FOREWORD
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Words from Carryl Potter Mentor & Counsellor
I first met Peggy Chan when she was a Grade 10 student at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong. In addition to being her counsellor, I also taught Peggy one class in Career Planning. She struck me then as being shy, somewhat introverted and very quiet. Over the years, Peggy and I managed to stay in touch, albeit sporadically. When I was back in Hong Kong for a wedding in 2015, we reconnected over a very nice meal at her new restaurant - Grassroots Pantry. I was stunned by the change in Peggy. This quiet, shy woman had become more than a force. Grassroots Pantry became a base for Peggy and her team to explore and initiate new ideas and processes that have made vegetarianism a word not to be dismissed. Marshall McLuhan once said that, “There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.” This book identifies correctly that we humans are about to contaminate the nest that we have built. The affluence in our human world is being carried out on the backs of almost every other species on the planet. When the crash comes - and if we continue with our current practices, it will come - the surviving world will be very different from the one we now enjoy. This destruction is being exacerbated by a food industry that prides itself on the efficiencies provided by mechanical, technological and chemical innovations. However, these “efficiencies’’ are being actualised by ignoring their effects on spaceship earth. Provenance is not just a cookbook - it is a manifesto. It calls upon the food industry to engage in the process of reducing its complicity in our climate change crisis. In Provenance, Peggy suggests that not only can the restaurant industry be a part of the process, it can also be a leader. To have an effect on this planet, there needs to be a buy-in by many actors such as the affluent, agribusiness, consumers and perhaps most importantly, by the younger members of spaceship earth’s crew. Use this book’s recipes to enjoy their superb nutrition, tastes and flavours; embrace its manifesto for our very own survival.
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THE SACRED PANTRY
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WHERE NUTRITION BEGINS
The pantry is the foundation to not only good cooking, but healthier diets. Whatever you buy from the supermarket is what you will place in your cabinet, and whatever you place in your cabinet is what you will reach for, whether it’s a snack or a condiment like ketchup. And because so much of what we buy is conveniently doused with addictive fats, sodium and refined sugars, being cautious about something as simple as which soy sauce to purchase helps us prevent these nasty ingredients from entering our safe zone The Sacred Pantry. In this chapter, I will walk you through how you can put together condiments from scratch - void of additives, chemical preservatives, artificial food colourings, and E number chemicals. Vitamins, minerals, and nutrients get stripped away in white or refined pantry staples. By consuming less processed and refined foods, limiting intake of salts, sugars, and saturated fats, you can minimise the risk of non-communicable diseases.
BUILDING YOUR PANTRY Switching to clean pantry staples is a foundational step towards a healthier and more nutritious meal. Here are some essential ingredients you should start with when building your pantry whether at home or in a professional kitchen.
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NORI NIBOSHI CRACKERS Prep Time: 8 hours for soaking + 20 minutes to blend Dehydrating Time: 24- 30 hours Yields: 1 dehydrator sheet
Soak raw cashews with room temperature filtered water for at least 8 hours. Drain cashews and rinse through with filtered water once more. Blend soaked cashews, vegetarian oyster sauce, coconut nectar, sesame oil and mushroom extract in a high speed blender until the mixture is smooth. On a dehydrator lined with teflex sheet, place two sheets of nori next to each other and brush lightly with vegetarian oyster sauce. Spread cashew mixture evenly over the nori sheets. Then press the remaining two sheets of nori over the top. Brush lightly again with vegetarian oyster sauce. Dehydrate at 51°C for 2 hours, then turn the temperature down to 46°C and dehydrate for another 6 hours until the surface is somewhat dry but still pliable. Flip the drier side of the nori niboshi sheet over to rest onto the mesh sheet, then peel off the teflex sheet that is stuck on the wetter side. Continue to dehydrate for approximately 12-16 hours or until the crackers are crispy. Once fully dried, take the crackers out of the dehydrator and allow them to cool for about 1520 minutes. They will crisp up further once the remaining heat within the crackers is released.
360g Raw Cashews 50g Vegetarian Oyster Sauce 40g Coconut Nectar 30g Sesame Oil 6g Mushroom Seasoning 100-150ml Filtered Water 8 pcs Nori
Store in air tight containers at room temperature if consumed within 5 days, or they can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 months. 72
For Pumpkin Curry: Peel and dice pumpkin into medium-sized cubes. Reserve on the side. In a deep skillet or a separate medium-sized pot, heat up sunflower seed oil on medium heat. First bloom cumin and coriander seeds. Then, bloom cumin and coriander powder until fragrant for approximately 45 seconds. Add minced ginger and diced pumpkin. Stir to combine and cook on medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes. Top up pumpkin base with water, close the lid, bring to a boil and then let it simmer for about 35-45 minutes or until pumpkin has fully broken down into soft chunks. Using a wooden spatula, stir occassionally to break the pumpkin down even more. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in finely chopped cilantro. For Brown Rice Pilaf: Wash and rinse brown rice thoroughly under running water then drain. Place rice granules with all other ingredients into a rice cooker or a medium-sized stock pot. Close the lid and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and allow rice to simmer for approximately 35-45 minutes, checking and stirring occassionally towards the final 10 minutes to ensure the rice does not overcook. Garnish rice with more toasted nuts. Serve piping hot! 125
PALAK PANEER Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 60-90 minutes Serves: 4
Complex, moreish and wholesome. Switch it up and serve this dish with some steamed quinoa!
Tofu Paneer Tofu Turmeric Powder Sea Salt
100g 1/6 tsp 1/4 tsp
Spinach Curry Base Spinach Sunflower Seed Oil Cumin Seed Cumin Powder Coriander Powder Ginger, minced Garlic, minced (optional) Kasoori Methi, toasted Tomato, diced Green Chili Oat Milk Salt Black Pepper Vegan Butter Mushroom Seasoning Cilantro, chopped Ginger, julienne
1800g 30ml 2 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 15g 10g 2 Tbsp 280g 3-5 pcs 350-500ml 1-2 tsp 1/2 -1 tsp 30g 10g 5g 2g 126
For Rice Roll Filling: Soak cloud ear mushroom for approximately 30 minutes. Rinse through with filtered water to ensure sediments are removed. Squeeze dry. Julienne then dice them finely and reserve on the side. In a food processor, pulse shiitake into fine granules and reserve on the side. Repeat with jicama and Chinese celery. Add oil to a non-stick pan. Toss in crumbled tofu then season with salt and pepper. Leave to sauté on medium-high heat until they are golden brown on all edges. The longer you cook the tofu, the drier and crispier! Add the rest of the ingredients into the pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium heat and allow the sauces to be absorbed by the vegetables. Reserve on the side. For Rice Roll Batter: In a mixing bowl, whisk all ingredients together. Make sure they are fully incorporated. Lightly oil a non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour a ladle of thin batter onto the pan and swirl the pan to allow for an even rice roll. The rice roll will steam as long as the heat is controlled to 143
below medium. It will only take approximately 1.5-2 minutes to cook each rice sheet through. Remove the pan away from the heat, let it cool for approximately 20 seconds, then tilt the pan upside down to tap the rice sheet onto an oiled tray or a cutting board. Scoop two tablepoons of rice roll filling onto the middle of the rice sheets. Fold each rice sheet from bottom up to cover the filling, then fold the sides into the middle. Finally, gently roll the rice sheet with filling from bottom up to close off the rice packet. Serve with chopped cilantro, vegan nuoc cham (pg.50), and fried shallots (optional). Note: In between batches of rice sheets being cooked, make sure that the batter is evenly whisked together from time to time. Otherwise, the flour will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the rice sheets will fail to form properly.
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Carbon has been labeled as the enemy and given a bad rep due to its role in climate change (namely excess carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere). However, the much overlooked fact is that carbon is also the backbone of life on Earth. It is in everything and life without it would not be possible. Every organic life form, including the cells in our body rely on it. Carbon has the unique ability to form several types of bonds with a wide variety of elements and it happens to be a very stable element too. No other element is capable of forming such large and complex molecules. To give you an idea, without carbon, DNA and protein structures would not be able to form and fats and sugars would not exist.
WHY
TALK
CARBON?
Carbon is also present in Earth’s natural cycle. It flows between the atmosphere, oceans, trees and the soil. The balance of carbon in these global reservoirs is vital for life. Organisms can use organic, carbon-containing molecules for energy production. For example, organisms like plants, rely on photosynthesis to grow. That means they require carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to survive and thrive. But due to our reliance on burning fossil fuels for energy, we release carbon in the air 100 times faster than natural processes can return it back to Earth. However, not all hope is lost. Carbon can in fact be seen as an opportunity. By sequestering carbon in the soil, we are actually feeding a healthy microbial life underground and in turn, we can mitigate the harmful impact carbon has when it is released into our atmosphere. This practice is also known as “carbon farming” or “regenerative farming” and it provides humanity a chance to rehabilitate our farming systems by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity. A few examples of its conservation methods are compost application, cover cropping, and ethically managed animal grazing. Regenerative agriculture is an approach that is gaining worldwide attention due to its potential role in reversing climate change - a topic that the recent Netflix documentary “Kiss The Ground” explored. As a result, every farm that practices “carbon/regenerative farming” is not only producing better food but is now an active player in drawing down carbon and reducing greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. 175
COCONUT SQUID
Carbon Emission Per Recipe Squid / 1659 gCO2eq Coconut Squid / 467 gCO2eq
Prep Time: 20 minutes + 8 hours to marinate Dehydrating Time: 2-4 hours Cooking Time: 20 minutes Yields: 450g Serves: 4
Drain and reserve young coconut water for personal consumption. Scoop coconut flesh out of young coconut. Section into fillet slices. Bring a small pot of water and kelp sheets to a boil. Simmer coconut meat in dashi for 10 minutes. Keep in mind here that younger coconut flesh will have a softer silkier texture, which will only require approximately 2-3 minutes of simmering time. Older coconut flesh will require a longer simmer of up to 10 minutes. Dunk into ice bath to stop its cooking immediately. Drain young coconut, pat them dry, then lay them out on dehydrator mesh sheets to dry at 46°C for 2 hours on each side. Younger and softer flesh will only require an hour on each side. Alternatively, allow to air-dry for 6-8 hours. Mix avocado oil, kombu powder, salt and pepper together. Marinate young coconut with the oil overnight or at least 8 hours. Turn on broiler function in oven/toaster oven. Place young coconut sheets on baking sheet and broil on both sides until crispy, charred and golden brown. Alternatively, you may use a blow torch, or simply pan fry coconut squid.
Green Sauce and Aji Amarillo Cashew Mayo made this outstanding on the Nectar menu.
Young Coconut Water Kelp Kombu Powder Avocado Oil Salt Pepper
500g 1L 5 x 2” sheets 1 tsp 100ml 1/2 tsp 1/4 tsp 201
Be as creative as you’d like with coconut squid!
Stir-fry with black bean sauce or deep fry in batter then serve with a cashew remoulade or chipotle mayo. The preparation here is time-consuming but it’s definitely worth the wait! 202