4 ways to add Asian-inspired trends to your menu

Asian foods are big business.

According to Technomic, a leading industry research firm, this diverse cuisine is seeing growth in traditional, fast casual and quick service restaurants. Whether Korean BBQ, sushi or ramen, Asian flavors offer broad appeal and can be an avenue of growth for your business.

So how should you think about incorporating these favored flavors into your menu?

1. Focus on health and wellness
   Foodservice operators can add a healthful and trending spin to their menus with Asian dishes. With health and wellness as a top trend of 2024, adding Asian dishes that feature fresh fish, vegetables and other lean proteins to your menu can open a new avenue to a profitable menu.
2. Add plant-based alternatives to your menu
   Ingredients such as tofu, tempeh, and seitan are commonly used as protein sources in Asian cuisine, providing a satisfying and healthy alternative to meat.
3. Create a fusion of flavors
   Take your menu and add a twist of Asian-inspired flavor. That’s the strategy that Entegra’s Head of Culinary, Chef John Csukor recommends for creating fusion cuisine. Get Chef John’s advice about adding healthy flavors to your menu.
4. Boost your beverage service
   While you’re looking at your menu for places to create tasty new offerings, let’s not forget your beverage menu. Nonalcoholic, mocktails are trending.
   According to Technomic data:
   • Top Asian flavors for nonalcoholic beverages include: coffee, mango, garam masala and orange.
   • Top dishes for nonalcoholic beverages include yogurt drinks, iced specialty tea, iced specialty coffee, iced tea, soft drink, hot tea, chai tea

This surge in the popularity of Asian foods on menus isn't just confined to classics like sushi, ramen, stir-fries, and dumplings. It extends to a broad spectrum of Asian cuisine foods, each offering a unique taste profile that caters to various preferences.

Asian cuisine, with its rich flavors, vast selection of ingredients, and vibrant colors, has seen a significant rise in popularity on menus. Attribute this boom to K-Pop music’s influence, international travel or the growing Asian population in the U.S. One thing is clear, the appetite for Asian cuisine is on the upswing.

Explore Entegra’s culinary services or contact us to have Entegra’s culinary team help you implement any of these profit-generating ideas.