Hakkasan: Indian chillies in a Cantonese preserve

After setting up Hakkasan in Miami and Abu Dhabi, chef Kent Lee was delighted to come across the local chillies in Mumbai. “One of the first things I did when I arrived was to make a large quantity of preserved chillies. It has a delicious flavour and lends a superb zest to my food,” he said. The chillies are preserved by either slicing or mincing. “We usually add garlic while mincing, which is then mixed with fresh sea salt or vinegar and then put into air tight jars for anywhere between 4-6 months.” Like the chillies, each ingredient procured from different suppliers is tried and tested by the team at this Michelin star restaurant before finalising it.

Lee wants the food at Hakkasan to maintain its ties to traditional Cantonese cuisine. “The most important ingredient is stock. Vegetarian stock for vegetarian meals, chicken and seafood stocks for the rest. Critical ingredients that bring out the flavours are dried Chinese herbs and Chinese seasonings,” explains Lee.

Some of the herbs that he uses for seasoning are preserved. These include Chinese olives, salted soya beans, black beans, ginger, garlic, shallots, yellow chives and garlic chives. Other herbs used at Hakkasan include angelica root, liquorice root and jade root.” A Cantonese chef would consider it a culinary sin to produce a dish that is overcooked or too heavily seasoned,” says Lee who is against the use of heavy sauces or excessive amount of chillies.

While Hakkasan sticks to Chinese traditions of cooking, the experience is quintessentially 21st century, mainly because of the presentation and innovative combination of ingredients, says Lee, pointing out to dishes like the Roast Mango Duck and the Peking Duck with Ossetra Caviar.

Lee also wants to break “the myth that Chinese food is saucy, oily and filled with MSG.” Hakkasan also uses local vegetables and seafood, according to their season and availability. However, some items like the lotus roots have to be imported because they cannot be procured locally. The chef admits that sourcing ingredients was one of the biggest challenges in setting up the restaurant.

“I loved the texture of the local lady’s finger, so I used it as a garnish on the red snapper as well as in some other dishes. It lends a delicious texture and beautiful colour to the dish,” he says.

Though he has incorporated local ingredients in the menu, there have been no substitutions. “We have chosen to remove a dish if local ingredients were not good enough and importing the ingredient was not possible.”

While the menu, according the chef is a reflection of the Hakkasan London menu, the vegetarian selection on the menu is definitely wider. The popular vegetarian offerings at the restaurant include Stir-fried Lotus Root, Asparagus and Yam Bean and Tofu and Aubergine Clay-Pot and the Edamame Dumplings.

According to Lee, the best dish that best represents Mumbai is the Kung Pao chicken. “It seems to be on every Chinese menu I have seen in the city although our style of making it is completely different.” The Kung Pao chicken at Hakkasan, which contains the common ingredients that define the dish — cashew and chilli, is unique because of the vinegars and soy that the chef uses. “It contains two types of vinegar that are brought in especially for Hakkasan,” says the chef. He also uses two distinct types of soy instead of regular soy, both of which are a secret.