FOOD IN VOGUE

And on the menu

NUKAZUKE

As you’ll probably guess from the name, this is a Japanese technique. It takes fermentation one step further and pickles vegetables by burying them in a bed of nukadoko (fermented rice bran paste) for up to three months to create a seriously intense flavour. Vegetables that work best are cucumber, aubergine, carrot, cabbage and daikon, which all develop their own unique taste once fermented. Nukadoko beds are treasured, with some up to 80 years old and passed down between generations. It’s incredibly healthy, as it increases the vegetables’ nutrient availability in the body, while simultaneously helping to digest food.

POKE

Four poké (pronounced POH-keh, if you were wondering) restaurants opened in the space of two months last year and it’s a trend that shows no sign of stopping. It’s a new style of food, born from Hawaii in the last 50 years as Asian settlers after the Second World War fused sushi techniques with the produce available to them. As a rough rule, poké combines raw marinated fish with rice and pickled vegetables, but the combinations are endless. As there’s zero added fat and no cooking process for the protein and vegetables, it’s super virtuous, too.

SRI LANKAN

After last year’s breakthrough restaurant Hoppers in Soho, expect to see a lot more from Sri Lankan cuisine. Its focus is prawns – thanks to the ideal breeding conditions that surround the island – served with a coconut sambol, a fragrant paste made from coconut, chilli, dried local fish and lime juice. It’s best served in a ‘hopper’, the island’s indigenous pancake, which is eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Similar to a dosa, its made with fermented palm toddy or yeast, coconut milk and spices before being fried. Just wrap it up and go.