The Ginger Pig Debuts New Items Inspired by Recent Trips to Asia

Long-time Westword readers will be familiar with chef Natascha Hess’s journey from food truck owner to restaurateur to Food Network competitor and, most recently, Michelin Bib Gourmand award-winner. But it was Hess’s journeys across east Asia earlier this year that provided the inspiration for several new menu items that have popped up at both her Denver spot as well as her soon-to-open Boulder takeout window — one of which can’t be found elsewhere in the metro area.

“I’m so reinvigorated,” says Hess of her travels; in February, she spent three weeks in Korea, Japan and Singapore with her Chopped competitor Ann Kim, and in May, she returned for a six-week tour of Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. “Luckily, I got to visit Japan three times,” she says of her favorite destination. “And I loved everywhere else! [But] if everywhere else is a ten, Japan’s a fifteen. I loved it...just the way it feels being there, and the food!”

During her travels, she met up with her hero, chef Andy Ricker (known for cooking Thai cuisine at his now-shuttered Oregon restaurant Pok Pok), and took plenty of cooking classes and day trips exploring ingredients in the region. She acknowledges that even after years of cooking and eating various Asian cuisines, she was still intimidated by some foods. “I want to be brave,” she says with a smile, before admitting she just couldn’t sample balut (fertilized duck egg with a developing embryo cooked and eaten in the shell) or the shiny black skewered scorpions sold by street vendors.
Of course, Hess fell hard for plenty of dishes, too. One of them, Japanese mentaiko spaghetti, is made of mentaiko, or salted pollack roe; heavy cream or mayo; enough butter to baste an entire cow's worth of steaks; and spaghetti (yes, spaghetti — no ramen or soba noodles here). “I had it in Korea and again in Japan a lot this summer,” she explains. “I was searching for it.”

Hess decided she’d add the ultra-rich dish to the Ginger Pig’s menu, but wanted to lighten up the flavor profile; her version incorporates lemon for a hint of citrus. “I wanted to take my staff to taste it, just to try a different version,” she says, “but I couldn’t find anywhere else in Denver serving it.” So when she’s not enjoying her own creation, she’s resorted to online ordering to get her mentaiko fix: “It’s a sauce they make with mentaiko,” she explains of her current obsession. “It’s like buying instant ramen. … I have one in my backpack, just in case.” (Just in case of what, she’s unsure.) “It sounds like I’m talking about weed,” she laughs.

Another recent addition to the menu is Hong Kong French toast: the Ginger Pig’s is made with kaya jam instead of the traditional peanut butter. It is encrusted in corn flakes and panko and served with sweetened condensed milk and butter. The kaya jam is more like a custard made with coconut milk and pandan, she explains. “I put it in shareables and desserts,” she says. “I’ve never put something on the menu twice. It’s absurd, but I think it’s a disservice not to put it both places. Too many people skip dessert, and it’s such a good thing to share.”
Originally it was slated to appear exclusively on the Ginger Pig’s Boulder menu, but owing to customer demand, it was added to the Denver location as well. One guest, Hess says, “was slapping my leg while she ate it. That’s a big deal, to have a physical reaction.”

The Ginger Pig’s second brick-and-mortar location is scheduled to open on the Hill in Boulder by the end of September. “We’re getting really close,” Hess says, noting that all the restaurant equipment is installed, and she’s simply waiting for final inspections. The walk-up window will serve a different menu than the Denver restaurant, with a focus on portable foods that are easy for students to eat on the go. In addition to the Hong Kong French toast, Hess is planning a tom yum noodle bowl (similar to the mentaiko, it’s made with spaghetti but is topped with a hot-and-sour tom yum sauce), as well as some other handheld surprises.
The eatery has come a long way from Hess’s food-truck days, when she couldn’t persuade customers to buy la zi ji (Sichuan fried chicken) or char siu (Chinese barbecue pork) without inventing Americanized names for the entrees (“Chickity China the Chinese Chicken” and “May the Pork be With You” were her workarounds). Now, she says, she’s fortunate that she’s able to educate diners about Asian cuisine, and does so in part by listing the proper name for each traditional menu item in its own language.

And, of course, the Ginger Pig’s Michelin Bib Gourmand award has given Hess and her whole team a boost. “It’s really validating and really shocking,” she says. “What’s been really cool is my team has so much pride and is so happy. The best teamwork I’ve seen in seven years has been this week.” She concludes, “I feel like I’ve eaten a lot of food over the last several years in New York and Asia, and maybe we can hang!”