Pan Asian RestaurantsWhen Pan-Asian cooking began to spread beyond its native West Coast shores, it could have been like any other dining fad--creating a lot of noise at first but eventually disappearing or fading into the culinary landscape.
Instead, cuisine influenced by the Far East continues to clamor, commanding attention on every level of foodservice. What started out as blending Chinese ingredients with American foodstuffs and French techniques a la Wolfgang Puck has evolved, hopscotching nations and undergoing a metamorphosis all the while.
Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Indonesian flavors appear in many incarnations. Sometimes they accent an American concept or they fly solo, traditional dishes reinter-preted by the chef's training and background. Other times, they come together in various combinations to form a concept, fitting the moniker of the moment, known as global cuisine.
No matter how the flavors appear, Asian ingredients are revamping the definition of American food.
To be sure, pan Asian flavors are poised to become as prolific, if not more so, than Italian and Mexican food, the Nos. 1 and 2 ethnic cuisines, respectively. While there are far more of those ethnic restaurants, pan asian restaurant flavor can be found on just about any menu.
"It's more interesting to us as chefs, and people seem to be more daring to try different things," says Richard Aramino, executive chef at Temple, a newly opened Beverly Hills restaurant that features the flavors of Korea and beyond.
ASIAN ACCENTAmerica's interest in pan Asian flavors and pan asian restaurant is reflected in menu items at quick service and family restaurants. McDonald's is mining the Far East for new flavor profiles, while the Einstein Bros. bagel chain features an Asian chicken salad. In an effort to broaden its appeal past breakfast and bagels, the chain brings together chicken breast with rice noodles, crunchy lo mein noodles, peanuts, Asian vegetables such as pea pods and napa cabbage, Asian sesame dressing and sesame flatbread.
Noncommercial venues such as universities and corporate foodservice also are finding that Asian accents unlock a world of options. At Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt., chicken has been offered Szechwan style, with a curry glaze and in the spirit of Kung Pao.
The growing Far East influence is fueled at two ends: by consumers who enjoy the flavors and chefs who like to use them.
Aquavit in New York City bills itself as a Swedish restaurant, but Chef Marcus Samuelsson offers items such as sautéed sea bass with shrimp roll; pear and celery root puree with rice wine froth; and rare seared tuna with taro root chips, crispy mushrooms and soy beurre blanc.
Biga on the Banks in San Antonio is modern American, not a pan asian restaurant, but influenced by the flavors that pique the interest of chef-owner Bruce Auden. Past work and travels make him partial to Asian and Mexican flavors. But the restaurant's Lone Star State location leads him to feature game and local ingredients. The menu juxtaposes rabbit enchilada with chile Colorado and salsa verde against tasso-spiked shrimp dumplings with shiitake and snap peas, rice wine-braised duck on egg noodles with shiitake master sauce, and tuna on caramelized pineapple with foie gras and chile amarillo broth.
"It ends up as what I like and what people like," Auden says.
A CHEF'S VIEWStan Frankenthaler, chef-owner of Salamander in Boston, has become known for the finesse and creativity he commands with Asian ingredients. "We want to be very respectful of the cuisine that we are inspired by," he says. Frankenthaler's approach is not to update traditional dishes, as many chefs do, but rather to take the country's ingredients to create contem-porary American food. Consider his wild Pacific salmon cured with Japanese spices and shiso herb served with gingery burdock; braised line-caught Atlantic cod fillet with crispy skin, Chinese sausage and jasmine rice; and Mongolian-spiced venison loin with roasted chestnuts and smash of sesame-scented winter root vegetables.
"I like the vibrancy of pan Asian food," Frankenthaler says. "Western food is almost too similar in flavor and texture. With Asian, there are incredible counterpoints of sweet and salty, hot and sour. There is that exciting counter-play and distinct flavors that have a tremendous capacity to meld."
WORLDS TOGETHERAt Japone in Washington, D.C., Japanese figures prominently with its display of sushi and sashimi, but there also are other angles. There are three chefs: two who are Japanese and Freddie Chavez, who has 15 years of cooking in French restaurants. "We pool our talents to bring customers a very different and exciting dining experience," Chavez says.
On the Japanese side, fish is seared and then flambéed tableside with rum and other spices, a preparation not commonly found outside Japan. From the Franco-Japanese per-spective, there's filet mignon with foie gras shiitake mushroom sauce and what the restaurant calls Combo Japone: shrimp, scallops and salmon served with ginger cream sauce. French influences are exhibited through poulet farce: chicken breast stuffed with crab and shrimps and served with vegetables.
With such a vast pantry of ingredients, concepts are reaching beyond one Asian country as well as other parts of the globe.
At Temple, the cuisine is grounded in a Korean aesthetic shaped by classical techniques. From there, many borders are crossed to showcase an international perspective, says Ara-mino. Grilled Alaskan halibut is wrapped in bacon with miso sauce served with green beans and black Korean rice. Spicy caramelized shrimp is accompanied by haricots verts, jícama and toasted walnut salad. And sesame-crusted Arctic char has a citrus-soy vinaigrette, wild mushroom risotto and red Swiss chard. "We start with Korea but we are also California eclectic," he says.
At Chino Latino, which opened last year in Minneapolis, the menu is inspired by street food from the "hot zones." All parts of Asia and Latin America are represented in the form of Philippine paella, "street hawker" beef satay, Mongolian lamb hotpot, Montego Bay jerked chicken and carne asada a la moreliana--slow-cooked beef barbacoa and chipotle-spiked chicken tinga.
At Baleen in San Diego, the approach begins with Asia but doesn't stop there. Grilled mahi mahi is served with Latin potato hash and chimichurri sauce, steamed mussels are spiced with Thai influences and Roquefort-crusted filet mignon gets a potato purée and a red-wine sauce.
"We do the Latin thing and it's a little more spice. Then you combine the Asian influence, which has seasonings but is mellower. In the end, you have sweet and hot and they just go well together," says Chef Brian Freerksen. "Ultimately, cooking in this country will reflect America's melting pot--you can do just about anything."
