Popular Asian Cuisine Appetizers

An Asian restaurant is incomplete without a list of appetizer choices for restaurant guests. Many guests like to choose a few appetizers before their meal is served. This gives them the chance to take the edge off their hunger while they enjoy conversation and extend the evening. Asian appetizers are quite different from the appetizers served in most American restaurants, but they are nevertheless simple to prepare and full of flavor.

Crab Wontons

Crab wontons are a popular Asian restaurant appetizer. In this dish, crab meat is mixed with cream cheese and wrapped in a thin pastry shell. This pastry is then flash fried in a vat of hot oil. The resultant product is a hot, flaky, and creamy delicacy that can be dipped in, or drizzled with sweet and sour sauce. The flavor combinations for crab wontons are endless.

Spring Rolls and Egg Rolls

Spring rolls and egg rolls are Asian appetizers that consist of a variety of ingredients rolled into a raw or fried wrapper. Common stuffings for egg rolls and spring rolls includes pork, chicken, shrimp, carrots, cabbage, and onion.

Edamame

Edamame is one of the simplest yet most popular Asian appetizers in existence. This dish consists of steamed soy beans that are still in the pod. The steamed pods are salted with coarse salt and served hot. The combination of nutty sweetness and sea salt makes this vegetable appetizer quite popular.

Soup and Salad with Asian Flair

Do not underestimate the simplicity of offering a choice of soup or salad as an appetizer at your Asian restaurant. While the concept of beginning a meal with soup and salad is decidedly European, Asian restaurants throughout the world have adopted this custom. In fact, soup is one of the most important menu items in many Asian cuisines throughout the world. You can make several different soups such as egg drop soup, so named because eggs are literally "dropped" into the boiling broth during the cooking process, wonton soup, hot and sour soup, or miso soup. Miso soup is made from fermented soybeans, known as miso and this soup as a distinctly salty and tangy flavor that many customers enjoy.

You can also offer salads that have been customized with Asian ingredients. Seaweed salad is a very popular Asian appetizer. This salad is made from dried seaweed that has been reconstituted in a mixture of water and vinegar. It is usually served atop a bed of pickled cucumbers and dressed in a light and flavorful dressing. You can also offer a green salad that is dressed with a homemade ginger dressing. This allows less adventurous consumers to choose something comforting while still getting a little taste of Asian cuisine.

Appetizers are an important part of an Asian menu. They offer consumers a chance to extend their dining experience and munch on something light while waiting for their food to be prepared. Appetizers also increase the average profit total of tables throughout an evening. Adding a few simple appetizers to your menu is a great way to make your Asian restaurant more successful.