Fusion cuisine is a cuisine that combines elements of differentculinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. Cuisines of this type are not categorized according to any one particular cuisine style and have played a part in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s.[1]
The term fusion cuisine, added to theOxford English Dictionary in 2002, is defined as "a style of cookery which blends ingredients and methods of preparation from different countries, regions, or ethnic groups; food cooked in this style."[2]
Fusion food is created by combining various cooking techniques from different cultures to produce a new type of cuisine. Although it is commonly invented by chefs, fusion cuisine can occur naturally. Cuisines which get fused can either come from a particular region (such asEast Asian cuisine andEuropean cuisine), sub-region (such asSouthwestern American cuisine andNew Mexican cuisine) or a country (such asChinese cuisine,Japanese cuisine,Korean cuisine,French cuisine,Italian cuisine).
Asian fusion restaurants which combine the various cuisines of different Asian countries have become popular in many parts of the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Often featured areEast Asian,Southeast Asian, andSouth Asian dishes alongside one another and offering dishes that are inspired combinations of such cuisines.[3]California cuisine is considered a fusion culture, taking inspiration particularly fromItaly,France,Mexico, the idea of the Europeandelicatessen, and East Asia, and then creating traditional dishes from these cultures with non-traditional ingredients – such asCalifornia pizza. In Australia, due to immigration, fusion cuisine is being reinvented and is becoming increasingly the norm at numerous cafes and restaurants, with Asian-fusion restaurants likeTetsuya's in Sydney ranking highly inThe World's 50 Best Restaurants.[4]
In the United Kingdom,fish and chips can be seen as an early fusion dish due to its marrying of ingredients stemming fromJewish,French, andBelgian cuisines.[5][6]
Filipino cuisine is sometimes characterized as the "original Asian fusion cuisine", combining native culinary traditions and ingredients with the very different cuisines of China, Spain, Malaysia, Thailand and Mongolia, among others, due to its uniquecolonial history.[7]Food in Malaysia (alsoIndonesia) is another example of fusion cuisine which blendsMalay,Javanese,Chinese, andIndian and light influences fromThai,Portuguese,Dutch, andBritish cuisines.[8]Oceanic cuisine combines the different cuisines of the variousisland nations.[9]
Another form of fusion food can be created by utilizing ingredients and flavors from one culture to create a unique twist on a dish from the different cultures. For example, ataco pizza is a type ofpizza created usingtaco ingredients such ascheddar andpepper jack cheese,salsa,refried beans, and other common taco ingredients, fusing both Italian and Mexican cuisines.[10]
Similar approaches have been used forfusion sushi, such as rollingmaki with different types of rice and ingredients such ascurry andbasmati rice, cheese and salsa withSpanish rice, or spiced groundlamb andcapers rolled with Greek-style rice and grape leaves, which resembles inside-outdolmades. Some fusion cuisines have themselves become accepted as a national cuisine, as withPeruvian Nikkei cuisine, which combines Japanese spices and seasonings and Peruvian ingredients likeají with seafood. A quintessential Peruvian Nikkei dish is "maki acevichado" or "ceviche roll", consisting ofceviche withavocado rolled into maki.[11]
Saudi Arabia has been investing in resources to preserve their culture. InJeddah, different cultures from Africa and Asia have used the combination of Saudi Arabia's spices to create new fusion foods found throughout the region and the country.[12]
Fusion cuisine has existed for millennia as a form of cross-cultural exchange, though the term was only defined in the late 1900s. Mixtures of different cultures' cuisines have been adapted since the 16th century.
A lasting legacy of colonialism is fusion food. Colonial trade resulted in the exchange of ingredients, such asbánh mì originating from French ingredients used inFrench Indochina,Jamaican patties combining theturnover with spices and peppers from theBritish Empire's possessions in Asia and Africa, andramen originating asshina soba or "Chinese noodle" from theEmpire of Japan's occupation of China's island territories in the late 1800s and early 1900s.[13][14] Indigenous domestic servants were active participants in creating fusion foods by mixing ingredients and techniques.[15]
Alongside the creation of new dishes, colonialism also introduced class dimensions of food ascultural capital that modified consumption patterns.[16] Indigenous practices of eating guinea pigs in Peru were banned and considered savage until recent movements to reclaim food practices, resulting in the erasure of much traditional knowledge in indigenous communities.[17] These hierarchies are argued to be present in modern fusion food, which has been criticised for being portrayed as European cuisines 'elevating' other cuisines into modernity.[18] Colonial debates also extend into discourse about the authenticity of foods such asorientalist critiques ofimmigrant food being gentrified as ‘ethnic’ food.[19]
In a climate of increasing globalization, where cultures and cuisines frequently cross-borders, cooking and food evolves to cater to the palates of the local communities, a phenomenon known as "glocalization", aportmanteau of "localization" and "globalization".” Fusion cuisine is sometimes created by multinational restaurants, especially fast food chains. A primary example of this corporate globalized expansion is in the case ofMcDonald's regional menus which are adapted to "reflect different tastes and local traditions for every country in which we have restaurants".[20] In addition to catering to the regional food traditions, McDonald's also takes an additional consideration for religious beliefs and laws, as seen in the absence of beef and pork items onIndian menus.
Beyond accounting for the cultural or religious differences in cuisine, some fusion foods have also been created to fit the taste preferences of local communities when ethnic or cultural foods from abroad were introduced. A hallmark example of this adaptation is in the popular sushi roll, theCalifornia roll, which was created in America in the latter half of the 20th century. A popular myth behind its composition containing crab, vegetables, and rice on the exterior cites the American aversion to foreign ingredients such as raw fish and seaweed.
These adjustments to foreign cuisines have both corporate and historical origins. In the example of McDonald's, the creation of regional menus can be seen as an economic choice to cater to the local palates and traditions. Another example of popularized fusion foods is the Korean stewbudae-jjigae, which was created by combining American ingredients ofSpam, Vienna sausages, and sliced cheese, in akimchi stew in the wake of the Korean War during which American tastes and influence were prevalent in Korea.[21]
Immigrants play a significant role in shaping modern fusion cuisine.[22] Food can often be a form of cultural expression that fosters a relationship with one's heritage, and fusion can emerge from creating foods from immigrant's adaptation of their own cultural food to the ingredients available in the host country or region. Immigrants may adapt the use of their cultural ingredients to local culinary traditions. For example, Vietnamese immigrants in the Southern United States used Vietnamese condiments in traditionally Creole cuisine, while adhering toSouthern cooking methods.[23] Similarly, the establishment ofAmerican Chinese cuisine has origins in Chinese-owned small businesses in Americanghettos andChinatowns, with many of these restaurants responsible for the adaptation of Chinese cuisine to American palettes.
Immigrants may also adapt their cultural flavors to the availability of ingredients in the host country:Indian-Chinese cuisine shaped by Chinese immigrants toBritish-ruled India often uses Indian spice and flavor profiles such asgaram masala andturmeric.[24] As such, immigrant-founded fusion cuisines also play a role in shaping food culture in the host country by introducing new flavors and ingredients.
Indian-Chinese cuisine is an example of how gradual migration and exchange across sharedinternational borders contributes to fusion cuisine. Similar cases areSino-Korean food emerging from Chinese diasporas in Korea and shared borders between Korea and Northeastern China, andMexican-American cuisine influenced by Mexican immigration to the Southwest United States that combinesMexican,Native American, and European flavors.
The convergence of two or more immigrant groups in a different host country can also lead to the emergence of fusion cuisines.Chinese andLatin American immigrants to the United States have collaboratively founded fusion restaurants, serving dishes such asChinese dumplings filled withtraditional slow-roasted pork from the Yucatàn Peninsula.[25] In the United States, Asian fusion cuisine can constitute pan-Asian multi-ethnic ingredients such as rice, leading to a newfound form of "American" Asian food unfound in Asia.[26] One popular example of pan-Asian fusion food found in North America is the rice bowl, often with ingredients commonly used together in Asia such as garlic with chili, stir-fried vegetables with tofu.[27] This illustrates the dynamic process between fusion food and its relationship with intercultural solidarity, influenced by both local and other immigrant cultures.
Japanese cooking techniques were combined with French techniques in 1970s France to createnouvelle cuisine.[28]
Wolfgang Puck is attributed as one of the pioneers of fusion cuisine, with some dispute.[13] However, his restaurantChinois on Main was named after the term attributed to Richard Wing, who in the 1960s combined French and Chinese cooking at the formerImperial Dynasty restaurant inHanford, California.[29]
ChefNorman Van Aken was the first person to use the term "fusion cooking" as he delivered a speech at a symposium in Santa Fe in 1988. Soon journalist Regina Schrambling wrote about Van Aken's work and the term spread around the globe.[30] Norman Van Aken ended his speech by discussing the history of fusion cuisine, such as the use of coffee in Italian cuisine.[31] Van Aken related this to coffee being used in different desserts such as Calabrianricotta with chocolatemousse.[32]
Media related toFusion cuisine at Wikimedia Commons
