Among Asian countries, Thailand is perhaps the most accomplished when it comes to the number of female head chefs helming the nation's top restaurants. This facet was on full show at a recent four-hands dinner which paired Sujira 'Aom' Pongmorn, the head chef of Khaan and Thailand's very first Michelin Guide Young Chef Award winner, with Nongnuch 'Nuch' Sae-eiw, the head chef of The Mews at The Londoner Macao.
With Aom's innovative street food flair and Nuch's deep reverence for family recipes, the two chefs crafted a menu that was a first in many ways for Macau, featuring everything from crab fat rice paddy crafts to ant egg-topped amadai fish. Tatler caught up with the the dynamic duo to get the lowdown on their inspirations, favourite ingredients, and the powerful bond of culinary sisterhood.
Read more: These are Macau’s top 20 restaurants for 2024
Crispy amadai with ant egg cracker and young mangosteen (Photo courtesy of Sands Macao)
Sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf with paddy crab dip by Khaan (Photo courtesy of Sands Macao)
Can you describe your own cooking styles?
Sujira ‘Aom’ Pongmorn: My inspiration comes from the street food and sometimes from royal cuisine, and I like to focus on the local products. People might not know about some of our local food, because in Thailand we promote a lot about green curry, tom yum goong or Pad Thai, so I want to wake people up and present these foods in a modern way, but while keeping the Thai taste and intense flavour.
Nongnuch ‘Nuch’ Sae-eiw: My father is my idol. In Bangkok our family restaurant is still operating and I've taken some of the recipes to cook [in Macau]. I also take inspiration from flavours I ate when I was young, and I often use ordinary cooking products from Thailand.
What has been your favourite part about cooking with each other?
Aom: It's like a collaboration between friends. We share ideas, we share food and we share techniques with each other. Chef Nuch is inspired by her family recipes while I'm inspired by street food so we combined these together, but we think the same—we focus on the product and we do not compromise in finding rare ingredients or on the taste, because we try to keep the Thai taste as much as possible.
Nuch: For me, it's about the power of women in the culinary world, and women can be leaders when it comes to cooking. In Thailand, there are now so many Michelin-starred female chefs, and I want to be one of them.
What's your favourite dish from this collaboration?
Nuch: Mine is the first main course of amadai fish with red turmeric broth, young mangosteen and ant egg cracker. Ant eggs are now in season in Thailand—I don't like them that much but I want to show people that they are edible. [Sands Macao] supported us in finding young mangosteen because it's a rare ingredient—we shipped it from Thailand especially for this menu.
Aom: I presented my signature dish of crab fat rice paddy craft with sticky rice. It's normally eaten by Thai farmers because the crabs live in rice paddies and stay quite small in size; they usually season the crab fat with fermented fish sauce, grill it over charcoal and eat it with sticky rice. But I've tried to innovate on it by mixing the crab fat with curry paste and bitter orange zest, and for the rice I cook it with coconut milk and grill it in a banana leaf.
Don't miss: Why these two celebrity chefs believe Thai cuisine is having its moment now
The interior of The Mews (Photo courtesy of Sands Macao)
The exterior of Khaan in Bangkok (Photo: Handout)
Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
Nuch: When I was small, my father would be working in the kitchen at our family restaurant and I would take orders and serve the food, but I promised myself that I would be like him one day. I cannot create the same taste as him, but when I create new dishes I'll ask my father how to cook ingredients in his style. I studied tourism and hotel management but it's funny because I'm too short to do customer service, whether it's on planes or in hotels. At that time, my university introduced a restaurant major for the first time, so I was one of the first to study that course.
Aom: My idols are my dad and my aunt. My dad is not a chef, but he's good at cooking. When I was six years old, my dad fell sick and I was hungry, so I called my dad if he could cook something for me. Instead, he told me to check what was in the kitchen; when I told him there were eggs, he walked me step-by-step in cooking my first omelette. It made me want to learn how to cook.
What is one ingredient you can't live without?
Nuch: Thai coriander. I love it so much.
Aom: Fish sauce, because it's like salt—we can't cook Thai food without it. If you replace it with soy sauce or salt, the aroma would not be Thai. The fish sauce I use at Khaan and at my home is from Abalone Brand from Rayong in Thailand.
What's the best restaurant you've ever eaten at?
Nuch: Meta in Singapore. I didn't like Korean food before, but Meta really opened my eyes because the food was so interesting and enjoyable.
Aom: Three years ago, I went to Odette in Singapore. I loved the way they presented the dishes and I loved the flavours [achieved by using] French technique in French cuisine.
What is one movie or TV show every chef should watch?
Aom: Chef's Table from Netflix, because each chef has different techniques and is unique in their own way. It's taught me how to think outside of the box. Chef Bo Songvisava from Bo.lan also had her own episode!
Nuch: Cook Up A Storm, a Hong Kong movie. I watched it for the first time on the plane; it's about a humble cook and a Michelin-starred chef who have to work together. I love it so much—I've watched it three or four times already.
NOW READ
Restaurant industry pet peeves: What not to do when dining in
留言 0