Fusion Cuisine

Source: Wikimedia_Ethiopian_cuisine_fusion_By Pete unseth – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

How many different cuisines have you dined from? Have you ever wondered if you can taste the goodness of both the cuisines at the same time? Someone in the past must have thought about the same and tried to come up with a solution. Fortunately, they succeeded and paved the way for fusion foods which take a little bit of everything to come up with a completely new dish.

Sometimes done with the intention to cook something more delicious, the other times people also delve into fusion cuisine because they want to make the perfect balanced meal. Some dishes can add protein while some others can add fats to their meal. Adding these up properly can give rise to the ultimate healthy meal.

This whole concept is nothing new- out ancestors had always been developing something new to suit their taste. So, fusion cuisine has been evolving over the centuries and gained significant popularity in the modern era with the introduction of globalization and commercialization. Chefs bought into this concept once they realized that they could achieve two things through fusion food.

One, they didn’t have to worry about traditional boundaries and could experiment with different flavours, textures, and ingredients without fear of being criticized. Two, their food would now appeal to a broader audience and attract more customers.

A bit of history

Fusion foods came into existence as soon as trading became popular. When people started traveling to places other than their home, they started reminiscing about the food they ate back there. For example, noodles were first perfected by the East Asians and then, taken to Europe where it paved the way for spaghetti noodles. This happened because cultures clashed when these travelers went to new places and they wanted to take something back to their homes once they returned.

The peak came in the 20^th century when Wolfgang Puck tried his hand at creating new food dishes like the buffalo chicken spring roll and BBQ nachos. Both of these dishes have been made by combining two or more different already existing food items. So, while he wasn’t the first one to give us fusion foods, his creations are definitely credited as one of the best.

Soon, the latter half of the 20^th century witnessed the emergence of globalization which facilitated the spread of food fusion to many other countries. Today, even food joints like McDonalds have adapted to this food trend: they offer different menus and food items depending on the country their food joints are in.

Some famous examples

We have already mentioned the most famous example of a fusion food above- the noodle. Other than this, we have quite the list which highlights the fact that trading helped in the production of many more food items we eat even today.

The Banh Mi from Vietnam is a very good indicator of the influence of French colonialism in the past. The dish is made by using mayonnaise and baguette which are most definitely not a part Vietnamese cuisine but have been added to suit the taste palate of the French. The Jamaican Patty and Curry Vindaloo were also created to suit the colonizers in both of the countries; the patty is made by adding Indian spices, African heat and Scotch Bonnet pepper while the vindaloo was created to replicate the Portuguese stew Carne de Vinha d’Alhos.

Another good example is that of the ramen noodle which was made by the Japanese to overtake the noodles made by the Chinese. The Shina noodle, which literally translates to “China noodle”, was soon rebranded as Ramen noodles in the late 18^th and early 19^th century when the Japanese forces decided they wanted to exert their influence upon China.

Some other examples include Thai tacos (Thai + Mexican), Sushi Burritos (Japanese + Mexican), Kimchi Quesadillas (Korean + Mexican), Indo-Chinese food items, and the Tex-Mex cuisine (Texan + Mexican).

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