Whether tastes lean toward exotic cuisine or something more familiar, this year's menu trends provide the opportunity to explore adventurous new flavors.
At the top of the trend list is fried chicken. Yes, everyone's favorite has gone creative. It’s no longer just a "Southern" dish. Fried chicken is being served up at Fuku's in New York with habanero purée, buttermilk, and Changian spices. Roy’s Restaurant has an amazing chicken karaage marinated in soy sauce and spices, coated with potato starch, and lightly fried. It’s served with white rice and Asian slaw and dressed with kabayaki and spicy aioli. At American Cupcake in Washington, D.C., enjoy locally-raised chicken bathed in red velvet batter, coated in cupcake bits, and deep fried. It’s served with cream cheese-infused mashed potatoes and cocoa-infused slaw.At the top of the trend list is fried chicken. Yes, everyone's favorite has gone creative. It’s no longer just a "Southern" dish. Fried chicken is being served up at Fuku's in New York with habanero purée, buttermilk, and Changian spices.
It's going to be a spicy but savory holiday season. Chefs are enjoying aromatic and flavorful spice blends. Sweet-spicy gochujang, a Korean barbecue sauce, is making its way onto more adventurous menus. Warm mixtures of allspice, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, and coriander, as well as flavors of the Middle East, are currently popular. Red and green curry blends are also prevalent as Thai foods sweep the country.
No holiday event is complete this year without koji (koh-jee). Scientifically, it is rice that's been inoculated with the koji mold. Traditionally it's used to make miso and soy, but today chefs whisk fragrant fermented koji into vinaigrettes and use it as a marinade. Without adding any salt, sugar, or oil, it enhances the flavor of everything from chicken to seafood. Move over ceviche and crudo. This year's appetizer darling is none other than poke. Pronounced "poke-ay," this mainstay Hawaiian dish in its truest form is a beautiful composition of fresh ahi tuna tossed in a marinade composed of soy, macadamia nuts, seaweed, avocado, mango, sesame oil, ginger, green onions, chiles, and Japanese seasonings. Inherently fresh and flavorful, poke is somehow both luxuriously decadent and healthful. Creative chefs have turned poke on its side using ingredients such as octopus, salmon, and scallops as well as vegetarian versions using tofu.
Looking for something more traditional? Then it's turkey for you. As fewer folks cook the traditional turkey dinner at home, chefs nationwide are finding an opportunity to add a savory, special turkey entrée to their holiday group menus. Not your typical turkey, mashed potato and gravy dinner, these exciting entrées reflect the creativity and culinary talents of the chef.
Of course, no holiday event is complete without a beautiful holiday cocktail. Late season fruits such as apricots, cherries, and cranberries will be seen with increased frequency this year on holiday beverage menus. Mixology has reached new heights with bartenders sourcing local herbs, fresh fruits, and new and exciting liquors for custom creations. This year, share with your guests a culinary journey enhanced with a signature cocktail and celebrate all that is special about this year.
For this season’s most flavorful event, visit https://www.roysrestaurant.com/private-dining/
