Flavor Hunter

Five Pieces of Inspiration from Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is home to many culinary hotspots, from Vietnam to Thailand and Singapore to Malaysia, with each cuisine being vastly different. Yet there are common denominators that translate from region to region and are flavorful enough to inspire chefs everywhere. Piles of fresh greens, herbs, vegetables and bold flavors and spices are common throughout the region. It’s a healthful, vegetable-centric approach to food, and we can learn plenty from it.

Chef Andrew Hunter has five ingredients to borrow from Southeast Asia in his cooking, whether to re-create some of the region’s best dishes or bring new flavors to American standards. Here is what he uses and why.

Fresh Herbs
Almost every meal in Vietnam comes with a huge pile of fresh herbs and sprouts, served cold on a plate. They offer a refreshing counterpoint to hot, spicy and salty ingredients. It’s customary to squeeze lime over the herbs and add them to hot, cooked foods, which provides a great layering and balancing of flavors in noodle bowls, grilled meats and with bright sauces like Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing & Sauce.

Coconut
Thailand is well known for its coconut curries and Tom Yum soup. Because coconut brings a lot of sweetness to sauces, Kikkoman Soy Sauce offers a salty balance to these dishes. I see the sweet saltiness of the coconut-soy sauce combination working in a lot of dishes. I’m working on a French fry dip that has coconut milk, ketchup, sriracha, a bit of Kikkoman Soy Sauce, pineapple juice and Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing & Sauce. These ingredients come together to soften the acidity level and lighten the color of the sauce. The sweetness is great with salty fries.

Chiles
There’s a lot of fresh spiciness in Southeast Asian cuisines; it’s a hot region (in terms of temperature), and spice induces sweat to regulate body temperature. Fresh Thai chiles can be mellowed when chopped and steeped in Kikkoman Soy Sauce or in soups where you don’t eat the chile, but use it to season a bowl of soup.

Green Mango
Under-ripe mangos are so delicious and refreshing! They make for a great salad, dressed with chopped peanuts, fish sauce, Kotteri Mirin, chiles and other vegetables.

Citrus
A squeeze of lime or lemon is often the final flavoring for soups, curries, banh mi and grilled meat in Southeast Asia. The sour note mellows the saltiness of Kikkoman Soy Sauce and the sweetness of sugar and coconut. Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing & Sauce has a similar effect and is a great complement to hoisin sauce or caramelized flavors of grilled meat and onions.