s another simple recipe. A great snack and a familiar style of cooking all around, though cooking it with Mulloway brings a different flavor. You need:
· 4 x 250g Mulloway fillets
· 12 potatoes, cut into wedges
· Seasoned Flour:
o 100g plain flour
o 1 teaspoon sea salt
o 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
· vegetable oil for deep frying
· lemon wedges for garnish
For the batter:
· 250g plain flour
· pinch sea salt
· ground black pepper
· 375ml beer, chilled
· 20ml olive oil
· 1 egg
First, whisk all the batter ingredients together until smooth. Cover it with a cling wrap, and let it rest for about an hour in a refrigerator or an esky.
Then, par-boil potatoes until they’re three-quarters cooked. Drain and set these aside while you focus on the fish. Heat some vegetable oil in a large pan or a deep fryer until extremely hot. Get your batter from the fridge, and combine the seasoned flour ingredients in a bowl. Coat the fish in flour first, then the batter. Make sure to remove the excess before you put it into the oil. Fry it until golden, and drain on a paper towel.
Then, fry up some potatoes wedges, and serve.
Simple dishes, making the best out of the Mulloway’s unique flavour. If you like to try some King George Whiting come visit us at the Nullarbor Roadhouse!