Dana McMahan, Special to the Courier-Journal
Kicking off its 30th anniversary, Asia Institute-Crane House will celebrate the Year of the Rooster with its annual Asian New Year Dinner & Auction at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb.18 at Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center (Van Gogh Room), 1860 Mellwood Avenue.
Chef Peng Looi of Asiatique and August Moon Chinese Bistro will team up with a group of chefs, including Asian and Asian American culinary talent, for a six-course Asian inspired dinner.
The nonprofit Crane House promotes Asian culture in the region, Looi said.
“Louisville is trying to catch up (to bigger cities) as far as the awareness of Asian culture,” he said.
Looi has directed the dinner for 12 or so years, he said, first by himself. It evolved to include other established Asian chefs until he decided it would be a good opportunity to introduce some upcoming young Asian-American chefs.
“So I got hold of people like Ming Pu, Robbi Santos and a few other people a few years back and now all these guys are great chefs,” he said.
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Along with Dan Thomas as coordinating chef, Looi is joined for this year’s dinner by Kristen Bucayu, Lockbox; Ming Pu, 502 Bistro and Bar; Robbi Santos, Ward 426; Serge Katz, Flavaville; James Moran, Sullivan University; and Patrick Roney, Harvest.
The dinner features the chefs’ twists on Asian street style food, Looi said, rather than a strictly authentic menu. Hors d’oeuvres include sesame shrimp toast with yuzu and sambal; fish balls with sweet, spicy and sour dips; and steamed dumpling with spiced lamb and citrus dill crème fraiche.
Dinner includes grilled pork belly, deep fried egg, papaya salad from Bucayu; red curry Kentucky Lake catfish, tofu, shiitake and tatsoi from Roney; char siu duck breast, preserved mushroom medley, winter vegetables, rosewater demi glace and smoked shiitake powder from Pu; beef ramen shoyu, lemongrass dashi beef broth, house kim chee, cilantro, and charred scallion oil from Moran; braised lamb shank, buckwheat herb salad, lemon chickpea puree from Katz; and matcha cake with honey, lemon cream, and black sesame ice cream from Santos.
Louisville has come a long way in the last 30 years in embracing Asian food, thanks in part, Looi said, to people traveling and developing more adventurous palates. But it’s still nothing like Houston, for example, where he said “a street as big and long as Dixie Highway is nothing but Asian restaurants.”
A problem, he said, is the perception that people think Asian food should be quick and cheap.
“I don’t know why. I’m still in search of that answer,” he said. “You get what you pay for, basically. I operate two Asian kitchens and I know what I put into my technique and food cost and it’s not different than any other cuisine. I put five hours into one of my broths. It’s interesting what people will pay for a bowl of pasta when they won’t pay more than $10 for lo mein stir fry.”
Filipino, Korean, Taiwanese and Uzbek are among the foods represented at the dinner, Looi said, but really, “a lot of Asian cuisine is borrowed from each other. It’s very diverse.” The 4,000-year-old cuisine has been perfected over generations.
The event also features Asian entertainment as well as live and silent auctions. Tickets cost $175 per person and attire is cocktail or Asian dress.
More information: www.cranehouse.org or 502-635-2240.
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