It’s time to break out the chopsticks and dive into the Asian fusion flavors. You’ve probably seen the katsu chicken burgers and cheeseburger spring rolls that have been trending on social media. And some of the foods listed below are worth trying because they represent the soul of Asian cuisine.
[rpi]CHINESE STICKY PORK BELLY
These days, if you go to an Asian-fusion restaurant, there is a good chance that they will have a dish including pork belly with a crispy skin on the menu. This melt in your mouth dish has earned its stripes on the Asian-fusion culinary scene because to the fact that it is typically cubed and slow-cooked in a broth flavored with spices. After cubing, it is then wok-tossed in a mixture of chili, garlic, mirin, and honey.
Photo: Eduardo Krajan
Photo: Eduardo Krajan
MATCHA
Green tea leaves are ground into a fine powder to make matcha, which has long been used as a culinary staple in East Asian cuisine. Matcha’s greatness lies in the fact that it may be featured in a wide variety of meals. Matcha lattes can be a fun experiment for cafes, while Katsu chicken burgers on matcha buns or a white chocolate and matcha panna cotta dessert could be a great new twist for restaurants.
You can taste many different kinds of cuisine that are produced with matcha, such as matcha desserts, matcha drinks, matcha cake… Matcha in particular has numerous health benefits.
Photo: Jer Chung
RAMEN VARIANTS
It is said that there are a number of “gen Xers” who are obsessed with ramen and are on the lookout for the best ramen in the United States, and that they are coming out in droves. It should come as no surprise that this is the case because Americans adore flavorful food that provides a diverse range of flavor profiles and a variety of different textures.
The meal that best exemplifies contemporary Asian cuisine is ramen since it satisfies all of your cravings for sweet, savory, sour, spicy, and umami flavors. Genuine ramen used to be the most popular meal of the month, but these days, chefs are coming up with their own spins on the dish so that they may differentiate themselves from the crowd.
You can get an idea of how profoundly adventurous a dish you can make with ramen by looking at the many different kinds of ramen that are available, such as the kind that is made with a chicken and dashi broth, two crispy chicken tenders, noodles, a soft boiled egg (traditionally called Tamago), and enoki mushrooms.
Photo: Jan Nguyen
BANH MI (VIETNAMESE SANDWICHES)
You can’t get much more fusion than the Vietnamese banh mi, which has its roots in the heavy French colonial impact that Vietnam experienced during its history.
Traditionally consisting of a soft baguette stuffed with vegetables such as pickles, carrot, coriander, chili, and cucumber, as well as protein options such as sliced pork and homemade pate, the fresh and flavorful notes of this dish are well-suited to the warm climate of Australia and the active lifestyles of its inhabitants.
If you take a short stroll around the suburbs of the closest town to you, you are certain to come across hybrids of banh mi sandwiches that include interesting flavor combinations and cause you to wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Several cafes and bakeries are dishing up Portugese chicken-style Banh Mi and even Chicken schnitzel! The original Banh Mi has such a wide range of flavors that it serves as a blank canvas on which you can experiment with other cuisines and flavors. Why don’t you give this recipe for crunchy caramelized pork on a Banh Mi roll a try?
Photo: Flo Dahm
TRUFFLES AND JAPANESE CUISINE
Even though truffle and Asian cuisine have only really become friends in the last ten or so years, the umami flavors in truffle make them the perfect companion for many Japanese dishes like edamame and Udon noodle soups. In fact, truffle and Asian cuisine have only really become friends in the last ten or so years. When combined with the typically refined flavors of Japanese cuisine, truffles exude an air of opulence, and this opulence may be channeled into the creation of meals that compliment each component without allowing any one flavor to overshadow the others.
One way that truffle is utilized in Japanese cooking is in traditional meals such as kamameshi, which literally translates to “kettle rice.” The term “kettle rice” refers to the iron pot that is typically used to prepare the dish. You may make your own fusion version of kamameshi by simmering the rice in truffle and dashi along with the other traditional ingredients. This will give the dish an added air of opulence. To add crunch and flavor, serve with veggies that have been stir-fried.
BAO BUNS
Gua Bao is a classic Taiwanese street food that originally consisted of a soft pillowy steamed bun loaded with stewed red pig belly, pickled mustard, coriander, and crushed peanuts. Nowadays, Gua Bao is made with a variety of fillings, including ground chicken, ground beef, and ground shrimp. They are brimming with flavor and, when cooked to perfection, have the potential to be exceedingly moreish; you simply cannot have just one.
Because of the active lifestyles that many Australians lead, the country’s food industry has seen an increase in the number of fresh and quick meal options in recent years. Its snack-like attributes may be one reason for this increase in popularity. They are excellent as a grab-and-go snack to have at a local hole-in-the-wall before a night at the bar with friends or as a sit-down meal, where chefs can demonstrate their versatility with a range of different flavors and ingredients because they can easily be held in one hand.
Enjoy a wide variety of flavors in a variety of forms, such as fried chicken with aioli and pickled onion or popcorn prawn with coriander and fresh chilli. Your clients will have the ability to select from a wide number of flavor combinations or just one or two of their all-time favorites if you provide a selection of bao alternatives for them to choose from on your menu.
Photo: Angela Roma