A Bold take on Narooma's bounty
For more than a decade, Narooma’s fresh, local seafood and produce have been championed by Alan Newbold, his wife Kim and the team at Mr Bold’s Catering Co.
Their cafe, Mr Bold Next Door is an oasis, serving fabulous coffee, small bites, their famous Wednesday lunches, take home meals and other treats for your larder.
At the 2025 Narooma Betta Home Living Cooking Demonstrations, Alan joined Farm to Fork’s Courtney Roulston (pictured) on stage to share a dish close to his heart: tender dumplings filled with hand-harvested Narooma abalone by Stephen Bunney, paired with local shiitake and oyster mushrooms from Sunny Urban Farm.
Abalone & Mushroom Dumplings
Broth
2 litres of chicken stock
2 onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
50gm dried shitake mushroom
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 star anise
1 tbs crushed ginger
1 tbs crushed garlic
1 tbs sichuan pepper
2 tbs chinkiang vinegar
Method
- Place all ingredients into a pot on low heat & bring to simmer.
- Simmer for 2 hours, skim stock, strain through a fine sieve.
- Place strained stock into a pot & reduce by half to 500ml.
- Remove from heat.
Dumplings
4 abalone, minced (around 500g)
100g fresh shitake mushroom
100g fresh oyster mushroom
1 tbs dried shitake mushroom, powdered
4 tbs chives, chopped
1 tbs Mystery Bay Kelp, Pure
Salt & pepper to taste
1 egg separated
1 pkt gow gee wrappers
1 punnet enoki mushroom
Method
- Take half of the shitake & oyster mushrooms & finely dice.
- Sauté over medium heat until slightly caramelised, remove from pan & cool.
- Place abalone mince in food processor with the sauteed mushrooms, dried shitake mushroom powder, chives, kelp, seasoning & egg yolk.
- Pulse until combined, remove & place in piping bag and chill.
- Lay gow gee sheets out on a bench & pipe approximately 2 tsp of filling in each, brush with egg white & fold into desired dumpling shape.
To plate
- Cut the remaining shitake & oyster mushrooms into bite size pieces & flash fry in a hot pan.
- Remove & place on paper towel.
Bring the broth back up to a simmer & place dumplings in broth for approx. 4-5 minutes. - Remove from heat & place cooked dumplings in serving bowls.
- Pour stock over dumplings & dress with the flash fried mushrooms & raw enoki, sprinkle with chopped chives.
Proudly supported by Julian, Liz and the team at Narooma Better Home Living
It’s always a full house in the Narooma Betta Home Living Cooking Demonstrations with Courtney Roulston at Narooma Oyster Festival.
Local and visiting chefs, backed by a team of generous volunteers, bring the flavours of the South Coast to life, showcasing oysters, seafood, and seasonal produce through their favourite and bespoke recipes – complete with hot tips, kitchen tricks, and lots of tastings and giveaways.
It’s all included in Saturday General Admission Ticket, with dates for our 19th festival set for May 1-3, 2026.
