1. “I think you guys had a hard working test because of many reasons, like
preparing your ingredients, processing your food, and because judges and
reporters paid a little too much attention to your team. What makes this
attraction? I think because you guys did have had an impressive style
throughout the contest. There is no introduction on each team’s tag but people
can guess that you guys are from Middle Highlands just by looking at your
ingredients and cooking tools. Middle Highlands’ spirit has influenced your
whole menu.”, delicately commented judge Anh Hoa in the southern semi-final
round.
Chef Duc Hoang excitingly introduced wild ginger from Chu Mom Ray forest.
About
an hour ago, so many of reporters had had interviewed team 45 – Gia Bao
restaurant from Kon Tum province – that judge Anh Hoa had to lightly asked them
to back off. Otherwise, chefs could not focus on their dishes while one hour
had passed. With a little of reluctance, communiation staff had to stop asking
althought they still had numerous questions about all strange-looking leaves
and spices on team no.45’s table.
The
second time being at The Golden Spoon semi-final round, Kon Tum chefs were so
cool when bringing not only new spices but also particular cooking tools. Chef
Nguyen Duc Hoang was strongly pestling salt seeds in a big mortar when reporter
asked him how he brought this 2 meters pestle onto the bus. Stopping for a
minute, he said, “I have to insist the
driver. This heavy pestle is made from Ko-nia tree (wild almond or Irvingia
malayana) - a must-have kitchen tool - and those mortar, pitchers, and
containers are also nesscessary to show Middle Highlands’s spirit. We must keep
them in a separate conner on the bus to keep them safe.” Chef Duc Hoang’s
facebook timeline shows some clips recording his journeys looking for new
spices in fields, which carried full of passionate and hardwork.
Chef Duc Hoang pestled salt seeds to cook with running chicken.
The
1st prize in Middle Highlands preliminary in Da Nang city was a
sweet award of team no.45. They told an attractive story of their mountain-home
town by great dishes. Being at semi-final round with the topic of “Golden
Dishes” was a motivation but also a pressure on Kon Tum chefs.
Although
they were busy cooking, chef Duc Hoang and his colleuages, Nguyen Quang Thanh
and Nguyen Quang Huy, always took time to discuss and to share time looking for
new ingredients. Their “golden dishes” were gradually being shaped. Once again,
they took advantage at their regional products to create special dishes, as wild
vegetables with Ly Son garlic taste; pearl barley (Job’s tear or Coix lacryma-jobi),
pumpkin, and black tiger prawn soup; sautéed Pha with Chu Mom Ray wild ginger
served with Highlands’ cereal wine; running chicken and salt seeds served with
fresh rice noodles; and rice ball stuffed durian paste dessert.
Wild vegetables with Ly Son garlic taste; pearl barley, pumpkin, and black tiger prawn soup.
2. The appetizer’s idea started in chef
Duc Hoang’s family. He simply said, “The
idea of soup was from… my son. My wife is in medical field so she’s always busy
at work. I usually make pumpkin and shrimp congee for my son. I took this
recipe to the contest, just adding young pearl barley.” Another appetizer
was all-about-vegetables, which were wild spicy mint leaves, aromatic fireweed
(Crassocephalum crepidioides), and sweet wild leaves. Chefs only picked these vegetables’
tips then stir-fried them with Ly Son garlic, creating a smooth symphony of
mountains and oceans.
Sautéed Pha with wild ginger from Chu Mom Ray forest in Highlands’ picth of cereal wine.
The
next dish had revealed more about Kon Tum’s specialties named Sautéed Pha fish
with wild ginger from Chu Mom Ray forest in Highlands’ pitch of cereal wine. Pha
fish is an endemic species in Ba and Se San river, the two largest rivers in the
north of Middle Highlands, and dainty food of local people for years but recently,
this fish has “swum” to restaurants. When catching this rare fish, fishermen
rather bring them home then sell them to restaurants. Pha fish looks similarly
grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon
idella) but it has longer body, bigger scales, flat head,
and 2 antennaes at 2 sides of its lips. Chef Quang Thanh said that it was kind
of easy fishing these fish before but lately, they had become scarce since
people had fish them everywhere because of their high value. The chefs had to
pre-order a month before to purchase 1,200,000 vnd for Pha fish. Chef Quang
Thanh admitted, “We are lucky since the contest is in October. People only
can catch Pha fish in rainy season.”
Three members of team no.45 at The Golden Spoon 2016 kitchen kios.
Normally, local
people cook Pha fish based on its parts, such as frying the body and make a hot
pot out of the head and tail. When putting this dish to the Golden Dishes menu,
team no.45’s chefs also put more effort varying it to an impressive new dish. They
filleted fish, carefully took all bones out then marinated fish fillet in wild
ginger juice from Chu Mom Ray preserved forest and other seasonings in half an
hour then sautéed the fillet. The sauce was made from Highland cereal wine’s
grain - a particular wine that is naturally fermented with secret recipe of
Highland chiefs. Sautéed Pha fish was served with sweet & sour pickled wild
bananas.
Salt fruits of Highland forests.
3. Salt fruits, a featured spicy fruits of Middle
Highlands which had been used in preliminary (Grilled spiny eels in salt fruit
sauce, served with five types of wild leaves) and helped Kon Tum chefs to win
the 1st prize, appeared again on team no.45’s table. Our chefs
wanted to use salt fruits again with a totally new roll, which was to link and
to blend in their running chicken. Salt trees were blooming and bearing young
fruits so Kon Tum chefs tried their best to bring a whole branch to the
contest. Salt fruits’ life cycle was fully displayed by a bunch of white
flowers and then red flowers, a bunch of young fruits, and ripe fruits.
Definitely, reporters spent all megabytes of their memory cards to capture as
many images of this plant as possible.
Running chicken and salt fruits served with fresh rice noodles.
Running chicken and
salt fruits served with fresh rice noodles, this is a creative dish of the
whole team. Highland chickens freely run and feed on natural products so their
flesh is so firm and flavorful. Salt fruits were pestled, grinded then
percolated to juice them out. Smashed fruits and other spices were used to
marinated chicken in 15 minutes. Boil chicken in salt fruit juice in 25 minutes
without seasonings because all featured salty and sourish flavors of salt
fruits would be totally absorbed. This dish was served with fresh rice noodles.
Finally, the dessert
also carried Middle Highlands’ spirit in which main tastes were durian and Chu
Mom Ray ginger. Rice ball shells were colored by cochinchin gourd redness, the
balls were stuffed by durian paste, and the broth was boiled with Chu Mom Ray
ginger.
Rice balls stuffed durian paste.
Judge Anh Hoa
generously gave compliments, “There are so many things to tell about your
spices and we have really enjoyed. You have many feartured spices from regional
leaves and fruits. Even though a familiar ingredient as Highland cereal pitch
of wine was also creatively used to make sauce for the first time I’ve seen.
Chu Mom Ray ginger is a spectacular spice with totally different taste.
Redweed, mint leaves, and barley pearls have recalled the whole difficult
period that definitely many of us had been through. I really appreciate that
you guys have strictly followed the topic of this round and the main purpose of
our contest, which is to elevate Vietnamese cuisine to higher level in
intergration time.”
2nd prized party table of Kon Tum chefs in southern semi-final round.
The judge slowly
said, “I was a bit worried with your dishes’ quality since your ingredients
and perfomances were so good yet so strange to tell. Actually, I did not
disappoint at all. Even the acquainted rice ball dessert also was created in
different ways and exotic tastes.”
“I hope you guys
will keep your work up, playing with those interesting spices to create more
new dishes. The more people know, the much futher your dishes will go. That is
a good way to honor, to introduce Vietnamese cuisine to attract tourists coming
and experiencing themselves”, hopefully expressed judge Anh Hoa.
The spice journey of
Kon Tum chefs have come to a happy ending, comparing to last seasone, which is
a ticket straight to the final round of The Golden Spoon 2016.
By Nguyen Trang