Meet the chef: Patrick Do builds on his family's culinary heritage
Credit to Author: Randy Shore| Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2019 18:00:30 +0000
One of chef Patrick Do’s first memories was visiting his grandmother’s banh mi shop in Houston, Texas. It is no wonder that he is now chef and co-owner of Do Chay Saigon Vegetarian.
When he was younger, Patrick initially resisted following in his family’s footsteps, working in film production, digital design, and videography. However, the lure of food brought him back to Vancouver and the restaurant business.
Q: What motivates and inspires you as a chef?
A: I grew up in my parents’ restaurant and it’s been ingrained into me for as long as I can remember. It’s what I know. Every recipe I know I learned in their kitchen, and I am constantly inspired to build upon the groundwork they’ve laid while forging my own identity as a cook.
Q: How would you describe the type of food you like to cook?
A: I always try to create dishes that feature deeply traditional flavour profiles and ingredients but are presented with a modern twist or an element of surprise. I tend to cook food that draws on my Vietnamese heritage but is influenced heavily by my Canadian upbringing.
Q: What might diners not know about you?
A: I spent two years in Los Angeles producing music videos before coming back to Vancouver to open my first restaurant.
Q: Describe a couple of your most recent creations?
A: One dish that we are extremely proud of is our Desert Island Noodle. The combination of “ish” sauce — our vegan take on traditional fish sauce — and coconut milk is a flavour profile that is somewhat unfamiliar to the western palate, but it was one of my favourite things growing up.
Q: What’s your favourite local product and how do you use it?
A: Right now, I am finding myself using Fraser Valley oyster mushrooms in pretty much everything I do. They taste amazing fried, sautéed, blanched, or roasted and have a hearty texture that takes on flavours and textures exceptionally well.
Q: If there is one important piece of advice you might have for home cooks, what might that be?
A: My advice to home cooks would be to cook with ingredients they’ve never seen before. Don’t even look them up. Go down an unfamiliar aisle in the grocery store and cook something new. Recipes are great in a pinch, but ultimately there is no innovation without experimentation.
Black garlic eggplant.
1 eggplant rustic dice
1/2 block tofu diced
2 pieces morel or other mushrooms
2-3 pieces of yo choy (or gai lan)
2 cups steamed rice
Steam or roast the eggplant in order to cook through before adding to sauce. Tofu can be deep fried or pan seared depending on preference. Add both to the Black Garlic Sauce and stir to mix evenly. Add the eggplant and tofu on top of rice and serve with greens.
Makes 2 servings.
1 clove of black garlic
2 tbsp (30 mL) Wan Ja Shan Vegetarian Mushroom Oyster sauce
1 pinch brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) dark soya sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) black vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) garlic confit oil or canola
3 dried red chilies
1 tsp (5 mL) chopped shallots
Heat a pan to medium, add a small amount of oil, then add finely chopped shallots and sweat briefly. Add some thinly sliced black garlic to the pan and stir briefly to brown the outsides ever so slightly. This will allow the black garlic to stand up better to the sauce. Add mushroom oyster sauce, soya sauce, black vinegar, garlic confit oil. Use confit oil instead of freshly chopped garlic in order to maintain a silky smooth texture to the sauce. Add brown sugar and chili and allow the brown sugar to thicken the sauce slightly.