MUME
Chefs Kai Ward & Richie Lin & Long Xiong
Place Taipei, Taiwan
Three dynamic culinary innovators, schooled in some of the world’s top restaurants, are blazing new trails in the Taipei restaurant community. Perhaps best decribed as the culinary sensibilities of the new Nordic cuisine meets Asian food culture and the agricultural bounty of Taiwan, Mume has a strong focus on vegetables and other plant-based ingredients sourced from the farms and markets of Taiwan.
Mume reflects the combined talents of three young chefs: Kia Ward of Australia, Richie Lin of Hong Kong, and Long Xiong from the United States. With aggregate, global experience that includes time with some of the world’s top restaurants, including Quay in Sydney and Noma in Copenhagen, this creative trio was attracted to the natural bounty of Taiwan as a place to realize their shared vision.
1. Place the barley in a pot with 350 g of vegetable stock.
2. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the barley reaches al dente, then set aside to cool.
3. Prepare a pot of boiling water for blanching (approximately 2 liters of boiling water is enough). Put all of the lovage and spinach into the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes with the lid on, making sure the water is boiling the whole time but not overflowing.
4. Once cooked, place the lovage and spinach into ice water and allow to cool. Once cool, strain off the water, wrap the cooked lovage and spinach in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much water as possible.
5. Put the sunflower seeds, butter, white wine, water and blanched herbs in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve.
6. To finish, add the remaining vegetable stock to the cooked barley, reduce by 1/4 over medium heat, then add the herb puree and season with white soy sauce. Stir in, and serve immediately.
Note from the chefs:
Over time, the porridge will lose its vibrant green color, so it is best served immediately. At Mume we serve this dish with fried sunflower seeds, a slow cooked egg, grated fermented tofu, black pepper, sugar snap peas and pea tendrils.
Their approach
MUME is a restaurant that focuses on using locally sourced produce from Taiwan. In a country that is full of unique and interesting fruits and vegetables, it makes sense to use a plant-forward approach to our cuisine. Having such a diverse range of produce allows us to place the focus on the fruits and vegetables, rather than just the proteins.
Your best tip to make vegetables appealing?
Try using every part of the vegetable. The seed, flower, leaf, or root can sometimes be the best part. Also, if the vegetable tastes delicious on its own, keep the cooking/seasoning to a minimum.