{"id":207,"date":"2011-11-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-06T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-11-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-11-06T07:00:00","slug":"CalgaryHerald1106","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/CalgaryHerald1106\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond sweet and sour – Calgary Herald"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alberta pork plays a starring role at Vancouver’s new Chinese fine dining festival.<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\nVANCOUVER — Forget your sickly, sticky, sweet-and-sour pork balls.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn
\nVancouver, home to the best Chinese restaurants outside China (and,
\nsome critics say, the world’s best Chinese restaurants, period), the
\ncity’s exceptional chefs have discovered Alberta pork, and their meals
\nmay never be the same.\n<\/p>\n

\n“We always have to be
\ncreative, to try new things,” says Yiu Fung Lau, executive chef at
\nFraser Court Seafood Restaurant. “My experience cooking with Alberta
\npork has been great.”\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\nMing Yeung, executive
\nchef at Bamboo Grove in Richmond, agrees: “I think, we are in Vancouver,
\nvery close to Alberta. We source Canada products first for our dishes.
\nWe do have to update classic dishes with Canadian ingredients and modify
\nor keep the flavour or do it even better.”\n<\/p>\n

\nLau
\nand Yeung are just two of the chefs participating in a new festival,
\nthe Signature Dish Dining Festival, which runs from Nov. 1 to 18 in 18
\nChinese restaurants throughout Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby. It’s a
\nprelude to the Chinese Restaurant Awards, to be announced on Jan. 17,
\n2012, but it’s also much more than that.\n<\/p>\n

\nFor
\nthe first time, this festival celebrates the chefs, who traditionally
\nremain anonymous, while the owner or manager is the public face of a
\nChinese restaurant. These chefs are proudly front and centre, smiling,
\nwelcoming, their crisp white jackets gleaming and adorned with medals
\nand awards.\n<\/p>\n

\n“The chefs were very excited about
\nthe whole opportunity,” says Craig Stowe, founding director of the
\nChinese Restaurant Awards and the force behind the new festival. “We
\nreally focused on their pride and challenged them to come up with
\nsomething spectacular.”\n<\/p>\n

\nMoreover, the festival focuses on the way Chinese traditionally like to dine.\n<\/p>\n

\nUnlike
\nwestern diners, who may choose a restaurant by its ambience, Chinese
\ndiners pick a restaurant because they like a particular, signature dish —
\nsay, the king crab in curry sauce at one place or the seafood congee at
\nanother.\n<\/p>\n

\nBut perhaps most importantly, this
\nfestival celebrates the ingredients, chief among them Alberta beef and
\nAlberta pork, thanks to an initiative by the Alberta Livestock and Meat
\nAgency.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Alberta decided to come on board
\nbecause it’s a high quality market for a high quality product,” says
\nNorm Janssen, a senior development officer at Alberta Agriculture and
\nRural Development.\n<\/p>\n

\nBeef is something of a
\nluxury ingredient in Chinese cooking, but pork is an absolute essential.
\nIt’s used in soups, sauces, noodles, dumplings, stir-fries, sausages,
\nappetizers, side dishes and main courses. It’s also nutritious,
\nversatile and delicious.\n<\/p>\n

\n“We use almost every part of the pork for Chinese cooking,” Bamboo Grove’s Yeung says.\n<\/p>\n

\nAdds
\nHenry Ng, executive chef at Northern Delicacy, a Shanghainese
\nrestaurant in Richmond, “Pork has the charm for us to create various
\ndishes, combining it with other ingredients and even alone.”\n<\/p>\n

\nWhere
\nwestern chefs would often choose the high end chops and roasts, Chinese
\nchefs prefer the more flavourful but less expensive cuts, such as spare
\nribs and pork cheek. The latter is especially popular because of its
\nspringy texture and delicate flavour that’s versatile in stir-fries.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nOther
\nstandout pork dishes in the festival include Northern Delicacy’s
\nsteamed pork brisket, a golden pillow of silky sweet fat and tender
\nsalty meat, and The Jade Seafood Restaurant’s pork fillet with mushrooms
\nand basil, a complex banquet of mushroomy umami and aromatic herbal
\nflavours.\n<\/p>\n

\nJade’s executive chef Tony Luk, the
\nCRA’s 2011 chef of the year, enjoyed how Alberta pork’s quality allowed
\nhim to be more creative and update classic dishes.\n<\/p>\n

\n“We have to explore ingredients most of the time,” Luk says. “Local ingredients are always fresh, with promising quality.”\n<\/p>\n

\n“Fresh,
\nfresh, fresh is what it’s all about in Vancouver’s Chinese
\nrestaurants,” says Stowe, who’s noticed that customers are increasingly
\nasking for local ingredients and demanding to know the food’s
\nprovenance.\n<\/p>\n

\nThis is increasingly the case in
\nthe city’s Asian eateries, especially now that Canada has received
\nChina’s Approved Destination Status and affluent Chinese visitors are
\nflocking here just to dine.\n<\/p>\n

\n“They’ve heard
\nabout the super-clean process meat and seafood goes through in Canada
\nand they’re here to try it. Food and travel are completely connected,”
\nStowe says.\n<\/p>\n

\nOf course, local residents are also demanding what’s fresh, local and high quality.\n<\/p>\n

\n“We
\nhave a large demand for local ingredients as they are easier to be
\nsourced and the quality is guaranteed,” says Fraser Court’s Lau. “There
\nis more consistency of quality and flavour of the dishes.”\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd if the chefs have their way, Alberta pork will continue to appear on their tables long after the festival is over.\n<\/p>\n

\nIf you go:\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Signature Dish Dining Festival runs to Nov. 18, featuring 18 Chinese restaurants in Richmond, Vancouver and Burnaby, B.C.\n<\/p>\n

\nEach
\nrestaurant offers set menus for four, six or 10 people, with prices of
\n$100, $150 and $300 (tax, drinks and gratuities not included).
\nReservations recommended; mention that you plan to take part in the
\nfestival. For more info, visit chinesediningguide.com.\n<\/p>\n

\nBaked Sliced Alberta Pork Fillet with Herb & Mushrooms\n<\/p>\n

\nThis
\nstriking and subtly flavourful dish is prepared by the 2011 CRA Chef of
\nthe Year Tony Luk at The Jade Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. You’ll
\nneed to start making the sauce a day before you prepare this dish.\n<\/p>\n

\nlb (250 g) Alberta pork tenderloin\n<\/p>\n

\n1 tsp (5 mL) potato starch\n<\/p>\n

\n1 tsp (5 mL) sea salt\n<\/p>\n

\n6 slices Portobello mushroom\n<\/p>\n

\nbutter as needed\n<\/p>\n

\nYunnan Wild Morel Mushroom Sauce (see recipe below)\n<\/p>\n

\n6 slices cucumber\n<\/p>\n

\n6 fresh basil leaves\n<\/p>\n

\nWash
\nthe Alberta pork tenderloin and slice crosswise into 6 fillets. Toss
\nwith a bit of potato starch and sea salt and allow to marinate for 2
\nhours.\n<\/p>\n

\nPreheat oven to 200°F (100°C).\n<\/p>\n

\nWash the Portobello mushrooms, trim any especially dark gills, then cut the caps into about the same size slices as the pork.\n<\/p>\n

\nPut
\nAlberta pork fillets into a baking dish and cover with the Yunnan Wild
\nMorel Mushroom Sauce. Put the fillets into the oven and bake for 20
\nminutes.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nMeanwhile, heat a
\nwok or large skillet on medium heat, then add a small knob of butter.
\nPan-fry the Portobello mushroom slices till half cooked, then remove
\nfrom heat and sprinkle with sea salt.\n<\/p>\n

\nOn a
\nserving plate, arrange the cucumber slices, then top each first with a
\nslice of Portobello mushroom, then a pork fillet and finally a basil
\nleaf. Use a toothpick to sandwich each stack. Serves 6.\n<\/p>\n

\nChef Tony Luk’s Yunnan Wild Morel Mushroom Sauce\n<\/p>\n

\nIf
\nyou can’t find the dried mushrooms at your local gourmet grocery story,
\norder them through ponderosa-mushrooms.com. Mirin and yakiniku sauces
\nare available at Asian markets; so is chicken powder, a savoury base
\nfrequently used in Asian cooking for soups, sauces and seasonings.\n<\/p>\n

\n3 oz (90 g) dried morel mushroom\n<\/p>\n

\n3 oz (90 g) dried porcini mushrooms\n<\/p>\n

\n5 oz (140 g) red onions, minced\n<\/p>\n

\nbutter as needed\n<\/p>\n

\n2 cups (500 mL) water\n<\/p>\n

\n1 tsp (5 mL) Ebara Yakiniku no Tare sauce or to taste\n<\/p>\n

\n2 tsp (10 mL) Japanese mirin sauce\n<\/p>\n

\n1 tsp (5 mL) brandy\n<\/p>\n

\n2 tsp (10 mL) chicken powder\n<\/p>\n

\nSoak
\nthe dried morel mushroom and the dried porcini separately in water for
\n24 hours. The next day, wash well and pour out the water. Mince the
\nmorel mushroom and the dried porcini separately.\n<\/p>\n

\nUse a blender to blend the morel mushroom and dried porcini into very small pieces.\n<\/p>\n

\nHeat
\na pot over medium heat, then add a generous knob of butter and let it
\nmelt completely. Add red onion and mushrooms, then stir-fry.\n<\/p>\n

\nAdd water, yakiniku sauce, mirin, brandy and chicken powder. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat. Serves 6.\n<\/p>\n

\nAlberta Pork Spare Ribs in Sweet Vinegar Sauce\n<\/p>\n

\nThis
\ndeceptively simple dish by executive chef Ming Yeung at Richmond’s
\nBamboo Grove Restaurant has surprising depths of flavour.\n<\/p>\n

\n8 Alberta pork spare ribs\n<\/p>\n

\n1 tsp (5 mL) white sugar\n<\/p>\n

\n2 tsp (10 mL) brown sugar\n<\/p>\n

\n1 tsp (5 mL) chicken powder\n<\/p>\n

\n1 tsp (5 mL) apple cider (non-alcoholic)\n<\/p>\n

\n6 tsp (30 mL) Chinese black vinegar\n<\/p>\n

\ncup (100 mL) water\n<\/p>\n

\nvegetable oil as needed\n<\/p>\n

\nWash the Alberta pork spare ribs, pat dry, then toss with white sugar and allow to marinate for 2 hours.\n<\/p>\n

\nMix brown sugar, chicken powder, apple cider, Chinese black vinegar and water together to create sauce. Set aside.\n<\/p>\n

\nHeat
\na large skillet or wok over medium heat and add a little bit of
\nvegetable oil. Pan-fry the pork spare ribs until they are half cooked.
\nAdd the sauce and stir-fry at medium heat for another 10 minutes.\n<\/p>\n

\nServes 8.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nRead more: http:\/\/www.calgaryherald.com\/life\/Beyond+sweet+sour\/5659806\/story.html#ixzz1cxVNueHf<\/a>
\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alberta pork plays a starring role at Vancouver’s new Chinese fine dining festival. VANCOUVER — Forget your sickly, sticky, sweet-and-sour pork balls. In Vancouver, home to the best Chinese restaurants outside China (and, some critics say, the world’s best Chinese restaurants, period), the city’s exceptional chefs have discovered Alberta pork, and their meals may never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-cra-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}