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America Adopts the Asian Pantry

Once a week growing up, cartons of Lo Mein, Beef with Broccoli and Chow Mein were strewn across our kitchen table on Chinese take-out night. The food always took a back seat to what lay at the bottom of the bags: endless packets of soy sauce. These packets made dinner flavors pop—and the pleasing memory of the bold, strong, exotic salty-bitter flavors they imparted lingered well into dessert.

Unfortunately, that was the only day of the week soy sauce received any attention. It was a condiment sadly overlooked.

Twenty years later, the bold flavors of soy sauce and other authentic Asian condiments that evoke salty, spicy, fishy and citrus flavors, are invading the American pantry. Authentic Asian flavors and condiments are quickly gaining respect and becoming staples in American households, changing the way we eat and cook.

Putting Asia on the Culinary Map
Asian cuisine encompasses Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Filipino, Indian and other Pacific Rim cultures. According to a report by Mintel International, it has become the most popular emerging ethnic food and will continue to see positive growth through 2006.

“The specialty consumer is looking for authenticity when it comes to Asian cuisine or condiments. They are miles away from the faux American-Asian products of the 1960s; mass America, on the other hand, is only a few steps behind, says Sasha Hare, vice president of marketing and new product development, PeaceWorks, LLC, New York City.

Immigration, a boost in foreign travel and media attention have pushed Asian cuisine to the forefront of American dining and home cooking. The influx of Asian immigrant populations bringing myriad flavor profiles and cooking techniques has caused areas across the U.S. once void of Asian cultural dining to become havens for traditional cuisine. For instance, Minneapolis-St. Paul now has a strong Vietnamese population. Immigrants are opening restaurants to feed their own and have also forced both foodservice and retail channels to carry more diverse offerings.

Another example is Charlottesville, Va’s Foods of All Nations, which will increase its 30 feet of Asian products by another four feet, adding Korean and Chinese items. The student body of the University of Virginia makes up 17 percent of Charlottesville’s population and has encouraged the expansion.

“Asian condiments and products have been growing over the past few years, says Joe Slavic, specialty food buyer. “We have Asians and Asian-Americans from the university who purchase products for traditional Asian dishes and non-Asians who buy products to incorporate Asian flavors into their own meals, he says. Soy sauces, wasabi pastes and powders are the store’s quickest movers.

Suddenly Soy
Americans’ familiarity with soy sauce began with the sushi phenomenon in North America. Noted New York City chef and best-selling author Anthony Bourdain said in a recent presentation at the All Asia Food Show, “The moment that Americans decided that sushi was desirable it raised the bar for new, better-quality Asian food.

Shoyu, the Japanese name for soy sauce, is the most common condiment found throughout China, Japan and much of Southeast Asia. With nearly 20 identified flavor components, it is best described as having a deep, full-bodied taste that harmonizes and enhances foods. Made of soybeans, roasted wheat, sea salt and a mold spore called koji, soy sauce has been an all-purpose condiment since the 1600s.

The flavor of soy harmonizes and enhances foods, so it can easily be used to replace salt in soups, stews, dips and salad dressings. San Francisco, Calif.-based soy sauce giant Kikkoman International Inc., suggests using regular soy as a tabletop seasoning. Soy labeled light is often more salty and better suited for cooking.

Less recognized, but gaining popularity, is Shiro or white soy. Made by using a higher wheat to soybean ratio, white soy has a distinctive lighter color and a smoky, sweeter taste than its darker counterpart. Retailers can suggest white soy to customers looking to enhance fish dishes, lighter soups or salad dressings. It stands out in dishes where flavor, not color, is key.

A World of Flavors
Flavors other than soy are starting to pique customer interest. “Customers are experimenting with ingredients that are of Asian origin, such as chili pastes and sauces, rice vinegars and fish sauce, notes Steve LeFevre, gourmet buyer, A.J.’s Fine Foods, Phoenix, Ariz., a chain of eight specialty supermarkets. The stores devote eight to 12 feet to Asian sections and frequently receive requests for alternative vinegars and fish sauces.

Fish sauce, called nam pla in Thai, is the main flavor ingredient in Thai cuisine. Extracted from salted fish (usually anchovies), it has a distinct, pungent flavor that mellows with cooking. Although the Thai variety receives the most attention, other Southeast Asian fish sauces are available from Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam, where it is sweeter.

“Without the flavor of fish sauce, Thai dishes won’t taste Thai, says Ernest Wong, Sr., product development manager, Thai Kitchen, Union City, Calif. “Fish sauce is good on any dish to give it a savory and salty taste.

Rice vinegars and sesame oils are also up-and-coming condiments. “Our customers are open to replacing balsamic in a salad dressing with rice vinegar, says A.J.’s LeFevre. At Marukan Vinegar, the number-one rice vinegar application is for salad dressings. “Consumers buy our products for an easy way to create Asian flavors in a variety of foods, notes Helena Chen, sales manager of the Cerritos, Calif., company. Sesame oil, a staple in Chinese and Korean cooking, is also dressing up salad greens. Woodland, Calif., artisan oil producer La Tourangelle, which recently added sesame oil to its line, suggests mixing it with fresh ginger, mustard and rice vinegar to give salad greens an Asian flair.

Spicing it Up
Knowing that heat takes on many forms in Asian cuisine—from strong Thai chili sauces and flavorful chili pastes to delicate, spicy ginger and the kick of wasabi—will give your customers many flavor options.

Chili sauce, touted as the new ketchup, is popular by itself or infused with garlic. Even more versatile are chili pastes, such as Huy Fong Foods Sambal Oelek which can be used at the table as a condiment or in cooking. “Chili paste doesn’t just add heat; it adds flavor dimensions, says Tyrone Chinn, grocery manager, Village Market. The Oakland, Calif., retailer notes that Asian condiments are selling better than ever, with the most significant jump in mirin, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and chili pastes.

The Real Deal
As Asian flavors become accepted by the masses, some manufacturers feel there is an urgent need to introduce authentic products.

Real Wasabi, Hilton Head Island, S.C., is doing just that. “Most people do not know that 95 percent of the wasabi sold in the U.S. is imitation and can be a mixture of horseradish, mustard, corn starch and food coloring, says Doug Lambrecht, founding partner/CEO, Real Wasabi. Grown in the mountains of both North Carolina and Asia, the subtle and smooth heat from the company’s authentic wasabi Japonica can be used to flavor dressings or marinades, mixed with jams and cream cheese for sweet and spicy appetizers or to kick up a Bloody Mary.

“Consumers want the real deal, says Rebecca Schmidt, director of communications, PeaceWorks, LLC. A combination of Indian, Chinese and Thai flavors, the company’s authentic Indonesian Bali Spice line is made by a woman-owned factory in Indonesia. Its garlic chili sauce is the best seller in the line and offers sweet-hot tastes that spice up tofu dishes or add flavor to soups and stews.

Out of the Bottle
Many supermarkets that carry specialty grocery are slowly converting from traditional die-hard Asian items to quick-and-easy noodle bowls, as a way to introduce customers to new Asian flavors. Specialty retailers, on the other hand, are beefing up Asian sets and focusing on how customers can incorporate Asian flavors into meals they make themselves.

Rick Vach, owner of Avalon Market, Ocean City, Md., likes to focus on the fresh and encourages shoppers to create their own dishes with Asian flavors. Asian is also popular at Avalon’s prepared food counter. “Even though we are not in a metropolitan area, Asian cuisine is prevalent in our prepared foods section, notes Vach. The chefs at Avalon offer specials such as Pad Thai, Seared Ahi Tuna, Peking Duck Rolls with Hoisin Sauce and Asian Sesame Noodle Salad.

Strong Asian flavors can easily be spotted muscling their way onto grocery shelves in the likes of portable meals, noodle kits and soups. For instance, Liberty Richter recently added microwave meals to its Ka-Me line—merchandised, cooked and served in boxes that resemble Chinese take-out containers.

Annie Chun’s, Inc. recently extended its NoodleExpress Line to include Thai Peanut and Singapore Curry. In a bolder move, the company added Korean Kimchi soup to its soup line. “Korean is a strong, up-and-coming Asian flavor, says Annie Chun, founder of the San Rafael, Calif., company. “The world is getting closer and Asian food is becoming part of American culture—our audience is definitely ready for something different. Chun also added a Thai Tum Yum soup and plans to expand with more Korean, Thai and Indian flavors in the future.

Making a Connection
When selling Asian prepared foods in a store or restaurant, staff must understand the product. In his New York City restaurant Devi, Co-Executive Chef Suvir Saran gives servers cheat sheets that include an in-depth history of each dish and glossary of ingredients. “If a diner wants to know more about a specific ingredient, the information is readily available, notes Suvir.

Hiroko Shimbo, restaurant consultant and author of The Japanese Kitchen, stresses the importance of staff education. She says, “Customers can quickly get lost in an Asian section with so many varieties of unfamiliar sauces and seasonings staring them in the face. I urge retailers to do in-store demos and tastings using specific products. Shimbo also suggests retailers offer hands-on cooking classes.

Customers are expanding their Asian food knowledge online. For example, ethnicgrocer.com has recently added a cooking school to its site. Aside from carrying more than 1,000 items from China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Korea, India and Vietnam, ethnicgrocer.com gives customers the opportunity to learn about a specific region and introduces them to new Asian products through a three-course recipe.

“The whole Asian market is growing and customers are expressing a need to learn more about what they are preparing, says Gaurav Jain, vice president, ethnicgrocer.com. “Our cooking school walks people through products that will help them complete a recipe. Education about product usage is key to sales.

Nicole Potenza Denis is senior editor of Specialty Food Magazine.