Mumbai food: Replace bacon strips and pork lard with sugarcane sticks

Sugar cane sticks offer a perfect replacement to pork-based protein moisturising agents, like bacon strips and pork lard

Pomfret on a bed of sugar cane sticks

It was at his home kitchen, quite by accident, that chef Jerson Fernandes stumbled on the rather off-beat procedure of sugarcane-bed cooking. "I had a few guests over for dinner. On the menu, was grilled pomfret, cottage cheese steaks and other meat cuts. Keeping any protein juicy is hard without a moisturising agent such as bacon strips, animal fat or pork lard. But, I had to stay clear of pork, which is why I needed a vegetarian moisturising agent. That’s when I happened to come across sugar cane sticks. I was sure sugarcane, which is juicy and full of moisture, would act as a perfect tenderising and moisturising agent for cuts of meat and vegetables for that evening," says the chef. As it turns out, not only did the proteins retain their juices, the charred sugarcane sticks helped make an accompanying sauce.

Chef Jerson Fernandes. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Of all the recipes Jerson has tried, the oven-grilled pomfret remains his favourite. "Pomfret tends to get dry when overcooked and sometimes, the skin gets burnt. A bed of sugarcane sticks prevent this from happening, as it moisturises the fish during cooking, and also keeps it from breaking or flaking. The sweet flavours marry well with the delicate fish. The charred sticks can later be chopped and further reduced with butter, green onions, garlic and lemon to make the most perfect accompanying fish sauce." After making this discovery at home, Jerson went on to imbibe the method in his restaurant kitchen as well. "It comes in handy while serving those who don't eat pork."

He has a few tips to share:

• Make sure your sugar cane sticks are washed well before use. Scrape off the skin using a knife.
• The sugar cane sticks should be cut in even sizes to have a flat base and assist in the even release of juices while cooking.
• Avoid using red sugarcane. Preferably, use the green sugar cane variety.
• You can use a nylon thread or any strong thread to tie the sticks together.
• Once done with the cooking, don’t get rid of the sticks. Chop them and reduce it to make a perfect accompanying sauce.

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