A high-tech Singapore laboratory is replicating traditional Asian dishes with plant-based meat substitutes, from faux-chicken satay to fake beef rendang, to satisfy the region's growing demand for sustainable food.

At the recently opened lab, flavor experts and food scientists in white coats work with plant extracts to produce vegetarian variations of usually meaty dishes that taste just like the actual stuff.

Although demand for sustainable food products in Asia is limited in comparison to the West, it is growing under the increased understanding of healthy eating and worries about the effects on the environment on the consumption of meat.

Plant-based burgers and chicken nuggets have also made their way to the city, but ADM, the US food manufacturing giant, is concentrating its attention on dishes with a more local flavor.

"We collaborate with local chefs and local customers to improve and adapt the flavor to what's required here within Asia," Dirk Oyen, the company's Southeast Asia vice president and general manager for human nutrition, said.

"That's very important so we can develop the local favor."

The ADM lab has produced vegetarian versions of satay (grilled meat skewers along with peanut sauce) and rendang (a beef curry that is slow-cooked in coconut milk and spices).

According to AFP, the company aims to refine the basic ingredients for these kinds of delicacies and sell them to consumer businesses and supermarkets.

The researchers use cutting-edge technologies to combine nutrition, appearance, scent, and flavor to produce protein-rich, vegetarian meat substitutes made primarily of soy and pea beans.

Their items have the appearance of meat, fish, and seafood and can be found in several completed dishes. They also reinvent canned meat items like faux ham and sausages.

Some plant-based foods, such as tofu and tempeh, are readily available in Asia, but ADM hopes to provide customers with a wider and more advanced range.

Concerns about the environmental effects of meat consumption focus on the amount of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, emitted by animals, and the clearing of forests to make more room for grasslands.

Although the appetite for meat substitutes is increasing in Asia, companies such as ADM face obstacles varying from convincing consumers to shift their age-old dietary behaviors to stiff competition.

Singapore also has a slew of regional start-ups producing organic foods ranging from "lab-grown" seafood to dumplings created of tropical fruit rather than beef.