In Defense of Ugly Food

Recently I made one of the tastiest dishes I’ve had in awhile, and it looked hideous. In these drab days of January, I was looking for something to inspire my taste buds, something with warming lots of garlic and ginger, a big handful of fresh bright cilantro, and tangy fish sauce. It is also post-holidays, and I just didn’t have the energy to get too fancy. So I turned to my favorite fried rice dish. 

When chef Andrea Nguyen demos her fried rice it looks beautiful, in no small part due to her incredible skill and adept hand at presentation. Mine? Not so much. 

I started with some day-old jasmine rice, and then lay out my ingredients. All the above, plus an egg, the best Bango brand kecap manis, and my favorite peppery hot sauce. I fired up a wok, softened the ginger and garlic, warmed the rice, fried the egg in there, some salt and lots of black pepper, added the sauces, finishing it off with loads of cilantro and a sprinkle of lime juice. It looked messy.  Actually, downright ugly. I did not tweezer the cilantro or carefully distribute the egg. Would it make the experience of eating it less appealing?

I sat down at the table, and took a little scoop. Heaven. Salty, sweet, a touch sour, herby, umami. I savored each delectable bite, scraping the last little ugly scraps onto the spoon, only stopping from licking the bowl to preserve my last inkling of propriety.

It got me thinking about eating. Some of the best food is like this, a mess. Brown and lumpy, it looks downright gross if simply photographed or admired for aesthetic reasons. Yet it tastes incredible. I’m going to admit it, ugly food might be the best food. 

Think of the best curries and stews, eggs scrambles, or a salad heaped in a bowl. Looking at it you might wonder, is this food or compost? Yet it’s delicious and comforting, the very best thing to fuel and nurture the soul and connect a group of people. As a professional food maker, I know I’m supposed to wow diners with beauty and my artful skills at aesthetic placement. There’s a whole industry of shows from “Top Chef” to “Is it Cake?” that build upon visual stimulation as tantamount to taste. They say we eat with our eyes first. And I applaud the many chefs who spend their careers designing gorgeous food. I have certainly enjoyed beautiful meals, amazed at the beauty of ingredients woven into perfect art.

But my heart and belly will only be truly satiated with a messy plate, and not without culinary reason. Taking an array of disparate ingredients and through cooking, transforming them into something truly other is creative and culinary. This ‘mess’ is where the magic happens. And I think the more we admit that cooking ugly food is equally relevant, the more people will be inspired to feed their communities with food that feels, tastes, and smells like home. 

Ciao, I’m going into the kitchen to make a frightfully delicious lunch.