Oriental Choice

Expat Master Chef Suriya, the brain behind scrumptious delights at OKO – the pan Asian restaurant chain at The Lalit, goes candid about years of experience and Indian taste buds.

At 5 in the morning, he goes to the kitchen garden of The Lalit to check on the plants and herbs and nurtures herbs like Thai basil, lemongrass, Thai chillies, aubergines, bok choy, among others.

Meet the popular expat Master Chef Phusirimongkhonchai Suriya, who is behind the scrumptious delights at OKO – the pan Asian restaurant chain at The Lalit.

OKO claims to serve authentic regional Chinese, Japanese, Thai cuisines.

With more than 20 years of experience, Chef Suriya’s culinary journey started in the kitchens of fine dining restaurants and big hotel chains in his native country, Thailand. He has been living in India for more more than a decade now and his love for the country continues to grow.

A specialist in Thai cuisine and authentic Thai desserts, Chef Suriya is also a skilled fruit and vegetable carver. It is a delight to watch him work his magic and create art out of raw fruits and vegetables.

A dish is as good as its ingredients and Suriya likes to use fresh ingredients, grown in kitchen garden. He proudly says “We Serve What We Grow.”

Recalling his journey, Suriya says, “I am a poor village boy from South Thailand. I grew up with my mother and aunts. They would ask me to fetch things like lemon grass etc when they would cook. I started cooking rice for my mother as she would go to work. I observed everything she cooked, from curry paste to other dishes.

We didn’t have electricity. We had to cook in charcoal. In the village we grew everything we cooked. I still do that at Lalit.”

Suriya worked for a while before he took up a course in the technical college on food and nutrition.

“I was the only boy among 89 girls. We were taught how to take care of babies or people in the hospital. I studied hotel management from a government institute,” he recalls

He started working at TGIF. After working at the kitchen for six months, he shifted to service because he wanted to learn every part of the business.

“Soon I started teaching. I taught chefs and housewives who worked abroad,” he recalls. His big break came when he joined the Intercontinental. He worked in India and Kuwait. But soon decided to come back to India and make it his base. Ever since he has worked in many cities like Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa and Delhi.

Talking about culinary, his favourite subject, he says, “I am an expert in Thai and Chinese. For Japanese I am supporting them.”

He prefers Chinese cooked in the Indian style as he feels that connects him better to Thai cuisines.

Both Thai and Chinese are in huge demand for Indian.

However, for Japapnese food, most people are yet to get acquire a taste, he feels. “Indians just come to try a little bit of Japanese and move on to Thai or Chinese for main course.  

Japanese food means sushi, sashimi and soup at the end. For Indians it’s a different style,” he says.

He prefers to customize food for the customers. “When I see Indians ordering Japanese cuisine, I prepare it differently to satisfy their taste buds. Although still bland, I prefer to add some green chilly in sushi for Indian palate. When I get the order I always check if it’s for a foreigner or Indian. For Indians the food needs to be a little spicy.”

The taste also changes. Thai curry in Thailand is watery. “But here they want it thick. Moreover, I have to avoid fish sauce. Even non-vegetarians don’t like fish sauce here, even for salads.”

LAAB KAI SALAD

Ingredients

• Minced chicken    300gms      
• onion    20gms       
• Mint    10gm       
• Rosted dry red chilli     5gms       
• Crush rice powder    20gms    
• Coriunder    10gm        
• Salt    To Taste       
• Thai chilli paste     1 tbsp         
• sugar    To taste        
• DRESSING                  
• Lemon juice    30ml        
• Fish sauce    30ml        
• Spring onion    5gms        
• Fresh Red chilli (diamond)    2no

Method
Heat the oil in the sauce pan, put minced chicken, stir it until chicken cooks.
Remove from the flame and add fish sauce, lemon juice, roasted rice powder, salt, sugar, chilli paste and chilli flakes mix well and add all the vegetables, serve along with cucumber fried red chilli and lettuce.    

KHAO PHAD KAPRAO KUNG

Ingredients

• Thai rice(jasmine rice)    400gms       
• Kung (prawns)    100gms        
• Garlic    10 gms       
• Fresh red chilli    10 gms       
• onion     20gm          
• coriunder    2no             
• carrot    20gm           
• Hot Basil    30gm           
• Oil    100ml           
• stir fried sauce    100ml                

Method    
Heat oil in the pan, put chopped garlic crushed fresh red chilli and stir fry it for 10 seconds and add carrot, onion and prawn. Stir until the prawn cooks and add stir fried sauce and hot basil, mix well. Add steamed rice and mix well. Serve in the bowl, garnish with coriander.

PLA NUNG MANAO

Ingredients

• Seabass filet    700gm        
• lemongrass    100gm        
• Garlic    40gm            
• fresh red chilli     10gm            
• coriander stem    60gm            
• sugar    30gm            
• lemon juice    80ml            
• salt    20gm         

Method    

• Beat lemon grass and cut 2 inch long, put in the plate and slice the fish 2 cms thick. Put on top off the lemon grass, steam for 12 minutes
• Mix sugar lemon juice and salt, stir until sugar melts and add chopped chilli, chopped garlic and coriander stem. remove fish from steamer, pour the sauce on top garnish with coriander leave.