China Town

Our Cucina restaurant is a double open kitchen concept, with two cuisines being served. One is Italian influenced and the other is Cantonese. My team takes care of the western side as where the chef de cuisine for the chinese kitchen takes care of the cantonese desserts.

I was asked to give the guys a hand in assisting with some new items for the chinese desserts. We wanted to keep it simple and traditional as to not upset the local experts and to keep true to the rest of the cantonese cuisine being served. As there are not too many local desserts I love, I took three of my favorites wich are all perfect for summer time.

We had the chinese chefs first to put together the dishes. They were presented the usual way, in a traditional soup bowl with no presentation what so ever. Together with Tom our Executive Sous Chef we came up with a very simple upgraded presentation.

double boiled - pear - papaya - snow fungus - red date - osmanthus jell-O

This sweet soup can be served cold or hot. The double boiled technique is often used to cook delicate items such as sharks fin, birds nest and fruits so they are kept in tact as well as to keep from losing moisture.

As with most chinese food, the ingredients all have special meanings, health benefits and have certain and specific times to be eaten. Ingredients are often classified as being hot or cold foods.

Papaya is considered to be a cold food which can cause diarrhea if too much is eaten. When papaya is cooked with fish it is used for post pregnancy milk production. I have seen the effects of this soup first hand and it really really works, almost instantly after drinking the papaya fish soup no baby would go hungry!

Red dates are mostly used as a natural sweetener. They give a nice aroma when being cooked are said and have seducing effects. When paired with a walnut it is a sign of fertility in chinese culture. The red date is a neutral food, helps weak appetites and soothes sore throats.

Snow fungus is said to be healthy for the lungs, most probably because it looks a bit like a lung. It can also be used as a laxative so be careful with this laxative combo of papya, snow fungus and the pear wich is high in fiber! Most of the ingredients are high in vitamin C and other nutrients so this is a very healthy sweet.

Osmanthus is an amazing flower that is used for tea's and a traditional sweets, the osmanthus jelly is set with agar agar powder (also high in fiber). They guys used to use the traditional agar agar threads when I first came on board here. I introduced the powder and they loved it and have not used the threads since! The osmanthus comes in a lightly sweetened syrup. One of my favorite chinese ingredients to use. It goes well with berries, toss some strawberries in it for a strawberry shortcake and it takes it to a new level of goodness!

 

 steamed - milk - ginger - almond - biscuit

Steamed milk is another item that is nice cold or hot. There are several versions of the steamed milk. One is where milk is mixed with a little egg white and then steamed. Another and more difficult version is where freshly grated ginger juice is whisked into warm milk. The ginger sets the milk into a really light and wonderful custard. Both versions are easily found in dessert shops that specialize in steamed milk custards.

I paired the steamed milk with some chinese almond cookies. Being American I love my milk and cookies. The dim sum chef made some really nice cookies using mung bean flour. The mung bean flour give the cookies a really nice crispy texture.

 

 

 glutinous rice - white - black - coconut - mango - hydroponic thai basil

So this one is not a traditional cantonese dessert, but everyone loves this one. When I first went to Thailand and had this dessert I was in love. Still one of the best desserts around. Simple and so nice to eat. We added the fresh thai basil from our hydroponic herb garden as I love mango and basil together. I used frozen coconut puree from Ponthier instead of using the canned coconut milk that is often used. The ponthier coconut puree is super smooth, rich and has a really nice pure coconut flavour and I strongly feel it is the best coconut puree on the market.

I must say that when I was first asked to get involved with the Chinese menu I had mixed feelings. I was happy to help and improve but there is always the "face" issue in Asia. I did not want to be the bad "Gweilo" coming to the chinese chefs kitchen showing him how to make chinese desserts.

Having worked in Hong Kong and China for nearly 4 years I have learned how to manage the guys quite well. You need to prove to the guys you know what you are doing. You need to show them respect. You have to praise them but also have to show them who is boss once in a while. As a white boy you really have to earn there true respect. They will always be polite and smile but unless you have proved to them you are have a good heart and know what you are doing, they will smile and diu lay at the same time!

Welcome to China!

 

Comments

[ryan zimmer]

Hi Simon,

Great to hear from you. Apologies for the late reply!
It took me a year in HK to really accept the different working mentality or at least accept it enough to stay sane!
Kimchi starter sounds cool, that stuff could probably leaven cement! Please keep in touch and enjoy your experience!
Cheers,
Ryan

[Simon Davey]

Hi Ryan, Your blog is really interesting for me as i've just started work as Pastry 'supervisor' chef in Lotte Hotel Busan Korea. I'm originally from New Zealand and my role is to improve and introduce new products. It's been 1 month and they think i'm from Mars with my sourdough bread (kimchi starter) and concepts like beurre noisette. I know what you mean by letting Asian chefs know you have a good heart. It's baby steps sometimes but i'm having fun.
Thanks again for your Blog
Simon Davey

[simone]

hahah well said ryan...they will certainly diu lay whist smiling =P