CookSmart (9th Issue) Page33

Celebrity Pick

Keep Food Fresh and Enhance the Taste

For LAU, a perfect dish should be balanced in all 3 aspects - colour, aroma, and taste. A chef’s mission is to bring customers food that pampers their taste buds as well as their health. He believes that the essence of good cooking is to use fresh and quality ingredients. Lau exclaimed, “Will you add MSG to the food you cook for your family? If not, why do you give it to your customers?”

Learn from the Experts

LAU has received much recognition for his talent. He said, “These awards recognise the efforts of my colleagues and help uplift the entire industry.” By winning the awards, he had the opportunities to exchange ideas with chefs from all over the world.

LAU’s Cooking Tips

• Keep their Juices in their Shells

  Wash and dry all seafood thoroughly with a towel before cutting them up. Don’t rinse them again afterwards. Crustaceans such as lobsters and crabs should be steamed in whole piece after they are washed.

• Go with Seasonal ingredients

  LAU recommends local oysters, which are appetising when cooked in different ways, e.g. boiling, grilling and served cold. The best season for oysters is from September to May.

• Kick it Up a Notch

  Cooking lobster meat in broth prepared from lobster heads can boost the taste of the meat. Soya sauce is a good choice of seasoning for steamed fishes but too much seasoning will spoil the fresh and sweet taste of the fish. For fishes with high fat content such as salmon, a little sea salt or herbs like cumin, basil, lemongrass or parsley can be added.

• Stir-fry and Roast with Wok

  Stir-frying food and then roasting it over low heat in a wok could keep the moisture of the ingredients.