Bringing together Japanese and French cooking styles using Korean ingredients, chef Tae-Hwan Ryu of Ryunique offers a very unique hybrid of cuisine. His inspiration stems from the eight years he spent traveling and working in Michelin star restaurants around the world, including Japan, Spain, Italy, Australia, and the UK. Today, we bring you a dish inspired by his experience in Spain: Oriental Melon Soup H2CO3.
“This recipe was inspired by the Spanish cold soup, gazpacho. It encapsulates a ‘Korean spirit’ by including oriental melon, one of Korea’s most symbolic and much-loved spring and summer fruits. This Oriental Melon Soup uses a soda syphon to bring together carbon dioxide and water to create a refreshing carbonic acid,” says chef Tae-Hwan Ryu.
Oriental Melon Soup |
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| Ingredients 600g oriental melon 200ml (6.76 oz) tonic water 60ml (2.03 oz) syrup stock 12ml (0.41 oz) white wine vinegar 10 drops tabasco sauce 200ml (6.76 oz) water 1 drop glycerine 15ml (0.51 oz) lemon juice Pinch of salt |
Instructions Peel the oriental melon and remove the seed. Chop the fruit and place the pieces along with the rest of the ingredients into a blender. Blend the mixture until smooth. Sieve the mixture, and then add CO2, using the soda syphon. Chill until cold. |
Brine |
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| Ingredients 150g salt 35g salmon 1850ml (62.56 oz) water 200g brown sugar 6ea garlic 10g thyme 3ea clove 1ea star anise 2ea bay leaf 15g pepper corn 20g cinnamon stick |
Instructions Measure the ingredients for the brine into a saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat once. After bringing to a boil, let chill naturally. Soak salmon in the chilled brine solution for at least one hour and a half. |
Purple Potato Powder |
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| Ingredients 20g purple potato purée 20g creme fraiche Pinch of salt |
Instructions Mix purple sweet potato purée and créme fraîche. Add salt and inject liquid nitrogen at -196ºC (-320.8ºF). After freezing, blend finely with a blender. |
Tomato Compote |
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| Ingredients 2ea red cherry tomato 2ea yellow cherry tomato 300ml (10.14 oz) water 150g sugar 3 drops lemon juice 3g lemon zest Pinch of salt |
Instructions Peel tomatoes, and place lemon zest and lemon juice into stock syrup. Add tomatoes and season. Keep in refrigerator for 6 hours. |
Smoked Cheese Sauce |
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| Ingredients 500ml (16.91 oz) chicken stock 200g parmesan cheese 200ml (6.76 oz) cream Hay |
Instructions Boil chicken stock and parmesan cheese down to half of original quantity. Remove hunk with sieve and boil again at 1:1 ratio, liquid to cream. When the texture begins to show, add hay and char. Allow one hour of smoking before use. |
To Plate
Salmon
Green grape
Tomato compote
Micro tomato
Lemon Verbena powder
Pink powder
Oriental Melon slice
Ice plant
Green herb
Spread smoked cheese sauce onto plate, before adding half of the tomato compote.
Add the oriental melon, ice plant, green grapes, and green herbs.
Add slightly torched salmon in brine to the plate.
Place pink powder in liquid nitrogen, blend, and smother on top of plated ingredients.
Sprinkle lemon verbena powder around the edges of the plate.
Present to guest and pour soup using soda syphon on top of plated ingredients as the final plating step.
Oriental Melon Soup H2CO3 by chef Tae-Hwan Ryu of Ryunique. © Ryunique
Oriental Melon Soup H2CO3 by chef Tae-Hwan Ryu of Ryunique. © Ryunique