Appetite

R&D

Our R&D section features two kinds of work: deeply-researched dishes from our chef’s tasting menu which changes twice a year; and improvisational dishes from our weekly omakase  menu.

Black Gold

R&D

Koshihikari rice, Kampot peppercorn & black fig sofrito, all parts of chicken, edible gold

A reference to the importance of the black pepper trade in shaping the world we live in today, this dish celebrates the universal appeal black pepper has held in our diets across time and geography. Originally from the jungles of India, black pepper’s cultivation quickly spread to Southeast Asia, where it became one of the largest staples grown and traded by regional empires. The wealth generated by the nascent spice trade fueled great technological and cultural development in Southeast Asia for at least 2,000 years.

As a precursor to the Silk Road, the spice trade bridged Asia, South Asia, the Maghreb, the Levant, and Europe, growing to astronomical proportions. By the 15th century, black pepper was so valuable that it directly motivated European expeditions along the Atlantic coast and ultimately the so-called “discovery” of the Americas. It is no exaggeration to suggest that, were it not for the appeal and trade of black pepper, the world—its traditions, culture, and borders—would look vastly different.

Black pepper provided Europeans as early as the 2nd century AD an opportunity to flavor their dishes, mask faults in food, and even repair their health. Such was its appeal that historians credit it with contributing to the frequent cash flow crises that plagued the Roman Empire. By the 12th century, pepper was a mainstay in Chinese cuisine, known as hujiao (“foreign pepper”), and Marco Polo marveled at the quantities consumed in imperial Hangzhou. Today, it endures as a global staple, with dishes like Cantonese black pepper beef, Singaporean black pepper crab, and French sauces au poivre exemplifying its versatility.

On our plates, humans have used pepper in remarkably similar ways across cultures: black pepper kecaps, chutneys, and savory sauces abound. It was only a matter of time before someone combined it with rice!

A Note on Rice
Few staples have dominated our diets as successfully as rice, and few preparations are as ubiquitous and universal as rice porridge. The domestication of rice, beginning over 8,000 years ago along the Yangzi River in China and later spreading to the Indus Valley, transformed human diets. Whether domesticated independently or traded between regions, rice became a cornerstone of agriculture and cuisine. Today, its two main varieties, indica and japonica, illustrate how it adapted to diverse climates and cooking traditions.

Soupy rice dishes, a simple and soothing preparation, emerged early in rice’s history as a means of nourishment and comfort. Their adaptability and ability to stretch meager resources made them essential during times of scarcity, famine, and celebration alike. Rice porridges are present in nearly every culture touched by this grain: from Japanese Zosui to Canja de Galinha (Portugal/Brazil). Other examples include Arroz Caldo (Philippines/Spain/Latin America), Congee (China), Kichuri (India/Bangladesh), Bubur Ayam (Indonesia), Juk (Korea), Khichdi (India), Jok (Thailand), Risotto al Brodo (Italy), Minestra di Riso (Italy), Roz Bel Laban (Egypt), Ngalakh (Senegal), and Mutandabota (Zimbabwe).

Whether thickened for comfort, spiced for flavor, or sweetened for dessert, rice porridge transcends borders and identities, embodying both culinary ingenuity and human resilience. It is a testament to the adaptability of rice as a grain and to our shared histories of innovation and survival. Today, these dishes continue to bring people together, bridging cultures through bowls of warmth and nourishment.

This dish draws from the etymological roots of mantou (馒头), the Chinese word for dumpling — which likely originated from 蛮头 (barbarian’s head), a term historically used to describe foreign tribes in China.

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Methodology

Our research and development methodology at Nouri is structured, but we always leave room for improvisation. We follow research guidelines but are willing to break them if the work demands it. Our primary mandate is always creative.

We begin with a specific kind of pattern recognition. Drawing on the vocational strength of our chefs, we identify similarities in ingredient, technique, or flavour of dishes from around the world. How does a mole from Mexico resemble a red curry from Thailand? Why do Peruvians cure their fish in the same way as Pacific Islanders? We are able to ask these questions because our chefs taste these questions. Taste— which can be dismissed as a subjective experience in amateurs— is a rigorous tool at the disposal of our professional chefs. It frames and guides our research questions.

We then conduct preliminary historical research to determine whether the patterns we identify are the result of mutually independent development or cultural exchange. When an ingredient is found around the world, we often see similar methods of use. Liquorice is an example. More often, we recognise similarities because of cultural exchange. Food travels across boundaries and between cultures through trade, war, migration, etc. As a result, each culture adopts the ingredient or technique, featuring certain elements of the culture from which it received it, and imbuing the item with new features, too. Chili pepper is an excellent case study of an ingredient that has transformed the cuisines of South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

Our chefs begin their development process with these initial observations.

Then, we approach relevant experts— sometimes regional historians, other times anthropologists, sociologists, linguists, economists, etc.— to validate, and sometimes challenge, our hypotheses. They provide access to primary source materials that help us map the lineage of a specific food item as it travels across cultures. This step is essential to our crossroads approach to food; it allows us to work with products or techniques that are verifiably shared by people globally.

We also partner with chemists and food scientists to examine the molecular structures of the foods we think share common origins or features. On our menu, we serve a rice stem dish that draws on the shared flavour profiles of a south Indian buttermilk and a Norman sauce dieppoise; this link is confirmed scientifically and culturally. 

Our final output is an original dish that is conceptually related to food traditions from around the world without being traditional. It is innovative without ignoring historical influences. It fulfils the requirements of a complete dish in terms of taste, texture, and style, but also paves the way for a broader engagement with global culture.

Beyond food 

Crossroads thinking was born out of a desire to think more deeply and critically about culture and globalisation. A focus on food was incidental— we just happened to be chefs and/or working in the culinary industry. Crossroads was an epistemological position before it was a cooking philosophy.

Today, we collaborate with architects, fashion designers, and visual artists to expand their practices with a detailed study of cross-cultural interaction and influence.