Dry + Wet + Heat + Flavours + …

Background: Over the last couple of decades I have been toying with the idea for a book on how cooking mirrors the migration story. The origins of this idea was based on my lived experiences in various Indian cities — migrants/diaspora had to modify their food to not only fit a constrained optimisation algorithm on ingredients, but also, especially in the case of satisfying external interests, on local tastes. My notes on this thread have been growing over time, and hopefully, this experiment in collating some of the more random pieces into a series will help me build/structure the analytical framework that I have in my head.

…

Across all cuisines, there are broadly two types of dishes: (a) dry, with central ingredient cooked in a way that flavours are imparted to it directly, along with a sauce that accentuates those flavours and does not drown them out; (b) wet, where central ingredient is cooked in a gravy that imparts flavour to it. Alongside these, there are accompaniments, like starch, that can either act as a medium to dilute the flavours of the dishes for consumption, or as an additional textural element that contrasts or adds to the dish itself.

…

Each of these types can be achieved using different approaches, mostly connected to the way heat is applied to the ingredients. In general, like other forms of energy, heat can be transferred either directly or indirectly, through a medium.

For example, in dry type, heat could be applied from all sides — as in roasting, say potatoes, in an oven. Here too the application of heat can be multi-layered: direct heat transfer from the surface of the cooking vessel; circulated heat transfer from the air heated by the elements; or direct application of heat via radiation from the elements. The process of roasting could also be refined so as to only use a subset of the application of heat types: for example, pan roasting, where heat is only applied by direct transfer from the surface of the cooking vessel.

In wet type dishes, application of heat to the central ingredient is often through a medium that also cooks with the central ingredient, taking flavours from and imparting flavours to the central ingredient. For example, consider a braised cut of beef — first a flavour base is created, then the central ingredient is placed in this base and cooked such that the heat transfer from the elements to the central ingredient happens through the flavour base. The end result will be said cut of meat, carrying the flavours of the base it was cooked in, and the base carrying the flavours of the meat.

It’s also important to note that application of heat can be varied and mixed, depending on the complexity of the dish. For example, recipes of the classical French style braised meat dishes ask for meat to be seared (direct heat application) before adding to the liquid flavour base (indirect heat application). In South and Southeast Asian fish curries, similar logic is employed — sear fish, seal in flavour, then add to liquid flavour base for final cooking. In some dry type dishes, multiple types of heat application can also be used — for example, in a classical roasted pork belly, first a long slow and low cook to render fat and break down connective tissue, followed by a fast and high direct heat process to crunch up the skin.

…

Then there are the generalisations of flavour types — basically the question of what goes with pork or fish or lamb or spinach or paneer or potatoes?

For this, everyone’s taste varies, but over the centuries, better minds than mine have thought of a few broad flavour profiles that go well with certain ingredients.

One structure to remember is the five (or six in some geographies) elements that need to be considered: salty, sweet, sour, heat, umami (and bitterness). Every good dish should have all these five (or six) elements, with certain elements being more upfront than others. The role of accompaniments also comes to fore here: if the main dish has, say, four of these elements, one should try and bring the fifth through the accompaniment. For example, consider the role of the egg fried rice in Chinese cuisine, and how when accompanied by a sweet and sour forward stir fry, it brings the salty and umami elements into the mix.

It’s also important to remember the role of texture and mouth feel. Best example French Fries: crispy on the outside, and soft in the centre. Combined with the flavour profile — i.e., salty, a.f. — it not only provides a texture contrast to a generally soft burger, but also helps cut the richness of the meat and cheese.

…

Listed below are a few of my own iterative learnings on some ingredients and flavour profiles:

Fish (and most other seafood) works better with sour-heat-umami forward combinations.
Some deep sea fish (e.g., tuna) bucks the trend and because of their richness operate like red meat (see below).
Pork works better with sweet-sour forward combinations. Essentially to cut through the fat.
Beef, lamb, and mutton (broadly red meat) work better with salty-heat-umami forward combinations.
Chicken works with salt-heat or sweet-sour-heat forward combinations. Like pork, sweet-sour forward combinations work better with fatty chicken meat, like thighs and drumsticks.
Nightshade vegetables (e.g., brinjals, potatoes, tomatoes) work better salty-sweet-heat-umami combinations, and usually with each other (e.g., brinjals/potatoes cook well with tomatoes, potatoes and chilis also go well)
Leafy vegetables work well with umami (and bitter) forward combinations
Other root vegetables work well with salty-sweet-umami forward combinations
Other cruciferous vegetables work well with salty-umami forward combinations.
Cheeses (e.g., paneer, halloumi) operate like red meats and the salty-heat-umami forward combinations, but when balanced with accompaniments, can also work with the sweet-sour-heat forward combinations.