As we learnt in part one sous-vide is not a new technique. It has simply become more well-known among diners due to leading culinary professionals who champion the technique and use it in many of their creations, such as Thomas Keller, Joël Robuchon, Charlie Trotter, Heston Blumenthal, Ferran Adria, and Tetsuya Wakuda. And, it has now advanced into the homes of the amateur with the release of a water-oven for home use.

Closer to home the technique is being used in many restaurants in Asia. I spoke to three leading chefs, Richard Ekkebus, Dane Clouston, and Gregoire Michaud, about the technique and what they love about it.

Cooking in Water

Chefs that use and love sous vide all agree that sous vide produces a superior result than other cooking techniques, not because of the airless environment but the results achieved from the steady, low-temperature water bath. 

"I love that you can work any meat, poultry or game muscle, make them interesting, tender and succulent, with vegetables you can prevent oxidation and protect the fragile flavour, with fish you are able to create exceptional texture and maintain a very high level of moisture," says Amber's leading light, Richard Ekkebus, director of culinary operations and food & beverage, Landmark Mandarin Oriental. 

He adds "I would rather call it low temperature cooking, a technique which enables a chef to cook at a more accurate temperature with more accurate results. In this case the temperature and the time are most important. If the technique is done right you will ensure less loss of weight meaning that there is more juices and flavour left in the product."

Dane Clouston, executive chef, The PuLi Hotel and Spa (Shanghai) enjoys the technique because of the consistency. "Sous vide keeps things consistent. For example last night I did a function for 70 people, with a roast chicken breast dish and because we sous vide the chicken first every chicken was consistently cooked and extremely moist."   

Pastry and dessert chefs are also using the technique and are equally enamoured. "I like the fact that it gives us new horizons to look at in terms of creativity and quality. And it changes different aspects, such as flavour, appearance, texture, temperature, or shape. It really brings us, professionally, to a new level and it also brings the diners' experience to new heights. 

I guess the key point in using sous vide techniques is the precise control we have over the food. It allows us to reach exactly what we have in mind and to feature a  more intense flavour experience for the guest," enthuses Gregoire Michaud, pastry chef, Four Seasons Hong Kong.   

Old and New

Ekkebus learnt how to use sous vide in the 1980's and most of the dishes at Amber have some element of sous vide. "Most of the meat, vegetable and fish dishes use the technique, it is an 'assume' technique. In the case of meat we still often roast it up before serving to create the caramelised flavours, which makes us drool over a dish." 

Approximately 10 per cent of the dishes on Clouston's menu at Jing'An use the technique and it is used on all types of vegetables and fruits, meat and chicken. 

Interestingly both Ekkebus and Clouston mention endive as one of the vegetables they enjoy cooking the most using sous vide. Both use different additions to the vegetable before cooking, for example Clouston uses orange and garlic. 

Michaud has been using sous vide for around six years and while the main use is for fruits he also likes to experiment and uses it to create a unique version of the classic vanilla sauce. In his latest cookbook, Never Skip Dessert there is a chapter on preparing fruits sous vide, including a basic guide to cooking times and temperatures, and a number of recipes for sous vide desserts that do not require specialist equipment.

"Using the technique in desserts is still quite recent and therefore there  are plenty of possibilities that have yet to be explored. The use of today's precise techniques is new, for example, to measure the  exact core temperature of a fruit or to infuse a fruit in a pressured bag is new. Before, we used to poach fruits in a glass jar or in large pots. But we were loosing much of the flavour in the poaching liquid and the control of the poaching was always challenging to handle," explains Michaud. 

The Highs of Success

Even the professionals get it wrong sometimes and not all successes come on the first attempt.

"Of course there are many attempts before we get it right. And even when we have it right it evolves over time, we are always looking into ways to improve and to advance a dish. We currently use Iberian pork chin and it is truly remarkable, but it took us a very long time to get this very tough muscle fondant as it is now, believe me," says Ekkebus

Adding, "...With regard to adding flavours this is a matter of adjustment, it is clear that when adding flavours the result of flavour transition is multiplied by 10 so you need to use herbs like time, garlic or rosemary in much lesser quantities."

Clouston agrees that dishes may require experimentation before getting right. "I experimented by cooking a pheasant sous vide the other night and it was terrible."

There are definitely more successes than failures and when done right can be a moving experience. "One of my favourite things to sous vide is a simple egg, I love the silky texture it takes on when cooked sous vide. And, recently I did a two-day braise of beef cheek at 50 degrees (celsius) and it was so sublime it brought a tear to my eye," notes Clouston.  

Ekkebus enjoys the technique for the results he achieves with secondary cuts of meat. "Any secondary cut of poultry and pork is sublime, the Iberian pork chin must be my ultimate favourite! But the low temperature cooking is just one of the steps, we follow this with crisping the skin. The result is truly remarkable, rich pork flavours with well caramelised skin."

For Michaud the most rewarding results come from the cold compression of fruits with other flavours or juices. "This method is not using the hot water bath, but simply the pressured environment of the bag. For example taking diced pineapple with a touch of green cardamom and a little cooled Earl Grey tea, pressurised as much as possible. It will give you fantastic flavours, and amazing textures. I also like the texture and result of cooking an apple pie filling sous vide." 

The pastry chef had one amusing mishap using the technique. "When vacuuming the air out of a bag filled with port and strawberries to a too high level the bag exploded in the machine. No damage, but hours of cleaning!" 

In part three, to follow in March, the above chefs give their thoughts on the safety of the technique, and tips for home use.

For Part 1, click here.

Images: 1 Richard Ekkebus, 2 Dane Clouston, 3 Gregoire Michaud, 4 and homepage courtesy Amber, 5 courtesy Jing'An, 6, 7 & 8 from Michaud's book Never Skip Dessert.