Asian Appetizers

These Tasty Tidbits Turn Top Profits

By Brenda Owen

If the only Asian appetizer on your menu is fried egg rolls with a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce –– as sweet for sales as they are –– you’re missing out on a growing trend that is turning pre-meal tidbits into top profits for bars and restaurant/lounges across the country.


Have a Light Touch


At The Flagstaff House Restaurant in Boulder, Colo., Executive Chef and Partner Mark Monette’s unique style of cooking incorporates French American cuisine with Asian accents, and he especially is known for his spicy, Asian-inspired appetizers. Using training and experience he received in New York, France, Thailand and Singapore, he was one of the first chefs in Colorado to introduce the Far East to the American West.
“I lived in New York in the early 1980s and we would go to sushi bars all the time, so I was really fascinated with Japanese –– the way they utilized everything, the flavors they put together and the cleanliness and organization.”


Monette says the secret to cooking with Asian spices is a light touch. “We do a tuna dish with red pepper broth infused with lime leaf, lemon grass and Thai pepper –– but not a lot because I don’t want it to taste like Thai food,” he says. “I want it to just have subtle influences of that ingredient, so people will say, ‘Wow, what is that flavor?’”


The top-selling Asian appetizer at Flagstaff House is a lobster soup ($14). “At the bottom of the bowl, we put in sticky rice with Shitake mushrooms and lobster meat and then the lobster broth,” Monette says. “We add cream but no thickening of any kind, and we also add lemon grass, lime leaf, Thai peppers and coconut milk. It’s a very light broth, and we pour it at the table.”


A salad made with five varieties of mushrooms and topped with sesame vinaigrette and goat cheese ($16) is the second best-selling Asian appetizer with the third most popular being Hamachi ($14), a type of fish that is sliced very thin and served raw over lettuce and other greens and topped with a wasabi dressing.


“People like spice,” Monette says, “and so if you integrate new spices into your dishes, they are very compelling.”


Going Asian in the Big Apple


At Annisa in New York City, Chef Anita Lo serves a variety of unique Asian appetizers that represent about 15 percent of the restaurant’s total sales. Starring on the pre-meal menu is the Seared Foie Gras with Soup Dumplings and Jicama (Shanghai-style dumplings stuffed with jicama, cinnamon/star anise broth and foie gras mousse, topped with seared foie gras and served on a reduction of Chinese Black Vinegar) $17, White Tuna Tartare with Korean Chili, Black Sesame and Asian Pear (a Korean inspired dish of raw, chopped Escolar seasoned with ponzu and mixed with shiso, scallion and Asian pear. Topped with cucumber ice and black sesame paste, the dish is garnished with a gochu jang sauce and a kimchee chip and sells for $16. Also, popular is a salad made with lobster, avocado and konnyaku, topped with lemon verbena sauce, garnished with lobster tomalley and scallion oil ($17).


“Globalization has made all things Asian more familiar to Americans,” Lo says. In addition, Americans have come to view Asian cuisine as healthy. As for other trends, Lo says, “Shanghai cuisine is very trendy at present in Chinatown. All things Japanese, specifically robata grills, are in. Dumplings are in.”


Bringing Bar Food to a New Level


In addition to an extensive menu of appetizers for sit-down diners at The Biltmore Room in New York City, Chef Gary Robins has created a roster of Asian-influenced bar food items that keep customers munching contentedly as they wait for tables or just pop in for a quick snack and a drink.


Priced at $10, Steamed Shrimp Shui Mai consists of five shrimp dumpling wrapped in shui mai wrappers and steamed. The dumplings are served with black vinegar dipping sauce seasoned with sambal ooleek and sesame oil. Seafood-loving patrons also can dive into the bar’s Crisp Crab Spring Rolls ($11), a luxurious spring roll prepared with jumbo lump crabmeat, wok-seared cabbage, ginger, garlic, cilantro and glass noodles. The spring rolls are fried until crisp and golden brown and served with pineapple/tamarind dipping sauce.

Another customer favorite is Robins’ Duck Samosas, a spicy ragout of duck confit cooked in yogurt, chilies and tomatoes with crispy potatoes, mint and cilantro. The mix is wrapped in samosa dough and fried until light and crisp. The samosas are served with apricot dipping sauce and mint chutney.


Such bold and vibrant flavors are a huge part of the allure of Asian cuisines, Robins says. “Chilies, spices and herbs explode on the palate throughout, bringing rhythm to the meal,” he says. “Additionally, Asian appetizers are generally great for interactive dining and light meals. It’s fantastic to be able to sit with a group of friends, order four or five different types of dim sum and share among each other. It’s both more intimate and more fun. Asian appetizers are frequently a healthier alternative to traditional American fare. Consider sushi and sashimi, satays and tatatkis. All are protein driven with a minimum of fat, and carbs –– depending on how much rice you eat.”


With appetizers accounting for 40 percent of food sales volume, 28 percent of food sales revenue and 19 percent of total revenue, Robins puts a great deal of effort into promoting the profitable tidbits.


“The guests in the dining room are assisted with the menu by our servers and hosts. Generally we sell an appetizer to every customer, sometimes more. In the lounge and at the bar, we have menu books placed on the table for guests to look at,” he says.


And Robins sees Asian appetizers as only becoming more popular in the future. “Interpretative sushi and sashimi appetizers are going be ever increasing in popularity and accessibility, especially as more quick casual chains start to cater to the growing demand,” he says. NCB