Unexpected Ingredients

By Food & Wine
Updated May 10, 2017
These unconventional dishes include mint ice cream made with cream cheese and a modern chicken chow mein spiked with orange juice.
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Octopus with Black Bean-Pear Sauce

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Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert is a master at weaving together unexpected ingredients, like this tender charred octopus with a sauce of salty fermented black beans and sweet pear.

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Pear-Cilantro Margarita

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Unusual fruit and herb combinations distinguish the drinks at Chicago's De Cero, an upscale taqueria whose name loosely translates as "from scratch."

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Mint Ice Cream

Credit: Frances Janisch
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This exceptionally creamy ice cream relies on two unexpected ingredients: corn starch (to help thicken it) and cream cheese (to make it scoopable).

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Edamame, Celery and Fennel Salad with Candied Lemon

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The crunchy mix of ingredients in this salad is unexpected and fun. And the dressing is equally unusual: It's made with chopped candied lemon as well as soy sauce, toasted-sesame oil and Sriracha, so it's both sweet and spicy.

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Updated Chicken Chow Mein

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Marcia Kiesel's modern version of this Chinese-American dish includes stir-fried egg noodles with chicken sausage, chiles, basil and an unexpected ingredient—orange juice.

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Shrimp Fried Rice with Coconut and Pickled Onions

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"I've served this dish since day one at Straits," says Chris Yeo. For his exquisite version of fried rice, known in Southeast Asia as nasi goreng, he adds two surprise ingredients: quick-pickled onions and nutty shredded coconut.

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