Ducasse Alain - Asian Tapas: Small Bites, Big Flavors

Todays cuisine is a living art reflecting modern lifestyles and ideas. It also reflects todays societywhich is experiencing an explosion of cultural diversity. There are so many ways of eating well today, and so many reasons and occasions to celebrate. More than ever, eating is an act of sharing where the conversation, flavors and settings provide a vehicle for exchange. Food, in this context, is a profound source of cultural enrichment and communication.

Contemporary cooking has become a citizen of the world. People learn as they travel and share ideas with one another. Our customers are well informed and compare everything with what they have seen or tasted elsewhere. Modern cooking is therefore a cuisine of liberationwhere one is free to invent, borrow and create. The old models are obsolete, although basic culinary principles continue to provide a basis for new flavors and sensations.

All of this is by way of saying how happy I am to see a book which so thoroughly embodies the essence and attitude of contemporary cooking. Christophe Megel has traveled the globe, and for him modern cuisine is not an abstract concept. He brings to this project twenty years of experience in France, the United States and now Asia, where he teams up with Anton Kilayko. The recipes in this book illustrate both authors many-faceted talents. They portray a keen intelligence, a passion for produce, a great imagination and a rigor of method.

I would like to thank them for writing this book. Food enthusiasts will rejoice at the elegance and inventiveness of recipes which virtually anyone can prepare. Above all else, this book invites us to experience many more delicious moments of convivialitywhich after all is the true essence of contemporary cooking.

Alain Ducasse

Creative use of western ingredientsfresh and sundried tomatoes and olivesmeets the simplicity of oriental steaming techniques, and the results are these beautiful and easily made dumplings. Using purchased wonton wrappers is the secret of the super-quick preparation here, while lining your steam basket with cabbage leaves will keep the dumplings from sticking to it.

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

8 square wonton wrappers

2 to 3 large cabbage leaves, for steaming

1 tablespoon sweet black soy sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Romaine lettuce, to garnish

Filling

2 fresh medium tomatoes (about 4 oz/125 g), blanched, peeled and deseeded, flesh diced

4 shallots, minced

3 to 4 tablespoons sliced sundried tomatoes

12 pitted black olives, diced

3 tablespoons minced green onions (scallions)

teaspoon salt

teaspoon ground white pepper

Make the Filling by combining the tomatoes, shallots, sundried tomatoes, black olives and green onions in a bowl and mix well, then season with the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Mix the egg yolk and cornstarch together. Place 1 tablespoon of the Filling on a wonton wrapper. Fold the wrapper diagonally over the Filling and using your fingers, seal the edges by lining the inside with a bit of the cornstarch mixture. Place the dumpling on a lightly greased plate. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until used up, and steam the dumplings in a steaming basket lined with cabbage leaves for 3 minutes.

Combine the sweet black soy sauce with the balsamic vinegar, mix well and dribble over the steamed dumplings. Serve hot, garnished with romaine lettuce.

Makes 8 dumplings Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 3 minutes

Foie Gras is one of the worlds great luxury foods and should be treated with minimal fuss in order to be fully enjoyed. Tossing it through this tasty fried rice will highlight its impossibly smooth, super-rich characteristics.

5 oz (150 g) duck foie gras

cup (75 g) flour

Oil, for deep-frying

2 shallots, minced

1 egg, beaten

2 cups (200 g) cooked Thai fragrant rice

cup (90 g) diced fresh asparagus

cup (50 g) diced carrot

cup (50 g) fresh uncooked corn kernels cut from a cob of corn

1 teaspoon salt

teaspoon ground white pepper

teaspoon sesame oil

2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced, to garnish

Remove the outer membrane, if any, from the foie gras and dice it using a knife dipped in hot water. Coat the foie gras dice with the flour and deep-fry over very high heat for 30 seconds. Remove with a wire basket and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Place 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok and stir-fry the shallots over high heat until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Add the egg and scramble until semi-firm, then add the rice and stir-fry for about 1 minute to mix well. Add the vegetables and stir-fry for several minutes, seasoning with the salt, pepper and sesame oil. Add the foie gras and toss well. Serve warm, garnished with sliced green onions.

Makes 10 small tasting portions

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Pot stickers derive their evocative name from the way they brownthey stick to their cooking pot as steaming liquid evaporates around them. You can purchase the wrappers required to make these; however making your own is easy and far more satisfying.

Water

3 tablespoons black Chinese vinegar

2-in (5-cm) fresh ginger root, cut into tiny shreds, to garnish

1 green onion (scallion), minced, to garnish

Dough

1 cup (150 g) flour, sifted

teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lard or vegetable shortening

cup (60 ml) boiling water

Filling

2 teaspoons freshly grated horseradish

1 clove garlic, minced

tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon minced lemongrass, taken from the tender inner part of bottom

2 slices Japanese pickled ginger

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

teaspoon dried shrimp paste

1 teaspoon salt

10 oz (300 g) ground pork

3 teaspoons minced garlic chives or Chinese chives

Make the Dough by combining the flour, salt and lard or vegetable shortening in a bowl. Gradually pour in the boiling water and mix to form a firm dough. Flour your hands and knead the dough until smooth and soft on a floured surface, then cover with a damp cloth and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make the Filling by grinding all the ingredients, except the pork and chives, to a smooth paste in a blender or food processor, then mix well with the ground pork and chives. Set aside.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the Dough on a floured surface until it is 1/8 in (3 mm) thick and trim the edges to form a rectangle. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out 3-in (9-cm) circles.

Spoon tablespoon of the Filling and roll it into a ball. Place the Filling onto the middle of one half of a circle. Dab the edges of the circle with some water and fold the circle into half, enclosing the Filling, to form a semicircle. Press firmly along the edges to seal.

Pull both ends of the semicircle towards the middle, allowing to overlap slightly. Press the overlapping ends lightly to seal. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat until the dough is used up.