Indulge in a hot, soupy bowl of ramen noodles with this deliciously easy recipe.
With a strong need for comfort and all this time on your hands, there’s no better time to forgo the cheap packet variety and learn how to make ramen from scratch. Ramen is the Japanese rendition of Chinese Lo Mein. These noodles have a long and rich history in Japan since being adopted from China, with many different and fantastic versions of the noodle dish, taking anywhere from two minutes to two days to prepare. This recipe is as achievable as it is delicious.
Garnishes
4 eggs
1 braised bamboo shoot (sliced)
4 green shallots (finely sliced)
2 tsp sesame oil
12 pieces of kamaboko (Japanese fish cake)
300g dried ramen noodles
500g pork belly (skin removed but as much fat as possible intact)
1/4 cup flaky salt 1/4 cup sugar
One day in advance, place the pork belly fat side up in a small, snug-fitting roasting pan. In a small bowl, mix the salt and sugar together evenly and rub over the pork belly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 220°C. Discard any liquid that came out in the pan.
Place the pork belly in the oven, uncovered. Cook for 40 minutes. Baste the pork belly 20 minutes in with the rendered fat. Continue to baste it until the pork belly has a golden brown exterior.
Reduce the oven temperature to 130 °C and cook for another hour to an hour and a half, or until the belly is tender but not quite falling apart. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the pork belly to a plate. Allow the pork belly to cool slightly. When the pork belly is cool enough to handle, wrap the belly in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Allow the pork belly to thoroughly chill then slice into 1cm thick slices.
Place pork stock and chicken stock in a pot and bring to a very gentle simmer. Add kombu and shitake mushrooms to the stock and simmer very gently for 30 minutes. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Reduce to a simmer then add whole eggs and cook for 6 minutes. Remove eggs and place in a bowl of chilled water to cool. Finely slice the spring onions and fish cakes. Cook noodles according to directions then strain. Strain the stock then return to the heat. Add the sugar, tamari and mirin.
Peel the eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Divide the noodles between 4 bowls then arrange the eggs, pork, kamaboko and spring onions on top. Ladle over the hot broth and drizzle a few drops of sesame oil over the top.
One of the best chefs our country has to offer, it goes without saying that Josh Emett sure knows his way around a kitchen. Yet despite being best known for the gastronomic creations he whips up at Ostro,Hawker & Roll and Madam Woo (alongside Queenstown’s Rata) it’s a different cooking quarters that has been the focus of our attention of late: his own kitchen at home.
Via a spate of recent video recipes, taken in his home and delivered to his rapidly growing Instagram audience (42,680 followers and counting), Emett has been teaching the masses how to become better equipped in the cooking department — whether it be by divulging the secret to the perfect, creamy mashed potato or delivering a step-by-step guide on the ultimate, mouth-watering eggplant parmigiana. Stealing the spotlight in each of Emett’s videos, however, has been the environs he cooks within: a spot that’s giving us serious kitchen envy for more than one reason.
Undeniably the crowning glory of Emett’s home, the chef and restaurateur’s kitchen is as carefully constructed as the dishes he works his culinary magic on. The brainchild of both Emett and Alan Bertenshaw, director of Matisse, local distributors of coveted Italian kitchen brand Arclinea, the duo worked together to create a space that is both refined and functional. The result is a stunning, modernistic marriage of glistening accents and timber finishes. A beautiful space that is well-deserving of the exquisite dishes the chef is known to produce.
The international credentials of Bensen are hard to beat – a Scandinavia-influenced brand founded in Canada by a Dane, manufactured in Italy and available in New Zealand at Tim Webber Design. That’s a lot of passport stamps but the influences all come together in streamlined pieces, with considerately curved sofas, updated wingback chairs that turn on a dime and futuristic ottomans.
So who is Bensen? It’s Niels Bendsten actually. Born in Denmark in 1943, Bendsten emigrated to Canada where he opened his first store in West Vancouver in 1963. That store would go on to become the highly influential Inform Interiors.
Left: Niels Bendtsen. Right: Ribbon Chair (1975)
When did Bensen begin? Bensen had grown up designing furniture, working with his father, a cabinetmaker who worked under the highly respected Jacob Kjaer. In the seventies he sold his store to study design in Denmark and create his own pieces. One of his earliest pieces, the Ribbon Chair (1975) is part of MoMA’s permanent collection in New York. He returned to Canada, bought back his store, and launched Bensen to focus on making affordable and elegant pieces of high-quality.
So is it now just a Canada thing? We are talking global here (didn’t you read the introduction?). Bensen has gone on to work with Magis, Moroso, Starbucks and Flos while Bensen pieces are dotted throughout the world in the type of houses and apartments clogging your Pinterest board.
What are the standout pieces? I think you mean sit down pieces. It’s really hard to leavy the cosy confines of the sleek U Sofa or the luxurious Lo Turn Chair.
From ballet to the business of fashion, Georgia Currie is dancing rings around the competition with her label Georgia Alice. An eye for statement sleeves, on-trend ruching and a considered palette have propelled her onto the racks of Selfridges in London, Lane Crawford in China and Moda Operandi. Here Currie takes us through her lost twenties, the troubles of staging shows and why she won’t be opening a store in New Zealand anytime soon.
Georgia Alice Cruise Resort 20
How did Georgia Alice get started? I studied fashion design. I was really interested in it. I had lived in Sydney prior to coming back to New Zealand and studying and I had always seen myself leaving again. I had actually done classical ballet for 13 years in Sydney but when that didn’t work out I was around 18 years old and I needed to come back. I feel like there’s a romanticism with classical ballet that can be translated into fashion. You’re creating a world for people to be a part of. I never really had the plan of launching a brand. It came about because I was in love with a boy and he suggested that I start a brand, seeing as I had studied it. It was very much a whim, just following love really. In my final year of fashion design I entered the Westpac Young Designers competition and won, which gave me a spotlight, a really good launch pad. You have to be determined and resilient which I feel I am naturally. I mean, I knew no one in the industry here… so I’ve just managed to build Georgia Alice with a mixture of luck and really, really hard work.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wearing Georgia Alice
Tell me about the financial side of starting and maintaining a label. I won $5,000 from the Westpac award. I also have a business partner, a family member, who is a 50 per cent shareholder in my label. He gave me $20,000 to start Georgia Alice and over the last eight years he’s contributed $160,000, which has seen me through some tough points. I did Australian Fashion Week and the budget was blown out by bad management. I owed around $80,000 and there were people calling me saying that they weren’t going to light the show if I didn’t pay them $10,000 by the next day. It was really intense. I’m now at a point, eight years along, where I’ve paid that money back and I’m trying to become the sole owner of my company. So you can have investment and that’s really wonderful, but you do reach a point where it becomes quite complex.
What are your core values? My core values change depending on what’s going on in my external life. Having a baby this year, you know that flipped everything. It became less about the stuff I was so concerned with in my label. My business was secondary to my happiness and my life. It’s my job, yes, but everything else is more important. I mean obviously there’s this very weird intense bond between me and Georgia Alice but it’s not the same intoxicating relationship that it used to be. Where I would care about it at an almost unhealthy level.
Georgia Alice Cruise Resort 20
What are the biggest challenges? I think that it challenges you mentally, emotionally, financially and, in terms of your work-life balance, there’s a massive amount of compromise. Honestly, I haven’t really had a twenties. I’m 30 now and I feel like my thirties are my time, to go on holiday and to find inspiration, instead of just being in this constant rigmarole. It’s like Georgia Alice was my first child. I made a very conscious decision in the last year when I knew Earl was on his way, that I would not put my stress onto him and I wouldn’t bring it home anymore. I’ve had a couple of slip-ups this year but that’s where things like meditation and exercise are actually so important for grounding me. Because it’s never actually that bad.
Georgia Fowler wearing Georgia Alice
How did getting picked up by international retailers change your business? It took a lot of time. The first season I went to Paris, I didn’t pick up a single store. And then I did that huge push where I did Australian Fashion Week… and it was around then that I picked up Lane Crawford and Net-a-Porter. Which completely changed my business because the orders that they place are so large and there were sell-through agreements that we had to meet. We were playing with the big boys. So you know it changed the dynamic but it also meant that we had more cash and more press. It takes time and you have to be patient and you have to remember why you’re doing it.
Georgia Alice Cruise Resort 20
What do your customers want now? I’ve almost stopped worrying about that. Now I’m asking, what makes me happy? I’m reducing the size of my collections. I don’t believe that people need many garments a year. And the other massive thing is quality. If something is not the best quality, I’m not putting it in the collection. We’ve started working with pattern cutters in London and Paris and we’re potentially shifting all of our manufacturing to Europe. So I’m stepping it up, reducing my collection, lifting my price point and only producing product that feels like luxury. I don’t want to be in the trenches anymore.
Will we see a Georgia Alice store? Nope. I have too many other things that I want to execute. It’s not a priority. We have a beautiful set of VIPs in New Zealand who come into Georgia Alice and who we have close relationships with, but in terms of New Zealand as our main market, it isn’t. So to open a store here for Georgia Alice wouldn’t make sense. And to open something overseas you just need capital. I’m not willing to go out and get more investment right now. I want to get 100 per cent ownership of my company. That’s the next step.
Georgia Alice Cruise Resort 20
Have you noticed that your business has been affected by the arrival of big stores like Zara and H&M into NZ? I don’t understand how you can sell garments so cheaply, without someone being abused. And I think it’s gross. I don’t think it’s probably affected our businesses because the women who buy into our clothing are so different.
What’s next? For me, it would be formulating a life for myself and my family where it’s a real dream life. Living partly in New Zealand, partly in Europe. Being a creative director and owning my company 100 per cent and not having to be relied upon so heavily in this business. Getting to a point where I can just step away a bit. That’s the whole point of having a business, to be able to create a thing that you are not tied to, alongside other little rewards. It’s sort of like, I’ve created a thing, built it to a place where it runs itself and now, I am in Europe with my son and my lover.
When it comes to injecting a touch of colour into the home or office, usually it’s the classic feature wall that’s touted as the answer. But perhaps we have reached peak feature wall. Maybe, in order to express our individual creativity in a more unique way, we need to start thinking about other ways to introduce various shades into a space.
The floor of Paris and Henry Mitchell-Temple’s home is painted in a custom-made Resene colour
Enter, the painted floor. Taking the central tenets of the feature wall and flipping them horizontally, the painted floor is a decidedly cool way to add another dimension to your space, whether white and bright or rendered in a colour that speaks to your personality.
The floor of Paris and Henry Mitchell-Temple’s home is painted in a custom-made Resene colour
The floor of Paris and Henry Mitchell-Temple’s home is painted in a custom-made Resene colour
Looking at the floor Paris and Henry Mitchell-Temple (the former a fashion designer, the latter the co-owner of Annabel’s Wine Bar) chose for the lower-level of their home, it’s easy to make a case for the trend. Rendered in a beautiful custom-made Resene hue, the floor offers an artistic base for the couple’s creative, sculptural decor and eye-catching art.
The floor in Denizen HQ was painted in Resene Half Copyrite. Photo: Simon Wilson
The floor in Denizen HQ was painted in Resene Half Copyrite. Photo: Simon Wilson
In Denizen HQ, on the other hand, the floors have been painted in the crisp, white tone of Resene Half Copyrite. Neutral and clean, it gives our office the effect of a blank canvas on which we can leave our own, indelible mark. It also works to cultivate a calm space for all the brainpower we exert during the day.
The floor in Denizen HQ was painted in Resene Half Copyrite. Photo: Simon Wilson
So whether you’re ready to commit to bold flooring, or would rather dabble in a more subtle tone, the painted floor trend is one we are happily on board with and Resene has the vast and varied colour spectrum to suit any taste.
If you’ve ever faced a sample sale you know that fashion and food aren’t always friends but all levels of taste combine at the magnificent, Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria in Florence. “I thought of this recipe that uses fennel as a basic ingredient because it is a seasonal vegetable and because of all the stories and curiosities surrounding this vegetable,” chef Karime Lopez says. “In Greek and Roman history, in fact, fennel was considered a symbol of strength and vigour and they believe it brought luck.” “Some treatises on Ancient Rome reported how Roman gladiators added fennel to their dishes to be successful in the arena… This is also the reason why – for the Gucci Osteria menu – we called this dish ‘Lucky Fennel.’”
Lucky Fennel (Linguine with Fennel Cream) Serves 2
Ingredients 4 Fennel, for the cream 2 Fennel, sliced 2 Red prawns 200g Wild Fennel 20 Pistachios 1 Lemon Lemon oil 400g Seed oil Extra Virgin olive oil Salt 100g Linguine (Pasta)
Method For the Cream 1. Wash and cut the fennel coarsely, steam them at 90ºC for 2 hours 2. Drain the fennel once cooked and whisk them with Evo oil and salt until creamy 3. Pass the cream in the chinois strainer with fine mesh
For the Wild Fennel Oil 1. Whisk 400g of seed oil with 200g of wild fennel 2. Then heat the oil in a saucepan and bring it to a temperature of 80ºC 3. Filter the oil in a sac à poche (piping bag) and then filter it with the chinois strainer with fine mesh
For the Pistachios 1. Toast the pistachios in the oven at 190 ºC for 4 minutes 2. Grate them with a microplane
For the dish 1. Cook the linguine pasta in abundant salted water for about 5 minutes 2. Drain the linguine and finish cooking in the pan for 3 minutes, adding the fennel cream and the lemon oil to make them creamy 3. Season the raw and finely sliced fennel with the wild fennel oil 4. Season the prawns with Evo oil and the lemon peel and cut them into 6 pieces each
To serve Spread the grated pistachios on the base of the plate, and lay a nest of linguine on top, developing it in height. Add 6 pieces of prawn, other pistachio powder and finely sliced fennel. Garnish the dish with wild fennel leaves.
Last year, a video of actor Zac Efron began doing the rounds, and while it wasn’t related to his performance in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, it was still chilling nonetheless. It began with a shirtless Efron breathing heavily, his huffing and puffing interspersed with a series of self reassuring ‘okays,’ and ended as he ran outdoors, and lowered himself into a bathtub filled with ice water.
Ice bathing, a form of cold water therapy, has become a trend among high-profile celebrities. Funnyman Kevin Hart has even conducted an entire series of interviews in the tub, inviting the likes of Ronda Rousey, Blake Griffin and Floyd Mayweather to freeze off their nether regions in the name of comedy TV. But comedic value aside, Efron, Hart and a string of other household names are using their social prowess to highlight something rather important: ice baths are incredibly beneficial for our health, and not just for the reasons you might think.
Cold immersion isn’t exactly a new concept. Elite athletes have been reaping the benefits of thermometer-shattering temperatures for years, using ice baths post-training or post-match to help speed up recovery, mitigate inflammation and minimise muscle soreness. So why the extra attention now, you ask? It seems that a touch of frost, whether utilised by a weekend warrior or an established sportsman, can work wonders on our immune systems, our sleep quality and — perhaps most importantly — our mental state. The basic theory goes something like this: putting ourselves in a state of controlled discomfort and exposing our minds and bodies to small levels of stress can help them become stronger and more resilient. Basically, if we’re capable of sitting in an unbearably uncomfortable, tank of frozen hell for 15 minutes, then really, we’re capable of anything.
Wim Hof, a renowned Dutch extreme athlete, is a pioneer of cold therapy. He acquired the nickname ‘Iceman’ after his breathtaking feats withstanding extremely cold temperatures blew the minds of wellness aficionados everywhere. Feats which he attributes to his ‘Wim Hof Method’, a combination of meditation, regular cold exposure and breathing techniques. He asserts that this trio of training tactics, when harmonised in the correct way, can allow us to rewire our autonomic nervous system. He even goes as far as to say that we are capable of consciously controlling our immune systems in order to fight off diseases. Since Hof became a household name — due, in part, to his 20, mind-boggling Guinness World Records — so too did his method. Now, when the Dutch daredevil isn’t busy climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in nothing but a pair of knee-length shorts, or floating in a human-sized, ice-filled container for two hours at a time, he is teaching his Wim Hof Method all around the world.
Jay Reeve
“Wim’s method is one of many I use to help people understand what they are capable of,” explains Nigel Beach, a physiotherapist from Mount Maunganui who is just one of a small number of personally-trained, certified, Wim Hof Method instructors. He has gained fame for his cold therapy related workshops and events, alongside his groundbreaking work with some of the country’s top CEOs and athletes, including the Wallabies rugby team, NRL’s West Tigers and even the All Blacks. He explains that our “controlling of environmental conditions — via air conditioners, heat pumps, artificial lighting and an abundance of food — has conditioned us,” bringing about an unnatural lack of resilience when we are forced out of our comfort zones. Now, our bodies perceive non-dangerous stimuli as a threat, hence why we overreact to small aggressors like push notifications, bad traffic, petty arguments and work stress. It’s as though our bodies and minds have forgotten how strong they can be. This, according to Beach, can lead to all sorts of health issues, mental or otherwise. But just as our bodily systems can adapt to a less desirable state, he reassures, “they can revert back to a better one with proper instruction, training and practice.”
Indeed, it’s the proper training here that’s key. Cold immersion is a practice that should be built up over time, performed gradually, consistently, and never with force. Rather than recommending you dive headfirst into your tub with a bag of ice in tow, Beach suggests beginning the journey in the shower instead, gradually adding longer blasts of cold until you can withstand the chill from beginning to end. Even at this point, those yearning for a full ice bath immersion should seek out treatment from a certified Wim Hof Method instructor — the bathing process is a powerful intervention and, to the untrained, can cause the body to go into sympathetic shock. Fair warning though: preparation aside, submerging yourself in a vat of freezing water will never be a walk in the park.
“Your body is screaming at you” describes Jay Reeve, as he recounts his first experience “crouching like a ball” and dropping himself into a “slushy” filled bath, “saying, get me the f**k out of here, are you trying to kill me?!” It was just a few years ago when the radio host turned to the unlikely task of ice bathing. “I was on a bit of a mission to try new things that would make some deposits instead of withdrawals from the body,” he explains, “and so I started looking around, researching and listening to various podcasts that focused on low levels of investment for a solid return.” It was here that Reeve stumbled across a Wim Hof documentary and, inspired by his frozen feats of strength, turned to the guidance of Nigel Beach. “The first time I did it,” he recounts, “I slept a solid ten hours without moving once in my sleep, and woke up feeling amazing.” Since then, Reeve has spent more time focusing on his breathing, cold showering in the mornings and carrying out his ice plunge, once every two weeks. The result, he explains, is phenomenal. “I have never felt more sound in both body and mind. I have almost lost the ability to boil over into anger or sink into a space that is dark and lonely in my head, and everyone — from sports stars to my parents — have had the same results.”
It seems like ice bathing really is worth its wellness salt, and yet, if we are to truly reap the benefits of the process, there is still far more research that needs to be done. That being said, Beach, in partnership with the University of Waikato, is currently putting together a clinical trial that will study the effects of the Wim Hof Method on females with endometriosis. There has been a flurry of reports claiming that cold immersion alleviates symptoms for women suffering this condition, and with Beach’s initiative, we may be able to find a simple solution that is available to any and all. A stronger immune system, mental clarity, and symptom relief for one of the most common female conditions. Now, that’s something worth freezing our nether-regions off for.
Born in Sydney, Carol Crawford’s interest in art and sculpture was piqued on frequent visits to galleries with her parents, “I was always a doodler and a maker of things,” she says, “oh, and a chronic day-dreamer.”
For anyone unfamiliar with Crawford’s work, her sculptures have gained quite a following among fashion and design insiders. Featured in esteemed publications like Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue for the unique shapes she creates out of stone, Crawford manages to take a solid material and transform it into curved, interlocking forms that would typically lend themselves to a more fluid medium.
But for Crawford, the artistic process is less about forcing her stone to shed its straight lines and corners and yield to her tools, and more about working with its natural properties. She explains, “the sculptures evolve organically as a conversation between myself and the stone.” Going on to say, “I feel I am merely the medium, and the result is what was always meant to be.”
As a result, no two sculptures by Crawford are the same. And when you see them in a space, you feel the individual energy the artist has imbued in each — every one different but joined by the motif of rounded movement. Having just returned from a residency in Berlin and with a number of interesting projects on the horizon, Crawford is the creative we have our eyes on right now.
Having spent their holidays sailing the waters of Manly Beach on the Whangaparoa Peninsula for four generations, this family immediately spotted the potential of this spectacular site 15 years ago, when it housed a traditional two-bedroom bach.
With an eye on spending more time in the magnificent location they recently enlisted SGA Architects to reimagine their retreat as a personal yacht club with concrete features by Peter Fell the coloured concrete specialist.
White painted ply walls, eucalyptus saligna, extensive built-in cabinetry, silvered cedar and ultimately concrete were used to execute subtle nautical themes that integrate the indoor and outdoor spaces in a ship shape manner.
“We wanted to achieve a warmth akin to the white sand beach context in the colour of the concrete,” says Maria Hosking from SGA. “The same oxide was also used in the plaster finishes on the fire surrounds, pool and planting boxes. The concrete floor extends from the outdoor room inside to further reinforce the seamless flow between the exterior and interior living space.”
“The client will benefit as the floor will stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter thanks to its extensive insulated concrete floors,” a representative from Peter Fell says. “The floor is a smooth, easy-to-clean surface which makes it easier to maintain a healthier environment.”
“Coloured concrete can be used exclusively throughout the house, or used in conjunction with other flooring materials such as hardwood flooring, tiles or carpet – you simply use decorative concrete where you desire. The decorative concrete can provide a simple clean platform to a room, or be cut into patterned ‘tiles’, or augmented with a variety of inlays and inserts providing a range of textural and design options.”
Now the master bedroom is nestled away from the guest wing with two bedrooms and grandchildren-friendly bunks. The living area overflows to the pool with simple furnishings and a restrained palette letting light do the work in creating warmth.
The smile-raising decorative elements are personal with model boats and a photograph of Flying Cloud taking pride of place, as a nod of respect to the forefather who built the Sanders Cup-winning yacht in 1952. Now it sits inside another timeless work of art.
There is no doubt that we are living in extraordinary times but immersing ourselves in the lives of others can show that remarkable things happen to people everyday. From sports stars to the First Lady, women on the run to society queens, here are the lives the Denizen team is looking into.
Claire Sullivan-Kraus – founder and editor-in-chief
Will by Will Self It may be a dark journey into heroin-not-so-chic but I do love Will Self’s writing. It’s set during the eighties when the writer threatened his brilliant future with destructive behaviour.
Damien Woolnough – editor
Among The Porcupinesby Carol Matthau The wife of actor Walter Matthau led a life worthy of a film. When her mother married an aviation millionaire she went from rags to riches living on Fifth Avenue and becoming best friends with Gloria Vanderbilt and Oona Chaplin. With doll-like looks and a sharp tongue, Matthau moved through high society, the literary worlds of Truman Capote and her two-time husband William Saroyan and eventually Hollywood.
UnorthodoxThe Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman I devoured the Netflix series faster than Tiger King so Feldman’s book is my next step into the confronting world of ultra-organised religion. Feldman’s brave search for Freedom offers a glimpse into other worlds while shining a light on our own.
Fliss Grennell – advertising manager
The Girl With Seven Namesby David John and Lee Hyeon-seo The thrilling story of one woman’s escape from totalitarian North Korea and her battle to be reunited with her family.
Fran King – art director
Everything I Know About Loveby Dolly Alderton Apart from incredibly snappy writing, this is worth the read alone if it stops you from throwing a Rod Stewart-themed party. Just don’t do it.
Arabella Nelson – digital manager
Openby Andre Agassi An absolute classic that looks at the tennis champion’s battles with drugs and rivals. It’s hard to believe that when he started playing, he hated the game.
Becoming by Michelle Obama The most memorable First Lady of the modern era, Michelle Obama is also one of the most inspiring. Her rise to the top as a lawyer and in public service puts this Obama front and centre, where she belongs.
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