THE ART OF FERMENTATION - Q&A WITH CHEF BJ SEBASTIAN
When I first met BJ Sebastian, I wanted to find out how he defined himself as a chef and what his philosophy was when it came to creating dishes for his menu. He was quick to describe himself as an experimental chef, especially when it comes to fermentation.
“To me, creativity is about finding a new flavour and a new ingredient and working out how I can incorporate this into a new dish. Using fermentation is a great way to do this, especially with seasonal ingredients which means I have this produce to use all year round. I create the flavour first and the dish follows.”
BJ is head chef at Plume Restaurant where he recently held his Ambassador Series Dinner. This was the perfect opportunity to find out more about his techniques and to taste the depth of flavour that can be achieved from using fermentation and garum in his cooking.
Chef BJ at Plume Restaurant with some of his ferments.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s foodservice manager, Lisa Moloney sat down with BJ to ask him a few questions about fermentation.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Reading my favourite book – The Noma Guide to Fermentation. I can’t stop reading and referring to this book for inspiration and the development of new flavours and techniques for my dishes. As they say in the book, fermentation really is the foundation of flavour.
Some of these techniques were used by my grandmother so I have those food memories already in my mind from my childhood. Fermentation is centuries old and obviously, things have changed, but food connects you to a history of traditions, using what is available in nature. My experimentation comes from honouring those techniques from the past and taking them to the next level in my kitchen. I like to think of it as a ‘nature to plate’ philosophy and apply this to my cooking.
What are the different types of fermentation?
There are four different types:
Lactic acid fermentation is the common way of preserving vegetables by adding a desired amount of salt and filtered water plus some whole spices for flavour. Leave them in jars at room temperature for weeks until the bacteria have developed, then use accordingly - great for gut health.
Alcoholic fermentation is the process of adding a certain amount of salt to fruits then sealing and compressing them in vacuum sealed bags. Store the sealed bags at room temperature for 2 – 3 weeks until the alcohol starts forming. Add sugar and yeast and transfer the fruit to jars and place in the chiller for a slow ferment.
Cultured cream - the common way of fermenting cream is by combining a certain amount of salt and cream with some vinegar and leaving at room temperature to ferment. BJ uses umami salt (made from koji rice) to ferment cream and also adds kombu or seaweed to give it more umami flavour. BJ says you can also culture cream inside a fermentation chamber at a specific temperature to make Shoyus (Japanese inspired soy sauce).
Garum is an ancient Roman/Greek fermented fish sauce and is made by putting whole fish and salt inside barrels and allowing it to ferment for up to one year. However, times have changed and to speed up the processing of making garums we rely on koji rice to make this process faster. By adding koji rice, umami salt and filtered water with any raw meat/seafood/vegetables/dairy we can make garums to use in cooking. Time and temperature vary depending on what ingredient you choose to ferment inside the fermentation chamber.
What are your top tips for someone who wants to start out creating fermentations and garums?
My top tips are:
· Firstly, do some research and learn the origins of what you want to create
· Find out about the different types of fermentation
· Learn about the health benefits and how bacteria work
· Get the time and temperature right
· Be sure to ferment uniform sizes
· Stock up on airtight jars and bags
· Start by preserving vegetables
· Then go on to try making kimchi or sauerkraut
Can you give us an example of how you have experimented with fermentation?
Let’s talk about lamb garum, which is something that I love to create and use to add flavour to my dishes. Traditionally garum is a fermented fish sauce, left for a year to ferment with the micro-organisms and enzymes breaking down the proteins and creating an umami-rich amino acid.
I have brought this into the future, learning that the same enzymes in meat are also in a grain called koji. Combining the koji and meat (I use lean lamb off-cuts and lamb tongue) together with some umami salt, creates a delicious lamb garum. I find these flavours particularly lend themselves well to cooking with beef and lamb.
Do you follow a set recipe to create your garums and ferments?
When you read through the Noma Guide to Fermentation there is no recipe. I find my own recipes by literally making five different jars of garums with different volumes of koji or salt or umami salt and then store everything in the fermentation chamber. After 60 days I do a taste test to see which one is better, and that is how I find my own recipe. You need to have the time and patience, but once you find it then you have the flavour. My advice is to use it sparingly though – too much can spoil a dish and overpower the palate.
BJ is more than willing to chat to chefs and offer advice on getting started with making ferments and garums, so if you have a question, click on the box below and we can put you in touch with BJ.