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Southeast Asian Kitchen Menu

History & Evolution of Asian Kitchen

Globalization has made different cultures known worldwide, and food is one of the best ways to get to know a new culture. In this case, the Asian kitchen is one of the most popular in the U.S and the rest of the world, where several food chains have established and grown their business into massive success based on foods from the Asian menu.

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The Asian cuisine is full of nuances and an explosion of flavors that’s worth discovering. Southeast Asian kitchen menu includes Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. The origins of this cuisine go back to 3000 B.C. where the first agriculture was found, along with one of the first Asian and Indian civilizations.

This cuisine development didn’t happen on its own. However, it is the result of European colonies migrating to the northeast and southwest as well. Historically, some of the countries were part of the southeast region and colonized by European armies. For example, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were once French colonies. Malaysia was a British Colony and Indonesia was a Dutch colony. And it all ended up enriching the original southeast cuisine and bringing new ingredients that today are part of what we know as Asian food.

It is no secret that the variety of Southeast Asian cuisines share flavors and basic ingredients in their recipes, however, there are still distinct differences between each one of them.

Vietnamese food is strongly influenced by Chinese roots. Basil is very common in Thai recipes and it comes from Europe, accordingly. On the other hand, for Malaysia and Indonesia, citrus flavors are a very important part of their kitchen.

 

Asian Kitchen Menu – Southeast Char’d Kitchen

Sweet, spicy, and citrus are some of the tones and flavors you can find in the southeast Asian kitchen menu. Additionally, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce are the stars of many Asian creations. Each Asian southeast country has its iconic dishes where textures and freshness stand out from the rest.

Vietnam has a dish called Banh Xeo, which is crispy pork with a shrimp pancake. This dish is basically fresh shrimp and tender minced pork fried in a wok. Once fried, it is all stuffed into a crispy rice and turmeric shell. Add on a delicious briny nuoc cham sauce for dipping and it’s complete. The wonderful flavor combination bring your tastebuds to life.

Singapore also has delicious and exotic dishes to offer, like fish head curry. Pretty much as it sounds, this dish incorporates fish heads prepared with ingredients like coconut cream and tomatoes. Various seasonings such as curry leaves, garlic, chili, coriander, cumin, turmeric, pepper, and tamarind are then used to create the curry. Anything but basic, this dish will blow your mind.

As we progress on this food journey, Indonesia has the Babur Ayam. This is a traditional dish that consists of a thick rice porridge topped with shredded chicken and many savory condiments. Babur ayam is usually eaten at breakfast and it has strong Chinese influences.

Furthermore, Thailand has a thousand incredible and savory dishes to explore like Massam curry. This Thai variety of curry shows up as one of the sweet and unusual types of this dish. Like most curries it consists of a coconut milk base and then includes meat, potatoes, and a curry paste added. This is how most people fall in love with curry.

Another example of the southeast Asian kitchen is Nasi lemak from Malaysia. This dish incorporates rice cooked in coconut milk and is served with anchovies, cucumbers, peanuts, and smooth boiled eggs

Back in the U.S specifically in Texas, Char’d Kitchen Asian Food offers a variety of typical dishes from the Southeast Asian region. The following are some of their preparations:

Chicken Terayki Bowl
bowl of teriyaki
teriyaki bowl

Egg rolls

Seasoned pork with glass noodles and carrots all wrapped up in a crispy spring roll, deeply fried.

Nom fries

Fries with our secret seasoning are then topped with the protein you choose, grilled onions, pineapple, firecracker sauce, gochujang sauce, fried egg, and sprinkled with coriander. Nom nom!

Chicken Teriyaki bowl

Chicken tossed in our special teriyaki sauce with mixed veggies (broccoli, cabbage, and carrots) with sesame seeds spread, on top of a bed of rice. A crowd favorite!

Tofu Salad

Tofu infused with lemongrass and red peppers on a green base, bean sprouts, cucumbers, pineapple, pickled carrots and daikon, purple onions, boiled egg, sprinkled with wonton strips. Vegetarians rejoice!

Bahn Mi

Vietnamese bread filled with your choice of Chicken, Pork, Tofu, or Beef, along with cucumbers, pickled carrots & daikon, jalapenos, cilantro, and our taste of the Firecracker sauce.

Char’d Kitchen Asian Food Recipe and Techniques

For Char’d Kitchen Asian food, their menu is fully diverse where you can find what we call Small Bites. This is the beginning of where you start discovering new flavors and textures typical of the popular Asian flavors for an authentic experience.

Along with our small bites, they have specialty bowls where you start with rice, salads, or noodles and then build-it-your-way. Create the flavors you crave as you choose from many of the fresh ingredients (proteins, veggies, and more)  influenced by Asian cuisine.

Lastly, follow up your delicious meal with one of their desserts. Melt in your mouth, mango, vanilla, and green tea flavored ice cream make the perfect finish.

Southeast Asian kitchen is characterized by their techniques used in their recipes that result in incredible and flavorful dishes.

Here are just a few of the popular Asian style cooking techniques.

Tempura

Tempura is a Japanese technique where the food is battered deep-fried. This approach allows the ingredients to keep their original flavor inside with a crispy crust outside. Commonly, the most used ingredients to get into tempura are shrimp, scallops, squid, and chicken. You can even tempura vegetables such as shiitake mushrooms and asparagus.

Teriyaki

Most people are familiar with teriyaki sauce but teriyaki is also a cooking technique. Used mostly for proteins, they are cooked with a marinade consisting of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. The origin of the word Teriyaki comes from teri that means “shine” and yaki that means “grill”.

Hot Pot

Hot pot is a technique used to prepare soup-like or stew-like dishes with different ingredients from southeast Asia. To prepare this dish it’s necessary to simmer a pot of soup stock at the table, then place the ingredients into the pot. Ingredients used in Hot Pot are typically mushrooms, thinly sliced meat, tofu, seafood, leafy vegetables, egg dumplings, udon, and potatoes.

Steaming

Steam is the star of this method of cooking. This simple method allows flavors to remain intact. As it’s also one of the healthiest ways to cook it is used for an array of ingredients. Some of the most common dishes in the Asian kitchen menu are dim sum, dumplings, buns, and steamed fish.

Red cooking

This cooking technique is used for cooking tougher cuts of meat or poultry. First, the meat is marinated in a mixture of sugar, soy sauce, ginger, chili powder, cilantro, together with water or broth. Finally, it’s cooked very slowly over a low flame. The meat comes out tender, juicy, and delicious.

Char’d Southeast Asian Kitchen uses fresh and best quality ingredients to recreate some of your favorite Asian-type prepared foods.

Traditional Asian Food to Try in Char’d Kitchen – Taste of Asian Menu

Most people may not know that the Asian food they’re used to has been “Americanized” to attract people in order to try new flavors and cooking methods. The term traditional Asian food is typically used to describe these dishes before they’ve been modernized. 

Traditional food is all those dishes that have remained in a specific group or community from generation to generation without alteration. It’s also called traditional food since it is prepared in the same way that it was originally intended. It’s also called traditional if it is prepared in the region in which it was created using ingredients from its origin zone.

For instance, the traditional Southeast Asian menu is made of ingredients that can be found along the whole area where seafood and vegetables are traditionally grown. This also includes the myriad of seasonings created to enhance flavors in today’s southeast Asian kitchen.

If you want to get acquainted with Asian cuisine at home, there are some tips you should know before preparing your first dish.

Curry is a must-have 

Curry is one of those seasonings that needs no side-kick because its flavor says it all. Strong and colorful, curry gives that special touch to southeast Asian recipes where the flavor is the most noticeable.

Rice and more rice 

For all Asian cuisine in general, rice is the basic ingredient for a vast variety of dishes. From the best known Chinese fried rice to rice noodles, and sushi, rice is used for almost everything due to its adaptability. Another benefit is that rice is versatile enough that it goes with just about anything.

Don’t forget the spices and herbs 

To achieve that particular flavor found in the Asian kitchen menu spices and herbs will be your best allies. Typically garlic, chili peppers, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, coriander, and anise will give your food that traditional touch. On the other side, herbs like basil, parsley, and mint will provide freshness and a unique flare to your preparations. 

After all these useful tips you’re ready to go ahead and explore traditional and non-traditional Asian dishes. Take a food journey across Asian and start discovering all these incredible flavors and textures that made southeast Asian kitchen one of the most famous and tasteful cuisines in the world.

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