Dishing up 2017

From more pop-ups to more Michelin madness, the year looks like it could be delicious - and healthier, too. Mike Peters reports.

What can we expect on restaurant menus as we enter a new year?

Some of the trends that got a start in 2016 will surely continue, such as pop-up restaurants and events. Bowls - those one-dish meals that have been hits in Beijing (the Hatchery) and Shanghai (Little Catch and Bowl'd) are also surely destined to continue their runs, in part because they are great options for delivery orders.

Other foodie enthusiasms will be new, including the world's discovery of something Chinese have known all along: Sorghum is cool.

The earthy grain has been long appreciated in China: It's the heart of baijiu, China's national white liquor, and the title character of Mo Yan's novel Red Sorghum and the subsequent hit film. But sorghum has never gotten much respect in the West, where it's mostly grown to feed farm animals.

That's going to change this year, say food and nutrition experts.

Christy Brissette, the Washington Post's nutrition writer, reports from the recent Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in Boston that sorghum is definitely in. Quinoa - the darling of the past 12 months? So last year.

Sorghum is suddenly global hot stuff because it packs lots of fiber and protein. As Brissette notes, it's also a source of bone-building magnesium and phosphorus, immune-boosting iron and B vitamins such as niacin and B6 that help convert your food into energy.

It's also gluten-free, already a buzzword that appeals to health-conscious consumers. International food packagers are already incorporating sorghum into ready-to-eat breakfast cereals and baked chips - and popped sorghum is a popcorn alternative coming to more store shelves in the new year.

In China, the introduction of a Michelin guide for Shanghai is good news for that city and probably (more) bad news for Beijing.

Michelin's attention helped entice several culinary luminaries to Shanghai in 2016, notes chef and magazine columnist Christopher Pitts, including Joel Robuchon, Alvin Leung and Marc Meneau. "Now it's time to pick up the pace," he writes in City Weekend Shanghai. "As of now Pierre Gagnaire has already been confirmed and I'm sure there are more to come. Five-star hotels love Michelin chefs; with Bulgari, St. Regis, W Hotels and Edition opening next year, we'll see which ones snag some more stars for Shanghai."

The boost in Shanghai's status as a culinary scene could be offset in Beijing, where China's slowing economy has scotched flirtations by celebrity chefs from Alain Ducasse to Jaime Oliver. We're still hoping.

Other observers suggest, however, that China will be the Next Big Thing in food porn: "egg porn".

"The Year of the Rooster will undoubtedly be the launchpad for all manner of poultry and egg dishes at restaurants all around the world," writes one. Eggs - and chicken - are getting lots of play on new menus from top chefs.

The Chinese zodiac doesn't always invite creativity in the kitchen.

Asked what will be on her table for Chinese New Year's Eve, cookbook author Fuchsia Dunlop says, "I usually like to do something that has to do with the year, so chicken." The just-ending Year of the Monkey wasn't so easy to work with, though she marked the occasion by preparing chicken steam pot with monkey-head mushrooms.

Several importers and food distributors in China say we can expect a big push for quality seafood around the country. Good news for salmon lovers: Mending relations between China and Norway should make salmon from that country more available and less expensive. Meanwhile, ongoing food safety concerns mean that foods with a claim to be organic or natural will continue to grow in popularity.

Health-conscious eating habits will make new fans of cauliflower, chef Pitts predicts.

"Cauliflower is the meat of the vegetable world," he says. "It has a neutral flavor that holds up well to cooking methods usually reserved for steaks. Pan-fried, deep-fried, raw, sauteed or grilled, it can do it all." He says cauliflower appeals to vegetarians, to meat eaters looking for a meaty side dish that's not green, and to chefs looking to make good money on a very inexpensive ingredient.

In China, cauliflower has another thing going for it. It's already much-used in the country's cuisine. Many in the West, particularly Americans, have long considered cauliflower one of those "yucky" vegetables grandma always overcooked, and are just now becoming fans of its potential.

Elsewhere in the veggie world, beans and lentils are now being ground to make pasta that's higher in protein and fiber than wheat-based varieties. Like other plant-based proteins, legumes will be bigger in packaged snacks, too: Roasted chick peas (with flavors like Thai coconut) and broad beans are heading for more store shelves globally.

Finally, China's ongoing push for free-trade agreements should brighten the imported food scene. The imminent FTA with Georgia, once signed, will wash away customs taxes quickly, while those fees will be whittled away more slowly in other agreements, like Australia's.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn