What's new
THE BBQ BRETHREN FORUMS

Welcome to The BBQ Brethren Community. Register a free account today to become a member and see all our content. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Asian Spices and BBQ New Trend

vr6: Well, the Asian Cultures do have a few thousand years on us...so we'll just have to borrow and steal their secrets a little at a time.

PS: Sorry for taking your Chief :mod:to come back here!!
 
Dangitall, can't anyone keep a decent secret anymore? OF course there has been a long time of Asian/European flavors and techniques that go back a lot longer than this so called revolution. Think 'Spice Road' here.

All of my cooking is, at the very least, informed by my Japanese heritage and my own personal history of growing up with the Chinese and Mexican cultures that abound in my home town.
 
It's pop culture meets BBQ. Is good BBQ really defined by the Asian ingredients or is great BBQ in the expertise in the way the meat is cooked to perfection?

If it's the ingredients, it's over for good cooks.

I would rather have a well cooked piece of meat with nothing but salt and pepper over something that has umpteen ingredients that is cooked to death by someone who thinks good BBQ lies in the seasonings and sauce.

Good cooking combined with good seasoning is great. But, turning BBQ into the next Asian fad isn't what BBQ is about, to me.
 
Boshizzle said:
It's pop culture meets BBQ. Is good BBQ really defined by the Asian ingredients or is great BBQ in the expertise in the way the meat is cooked to perfection?

If it's the ingredients, it's over for good cooks.

I would rather have a well cooked piece of meat with nothing but salt and pepper over something that has umpteen ingredients that is cooked to death by someone who thinks good BBQ lies in the seasonings and sauce.

Good cooking combined with good seasoning is great. But, turning BBQ into the next Asian fad isn't what BBQ is about, to me.
Click to expand...

I can see where your coming from, but the judges have been rating his que at the top. I can attest to the great taste.
 
I would suggest that Harry Soo is a good cook and the Asian ingredients give him an edge, make his food taste a little bit more distinct. I think there is a gamble, if he over does the Asian spices, there are a lot of people that might not like it. But, if he is a good cook (which I believe to be the case) then he knows how to add just a bit.

Tamarind, much like papaya, used in small amounts adds an interesting flavor to meat, almost an umami taste, it can be a very hard ingredient to place on the palate. Passion fruit in a different way creates a fruity flavor in sauces that is distinctly fruity, yet not identifiable as a specific fruit, it works great with all meats. I can see a place for many of these ingredients.
 
Not very revolutionary I think...but maybe it's because I'm used to Oriental spices n sauces on my BBQed food.
Oriental stores are a goldmine when it comes to spices.
 
Thanks for the story, good read. I have always believed that leveraging a strong palate of flavors can be very useful. Really, the standard BBQ flavor is created with just a few ingredients. After that, it is finding the right balance of the 5 flavors to tickle the tongue better than any one else can. You don't use the other ingredients to make the BBQ taste like them, but to simply make the BBQ flavor more exciting. So start with a heavy base of the standard BBQ ingredients and tweak until you're happy. Doesn't get any more basic, and/or complicated than that.
 
Brian in So Cal said:
I can see where your coming from, but the judges have been rating his que at the top. I can attest to the great taste.
Click to expand...


No doubt it's good. HS works hard at making good BBQ and he has had a lot of success.

BBQ flavors are regional. I just don't see the country boys that fill up BBQ joints in my area flocking to a BBQ joint that uses soy sauce, ginger, hoisin sauce, or Chinese Five Spice.

In fact, you wouldn't believe the stuff they DO like around here.

I'll give you an example, two new BBQ restaurants have opened in my area recently. Both of them use gas cookers that burn wood for flavoring. The difference in the two restaurants is like night and day in regards to the quality of the food. Take a guess which one is busiest? The busy one is the restaurant that cooks its beef and pork until it completely falls apart, doesn't season the meat enough and mixes corn syrup and ketchup for sauce.

I was invited there to eat free the other day. I thanked them for their hospitality and complimented the meal. They are great folks and I'm glad they have been successful. However, I can't say that I will be visiting very often.

Someone explain that to me. That's the nature of BBQ. People like what they like, what they grew up with, I guess.
 
Boshizzle: The number one rule (which I have actually adopted as my own!) is: If it TASTES good , it IS good!

I don't think the BBQ is defined by the ingredients, but rather by the outcome.

What is really authentic?? it can't be truly pinpointed in almost any genre of discussion.

Down in my neck of the woods, the arguement over what gooes in a gumbo goes on forever....simply because there is no right or wrong. If it tasts good, it doesn't matter what is in it or how it came to be....that is the combination oif art adn science.

(foil/no-foil; mustard/oil; fat up/fat down; ...)

Good discussion, I enjoy learning everyone's points of view since I am new here.
 
TactTm1 said:
Boshizzle: The number one rule (which I have actually adopted as my own!) is: If it TASTES good , it IS good!

I don't think the BBQ is defined by the ingredients, but rather by the outcome.

What is really authentic?? it can't be truly pinpointed in almost any genre of discussion.

Down in my neck of the woods, the arguement over what gooes in a gumbo goes on forever....simply because there is no right or wrong. If it tasts good, it doesn't matter what is in it or how it came to be....that is the combination oif art adn science.

(foil/no-foil; mustard/oil; fat up/fat down; ...)

Good discussion, I enjoy learning everyone's points of view since I am new here.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's about it. BBQ, Chili, and Gumbo are foods that everyone has their own favorite version of, I suppose. We have a Chili cook-off in our town every July 4. Each year the winning Chili tastes much like what comes from a can. It's all about what people are used to and what they associate with "Chili" or "BBQ" or "Gumbo."

Down in AL theyput white sauce on BBQ chicken. If you try that up here you will have to spend 30 minutes explaining what the white stuff is and why it's on the chicken before they even taste it. :-D
 
Boshizzle, I can relate to what you just wrote. A friend of mine out here started up a BBQ joint about 6 months ago and he has gotten the pulled pork and brisket dialed. The smoked sausage (all pork) is good when not horribly reheated by his kitchen staff. But, he could not sell his chicken for any amount of money. His pitmaster told him that the feedback was that people preferred Safeway (supermarket) chicken to his. The pitmaster asked to change the recipe to what was sold in the Mexican markets, what I would consider over-cooked chicken. Huge hit, selling chicken like crazy. Fall off the bone, cooked to beyond dead chicken, now a top seller. WTH? But, as my friend says, if it sells and people like it, oh well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top