The Taste of Australia

Meat

Cheese and bacon rolls are fluffy rolls baked in the oven until the cheese melts and they’re golden brown.

Dagwood dogs are popular Australian festival snacks. Hot dogs are dipped in batter and deep fried. They’re stuck on sticks and before eating dipped in tomato sauce.

Kangaroo meat is produced throughout the country. The meat is low-fat and grilled kangaroo steaks are popular. The meat pairs well with garlic, rosemary, juniper, red currants, plums, and oranges. The taste is a cross between buffalo meat and venison. It is a part of the traditional Aboriginal diet.

Crocodile meat comes from the two kinds of crocodiles found in Australia – saltwater and freshwater crocodiles. They have a succulent white meat that is firm in texture and has a unique flavor. The meat comes in many forms and cuts from lean steaks to ribs.

Tasmanian beef come from selected free-range and grass-fed cattle born and reared in Tasmania. The animals are mostly from British breeds like angus and Hereford varieties.

Barbecue snags are thick sausages with mild flavor. They’re made with beef, pork, garlic, and onions. They’re a staple of barbecue parties and are accompanied by mashed potatoes, grilled onions, tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, salads, chutneys, and artisanal bread. You can also find snags with other fillings like lam and rosemary, chicken and cheese, or beef and red wine.

Pie floater is a dish commonly eaten in Adelaide and Sydney. This is a traditional Australian meat pie that is served upside-down in green pea soup. It is accompanied by tomato or mint sauce. Worcestershire sauce, or malt vinegar.

Chiko roll is the Australian version of a Chinese spring roll or egg roll. This is a snack that is made with dough from eggs and flour and filled with mutton, cabbage, barley, carrots, celery, and rice. The rolls are filled and deep-fried in hot oil.

Australian barbeques are popular and on the grill you’ll find sausages, prawns, lamb, pork, chicken, emu or kangaroo meat. Anything that can be grill goes on the fire. Barbecues are a traditional part of Australian culture.

Australian pizza is topped with barbecue sauce, mozzarella cheese, bits of bacon, ham and eggs. The pie can include onions, garlic, mushrooms, or hot peppers.

Chicken parmigiana consist of chicken breasts coated with breadcrumbs, topped by tomato sauce and cheese and baked until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted. This dish is served on top of pasta or rice and can be used in submarine sandwiches.

Dim sims are deep-fried or steamed dumpling that have been filled with pork or other meat, cabbage, and flavorings. They are an inspiration of Chinese cuisine. The dumplings are dipped in soy sauce before eating.

Spag bol is short for spaghetti bologna and one of the national dishes in Australia. It is a mix of Australian beef, mushrooms, onions, carrots, celery, bacon, garlic, tomatoes, and spaghetti.

Australian meat pie is prepared with flaky pastry filled with minced meat and gravy. There are many variations and the pie can include onions, chicken, asparagus, mushrooms, cheese, crocodile meat, seafood, or vegetables.

Carpetbag steak is a specialty made with boneless beef steak and fresh raw oysters. A pocket is cut into the thick end of a rib-eye steak and the oysters are tucked into it. Then the pocket is sealed with skewers or sewn up with twine and the steak is pan-seared, grilled, or broiled until the meat is cooked but still rare.

Emu meat has low fat content and cholesterol. The most tender cuts of emu meat are the fan, top, loin, and inside strip. The flavor is mild and often paired with ginger, lemon juice, garlic, soy sauce, and honey. The meat is roasted, broiled, pan-fried, or grilled.

Green chicken curry pie is a delicious pie filled with chicken pieces, pumpkin, spinach, green beans, green curry paste, coconut milk, and finely chopped coriander. All of these ingredients are placed inside an egg-brushed puff pastry shell and baked until golden brown. The pie is served with salad on the side.

Donug is an Australian creation. This is a big chicken nugget shape in a circle so it resembles a doughnut. It is covered by cornflakes and panko crumbs then deep-fried. It comes with three optional sauces – hot chili, cheesy Dijon bechamel or Japanese curry enriched with mozzarella.

Sandwiches

Continental roll is an Australian sandwich that was influenced by Italian cuisine. Italian cold cuts like mortadella, salami, and coppa are places on a roll with cheese and different condiments. Among the usual condiments are pickled eggplants and sun-dried tomatoes. Other typical Australian ingredients are grated carrots, and beetroot.

Fritz and sauce is a classic sandwich that consists of two slices of bread with tomato sauce and fritz. Fritz is a type of cheap sausage meat containing beef, lamb, and pork trimmings, starch, flour, and seasoning. The bread is buttered, topped with fritz slices and sauce.

The Australian burger includes many toppings among them onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and even beetroot.

Sausage sizzle is popular in both Australia and New Zealand. The sausages are grilled or barbecued. Once done the sausages are place on bread and topped with ketchup, barbecue sauce, or mustard. Often fried onions are included.

Avocado toast includes a piece of toasted bread topped with mashed avocados, salt, pepper, and citrus juice. There are many varieties and can have ingredients like salmon, tomatoes, onions, eggs, garlic, cheese, olive oil, or red pepper flakes.

Spaghetti jaffle is a traditional Australian sandwich consisting of spaghetti cooked al dente. Bread is split and buttered. One slice is topped with spaghetti, sauce (often tomatoes and onions), and grated cheese. The other slice is placed on top and the bread is well toasted.

Hamdog originated in Western Australia. A specially shaped bread bun includes a beef patty cut in half and a sausage place in-between the two halves. Other ingredients include pickles, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and sauces.

Seafood

Salt and pepper calamari is inspired by Chinese cuisine. The calamari is covered in a salt and pepper batter and deep fried until crispy. The dish is served as a bar or pub snack and comes with garlic, fried chili, and spring onions.

Shrimp or prawn cocktail consists of cooked prawns served in a tulip glass with cocktail sauce. The sauce consists of ketchup and horseradish or ketchup and mayonnaise.

Elephant shark is a silver-gray fish found off the coast of Australia and New Zealand. The fish doesn’t have a bony skeleton so each fish provides two large boneless fillets. The flesh is white, firm, and low in fat. It is used to prepare fish and chips.

Blue warehou or Seriolella brama is a dark-bluish green fish with a silvery white belly found off western Victoria and Tasmania. The fish has a thick fillet and just a few bones. It is usually smoked, grilled, baked, fried, or barbecued.

Rye whiskey gravlax consists of thin slices of fish cured in a rye whiskey-based marinade. Fresh fillets of brown trout, sea trout, or salmon with pin bones removed are seasoned with salt, sugar, and freshly cracked pepper. The fish is then drizzled with Tasmanian rye whiskey and soaked for at least 12 hours in the fridge. After the fish is taken out of the marinade and served for breakfast, brunch, or as an appetizer.

Tasmanian oysters are grown and harvested from oyster beds along the north, east, and south-east coasts of Tasmania. They include two different species of oysters – Pacific oysters and Australian flat oysters. These oyster have firm flesh, large size, and a unique sweet-and-savory flavor with herbal notes.

Tasmanian scallop pie dates back to the 19th century. The fresh scallops are doused in curry sauce and placed into puff pastry then baked. The curry sauce includes diced carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, and corn kernels. It is flavored with cumin, coriander, and fenugreek. It is served with chips, and a salad.

Sweets

Neenish tart is a delicacy popular in both Australia and New Zealand. This tasty tart consists of pastry shells with a custard-like filling. Their tops are decorated with a thin layer of icing with each half in a different color like brown and white or pink and white tops.

Hot jam donuts are a specialty originating in Melbourn and has been affectionately named the Melbourner. There donuts are served hot. They are prepared with yeasted dough, filled with red jam and fried. Before serving they are coated in sugar and served in white paper bags.

Iced VoVo is a classic Australian biscuit made with wheat flour and topped with a strip of raspberry jam and two strips of pink fondant. The cookies are sprinkled with coconut. These cookies became very popular in 2007 when at that time the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd mentioned them in his victory speech.

Dolly Varden cake is an iconic cake very popular at children’s birthday parties. The cake gets its name from a character named Dolly in the novel Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens. The cake has four layers – chocolate, a white layer with egg whites, a rose layer with cochimeal, and a yellow layer with egg yolks and topped with frosting.

Pikelets are pancakes prepared with flour, eggs, and milk. They are popular for breakfast in Australia and also in New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. The batter is thicker than used for American pancakes. These pancakes are small in size and usually made with yeast. They can be served hot or cold and are accompanied by butter, syrup, and fruit on the side.

Cruffins are a cross between croissants and muffins. They’re made with laminated croissant dough and filled with different flavors and ingredients like pastry cream, peanut butter, cream and strawberries, chocolate, salted caramel, and others.

Yo-yo biscuits come from South Australia. These are shortbread cookies made from flour, butter, milk, eggs, and honey. They are crumbly in texture and can be arranged as sandwiches with buttercream in the middle.

Tim Tam is an Australian brand of chocolate biscuits. These consists of two malted biscuits with chocolate cream in-between and coated in a thin layer of chocolate. They were named after the winning horse at the 1958 Kentucky Derby. Today these biscuits come in different varieties like dark chocolate, white chocolate, and caramel.

Vanilla slice is the Australian answer to mille-fenille. This is a dessert with thick custard flavored with vanilla and sandwiched between puff or phyllo pastry sheets. It is topped with vanilla, raspberry, strawberry, chocolate, or passion fruit icing. Before serving it is cut into slices.

Lamington is a world-famous Australian culinary icon. It consists of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with finely desiccated coconut. It is popular due to its climate suitability since it lasts longer in the heat when its cut into bite-sized squares and sprinkled with coconut.

Another version of lamingtons include chocolate cream. The cake is prepared with flour, dark cocoa, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. The chocolate cream layer consists of dark chocolate, dark cocoa, vanilla extract, icing sugar, heavy cream, and mascarpone.

Pavlova is a dessert that was named after Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova. It was created when she toured Australia and New Zealand. This dessert is made with white meringue and topped with whipped cream.

Leatherwood honey comes from the wild rainforests of the west coast of Tasmania. This is a highly-prized honey that is made by ligustica bees taking nectar from the leatherwood plant that blossom with white flowers during harvest season between January and March. The honey has a smooth, creamy, buttery texture and a mildly sweet and floral flavor.