Singapore lab cooks up Asian favourite food with plant based meat

  • Date: 08-May-2021
  • Source: Gulf Today
  • Sector:Industrial
  • Country:Gulf
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Singapore lab cooks up Asian favourite food with plant based meat

Flavour specialists and food scientists in white coats work with plant extracts at the newly opened facility to create vegetarian versions of traditionally meaty dishes that taste like the real thing.

 A display of gluten-free brownies. AFP

Demand for sustainable foods in Asia, while small compared to the West, is rising in tandem with greater awareness about healthy eating and concerns about the environmental impact of meat consumption.

Plant-based burgers and chicken nuggets have already found their way to the region, but US food processing giant ADM is focusing its efforts on dishes with more local appeal.

"We work with local chefs, work with local customers to really develop and tailor the taste to what's needed here in Asia," said Dirk Oyen, the company's Southeast Asia vice president and general manager for human nutrition.

  A staff member displaying a sample of coconut-flavoured syrup. AFP

"That's really the key — so we can create the local taste."

The ADM lab has cooked veggie versions of satay (grilled meat skewers served with a peanut sauce) and rendang (a beef curry slow-cooked in coconut milk and spices).

It hopes to perfect the base ingredients for such delicacies and market them to consumer firms and supermarkets, According to AFP. 

The scientists use cutting-edge technology to