A tropical treat

Members and guests of the American Women's Association (AWA) got a taste of Hawaii as they watched Executive Chef Karim Aghai cooking up a couple of delicacies at the Trader Vic's Restaurant and Lounge.

The association's monthly Women of Taste event, in which members meet at a selected restaurant or hotel in the kingdom every month, was held at the Hawaiian-theme outlet, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Resort and Spa, Seef Area.

Chef Karim prepared a well-known starter from the menu, the saku tuna poke, which consists of raw tuna marinated in an Asian-Hawaiian style, as well as a main course dish, Kung Pao chicken, with the help of Chef Nick, who is in-charge of the Oriental kitchen.

As Chef Karim dexterously tossed his ingredients, the women were busy scribbling notes on the tips he shared with them.

Milena Padula, wife of the Italian Ambassador to Bahrain, said: "I loved the marinated tuna, especially with the avocado mix in the dish. I enjoy raw fish ... I like sushi very much!"

Retired Ramona Jalali, from Juffair, attended the event with her 12-year-old granddaughter, Sarah Jalali, a student of the Bahrain School. She said: "I really enjoyed the Kung Pao chicken - it was excellent!

"My granddaughter specifically enjoyed the marinated tuna - she had two servings! She found the recipe very interesting."

After the cooking demonstration, the ladies enjoyed a meal from a specially crafted set menu.

Mona Omar, president of the AWA, said: "Women of Taste started as a monthly activity where we all meet every month visiting different eating establishments in Bahrain where we will have a brief cooking demonstration and a taste test followed by some food.

"We normally have these meetings late mornings or early afternoons. But due to Ramadan, we held this month's event at night.

"In October, we will be celebrating our 35th anniversary and as part of this we will be launching a cookbook called International Flavours including various multi-national cuisines. The AWA has 30 different nationalities and a good number of them have shared recipes for this book."

This month's event was organised by Cherryl Chisholm - the association's Women of Taste committee chairwoman.

Trader Vic's shared the recipes of Chef Karim's cooking demonstration with GulfWeekly readers.

Chef Karim's tasty dishes

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

Kung Pao Sauce:

Hoisin sauce 2.27kg

Oyster sauce 2.27kg

Water 3.2ltr

Dried red chili oil 230ml

Ground white pepper 28gm

Sugar 600gm

Salt to taste

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes. Cool, label and cover.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast or drumsticks 174gm

Red onion 28gm

Carrots 28gm

Bok Choy (white part) stem 28gm

Bamboo shoots 20gm

Straw mushrooms 28gm

Red bell peppers 28gm

Dried chilies bird's eye 3

Kung Pao base 114ml

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

Rice bran oil/peanut oil 57ml

Chicken stock 57ml

Toasted cashews 58gm

Method: Put oil in wok, brown the chilies to flavour. Add chicken to the wok and cook for one minute. Add all the vegetables and cook for 20 seconds and deglaze with chicken stock. Add Kung Pao sauce and cook for 20 seconds. Toss in cashews and serve.

Saku tuna poke

Poke dressing ingredients:

Shallot 232gm

Soy sauce 1440ml

Sesame oil 480ml

Jalapeno/green chili large 116gm

Red chili large 116gm

Method:

Mix all ingredients together. Cover, label and place in cooler.

Ingredients:

Tuna 116gm

Poke dressing 57ml

Cilantro 14gm

Tomato (concasse) 14gm

Avocado 29gm

Method:

Combine tuna, poke dressing, tomato and cilantro and mix well. Put tuna poke in ring mould and plate. Place one canelle of avocado on top of the poke. Garnish with cilantro sprig.

Know the chef

Chef Karim, 40, from Barbar, has been working with Trader Vic's in Bahrain for the past six years prior to which he was with the group in the US for two years at The Palmer House Hilton Hotel.

Originally from Germany, Chef Karim's kitchen experience spans 20 years and he has worked in various destinations including Turkey, Austria, Sri Lank and Tunisia. He started his career at the age of 16 seeking to earn extra pocket money while still at school.

While pursuing his career, he took time out to study for a culinary degree and, between 1994 and 1997, Chef Karim completed his apprenticeship with Michelin starred restaurant Gala and also took a culinary course at the Kathe-Kollwitz Schule hotelier school, both in Aachen, Germany.

Having had two shows in the US in 2002 and 2003 and also two radio appearances, Chef Karim's most memorable moment was in 2003 when he prepared a five-course dinner menu during an event hosted by the renowned Robert Mondavi Winery in Chicago.

Chef Karim also had an unforgettable experience on the island when, in 2006, the seven-times Formula One champion Michael Schumacher visited Trader Vic's to celebrate his birthday with his entire Ferrari Team.

He said: "It was nice meeting him, it meant a lot to me. We found out that our homes were quite close by in Germany."

Chef Karim is trained in classic French fine dining cuisine and now boasts Mediterranean, Hawaiian, Oriental and Asian cuisines among his skills.