Expers' Viewpoints: Americans Want the Asian Ingredient Experience (1/2)

Daniel Barash: Daniel began his career in the restaurant industry 20 years ago at the age of 13. In 1996, he was among the first class of Johnson and Wales University students to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Culinary Arts. His experience in Asian Cuisine began in 2001 when he left his Executive Chef position with RARE Hospitality’s Capital Grille to join Roy’s Restaurants. While at Roy’s, serving as Partner and Executive Chef, Daniel developed daily menus that catered to those palates desiring fine Asian and Pacific Rim delicacies. In his current position as Director of Product Development for Raving Brands, Daniel Barash is responsible for menu development and product sourcing for each of their concepts that includes Mama Fu’s Asian House. Mama Fu’s provides a fast casual experience for diner’s looking for a dining experience beyond your traditional “Mom and Pop” restaurant. People are becoming more educated. The food network has helped as well as Chef’s like Roy Yamaguchi and Martin Yan. There are a lot of curious people willing to try all flavors and ingredients. Our palates are becoming more sophisticated and our brains are yearning for new and exotic experiences. Many of the dishes are traditional and cross-over was not accepted. Our new age chefs are breaking boundaries and utilizing ingredients that will compliment a dish no matter if it is Chinese, Korean, or Thai. Some new star ingredients would be Lemongrass, kaffir lime, and lots of curries. What Asian Ingredients are staples for good soups? Wakame and Miso I would say are two staples, but there are many others that work. Lemongrass, shiitakes mushrooms, and tofu to name a few. I’m not sure if there are rules, to follow; I would say that there people that might disagree with me, but there are some great ingredients out there and crossing the cultural line is exciting and refreshing. When I was the Chef/Partner for Roy’s, (fusion introductions) were everywhere. I would say the last place you might find the crossover would be on the dessert menu. One of the simplest ways to combine the basic ingredients of Asian Cuisine with European flavor profiles would be using a traditional French butter sauce and incorporating maybe a Kim Chee Butter, or a simple Wa-sabi Butter. When I think healthy in the Asian cuisine, I think Tea! I think Tea! I would also say that the amount of seafood and fresh fish could be noted for its healthy benefits. Sushi for one thing, look at all the sushi bars that have popped up all over the country. Special sushi menus as well as the addition of a sushi chef or sushi counter are all over. Has the restaurant industry fully utilized Asian ingredients to promote its health and nutritional benefits? At this point, I don’t think so. I think there needs to be more education and trial and error. There are many people who say they don’t like Chinese food, and will never try Japanese, Korean, and so on. We need to help differentiate the cultures in our communities Fusion confusion can be avoided by reading, tasting and educating not only the chef’s but the guest’s as well. To be better acquainted with the different flavor profiles, I would suggest going to an Asian market and playing with different ingredients till you become familiar with the flavor profiles. If you look hard enough, you can find almost anything, most areas have Asian market, as well as Asian Food Distributions centers like JFC. Regarding the California Fusion trend, California is a very large and diverse state. There are many different cultures and many Asians as well. California is very trendy and makes it easier to be out of the ordinary, trying different ingredients is new, fresh and different.