Hiroko Shimbo on Japanese Cuisine (2/4)

Asian flavors, especially Thai and Vietnamese, were quickly favored by the Americans because they are strong, easy to detect and attractive in flavors – sweet, vinegary, salty and hot. One big change which I have been observing in the past 20 years of my teaching of Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and other Asian cooking classes is that Americans today accept the flavor of “fishy” which is found in Japanese broth, Southeast Asian fish sauce and other fermented seafood products. This is a great accomplishment. Another change very pleasing to me is the increasing acceptance of and interest in the delicate natural flavors of Japanese cuisine. People are now appreciative the subtle distinctions of the huge variety of ingredients (fish and shellfish) used in sushi. People order spicy tuna roll and can thereby taste nothing but the spices, but according to my associates in the sushi business, more and more customers are ordering their sushi “straight”. But this taste for “natural taste” is only still shared by a small fraction of the American dining public. What are the new trends in Asian cooking, and how they are applied in restaurants? The American public has had exposure to increasingly complex and varied Asian cooking for about the past 20 - 25 years. Authentic does not necessarily mean traditional. Creative chefs in all Asian countries are continuing to develop superb new dishes – and I DON’T mean fusion. These dishes too, come to the US and some are developed here and they further stimulate the interest of dinners in the cuisine. Modern dining at a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo is as exciting as modern dining in a creative American restaurant in New York. As instructor of Japanese cooking, I strongly disagree that Asian cuisine cannot be mastered in a home kitchen and enjoyed as an ordinary every-day dining experience. There are basic skills to be mastered (for example knife skills), new ingredients to explore and new cooking techniques to be employed, but they are not difficult and all necessary materials and ingredients (or substitutes as I suggest in my book) are generally available. How, in fact, could they be difficult if several billion people in Asia use them every day? What about Asian Fusion Cuisine? I do not like fusion cooking, so this is a difficult question. When I cook Japanese, I prepare straight Japanese; Thai, straight Thai; Vietnamese, straight Vietnamese. These cuisines have developed over the centuries and they have no need to be destroyed and mashed together with other cooking styles. So often in the past fusion cooking has become “confusion cooking”. I believe, for example, that what makes a Japanese (or for that matter, Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese) dish excellent is the use of the local (to the country), seasonal ingredients – protein, produce, herbs and spices, and the techniques and flavorings appropriate to those countries. To prepare Japanese seasonal dishes, I do not generally need other Asian or non-Asian ingredients, especially spices and herbs. This must not be viewed as a defense of ancient, traditional recipes and methods. All Asian cuisines are very much alive, constantly producing new dishes. But these preparations while they borrow and occasional touch – a technique, an ingredient, a spice or herb – from another cuisine grow out of the wealth of historical development and experience of the culture and the native cuisine. This is by far the best path to the future for these wonderful ways of preparing food. Fortunately, the fusion movement has faded to the background, and the trend seems to be in the opposite direction toward more authentic foods. The success of “real” Asian restaurants serving “real” Asian food testifies to this. When people ask me how to avoid “fusion confusion”, I said, “Avoid fusion!” What Asian ingredients are most noted for healthy benefits?