Things move so fast these days, it’s hard to keep up. So for MasterClass we scoured the world for everything that’s white hot, right now. Here we share the first instalment of a collection of trends, movements and obsessions that all lead straight to one of our fabulous presenters.
Today we ask, what’s the hottest ingredient in chefs’ kitchens? Here are a few from our MasterClass presenters:
Brett Graham, The Ledbury, London
The King of Skin
The world’s gone mad for skin in all its forms; and one of the finest, should you be in Hong Kong, is the crisp, fragrant chicken skin on the menu at Ming Court, Langham Place; from masterchef Tsang Chiu King, the ‘King of Skin’.
Shark Fin-Friendly Soup
Corey Lee of Benu in San Francisco has applied his brilliant kitchen technique to shark fin soup, making the elastic, gelatinous ‘shark fin’ from extruded hydrocolloids and serving it with truffle custard, crab, and double-boiled chicken broth. Next up, ethical bird’s nest soup?
Rice paddy herb
Need more ‘yang’ in your life? Add the warm cumin-spicing of the aquatic rice paddy herb (rau ngo) to your hotpots and soups, says the enchanting Ms Vy of Morning Glory restaurant in Hoi An, Vietnam. (Closer to home, Adam D’Sylva wraps it in the Coda spring roll with bone marrow).
Seaweed oil
Aussie-born London star chef Brett Graham’s (above) secret weapon against blandness: Blitz dried nori sheets in a blender, add blanched and refreshed chives, parsley and dill, then gradually add grapeseed oil until smooth, for a stunning seaweed oil to spoon over seafood.
