Cuisine Focus – Fusion – An Interesting Mix

• Tweet
• Share
• Sharebar

• Tweet
• Share

PS: Many sexy and smart people have realized that clicking the Facebook like button and/ or the twitter retweet button on this page gets them free promotion

If we are about to combine two or more traditions, along with their respective culinary expertise, then the end result is what you call ‘fusion cuisine.’ For food pundits, this type of cuisine is a rather bold attempt to produce an interesting array of dishes, without necessarily giving up the flavor and texture of food itself. This type of cooking is relatively popular among countries or places, where cultural diversity seems more evident. Mainly because, the people are keen into trying something new and different, thus relying solely on the overall taste of prepared and served dishes.

Typical examples of Fusion cuisine are the Tex-Mex and Pacific Rim. It is also believed that fusion cuisine attracts not only the supportive crowd but critics as well. In fact, critics tend to downplay the value of fusion cuisine, arguing that practitioners of said cooking give importance to the novelty of food rather than flavor or texture- a claim which often gives way to further arguing and debate.

On the other hand, the existence of fusion cuisine clearly shows the innovativeness and creativity of Chefs and professionals, since they opt to serve a type of dish that rather defies boundaries and cultural limits. They combine the essentials of two or more traditions and highlight a country or place’s culinary expertise. More so, this practice of Fusion cuisine has brought tremendous changes to both the perception and appreciation of various tastes. The concept likewise proves that two different worlds can meet and set a new trend.

The ‘east meets west’ concept practically began Fusion cuisine in the 1970’s. Wolfgang Puck, a culinary expert, somehow provided the framework for this cuisine. He opted to combine European and Asian cuisines and served his dishes in California, where audiences are more diverse and amenable. Years later, French chefs ventured into fusion and combine Asian cuisine with French food. Slowly, the world of fusion began to emerge in key cities of both America and Europe.

It is true that Asian and European cuisines, once combined, can actually produce a number of good-tasting and astonishing dishes. This is because both cultures make use of the finest ingredients and adopt the seemingly-best cooking techniques. On the contrary, some professional chefs focused on combining two or more Asian traditions, which is considered less difficult, due to the commonness shared by Asian nations in either seasonings or food selection.

For food enthusiasts, what truly makes fusion cuisine extremely good is the capacity to combine the best elements present in every culinary tradition. It is more of creating a masterpiece out of a different canvass or medium. Fusion cuisine can also be considered as a work-in-progress or a continuous art form. For this type of cooking likewise demands a relative amount of research and reliable information.

Fusion cuisine makes use of ingredients, both inherent and foreign and blends either the ingredients or techniques available for a specified cuisine. For instance, a Mediterranean salad matches perfectly well with Tempura-battered scallops, which is a Japanese-inspired dish. Smoked salmon, served with crab stick, avocado and cucumber, is another product of Fusion cuisine.  Poached Tofu, on the other hand, is a great example of combining ingredient and technique.

Clearly, this cuisine lays the very foundation of innovation, which inspires many to be creative and persistent. Through it, chefs and professionals finally set their eyes towards something that is defiant of all known limits. And though Fusion cuisine somewhat works like an acquired taste, it still proves that the love for cooking inspires people to explore a world of possibilities.

Authentic Fusion Recipes

Fusion Chinese meatball pasta

Recipe Source: grouprecipes.com

What happens when you live in Italy and miss Asian flavors? You might make pasta with an Asian twist. This elegant pasta has become a wow at the table.

Ingredients:

  2 Italian sausages meat removed from casings

  lean ground pork in equal measure

  1 or 2 scallion tops minced

  a splash of soy

  a splash of wine vinegar

  a splash of toasted sesame oil

  1 teaspoon or more grated fresh ginger root

  a pinch of crushed red pepper

  1/4 cup heavy cream

  8 ounces cleaned spinach, steamed and chopped

  optional: a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds

  130 to 200 grams of pasta, perhaps a curly one

Method:

• Put a very large pot of water on to boil for the pasta.
• Our sausages are very salty, so I have not added salt to the pasta water nor anywhere in the sauce. If yours are not so salty, you may need to salt the pasta water and correct for salt when the sauce nears done.
• Put the sausage meat, the ground pork and all the seasonings into a bowl and mix with your hands.
• Form the mixture into tiny meatballs of about 5/8″ diameter.
• Heat a large frying pan and add a little olive oil and then the meatballs. Sauté them, shaking the pan to keep them round, until they lose their color.
• Toss the pasta into the boiling water.
• Add the cream to the frying pan over the meatballs. Add a little of the pasta water to thin it to about the consistency of light cream.
• Add the spinach and stir it in. Continue to stir while the pasta finishes cooking.
• When the pasta is done, drain it and put it into the frying pan, stirring to incorporate the sauce.
• Serve blazing hot, optionally with a sprinkling of sesame seeds, but DO NOT USE CHEESE.

Pork Chops with Balsamic Reduction

Recipe Source: asian-fusion.com

This is another one of those very easy to prepare dishes while still impressing with the clean and pronounced flavors. Simple pan-frying of the boneless pork chops minimizes use of oil while the reduction of good quality balsamic vinegar until it is thick and syrupy lends subtle acidity mingling with sweetness.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 1/4 pounds boneless pork chops (8 thin slices)

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon garlic powder

-3/4 teaspoon paprika

-freshly ground black pepper to taste

-1 Tablespoon olive oil

-4 shallots, minced

-1 1/2 Tablespoon butter

-1 cup balsamic vinegar

-chopped parsley to garnish

Method:

-sprinkle salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper evenly over both sides of pork chops; let sit for 15 minutes

-simmer balsamic vinegar on medium heat until thickened to a syrup consistency (approx. 10 minutes)

-pan-fry pork chops in olive oil in non-stick skillet on medium high heat approximately 2 minutes on each side until golden brown

-arrange pork on serving plates

-in the same skillet, saute butter and shallots on high heat just until lightly browned; spoon evenly over pork chops

-drizzle balsamic glaze over pork chops

-sprinkle chopped parsley to garnish

Image Credit: hubpages.com

grouprecipes.com

asian-fusion.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Currently 3 comments - But what do you think?

Related Posts

• An Outline of World’s Cuisines
• Cuisine Focus – Afghan – A Likely Blend of Culture and Taste
• Cuisine Focus – East Meets West – Beyond Borders
• Cuisine Focus – Welsh – Customs and Change
• Cuisine Focus – Vegetarian – A Matter of Personal Choice

• 
• Share
• Tweet

• Digg it
• Delicious it
• Stumble it
• Sphinn it

Sign up here to ensure that you receive our regular ezine, blog updates and the entire chefs package for FREE! Learn more

Free Instant Access »