HELENE AN
Executive Chef; Crustacean
Executive
Chef Helene An may have grown up in the lap
of luxury in her native Vietnam, but she is no stranger
to old-fashioned
American determination. Her family’s "can-do"
spirit
was put to the test in 1975 during the fall of Saigon
when a knock on the door of their mansion alerted
them to the imminent Communist takeover. Scooping
up her three daughters, Hannah, Elizabeth and Monique,
Helene grabbed what she could and fled.
While
she escaped with little in the way of material possessions,
Helene had the family’s real treasure locked in her
own memory. Presiding over an estate of aristocratic
stature, Helene’s father served as Grand Advisor to
the King. He was an avid host who threw lavish dinner
parties for local and visiting dignitaries. Helene
need not have bothered to do so much in the kitchen
as boil an egg, but found herself drawn by her own
nature to the family’s impressive kitchen. There she
would watch, enraptured, as her father’s team of chefs
created age-old delicacies for illustrious visitors.
She learned to cook by observing, and gradually developed
her own way of doing things, taking the lessons she
learned from the family’s highly accomplished chefs
and adapting them to her own vision.
As
it happened, just a few years before the Ans were
forced
to flee, Helene’s mother-in-law, Diana, had sown the
seeds of future success by purchasing a small deli
in San Francisco’s Sunset district.
It
was a whim of the moment, based largely on her desire
for an excuse to travel, and she made the purchase
in cash. In this fortuitous action lay destiny. This
tiny 20-seat deli would eventually become the 170-seat
Thanh Long (Green Dragon) Restaurant. Situated in
the predominantly residential outer Sunset area, a
short distance from Ocean Beach, Thanh Long is no
ordinary restaurant. It was here that Helene An re-created
and refined traditional An Family family dishes with
such flair, elegance and originality, that a culinary
star was born. As her daughters, Hannah and Elizabeth,
grew into adulthood, this next generation proved themselves
to be superb and astute businesswomen. Under Hannah’s
business guidance, the An’s once tiny
restaurant would emerge into a national corporation.
In
1991, encouraged by the restaurant’s success, the
Ans opened Crustacean restaurant on the cable car
line in San Francisco. This was followed in 1997 by
the high profile Crustacean in Beverly Hills. To great
critical acclaim, Elizabeth An re-created her grandparents’
1930s French Colonial estate, which was originally
on the outskirts of Hanoi. Named as one of America’s
ten best new restaurants by Esquire Magazine, Crustacean
quickly became a celebrity favorite, attracting such
luminaries as Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Will
Smith and Tracy Edmunds.
Helene’s
cooking is by no means traditional Vietnamese. Having
learned to cook at the elbows of three chefs —one
French, one
Chinese, and one Vietnamese — she evolved into a chef
uninhibited by conventional ethnic boundaries and
was even hailed as "the mother of fusion cuisine"
by San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael
Bauer. As her grandfather had been a medicinal herbalist,
Helene draws from his knowledge of Chinese healing
herbs and builds her dishes on the harmonious balance
of yin and yang, so that they’re as healthy and light
as they are flavorful. Her roast crab and garlic noodles
have long become signature dishes for the family’s
four restaurants. As these recipes were by nature
treasures to be carefully guarded, Helene took the
unusual measure of installing a unique and now legendary
"secret kitchen" within Thanh Long’s main
kitchen. This is where signature dishes are prepared
solely by family members without worry of "culinary
espionage," as reported in The Wall Street
Journal. Even trusted employees are denied all
the pieces to any given puzzle; these recipes are,
after all, the family jewels!
Roast
Chicken with Red Onion Miso Marmalade
Serves
4
Red
Onion Miso Marmalade
2
Tablespoons olive oil
2
medium red onions (about 10 oz. total) diced
2
medium red onions (about 10 oz. total) halved and
thinly sliced
½
cup red wine
1
cup chicken stock
1
tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼
cup SECRET KITCHEN™ SOY MISO SAUCE
¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1
tablespoon heavy cream (optional)
Chicken
1
chicken (about 3 ¾ pounds) washed and dried
2
tablespoons SECRET KITCHEN Soy Miso Sauce
2
tablespoons minced Italian parsley
For
Red Onion Miso Marmalade:
Heat
oil in large heavy skillet over medium- low heat.
Stir in diced and sliced onions, cover and cook 30
minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium
and cook, uncovered, until onions are browned, about
15 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in wine and
boil over high heat until it is absorbed, stirring
to dislodge browned bits clinging to bottom of pan.
Add stock, vinegar, and ¼ cup SECRET KITCHEN ™
Soy Miso Sauce. Simmer gently until reduced to thick
sauce, about 25 minutes. Season with salt. Stir in
cream.
For
Chicken:
Preheat
oven to 500 degrees. Line a large roasting pan with
aluminum foil. Place a large rack over the pan. Arrange
chicken on its side on rack. Bake 23 minutes. Brush
chicken with half of SECRET KITCHEN ™ Soy Miso
Sauce. Turn to second side, and roast 11 minutes.
Brush chicken with remaining SECRET KITCHEN™
Soy Miso Sauce. Roast 11 more minutes, or until thermometer
inserted into thigh registers 150 degrees. Let sit
5 to 10 minutes.
Carve
chicken and arrange on platter or individual plates.
Reheat Red Onion Miso Marmalade by stirring over medium-high
heat. Please marmalade in a sauceboat and spoon over
or next to chicken. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.
