Expers' Viewpoints: Asian Cuisine —Vegetarian Friendly Food (2/2)

There is more of a demand for dishes that are simple with use of fresh ingredients and that are perceived as healthy such as uncooked fresh spring rolls, organic tofu dishes. This also includes South Asian salads with fish sauce based dressings, grilled items with use of fresh spices and herbs such as lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, wild lime leaves, etc. I think that heavier meat dishes are less popular but fried foods are always popular with everyone. Maybe this is because people don’t usually deep fry their foods at home so when they go out, they like to have dishes that they would not have prepared at home and they like to also to treat themselves to their favorite foods. The Fusion Cuisine Dilemma I believe that the fusion of any two or three cuisines can work and at times work well if the creator of that dish has a good knowledge of the cuisines that he/she is “tampering” with. There has to be a certain amount of respect of the ingredients and the tradition of the particular cuisines for it to come out well. Most chefs eagerly throw together ingredients that they have just become enamored with to create their dishes with little regard of the tradition behind each ingredient. The result can be pretty disastrous at times. I think that when a chef creates a fusion dish, he/she has to take the time to learn about the tradition behind the ingredients and how it used before they experiment with them. I also believe that the creation of any dish, be it fusion or otherwise, has to come naturally to the chef. When it is contrived or forced, it almost never works. Any dish has to be created from the heart with a certain amount of passion for the dish for it to be successful. I think that the fusion of a European with an Asian cuisine work best as there is quite a contrast between the two types of cuisine so that it could be interesting. Where and How to Purchase Asian Ingredients Most Asian spices and ingredients are readily available almost everywhere in the US these days. Most purveyors offer Asian ingredients but they usually price them higher than in Asian markets. To be more efficient, restaurants that use a fair amount of exotic ingredients can establish a relationship with and work directly with Asian purveyors. The Asian markets very often are a lot less expensive than the regular purveyors when it comes to produce and even meats and seafood. Pairing Asian Beverages on the Menu Asian cocktails using exotic ingredients such as lychee, jack fruit, wild lime leaves are very popular and in high demand. Many restaurants are offering these exotic drinks. Otherwise Asian food pairs very easily for the most part with a variety of wines. White and Rose wines pair very well with most Asian cuisines and even some light bodied reds such as Pinots. Asian food goes very well with most types of beers. Asian beers are also very popular such as Singha, Kirin or Tiger beers. We offer at our restaurants extensive award winning wine and beer lists and they generate substantial revenue. A Word on Asian Soups Asian soups are relatively simple, very popular and are very easy to sell. They usually are lighter than western style soups and are very interesting in flavor with the use of fresh exotic garnishes. They usually have a chicken, pork, fish or kombu broth base. They are flavored by diners as they are viewed to be healthy, light and restorative. For fusion soups using Asian ingredients, I recommend that not too many herbs are used together. Clean and subtle flavor of a soup comes through the correct combination of herbs, spices and ingredients.