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Inspiration

from Asia

I recall sitting in a vine-covered courtyard in Adelaide, South Australia, some 30 years ago and meditating on what Australian cuisine would be like in the future. I remember thinking of the vast resources of food knowledge which abound to the north of us on the Asian continent, and the relative accessibility of it all to young Australian chefs who travel there to gain firsthand information about the best ways of preparing Asian dishes.

The Asian knowledge of fish and seafood preparations, for example, is endless-from knife skills to stir-frying, oil poaching, steaming and multi-step boiling, deep-frying, and steaming-which is another way of braising. Asian methods of grilling after marinating in spices and yogurt, and the appreciation for spice mixtures and the subtle fragrances of a particular spice in combination with various foods-the knowledge and learning of all this is truly without end!

Foods and recipes from Asia have today become an integral part of the Australian diet and it is hard to imagine a restaurant menu or meal without some Asian influences. Herb and spice combinations from Thailand and Indochina add fragrance and excitement to our salads. The dry spice cooking of India provides a wealth of flavors and subtle aromas. The wet spice cooking of Southeast Asia provides aromatic bouquets mingled with the sweetness of creamy coconut. The aquaculture cuisine of Japan teaches us to respect the quality of fresh fish and appreciate raw fish, revealing its true taste. And the classical food science and philosophy of China provides the basis for many of our cooking skills and a better appreciation of food generally.

To know how to cook, one must first learn how to eat! From many Asian traditions, we learn that eating is not only the basis of good living but also of good health, and that certain foods act as preventative medicines. I am so glad that after 30 years, the food traditions of Asia have so profoundly influenced the modern international cuisines of today. And I welcome the publication of The Food of Asia which presents a wealth of authentic recipes and dishes as they are prepared and served today in Asia. At the Grange Restaurant at Hilton Adelaide, I am continually striving to perfect the fusion of traditional Asian food cultures represented in this book with our contemporary dining world in Australia,.

Friends and family enjoying a traditional steamboat dinner. The steamboat, a meal which is not only eaten but cooked by all those at the table, demonstrates one of the fundamental roles that food plays in Asia: that of bringing people together.