What is Modern Asian Cuisine?

I ponder this on a regular basis. Doesn't something become modern the moment you prepare it because you can't exactly replicate the experience of the past? Also, modern approaches for me mean using cooking implements like food processors and maybe reducing the amount of fat, salt, or sugar in dishes. However, it doesn't mean letting go of or forgetting the past.

Simon Bao sent me his observations from watching recent episodes of Top Chef. As usual, Simon's acerbic wit makes for a terrific read. Take a look and let us all know your thoughts:

What is Modern Asian Cuisine?  Well...  I'm confident that there are a few chefs out there who do actually have a meaningful definition of that.  As there once were meaningful definitions of Fusion and Pan-Asian and Pacific-Rim.

But...  you KNOW what happens with these phrases. 

Let me give you a fast run-down on the most alarming Modern Asian Cuisine that the American public will have seen all year.  Read this when you have a few free moments, you'll really want to catch what happened.

Three chefs were on one team, and all three have backgrounds in "Asian Cuisine."  One, Dale Talde, is a sous chef at Buddakan.  Another, Spike Mendelsohn, was chef de cuisine at Mai House and claims to have studied Viet cuisine for 2 years.  (He's the guy who made the Apples & Fish Goi Cuon.)  Another, Lisa Fernandes, has worked in NYC at Asia de Cuba, Rain, and Public.

So for the Restaurant Wars challenge, those 3 decided to name their (one-night-only) restaurant Mai Buddha, and to feature their best takes on "Modern Asian Cuisine."

For appetizer, Dale Talde came up with Butterscotch Miso Scallops.  Some seared scallops sauced with something made from caramelized sugar, scotch whisky, butter, and buckets of blond miso paste.  With lots more miso paste right on the plate.  People thought it was disgusting, and was a major reason he was eliminated.  The scallops were plated with some pickled long beans.

Lisa's starter course was a Spicy Coconut Laksa with Grilled Prawns & Vermicelli.  It almost looks like a usual Laksa except...  she made the broth from the carcasses of smoked chickens.  Just sniffing the aroma of the soup was compared to sticking one's face over a camp fire.  I've asked around, whether there are any forms of Laksa that are ever made with a smoked chicken broth, or broth from any kind of smoked animal, so far no one has said they've heard of that.  The smokiness almost got Lisa eliminated.

There were bitter disputes over the entree, Braised Short Ribs with Pickled Red Cabbage & Apple Basil Thai Salad.  Spike took credit for it, Dale disputed that, Spike said well it was his recipe, Dale said he did all the work.  In any case, it was short ribs braised in a not very Asian liquid, served with almost none at all of the non-Asian pickled red cabbage, and a salad that turned out to be just julienned Granny Smith apples and chopped Thai basil.  That's it.

Lisa's dessert offering was Thai Mango Sticky Rice with Toasted Coconut, and it almost got her sent off in disgrace.  They didn't use Sticky Rice for it, Dale found something on a supermarket shelf and handed it to Lisa, telling her "Here, they use this for dessert."  No one knows what kind of rice it was, but it wasn't Sticky Rice.  The liquids used in cooking and plating the rice, garnished with toasted coconut, caused one diner to say it was like "Baby vomit with wood chips."

Dale Talde's dessert was a Filipino green avocado Halo Halo with Cantelope.  There were no great complaints about that, except that he'd put in avocados with extensive brown, spoiled areas on them.

So, that's what Modern Asian Cuisine is.  People surrendering to the temptation to always make the proteins the centerpiece and overwhelming majority of what's eaten.  General neglect of the vegetables, neglect of the salad plate or fresh herbs.  A missed opportunity to present diners with even just a little black rice or red rice as the bed for that braised beef.  No notion of plating the beef with a fast stir-fry of (pre-blanched) "Vegetable Medley" to at least represent the cuisines they're drawing from.

So, the Mai Buddha team lost, there were recriminations and accusations all over the place.

And I despair of what viewers are going to think of "Asian Cuisine."

:-)

Oh, and it may or may not be connected, but after his incredibly dismal performance on Top Chef, Spike Mendelsohn is no longer chef de cuisine at Mai House.  Rumors fly of harsh and ugly words on the sidewalk, high drama, anger and bitterness vented in public, between Nieporent and "Chef Spike."

Oddly enough, Lisa Fernandes of the smoky Laksa and baby vomit sticky rice is now chef de cuisine at Mai House.

Troi oi. [OMIGOD in Vietnamese]  :-)

Comments

[Nate]

You're right. Modern doesn't necessarily mean fusion. It has something to do with the use of modern cooking implements, true. But I think it also has something to do with using the ingredients available to you at the time you make it, because not everyone has the exact ingredient that the "old country" recipe calls for on hand.

It's the best interpretation of an old favorite using modern techniques and ingredients.

[Robyn]

What I take from Simon's description of the show is that you had several chefs who have little to no understanding of the fundamentals of ANY Asian cuisine. And that was to root of the problem. To do 'modern' Asian cuisine (however you want to define it) well I would think you'd need to know what 'traditional' Asian cuisine is.
As an aside, I hate that term: 'Asian Cuisine'. To me it sounds just about as useful as 'European Cuisine'. I'd no more want to eat at a restaurant offering 'Asian Cuisine' than I would one offering 'Western Cuisine.'

Robyn, I'll have your back on that point, and it's the same analogy I use when discouraging people from saying "Asian Cuisine." "European Cuisine" is a silly phrase, but "Asian Cuisine" is even sillier.

I'd probably live with the phrase "Modern Asian Cuisine," IF it could be defined, IF the definition is meaningful and useful and distinguished whatever one is plating here from the stuff other folks are plating over there. IF the definition doesn't pretend there's some single, monolithic (and non-Modern) "Asian Cuisine" somewhere. And IF people then used the phrase consistently, to always mean approximately the same thing.

But we know what has happened to phrases I mentioned to Andrea - Fusion and Pan Asian and Pacific-Rim did once have definitions, now they don't. Now they're just nebulous marketing terms.

They're not the worst, though. I once came across a restaurant marketing its "Amerasian Cuisine." I had to wonder, were they serving the kinds of things that Amerasians eat? Vietnamese Amerasians or Filipino Amerasians? Or some other Amerasians? I could easily propose a menu based on countless Viet Amerasians grew up eating, but... really?

"And you get customers to PAY to eat those things???"

Andrea, I'm considering opening a restaurant serving Asiatique Cuisine. Or maybe Asian-ish. :-)

[SimonBao]

Apologies, that above message got posted without me identifying myself or signing... -simon

[SimonBao]

Andrea, you did hit the nail with a few of the "modifications" that probably belong in anyone's Modern Asian Cuisines.

* Taking full advantage of all the kitchen equipment and tools

* Modifying fats and sodium and sugar, to account for some very "Modern" health issue of some very "Modern" diners. If anyone knows some adult VietnAmericans, over the age of 45, you already know The People of The Pills. Vietnamese with pill bottles all over the dining room and kitchen. Folks with very high incidence of adult onset diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol problems.

Here are a couple other possibilities, things that can distinguish "Modern" from "Traditional."

* Taking advantage of all the Applications of Heat. Viet cooks may be Masters of the Braise, but I already know that Andrea didn't grow up in Vietnam with a big GE Oven, and my "Ba Ngoai" wasn't roasting any haunches at home. If one wants authentic and traditional, go light some charcoal and squat next to the fire - but roasting and broiling and oven-baking all deserve to have very prominent places in any kind of modern cuisine -- even if they aren't *deeply* traditional in some cuisine somewhere else. So does SousVide have a place. If SousVide is used wisely and judiciously.

* If you are a restauranteur, aiming for commercial success in the Haute World, then Invert the Paradigm. Turn the traditional role of foods on their head. In a traditional Viet meal, you get rice, or rice noodles, or some equivalent starch. And that's the bulk of what one eats, that's Top of the List. Followed by veggies. Braised, simmered, souped, fast-sauteed, whatever. Followed by the Salad Plate, all the fresh green leaves, salad herbs, raw and pickled veggie bits, sprouts, all the garnishes and accessories. Then the proteins. The seafood, freshwater fish, some meats. Not really that much of it. Not "traditionally."

But if you want to succeed in a restaurant, you probably have to liberate your food, sever the chains that bind it to rice - and probably invert that paradigm. Highlight those proteins first, make those the stars of your plates. Followed by those leaves and herbs and accessories. And a bit of the veg. And some rice or equivalent, sure... but not in "traditional" proportions.

When I look at what's cooked on "Top Chef" or served at Mai House and "Modern Asian" eateries, that's what I think I'm seeing. The traditional paradigm inverted, flipped on its head. Mai House serves a crispy fish dish that "traditionally" should be serving a family of four. At least.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Heh, heh. I was in Vietnam recently and the people I was visiting used a blender to make a fresh tomato sauce. Then they opened up a number of bottled sauces to add to that sauce. I was somewhat surprised/aghast but the results were tasty.

Then they sat on the floor -- atop some really really really low stools that are about 4 inches off the ground -- to clean fresh herbs. I figured I'd been doing enough yoga to join them. My friends -- I BARELY was able to get down low enough to squat like that. And, I was lucky to be able to get back up without falling getting on all fours.

Sometimes we worry about modern vs. traditional stuff too much in the States. We should just focus on making good food and doing it in an intelligent way.

[Al]

We may actually have too many options.

Classics are born of restraint.

If you combine everything into one, what DO you call it.

[steamy kitchen]

To me, Modern Asian is very meaningful. I'm Chinese, born in HK but grew up in North Platte Nebraska, where Asian food was chop suey. My kids are half Chinese and half Caucasian. We eat all kinds of Asian foods, Malaysian, Cantonese, Thai, Vietnamese, etc. Sometimes we mix things up b/c of what I can find at the local markets or just what I have in the house.

Sure, there are purists - and that is wonderful. But we live in a world where things change. People's tastes evolve. The world is getting smaller and especially in America you have lots of interracial/interethnic couples. For our family, taking my husband's favorite food, hamburger and one of mine, Bulgogi and combining the two to make Bulgogi burgers was so delicious. Do I call that Asian? Well, I'd probably call that Modern Asian.

I agree with Simon:

Cooking Tools/Techniques: Modern Asian means taking advantage of the pressure cooker, slow cooker, microwave, convection oven, food processor

Time: Most families that I know, both husband and wife work. Most have kids. To me, Modern Asian is being able to feed your family without having spend 3 hours in the kitchen. In more traditional families, the extended family all live under the same roof. Usually there is one person there that is at home (grandma!) and able to cook for the rest of the family. If I lived w/ my Mom, I'd get wonderful authentic home cooked meals every night but I'D GO COMPLETELY INSANE. While I reserve more complicated recipes for the weekends, I still have to juggle kids' playtime, birthday parties, soccer, tae kwon do, etc.

Ease: I live in Bradenton, Florida now (having just lived in California for 20 years) and while I'm just 1 hour south of a big metro city, Tampa, I was pretty surprised that people here have not experienced good Asian foods (forget authentic - I'm just shooting for "good tasting"). Very, very few families have ever cooked any type of Asian food in their kitchen. When I asked why, majority responded with "because it uses ingredients I don't know how to use" "seems too difficult, too many steps" "i'm unfamiliar with the cooking techniques"

So in order to teach how great and easy it is to cook Asian meals at home - because I think we can all agree that more people eating and cooking Asian foods is a good thing - it's got to be simple. The dishes has to include techniques or ingredients that they are already familiar with.

Take Hainan Steamed Chicken. I'd bet that most cooks have never steamed anything other than broccoli or other veg before. Most won't even have a pot tall/wide enough to steam a chicken. Some don't even know how to carve a chicken. A very intimidating dish. So how can we break it down to make it less so? How about using pre cut parts - eliminating need to carve and also able use a smaller, shallower pot for steaming - something that they probably already have in their kitchen. Then teach them how to steam chicken. Sure, it's not authentic - but if you add too many unfamiliar steps, it's just too intimidating.

Re: fusion flavors: (yes, I know everyone hates that word) Back when the French colonized Vietnam, what did the Vietnamese think of baguettes? Nowadays, banh mi is considered authentic Vietnamese food, sure it was influenced by the French, but still, when you think banh mi- you still call it Vietnamese.

Combining cultures and flavors is what makes cooking FUN. Shouldn't cooking be fun and creative? My friend, who is Vietnamese married a Cuban man. They have a blast mixing up their cultures onto the dinner plate. 50 years ago, you wouldn't have seen very many Vietnamese-Cuban couples.

In the case of Top Chef - they were good concepts for dishes, executed poorly. So what if they didn't use the proper rice to make sticky rice? I believe that as long as it tastes wonderful, then it's perfect. Not everyone has access to an Asian market. I've even used Japanese short grained rice, dashi and seaweed to make an Asian style risotto and it came out fantastic. Not authentic by any means, but I never meant or claimed it to be authentic. It's just how people cook now. I love teaching people how to play in the kitchen and experiment.

(whew!) that was a long comment! and I successfully procrastinated doing the 3 loads of laundry sitting right here waiting for me.

now. i've run out of things to say and laundry is tapping my shoulder!

;-)

jaden

[Simon Bao]

Al asked, "If you combine everything into one, what DO you call it."

Al, I'm going to be very *uncharacteristically* Confucian for a moment, and suggest that there really can be great value in The Rectification of Names.

“If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success."

IF a person is going to label something - and most of the time, that may not be a useful thing to do anyway - but if a person is going to attach a Big Label to something, that name or label better be accurate. Better be in accordance with the truth of the thing.

So if folks want to label something "Authentic" or "Traditional" or "Modern" or "Asian" or "Fusion" or "Vietnamese," they ought to know precisely what they and others mean by those labels. And ought to then use those labels accurately. In accordance with the truth of things.

Most of the time, we don't need to do this. Restauranteurs and chefs and writers may want to, but most home cooks never need to. I combine ingredients and flavors from unrelated traditions all the time. But I don't usually need to label a dish for anyone.

There are times when a guest or diner is eating some dish and asks me, "Is this Vietnamese?"

Depending on the dish, my answer might be:
"Sorta kinda."
"Mmm, only a little bit."
"Well... most Vietnamese would say 'No'."
"It started out as Vietnamese but..."
"No, it's West African."

[Al]

Simon -
Truly! A few well-defined words can bring order from chaos.

"Modern" and "Traditional" can be defined, albeit with lots of wiggle room.

"Asian" and "Authentic" are hopelessly vague in the context of food.

My definition of "Fusion" is anything sprinkled with roe and served with a raspberry coulis and a mango glaze.

It is much easier to eat food than to talk about it.

Talking and eating are both fun.

The thing that makes discussing food so difficult is that it lacks "orthogonality." There are no simple X, Y and Z axes upon which a cuisine can be arranged so that "Vietnamese" goes from zero to infinity, "Europeon" goes from zero to infinity, etc.

[Andrea Nguyen]

I often times think that restaurateurs and chefs use the term "modern" to imply that they're not sticking to old-fashioned approaches. In the Viet restaurant world, it liberates people to invent new dishes, and it also shields them from hardliners who may critique. However, there are few modern Viet restaurants where the modern cuisine is good tasting. I'm left to ponder if modern Vietnamese is a way to say that I don't know nor care about the classic approaches?

Last week, I went to P*Ong in NYC for dessert and was completely bowled away by Pichet Ong's bold, inventive, clever food. It was in a super cool setting that was more like a 21st century take on mid-century. Modern doesn't come to mind when describing Pichet's creations. There were extraordinary.

[Joel]

Neil Perry in his "Simply Asian" cookbook stated that he would spend time absorbing traditional Asian countries' cuisines in order to prepare Asian dishes. He does mention senseless mixing of "pan-Asian" cooking does not make proper dishes because the mixing of flavours only make things confusing.

In fact, in much of Asia people would talk "Western cuisine" (eg Sai chaan in Cantonese) by lumping "all cuisines that are eaten using fork and knife). A HK-based cultural pundit Leung Man-tao laments that HK people are still unconsciously dividing all food styles into us (chopsticks) and them (cutlery) even though they know by head that individual European countries' cuisines are already hopelessly diverse.

[Al]

After reading Jen Lin-Liu's "Serve the People" I have been looking at Jereme Leung's "New Shanghai Cuisine."

He uses lots of modern tricks for textures and presentations, but, as far as I can tell, does not veer far from traditional Chinese/Shanghainese ingredients and techniques. This is very modern, but not fusion, unless you consider the variations in presentation to be "foreign."

I always enjoy Edmond Ho's photos.