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Eastern
Feasts
Asian influences assert themselves in
terms of ingredients, techniques, and philosophy to
help define West Coast cuisine.
By Chris Gonzalez
West Coast cuisine suggests organic meat and poultry,
sustainably harvested seafood, and locally sourced seasonal
fruits and vegetables. But a closer look reveals another
component: a profound Asian influence on the city’s
kitchens.
At Gastropod, on West Fourth, chef Angus An—who
was born in Taiwan to Chinese parents and moved to Canada
when he was 10 years old—is talking about the
way his background has influenced his cooking. “I
went to Japan with my parents when I was very young,
and I can still remember the steam coming from a bowl
of ramen noodles on a cold day.” An’s manner,
like his food, is thoughtful and meticulous. “What
struck me was its simplicity. That’s what I want
to achieve with this restaurant—an environment
that is simple and minimal, yet very inviting.”
Simplicity is not the only Asian influence at Gastropod.
An’s salmon “à la Gastropod”
is seared with nori and tempura and garnished with a
wasabi sabayon. “The wasabi is very sharp; it
slices right through a fatty fish like salmon.”
His Polderside chicken is paired with an “Asian
pesto”—a concoction of minced green onion,
ginger, lemon zest, and peanut oil that mimics the traditional
basil and olive oil pestos of Northern Italy. His Sloping
Hills pork tenderloin is served with a reduction of
deep-fried shallots, toasted sesame seeds, and the “earthy
nuttiness” of tamarind.
“My wife is from Thailand. I was cooking in a
Thai restaurant in London when we met, so needless to
say,” he says, suppressing a laugh, “I have
a particular fondness for that cuisine.”
Next door at Fuel, chef/owner Robert Belcham says that
Asian influences infuse his menu but extend well beyond
it. “The design of our whole restaurant was based
around the concept of the sushi bar.” He gestures
with a heavily tattooed arm to his open kitchen near
the entrance. “We purposely put our kitchen front
and centre so guests could sit up at the bar and watch
it all happen—just like I love to do in Japanese
restaurants. Our design is very Asian minimalist: a
lot of organic colours and materials that are very welcoming.
“I prepare my sablefish with a dashi broth,”
he adds. “Dashi brings a distinct umami element
[the elusive fifth taste beyond sweet, sour, salt, and
bitter]. Sablefish is very delicate, but when paired
with dashi the nuances of its natural flavour are immediately
intensified.” Belcham shows me his most prized
possession. “When I left C Restaurant, Harry [Kambolis,
owner] and Rob [Clark, executive chef] gave me a handmade
knife from Japan. It’s not only the best gift
I’ve ever received from an employer, but it’s
scary sharp and my favourite to use.
“The Asian philosophy, particularly in Japanese
cuisine, that influenced me most is their search for
perfection. Seeking the freshest, most intense product
is the backbone to everything they do. They handle fish
like they’re carrying a baby. I try to instill
that same respect for ingredients in my staff.”
Belcham loves to watch Yoshihiro Tabo at Blue Water
Cafe. “He polishes his knife after every cut—and
if you look carefully you’ll see it always rests
at the 12 o’clock position on his cutting board.
His mise-en-place is immaculate. He brings honour to
his craft. That inspires me.”
The man whose open kitchen looks directly into chef
Yoshi’s Raw Bar at Blue Water is executive chef
Frank Pabst. German born and trained in the south of
France, Pabst is steeped in the European tradition;
yet his menu, too, is alive with Asian character. “Yoshi
introduced me to benitade—a Japanese peppercress
that has a vibrant red colour—and tonburi, a sustainable
Japanese mountain caviar.” Entrées like
arctic char with braised leeks and wakame seaweed with
vermouth and kohlrabi perfectly marry his European roots
with his love of Asian cuisine. He beams when he shows
me the rich mahogany hue of his soy-glazed sablefish.
Perhaps our most famous proponent of Asian-influenced
cuisine is the man who brought the prestigious Relais
& Châteaux designation to Vancouver. During
his 12-year tenure at Lumière, Iron Chef Rob
Feenie achieved critical acclaim in part by bringing
Asian touches to his celebrated menu. “I wanted
to create food that mirrored my experiences growing
up,” Feenie says. “When I was a kid in Burnaby,
I spent a lot of time with our Japanese neighbours,
the Nikanos. I recall being in their kitchen and tasting
things like miso soup and shiitake mushrooms, and sometimes
as a treat we would go to the old Fujiya location on
Powell for noodles. I fell in love with those flavours;
they influence my cooking to this day.” While
working in Japan he invented what became his signature
dish at Lumière: a sake- and maple-marinated
sablefish with hijiki soy sauce. “To me, that
was the quintessential Canadian-Japanese dish.”
Another hallmark was the ethereal Peking duck broth
he prepared at the Lumière Tasting Bar. “I
always keep my pantry stocked with Asian produce and
at least four different types of soy sauce.”
That legacy continues with current chef de cuisine Dale
MacKay. Prior to signing on at Lumière, he fell
in love with Asian cuisine during a two-year stint in
Japan, while opening Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants
in the Conrad Tokyo. His memory of visiting the famed
Tsukiji Fish Market to eat raw tuna fresh from the docks
before dawn inspired one of his favourite dishes: tuna
sashimi with tofu purée, pink grapefruit, cucumber
sorbet, and black sesame seeds. “The Asian flavours
are light on the palate,” he says, deftly slicing
a piece of rambutan, “and almost act as an aperitif
for a multi-course tasting menu. The tastes and textures
play up one another.”
“I’ve been around these ingredients my whole
life,” says Vancouver-born chef Colleen McClean,
also a Lumière vet. Her affection for Thai cuisine
led her to Chiang Mai, where she took cooking classes
that were more like culinary boot camp (“something
like 16 dishes in six hours,” she recalls with
a shudder). Now executive chef at Rare on Hornby, she
pays homage to that experience with dishes like mussels
in a red Thai curry and her favourite amuse bouche,
laarb gai—cold Thai chicken salad served on rice
crackers. “What I love about Thai food is its
floral quality, a lightness of fragrance. Take a kaffir
lime leaf, for example; it excites your nose way before
it gets to your mouth.” Cooking with Asian ingredients
is second nature to her, “partly because of my
upbringing and my travel experiences, but mostly,”
she says, “because of my time with Rob Feenie.”
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