When it comes to food, oftentimes you will hear the common refrain of “letting the ingredients shine” and “highlighting the quality of the food” - sure, these can sound like tired cliches, or to the truly cynical, things to say when you think the chef is just being lazy by not spending 24 hours and a portion of their sanity creating a dish, but they're so often said for a reason.

(A quick aside below - skip ahead if you’re just want the technique and recipe, kthxbye)

Being a third-culture cook who appreciates both preparing as well as enjoying food from a distinctly Western and East Asian perspective, I oftentimes see the more derogatory view of "letting the ingredients shine" coming from those who believe the pinnacle of cuisine is classical French cooking. While I have nothing against classic French cuisine, I actually quite love it, but when fine dining is built upon labor intensive techniques and mother sauces that can take hours to prepare, you can understand why I appreciate simple dishes that require fewer ingredients while still delivering peak flavor and nuance.

One of my favorite dishes to prepare is an homage to my Chinese heritage - both Shanghai and Hong Kong - but also my upbringing and training (or lack thereof) in Western culinary tradition. This dish - Cantonese Style Chilean Sea Bass - is made with my own tweaks and changes based on this blended culinary upbringing. Classically this dish is a whole steamed fish delicately flavored with soy, ginger, green onion, and cilantro and finished with hot oil. It’s a simple yet luxurious and delicious dish, yet it only has 5 ingredients - sometimes, less is truly more.

Let’s dive in.

You’ve probably heard about the concept of a dark horse - the come from behind winner, seemingly never favored or in consideration to win, only to come rushing up at the end and capturing the gold?

Food can sometimes be like that - oftentimes because of social media hyping up some long existing dish out of obscurity to being an instagram or tiktok darling. Well, I’m going to call out a potential darkhorse dish which I hope will get it’s time on the podium soon - Mala Dry Pot.

Now, you may be thinking “What the heck is that, Phil?” - and I wouldn’t judge you. That’s because it seems to be a relatively niche dish at least here along the East Coast of the USA. I’ve only found it in 2 restaurants I’ve been to to date, and if you know how much I enjoy going to restaurants big and small, you know this dish must be a relatively rare thing. But I’ll let you in on a hint of what it is - you’ve probably heard of Sichuan Hot Pot, right? Those bubbling cauldrons of spicy, red-tinged and oil slicked broth where people are dunking in thin slices of meat, seafood, and vegetables and dipping them in all types of sauces? Well Mala Dry Pot is Hot Pot’s more assertive, bolder cousin - you know, the one that has a motorbike, enjoys wearing a leather jacket with a sherpa collar, and will go up to anyone at a bar and chat them up? That guy.

Anywho - Mala Dry Pot is a truly superior dish not only because it’s arguably event tastier than the more known Mala Hot Pot, but also because it’s easier to make and requires much less clean up and prep. If you’re a fan of spicy, savory food that will make you come back craving more, this one’s for you.

Let’s dive in.

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