Plant-based meals are all the rage yet some of the best examples of meat- and dairy-free dishes are not where we expect to find them
It would be ironic to think that the success of a vegan dish is measured by how well it goes down with a non-vegetarian, but I find it equally odd that none of my favourite plant powered gastro-indulgences were had at a meat-free establishment.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my vegetables, possibly as much as my animal proteins. But short of waxing lyrical about the existential pleasures of deftly roasted Hokkaido pumpkin that'll elevate any salad or poke bowl, or for that matter, my aunt’s amazing brinjal curry, I like to think that we often forget how much our favourite dishes—vegan or otherwise—depend on the inspiringly wide range of vegetables, herbs, spices and legumes for flavour and flavour enhancements. When was the last time you wondered about the variety of soya sauce or vinegar used in a dish you liked? Or, perhaps, pondered the brilliance of lightly pickling farmed tomatoes in a simple mixture of sugar, elderflower vinegar and vanilla (pods) with a little water?
The latter helped turn what would be simple vine tomatoes into umami bombs, each boasting an elevated showcase of the fruit’s natural balance of the sweet and sour, fruity and earthy. These, as it turns out, are also a key ingredient in Julien Royer’s latest addition to Odette’s menu. Aptly dubbed Promenade à Singapour (pictured above), which translates to describe a tour of Singapore, though more precisely, its myriad local farms.
The inspiration for the deeply savoury dressing is immediately obvious, which leaves one to wonder how the team had managed to pull off what tasted like a lighter, brighter rendition of rojak sauce without the use of the quintessential shrimp paste. The trick: the addition of shio kombu—boiled in soya sauce and mirin then dried and cut into pieces before it’s blended and added to the dressing.
