3 minute read
IT’S ALL IN THE TECHNIQUE
PHOTOS BY ERIN ROBERTS OF LASSO PHOTO CO.
Chef Kian Lam Kho inspires Chinese cuisine in Sun Valley
By Sabina Dana Plasse
This winter, award-winning and celebrated Chef Kian Lam Kho appeared at the Sun Valley Culinary Institute in Ketchum for a week-long residency. The residency included several classes culminating in an authentic Chinese family-style banquet. Selling out within seconds of being posted online, Chef Kian’s classes on making dumplings, soups and stews, stir-fry, and more had attendees mesmerized and begging for more.
The culinary hub of New York City, where Chef Kian teaches and cooks, is also the home base from where he shares his infectious love for Chinese cuisine. His celebrated and distinguished cookbook, Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees: Essential Techniques of Authentic Chinese Cooking, is a testament to his mastery and a work of art in its beauty, presentation, and detail. It’s a source of inspiration for anyone looking to master Chinese cooking.
“To understand Chinese cooking is to learn techniques that will allow you to do anything you want,” said Chef Kian. “Ingredients are important, and there are many ways to bring ingredients together. If you don’t have all the ingredients available in Chinese cooking, you can always use what exists locally. The way I see it, if you understand the basic technique, you can use all kinds of ingredients because the technique will always be the same.”
Understanding all the steps and, in Asian cooking in general, learning the technique helps with discerning flavors. Creating your dishes using local ingredients will taste just as good as your favorite Chinese dish you may have ordered your entire life. For many Asians, the technique comes naturally because it is passed down through their families. For example, stir-frying is an iconic technique used all over Asia, not just in Chinese cooking. When you understand and become comfortable with it, you can have a vast repertoire of Asian cuisine.
“You can create new food by respecting the flavors,” said Chef Kian. “My cooking is modern Chinese, and I respect the technique with new ideas, ingredients, and presentation. It’s not fusion. There are no secrets to cooking great Chinese food. It’s learning techniques and understanding a process and method. Once this is understood, you can embark on all kinds of cooking.”
Plans are in the works for Chef Kian to return for the summer of 2024 for another residency, which may also include Thai Chef Pranee Halvorsen to offer an Asian food experience like no other with learning techniques on stir-frying, grilling, and barbecue along with more dumpling recipes and creating noodle dishes. Chef Kian would also like to incorporate local ingredients in his next visit, perhaps including local game meat and more root vegetables.
“Sharing is my ethos,” said Chef Kian. “All cooking should be fun and enjoyable. Otherwise, it becomes a chore.”
To learn more about Chef Kian, visit books.redcook.net. For more details about Chef Kian’s next visit and to learn about the Sun Valley Culinary Institute’s classes, students, and food celebrations supporting and developing the next generation of the industry’s workforce talent to serve the Wood River Valley and beyond, visit sunvalleyculinary.org.
