Follow Me Foodie: Sous vide’s stock rising to the top (Sous Vide dishes in Vancouver)

The chicken breast in Railtown Café’s chicken club sandwich stays moist thanks to the sous vide technique. – Railtown Café Vancouver photo

Enter the world of sous vide. Sous vide means “under vacuum” in French, but the cooking technique refers to sealing food in airtight, food-safe, plastic bags, and cooking them in a water bath at a controlled temperature for a certain length of time. It is comparable to poaching and slow cooking, but the heat is controlled and there is no loss of nutrients.

Started in the 1970s, it wasn’t until early 2000 that chefs started to experiment with it — an old-but-new way of cooking initially associated with fine dining restaurants. Now, however, it’s more mainstream and even available to the home cook.

Cooking the food at low temperatures for longer results in succulent, tender, juicy and flavourful meats, seafood and vegetables. The forgiving technique prevents overcooking and allows for consistency.

While I am an advocate of the technique, not every cut of meat or vegetable tastes best sous vide. It is a “dummy-proof” way of cooking and rather simple to do, but it still requires an understanding of temperatures and cooking.

Outside of the culinary word, it’s still rather mysterious and menus often use “slow poached” to replace the words sous vide to make it easier for customers to understand. If you’re new to it, it is likely you’ve had it before without even knowing it and many of Vancouver’s top restaurants and favourite dishes are made using sous vide as a technique. Read the full article.

If you’re interested in learning more about sous vide, Cedarlane Culinary is hosting a free sous vide workshop at Dirty Apron (540 Beatty St.) from 11am – 12:30pm on Sept. 8. Call 604 879 8588 to book your free spot.

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