ONAKA: Vibrant Recipes from a Wholesome Restaurant

Copyright © 2014 by Rosalind Lim and Jason Vito

Photographs © 2014 by Kong Sien Diin

Edited by Samantha Lee

Cover design by Lydia Wong

Designed by Lydia Wong and Yong Wen Yeu

Illustrations by Tommy Lee

All rights reserved.

Published in Singapore by Epigram Books.

www.epigrambooks.sg

National Library Board, Singapore

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Lim, Rosalind, 1966- author.

Onaka : vibrant recipes from a wholesome restaurant /

Rosalind Lim & Jason Vito.

– First edition - Singapore : Epigram Books, [2014]

pages cm

ISBN: 978-981-4615-52-5 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-981-4615-53-2 (ebook)

1. Cooking (Natural foods) 2. Cookbooks.

I. Vito, Jason, 1982- author. II. Title.

TX741

641.563 -- dc23     OCN890353393

First Edition

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS ONAKA?

ROSALIND’S STORY

JASON’S STORY

KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

RECIPES

SALADS

SANDWICHES AND BURGERS

STARTERS AND SNACKS

EARLY RISERS

THE LITTLE ONES

MAINS

DESSERTS

BREADS AND PASTRIES

DRINKS

DRESSINGS AND CONDIMENTS

DIETARY GUIDES AND RESOURCES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INDEX

WHAT IS ONAKA?

ONAKA is Japanese for ‘stomach’, and the name of our restaurant. Like its dual meaning, ONAKA (an acronym for ‘Optimum Nutrition and Kitchen Arts’) is also a cooking school that aims to nurture the idea that ‘food is a better medicine’.

But medicine doesn’t need to taste bad. At ONAKA, we don’t count calories. We advocate ‘conscious cuisine’: a realistic, sensible and pragmatic approach to eating healthily. To that end, we use fresh, all natural and wholesome ingredients. Organic produce is used whenever possible. Food is served close to its original state, without added preservatives, artificial colouring, flavouring, MSG and trans-fats. We bake, steam, grill, sauté, stir-fry and steam-fry. At least 50 per cent of our menu is vegetarian, with vegan, gluten-free, heart-friendly and diabetic-friendly options.

It isn’t all just greens and tofu. We find joy in creating dishes that trump people’s expectations of what ‘healthy food’ is. We incorporate influences from all over: France, Japan, Singapore, China, Italy. We don’t shy away from ‘indulge’ ingredients and techniques. Chocolate cake is still served at ONAKA. The difference is that it’s made with the best chocolate we could find, and is gluten-free, all natural, homemade and contains reduced sugar. When we serve beef, we pick a flavourful, medium-fatty cut like the oyster blade, cook it sous vide, then lightly grill it without too much fat or butter. It’s our little way of illustrating the wisdom of eating in balance and moderation.

‘Balance and moderation’—these are as subjective concepts as they come. With the overwhelming array of nutritional information, research, trends, and diets making their way around, the right course of action is shrouded in uncertainty. Which is the healthiest food? Which diet is healthier? are questions we are often bombarded with. Should one go low fat, high protein, low glycemic index or gluten free? The simple truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all diet. Each individual’s needs are unique and depend on many factors, from external (lifestyle choices) to internal (hereditary traits).

The most important thing is to learn to be sensitive to what our bodies are telling us. Optimum nutrition starts by understanding the body and providing it with the best combination of nutrients. For example, cravings for pizza and cheesy foods indicate a deficiency in fatty acids. Combat it by eating omega-3 fatty acid-rich salmon instead. Reaching for chocolate? That means you lack dietary magnesium, which can be solved by magnesium-rich foods like nuts and leafy greens.

Understanding your culture and environment is another important factor. In the Western world, juicing is extolled as a detox and diet panacea. But Traditional Chinese Medicine advocates believe that raw food is too ‘cold’, upsetting the body’s natural yin-yang balance and ultimately weakening the digestive system. Our advice remains: listen to your body. When the weather is warm, no harm indulging in a juice or smoothie. Or pair cold juice with a warm, comforting meal like porridge or soup.

Finally, eating consciously extends to one’s attitude, too. Some rules are universal but are all too often forgotten in our work-laden, harried day-to-day lives: eat only when hungry, stop eating before you’re full, chew your food, don’t skip meals, and be present at each meal to fully appreciate the experience.

In this book, we hope to impart some tips on eating consciously: how to stock up your pantry, the best tools to use, choosing food that’s easy on the conscience and diets suitable for different needs. Our recipes are culled from years of teaching, cooking and eating. There are ‘green’ recipes, ‘indulge’ recipes, and everything in between, but they all have something in common—they’re delicious and good for you.

Our approach, after all, is to eat consciously and live mindfully.

ROSALIND’S STORY

I spent my childhood pottering about the kitchen of my uncle’s Chinese restaurant, nibbling on cucumber and celery sticks or the odd abalone trimming, and playing waitress after operating hours.

However, I never thought about becoming a chef. I could see that my uncle worked very hard. My careers of choice cleaved to a tried and tested route: doctor, lawyer, or businesswoman.

Then I went to San Francisco. While studying and working there in the 1980s, I reveled in the abundance of seasonal and organic produce. At the time, the ‘farm to table’ philosophy was taking root, almost single-handedly led by the legendary Alice Waters of Chez Panisse. The culinary tropes of using California’s abundant produce, cultivating relationships with local producers, going organic, and developing a creative and unique repertoire of beautifully-presented dishes inspired me deeply. What’s more, I was living in the vicinity of some of California’s—and America’s—greatest chefs: Deborah Madison of the Greens Restaurant, Wolfgang Puck of Postrio, and Alice Waters herself. I attended their classes. I ate at their restaurants many, many times. I bought their cookbooks and recreated the magic at home. In a way, these chefs unwittingly mentored me in those early days, shaping my vision for ONAKA some 20 years on.

When I returned to Singapore in 1991, I ended up working for Tiger Beer as a branding and marketing specialist for six years. But my inclination towards delicious, fresh and healthy food—as well as educating others and changing the way we eat and view food—never waned.

In 2008, I set up ONAKA Healing Kitchen, giving classes on gluten-free, diabetic-friendly, vegan, vegetarian, living and raw food, and traditional Chinese herbal diets. In 2010, I opened the ONAKA Healing Café and Juice Bar in Rochester Park—which was where I met Jason. I was impressed with his creativity, energy and desire to find a job to better balance work with family. He took on my concept of conscious cuisine with enthusiasm and, five years on, we’re writing a cookbook together.

Today, both the kitchen and the café no longer exist (though I still conduct private classes for corporate clients and individuals). ONAKA is now a restaurant at the Alexandra Retail Centre, serving the creative and wholesome food that many have come to know and love. The recipes you see here are the culmination of five years of creative ideas, touched with the spark of Jason’s vision and professional training. He’s the one who translates my vision onto the plates.

For me, cooking is a process of transformation, as well as a transformative process. It’s not just about the food and the ingredients and what finally goes on the plate; it is also the conduit of the consideration and love for those you’re cooking for. The result should put smiles on faces. I hope these recipes encourage you to reach into your creative capacity and consciousness.

JASON’S STORY

As I walked into the outdoor café at Rochester Park called ONAKA, I was nervous. It was 2010. I’d just returned to Singapore from a cooking stint in Bali. A new marriage and a baby on the way meant that I needed a job, ASAP.

A mutual friend had set up a meeting between Rosalind and me. At the time, ONAKA was a café that focused on healthy sandwiches and rice bowls. I wasn’t sure if it was the right direction for me, a classically trained chef with a slight rebellious streak. Healthy cooking wasn’t really my ‘thing’—I was used to whipping up butter-laden béchamel sauces and preparing meats in their own fat.

But on that day, Ros and I struck a chord. She was willing to give me a chance even though I warned her that I wasn’t familiar with the concept of ONAKA. From then on, a partnership was formed.

Becoming ONAKA was not an easy journey. Restrictions on ingredients and cooking methods forced me to think outside of the box to create nutritious dishes without sacrificing flavour. To recreate the taste and feel of meat for vegetarians, I worked on culinary sleights-of-hand such as eggplant bacon and watermelon sashimi. For those averse to animal products, I introduced a tofu scramble in place of scrambled eggs to the breakfast menu.

I started to train my eye on dietary restrictions while cooking: gluten, nut and egg allergies; vegan or vegetarian diets; low-fat food, etc. What’s more, being a new father instilled in me a desire to feed my family the best food possible. Instead of adhering to the cookie-cutter methods of using less fat, more vegetables, and meat sans salt, I went for another strategy: quality, pure and simple. Instead of vegetable oil, there was grape seed, olive pomace, and flaxseed. If I used meat in our dishes, it had to be the best around—organic and sourced from sustainable, reliable sources. Instead of plain old rice, I dabbled around with quinoa, barley and millet for their chromatic ranges of colour, taste and texture. The ‘burden’ of dietary restrictions had opened up a new world of techniques, ingredients and possibilities.

Well, my strategy worked. ONAKA’s food diverged from salads and sandwiches to encompass dishes such as Pumpkin Sea Bass (a pumpkin seed-encrusted fish served with pumpkin mash and chipotle sauce) and Duck Pancake, wherein duck confit is shredded and nestled within a freshly made egg crepe. In just a period of a few months, the café morphed into a fully-fledged restaurant, drawing in loyal customers and nocking up not a few reviews online.

In the end, I fulfilled my goal of operating outside of the mainstream, though not in the way I first envisioned. Making conscious cuisine allowed me to combine my blood-and-bones French training with a thoughtful, green, health-centric sensibility. I hope the recipes and stories behind them empower you to cook for yourself and impress the ones you feed.

KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

NOTES ON OUR FAVOURITE SUPERFOODS

HAVING GOOD TASTE(S)

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

PART 1

NOTES ON OUR FAVOURITE SUPERFOODS

‘Superfoods’ is a term that’s come under a lot of flak lately, considered by some as a marketing ploy to play up the supposed benefits of certain foods. However, whatever the term used, we are fans of foods that are extremely nutrient-dense and contain a high amount of antioxidants. Eaten regularly, they provide multiple health and disease-fighting benefits. The good news: they are easy to incorporate into our daily diet.

Here, we give you two selections of our favourite superfoods. The first presents ingredients common to the home kitchen; the other is a list of specialty ingredients that may be found in health food stores. Some of the latter are even sourced from rainforests or remote mountains around the world, and are used as traditional medicine and natural remedies.

EVERYDAY SUPERFOODS

THE ALLIUM FAMILY

Garlic, onions, chives, leeks and shallots are part of this pungent family, and boast a whole host of benefits: they’re anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and contain antioxidants, to name a few. Despite this, it is sometimes a pain to prep these ingredients for dinner. To cut an onion without crying, slice it under running water or breathe through your mouth instead of your nostrils. To rid yourself of garlic breath after a good binge, chew on parsley leaves, cardamom seeds or cloves.

THE GOOD FATS

Fats are essential to good health. Avocados are a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), including oleic acid, which helps lower cholesterol. The MUFA in avocado improves absorption of antioxidants. This wonder fruit also has good amounts of potassium, which regulates blood pressure and guards against circulatory diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke. To learn how to pick an avocado at its peak, turn to p.36.

Other foods high in MUFA are olives, (extra virgin) olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, nuts and seeds. They improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar balance, and reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity. A good portion size per meal would be 2 tablespoons of olive oil, nuts or half an avocado.

Include some foods rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in your daily diet too. Generally, this group of fats is high in omega-6 fatty acids. Corn oil, soya bean, sunflower seeds, sesame oil, salmon, sardines, mackerel, other nuts and seeds are all PUFA-rich.

You’ll notice we don’t shy away from using butter and coconut oil in our recipes. Too much saturated