Train wrecks and a total carnage of flavour? Or future culinary classics?

One Chef who I find greatly inspirational, is David Munoz of DiverXO in Madrid. The only restaurant in that fare city to have been awarded the coveted three Michelin stars. Chef David Munoz describes his food as brutal, extreme and akin to having a gun pointed at your head.

That is kind of how I see my own food and cooking. I see my food as being for those who enjoy breaking away from convention and find that sticking to the tried and tested is definitely boring. My food is certainly not for the feint hearted but is for those with a great spirit of adventure and those who like to think outside the box. This is food that is full of unique and unexpected flavour combinations, stuff that is well and truly off the wall and involves a great deal of out of the box thinking.
Anyhow, here I present to you a collection of dishes that are certainly worthy of the title of this piece.

As my Chef and foodie friends here on Facebook and followers of my blog, Experimental food from the global village will know, I love searching for interesting and exciting things to cook with. Anyway, I've just picked up some Midnight Blue popping corn and Black garlic at a great little deli/ gourmet food store that I recently discovered. Picture coming very soon.

On the left we have Midnight blue popping corn and on the right some black garlic.

A real train wreck and carnage of flavours for lunch but it satisfied my hunger. Lambs liver/ coconut water/ pineapple pate, Roma tomato, Kim chi, celery/ apricot/ licorice chutney, Chinese black vinegar pickled onions, pork tongue and smoked sea salt flakes. Come for lunch sometime.

So here we have another dish based on the rules of my would be mentor, David Munoz. These rules being, NO RULES, NO LIMITS. Squid cut in long strips, to resemble noodles. These are stir fried with sweet onion, spring onion, black garlic and truffle butter. Served with a ragout of minced pork, hoi sin, strawberries and lemongrass. Finished off with a sugar cured egg yolk.

Midnight blue popping corn (sadly it turns snow white when popped), strawberries, shaved milk chocolate and smoked salt. Not forgetting the muscavado, chilli and sour cream caramel.

Sometimes you crave some real comfort food to satisfy the pangs of hunger. Lunch today I've got duck fat chips, mushroom gravy, three cheeses and Korean red pepper seasoning. The gravy is made with a traditional roux of flour & butter, onion, chestnut mushrooms, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, milk, chicken stock and Worcester sauce. The cheeses are Red Leicester, Dutch smoked and Monterey Jack.

The southern fried chicken takes a vacation across the Pacific!

Doing something called KORJA chicken for dinner. The chicken is currently marinating in yogurt, wasabi, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, honey and Korean red pepper seasoning. Then going to coat in rice flour, more of the Korean red pepper, teriyaki seasoning and then frying it. A blend of Korean and Japanese flavours hence, KORJA!

Well, the KORJA chicken turned out as expected. Lovely and moist chicken with your typical Asian flavour notes of hot, sweet, sour and salt, along with a golden, crunchy exterior. I served it with a tomato Kim chi slaw (Kim chi tossed in mayonaise with some diced tomato), Chunky chips seasoned with smoked salt and sansho pepper and the mushroom gravy that I had left from yesterday. Definitely tastier than a KFC and probably cheaper too. Sadly, the photos didn't do it justice and so I've decided not to post them.

Results from Asian food shopping No.1

Asian shopping trip part two.

Cooking dinner! Root vegetables poached in duck fat. Will be served with a sake, mirin and truffle butter sauce. Garnished with seaweed and Benito seasoning. This last item is a new thing that I picked up on todays Asian food expedition and contains dried benito flakes, sesame seeds, sugar, salt and the ever so controversial Monosodium glutamate. David Munoz isn't the only Chef doing crazy combos of flavour.

NEW WAVE SURF 'N' TURF. Fabulous earthy notes from the duck fat poached vegetable and truffle butter. Contrasted with an amazing taste of the sea from the seaweed and benito seasoning.

Mashing up the flavours. Egg noodles in a Dashi broth infused with tomato and kaffir lime leaves. Topped off with a stir fry of king prawns & choi sum. Garnished with tomato, Spanish Guindilla pepper, sansho and togarashi.