Chinese spoons. Photo / Doug Sherring
You can buy these at Asian supermarkets for about 80 cents each. They are great carriers for a bite-sized taste and make a good presentation. Here are three possible ideas.
1. Cut the freshest of raw salmon into about 1.5cm cubes. Sit the cubes on the spoons and squeeze a
dab of Japanese mayonnaise on to each cube. Using a tooth pick, top each with a little prepared wasabi. A 350g piece of salmon will give you around 25 serves.
2. Buy 300g of tuna steak to give 25 serves. Grind two tablespoons of Szechuan pepper and two tablespoons of Manuka smoked salt together in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.
Oil the tuna and then coat each side with the pepper and salt mix. Sear the tuna in a hot pan - a couple of minutes on each side - it should still be rare in the middle. Once cool, cut into 1.5cm cubes and place on the spoons.
3. Buy some fresh mozzarella or boccocini. Break the mozzarella into bite-sized pieces or if small enough, place a boccocini on each spoon. Marinate some dried dates in a little hot water with orange zest and juice to plump up. Mix these with a little tamarind chutney.
