Chef uses fusion to turn adversity into success
Print Edition
It’s difficult for a Chinese chef to get a top position at a Western-style restaurant overseas. Jason Au from Hong Kong studied French cooking in the United States but had no choice but to continue his culinary life at a Japanese restaurant in the US, where an Asian chef standing behind the sushi counter is an expression of authenticity in flavor. That experience inspired him to use his Western culinary foundation to break the boundaries of Japanese cuisine.
Chef Au found success at Nobu, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong known for its modern Japanese food. He has come to Shanghai this year, showing his talent at Café Liang & mezzanine, Jing An Shangri-La, West Shanghai.
“The dining concept here is contemporary Japanese, mixing traditional Japanese food with any style around the world,” said Au, chef de cuisine at Jing An Shangri-La.
Japanese ingredients such as salmon, wasabi, yuzu, red bean and miso are cooked in French, Italian and South American styles. Traditional Western ingredients represented by truffle and caviar are done in Japanese style.
His appetizers show a strong South American touch. Sashimi chips are actually tacos (with crisp Mexican folded corn tortillas) filled with sashimi. Spicy tuna with rice brownie is another highlight, in which tuna sashimi is chopped to be the topping of deep fried sushi rice. Ceviche lobster — raw lobster marinated in red onion, chili and vinegar and served with plantain — deserves a try.
Main dishes on his menu show more European influence, like sautéed lobster with wasabi sauce, and tuna tartar with caviar.
The chef calls creamy spicy king crab one of the most innovative dishes. Crab meat is presented as a pizza base. Fish roe and scallions are covered with a layer of egg sauce and spread over the base. Then he puts his “pizza” into the oven.
“It’s not for the sake of fusion but to enhance the food. Western ingredients and techniques sometimes complement Asian food, vice versa,” said the chef.
The chef prefers using the French technique of sautéing in the kitchen, which enriches texture. “It adds a distinctive, crispy outside and tender inside texture to meat,” the chef explained.
His miso spinach salad with scallops is made in Italian Caesar style by adding lemon juice, olive oil, truffle oil and Parmesan cheese. Savory miso and salty Parmesan cheese match unexpectedly well, complementing each other.
Sauce is another highlight of chef Au’s cooking.
“Sauce strongly shows a chef’s personality and thinking about food, giving ingredients a second life. The richness of the sauce gives some white-colored seafood, which starts off being mild and unexciting, body in flavor and a juicy texture,” chef Au explains.
The chef preserves some authentic Japanese sauces, using teriyaki to flavor beef and shiso dressing for scallops. Shiso is an Asian culinary herb, Perilla frutescens, that belongs to the mint family. He also creates some modern flavors: shrimp tempura with spicy egg sauce, salmon sashimi with citrus soy, yellowtail sashimi with green chili.
When creating new recipes, the chef always reads cookbooks for inspiration. Sometimes he relies on pictures to understand those written in Japanese. That spurs him to be original rather than just copying recipes.
Being innovative doesn’t mean giving up tradition, however. Both the sushi and udon (a type of thick wheat flour noodles) maintain their authentic flavor.
The bento box (138 yuan+15%), launched this month, is recommended due to its inclusion of most of the chef’s signature foods and its affordable price. The box includes salmon tataki salad, sushi and sushi roll assortment, black cod saikyo yaki, shrimp tempura with spicy egg sauce, sautéed vegetables with spicy garlic sauce, miso soup and rice. From tomorrow to November 15, customers can buy one box and get one free on weekdays.
Address: 1218 Yan’an Rd
Tel: 2203-8889
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