Back
in the past Baume days I was thinking about
autumn Vegetable dish replacing T-bus(http://restaurantpsi.
Flavor: red cabbage 100% in & out, but no stinky cabbageness, simple yet refined & sophisticated
Concept: keep it violet, simple salad sexy up
Title: took from 2006 movie title
Visual: brutally violet, 朝顔(Morning glory), 紫陽花(hydrangea)
So...
I wanted to focus, VERY focus on multiple red cabbage flavor from different angles. Cabbage is strong in the volume, I
mean it's stinky, sort of. Smell of cabbage, I could identify easily and opposite to good perfume./laugh
So I knew the point is how to turn this minus element into plus, joyful cabbageness bomb, that's the way to go. Regular resolve would be simply adding something
salty like bacon, mayonnaise, soy sauce...... But I decided to
char some of red cabbage instead, this idea came from
yakisoba which is one of my favorite Japanese street food. In my
opinion Yakisoba can't taste right without cabbage!!!
From
there it was bangx2 action, raw thin julienne red cabbage is compressed
with red cabbage jus / red wine vinegar reduction(this help absorbing
flavor & changing the color into 'ultra violet') & diced charred
red cabbage are seasoned with sherry vinegar & extra virgin olive
oil. Tasting: Pretty good.... but still little cabbagy in bad way and
not round up flavor. I thought about adding little vincotto balsamic
vinegar, mint, small dice of hibiscus champagne jelly or others Nnn....
Thinking a
bit.... came to the idea to add fresh fruit for giving freshness & 'natural'
sweetness. Pear, persimmon, peach..... pretty good.... but NOT
VIOLET!!!(laugh) And I found what I'm looking for, kyohou grape! I
found the balance of flavor, the volume of flavor & visual matching
what I wanted.
The structure of this dish is dead
simple, BUT I could say making this right salt is the key. under salt,
over salt... this dish doesn't taste good, make it plain n' flat in
flavor. But if it's done right, this dish is surprisingly good... sherry vin give sour kick in compressed cab salad, char flavor erase negative cabbage smell, kyohou grape giving sweetness & fruitiness, red potato chips
for crunch / viola for floral aroma & visual elegance... Visually
everything violet as I insisted, but mixture of different purple/violet >> reddish purple compressed
julienne, blue-ish charred cabbage, transparent purple kyohou grape, dark
violet potato, bright violet viola..... ULTRA VIOLET!!!
This
dish showcasing one of the styles I want to pursue, which is nothing
avant garde, no technique oriented & composed over minimum
ingredients. As I always say, when there's many components on the
plate, may look sexier, but losing focus, message, the story of the
dish... that's how I think. When the kitchen doesn't have the
equipments/tools/food chemicals I want to use, how I compose new
dishes? I can't use this' that' techniques, I'll utilize my culinary intelligence.(the idea, different approach & knowledge from all the past experience)
Well..... I must keep creating new
dishes to refine my intelligence, creativity & imagination!!!
Ultra violet: Red cabbage julienne compressed with red
cabbage jus / red wine vinegar reduction, Diced charred red cabbage,
kyohou grape, sherry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, purple potato
chips & viola
Coming up.... one more M&I action before CJWDT: New Zealand.... Salsify Cronf(l)ake NEXT!!!