Some of THE WORLD’S most exciting cuisines come from the Far East and South-east Asia. From the vastness of China to the island states lf Indonesia ans the Philippines, food is prepared with pleasure and keen attention to detail. Each of the countries in this broad sweep has its own unique style of cooking, coloured by climate, local crops, cultural mores and the impact of historical events such as invasion or war, but there are common threads too. Throughout this region, the emphasis is always on serving fook that is as fresh as possible. Presentation is paramount, particularly in Japan and Thailand, and the sharing of food is so fundamental to the faith of each culture that honoured guests are precisely that.
Rice is the staple food of the whole of this region. Cultivated in southern Asia for over five thousand years, it is eaten at every meal, including breakfast, and is the basis of both sweet and savoury snack foods, as well as a being a source for both wine and vinegar. In Japan, vinegared rice is used to make sushi, those delicious titbits that consist either of shaped rice topped with fish or vegetables, or rice and other ingredients rolled in thin sheets of edible seaweed.
Fish forms an important part of the diet. Every country, with the exception of Laos, has miles of coastline, as well as rivers, lakes and ponds, all of which yield plentiful supplies of fish. The tower reaches of the Yangtze River are traditionally known as the “Land of Fish and Rice”, a term that is used to indicate the well-being of the local inhabitants. The first king of Siam expressed similar sentiments when, in 1292, he wrote of the value lf having “fish in the water and rice in the field”.
The Japanese cooks’ skill in preparing and serving fish is legendary. This is partly due to the fact that the country has abundant fish stocks and only limited land for grazing, but is also because for many years, meat was off the menu, due to a government decree that prohibited its consumption by any but the sick, on the grounds that it increased aggression. As a result, Japanese cooks became extremely adept at preparing fish in a wide variety of ways. Very fresh fish is shced thinly and served raw, or marinated, but this is by no means the only way of preparing it. Fish is also poached, grilled, cooked on skewers and battered and fried it the famous tempura.
In Thailand, too, fish is of enormous importance. As elsewhere in Asia, it is always served as fresh as possible. In restaurants it is usual for diners to choose their own fish from tanks, a serious business that demands considerable deliberation, and nobody objects to waiting while the grouper or snapper is despatched, prepared and cooked in the manner the host nas selected. Fish bought at market is often live and is carried home in a bucket of water for preparation by the cook.
The Asian preoccupation with the freshest possible food, be it animal or vegetable, can be a little disconcerting for the Western visitor. Before enjoying the famous Hong Kong dish Drunken Prawns, for instance, the diner must first watch as the live prawns are marinated on Shao Xing rice wine, then cooked in fragrant stock.
At the other end of the spectrum, salted and cured fish is a valuable source of food throughout the area, but particularly in South-east Asia. All sorts of fish and seafood are prepared in this way, either in brine or by being dried in the sun. Dried fish and shellfish also furnish the raw material for fish sauce and shrimp paste, essential ingredients that go under various names, and contribute a subtle but unique signature to so many dishes.
Fish sauce is not the only condiment to play a seminal role in Asian cooking. Even more important is soy sauce, which was invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Beancurd (tofu) is another soya bean product that was originally peculiar to the region, but is now widely used in the western world, as are noodles, another valuable food.
As well as having many ingredients in common, the countries of the Far East and South-east Asia share a similar approach to food. All prepare, cook and serve their daily meals according to the long-established principle the Chinese call fan-cai. The “fan” is the main part of the meal, usually rice or another form of grain, while the “cai” includes the supplementary dishes such as fish, meat, poultry and vegetables. These elements must be balanced in every meal, as must the ingredients in every supplementary dish, so that aromas, colours, textures and tastes are all in perfect harmony.
Harmony dictates that all the dishes be served together, buffet style, rather than as separate courses Guests begin by taking a portion of rice, and then one of the supplementary dishes on offer, relishing it on its own before taking another portion of rice and a second choice. Soup is served at the same time as other dishes, and is enjoyed throughout the meal.
Harmony extends to presentation too, an art which reaches its apogee in Japan, where food is valued as much for its aesthetic appearance as for its flavour. In Thailand, too, food is beautifully served. Thai girle learn the art of fruit carving from a young age, and fruit (and vegetables) are cut into fabulous shapes of birds, flowers and butterflies. They are, of course, fortunate in having such wonderful raw materials. Visit the floating market in Bangkok – or, indeed, any market in this part of the world – and you will marvel at the array of vegetables and fruit on offer, many of them relatively unknown in the West until recently, when Asia became such a sought-after travel destination.
Tourism is one of the major reasons why Asian food has become so popular in Europe, America, Australia and elsewhere. Travellers discovered that Chinese food was not a single cuisine, but many, ranging from Peking cooking in the north, to the hot and spicy Sichuan-style in the west and Cantonese in the south. Visitors to Vietnam and Thailand learned to enjoy -and distinguish between- the cuisines of those countries and, when they returned home, they wanted to be able to continue eating the meals that had been so much a part of their holiday. In major cities the world over, it is now possible to enjoy authentic Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malayan and even Filipino food, and it is only a matter of time before lesser-known cuisines are equally well represented.
Home cooks are eager to experiment with this quick, healthy and sensual style of cooking too. Ingredients such as lemon grass and galangal, which could once be bought only in oriental stores are now readily available in many supermarkets. There’s never been a better time to discover or extend your repertoire of Asian recipes, and this book is the very best place to start.
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