EXPLORE
TASTE
REFLECT
CREATE
Picture your favourite dish and that furtive first
memory sparks a high-speed mini movie in your
mind. The preparing, the cooking and the serving
of that tasty memory all adds to the flavour of the
colourful cinematic experience that fills your brain.
It’s not just the taste that colours that happy
memory; it’s the warmth of the setting and the
conviviality of the meal itself. In many families,
that family favourite recipe will be served in the
same dish, perhaps cooked in a beloved pan or
warmed with spices ground to a fine powder in
a pestle and mortar that has been handed down
through generations.
R I G H T : A monk
prepares a large scale
lunch in the kitchen of
a monastery in Yunnan
Province, China
U N D E R T H E B A N YA N T R E E
At the heart of many of the world’s
most favourite dishes there is a trinity
of ingredients, a tantalising trio on
which the basic flavour of memory
is founded, whether that’s in the
Caribbean or Vietnam.
This basic foundation on which
a nation’s savoury cuisine is built is
universally known as mirepoix — the
French word for a diced mixture of
vegetables, which is sautéed to add
a full depth of flavour to a dish. In a
classic mirepoix these rough cuts come
from diced celery, carrots and onions,
which when combined with heat and a
generous slug of verdantly green olive
oil are the very foundations of flavour
for a rich heritage of dishes across so
many nations.
Mirepoix has no specific meaning.
Disappointingly it’s not the romantic
French for finely chopped treasures or
foundations of food but instead was
named after the Duc de Mirepoix, by
his chef (who remains nameless) in the
1700s. Although this foundation stone
of flavoursome depth was certain to
have been used years before, it was
only around this time that it was given
a name. The ratio for a true mirepoix
is 2:1:1 of onion, celery and carrots.
These vegetable foundations are often
referred to as humble beginnings.
In Germany suppengrün uses
carrot, celeriac and leek while the
Italian soffrito starts exactly the
same as its French relative, not to be
confused with the Spanish sofrito, a
heady dice of garlic, onion and tomato.
Similarly, most other cuisines
feature their own local trinity, which
follow the same ratios and add an
unmistakable local flavour to the rich
cuisine, as you will find all across the
Banyan Tree network.
PHOTOS: CORBIS; GETTY IMAGES (OPPOSITE)
Olfactory memories are the most powerful of all, a sensory
bibliography of life’s most unforgettable events — and
reminiscences of foreign explorations are no different. The
lasting memory of any holiday long after the suntan has
faded and the pictures have been downloaded is one of smell.
Close your eyes and remember the last time you stepped
foot in Thailand and the evocative aromas of basil and lime
will come to mind. Think of China and the sticky sweetness
of a steaming wok fills the air, edged by an insolent spiciness
of white pepper that assails the senses as keenly in your
memory as if you were still there.
R I G H T: Get the basics
right and some of the simplest
food is the most delicious.
Aromatic clouds rise from a
bamboo steamer as a street
vendor carefully tends a
batch of fragrant dumplings
01/06
2016
China The perennial appeal of
Chinese food is that often the simplest
dishes are the most delicious. A
seemingly thin-looking broth bobbing
with dumplings may look like an
unappetizing prospect, but take one
spoonful and you will be transported
to a happy place by its depth of flavour.
The delicate seasoning of white pepper
and spring onions cuts through
the fatty richness of the perfectly
flavoured pork dumplings wrapped in a
comforting wonton blanket.
What makes this simple dish so
amazing is its own foundation: the
Chinese must-have ingredients of
spring onions, garlic and ginger. Gently
fry this flavoursome trio in a little oil
and add it to just about anything for
a quick and tasty meal. Even a simple
THE SPICE ROUTE
The mouthwatering
cuisine of the Middle
East is as vibrant and
colourful as its vivid
panorama. Emirati food is
considered to be a heady
and aromatic blend of
Middle Eastern and Asian
flavours, characterised
by several base notes
of sultry toned spices.
The aniseed tang of
cardamom, the priceless
hue of saffron, sandy
turmeric and herbal
thyme are usually the four
components that provide
the foundation of flavour
to many E Z\