Food Fusion Chefs Are Cooking Up Recipes That Borrow Bits And Pieces From Around The Globe
You don’t need a degree in nuclear science to understand fusion food.
It’s really nothing more than taking the notion of a melting pot and bringing it into the kitchen.
Cross-cultural cooking - the clever blending of ingredients from many different ethnic cuisines - has transcended trendiness to make its way into the mainstream.
Have you ordered a Thai pizza lately? Sampled Oriental osso buco? Or Asian pasta primavera?
“The whole world is getting smaller every day,” said Meg Edwards, the chef at Fugazzi in Spokane, who routinely uses Asian ingredients in her creative dishes. “We’re exposed daily to Asian influences in architecture, clothing, technology. It only makes sense that it will end up in our food.”
The growing use of ingredients from Pacific Rim countries was the focus of a recent three-day food conference in Seattle. The annual gastronomic gathering of the American Institute of Food and Wine drew such culinary celebrities as Julia Child and vintner Robert Mondavi, founders of the organization.
Along with several hundred fellow foodies, they listened to celebrity chefs, cookbook authors and farmers talk about how the world has opened up to Asian influences.
“Fusion has been going on since we first started eating,” said Helen Chen, who heads an East Coast company that specializes in ethnic cookware. “Marco Polo brought noodles from China back to Italy and pasta was born.”
While many Asian ingredients such as ginger, rice vinegar and soy sauce have become commonplace, the elaborate ritual that goes along with preparing and eating meals in Pacific Rim countries has yet to catch on here.
In Asian cultures, food is considered much more than sustenance. It’s thought of as medicine and a spiritual force. It’s social. And it’s symbolic.
Chen said many Chinese dishes take on important meanings.
“Noodles are a symbol of long life. Cold fish dishes are a sign of abundance, and spring rolls symbolize money,” she said.
Instead of reading hidden meanings into foods, Americans tend to focus on taste. And Western palates aren’t nearly so accepting of strong flavors and unusual textures, said farmer and author David Mas Masumoto, the conference’s keynote speaker.
“Asians appreciate soft, almost slimy textures. The eye of the fish is considered a delicacy,” said Masumoto, who wrote the acclaimed “Epitaph for a Peach,” the story of his struggle to grow a traditional, delicate peach in a modern marketplace that demands long shelf lives.
You’re not likely to find the pungent sea urchin gel or dried cuttle fish on any American menu, either.
That might explain why fusion food, which combines the more accessible ingredients from faraway cultures, has played so well.
One of the most respected leaders of the East-meets-West culinary movement, chef and cookbook author Roy Yamaguchi, said there’s no magic formula for fusion food.
“It’s simply a matter of adding the freshest Asian ingredients to classic sauces to create a new flavor,” said Yamaguchi, who owns a number of wildly successful restaurants in Hawaii and Japan. (He’s opening a Seattle location at The Westin Hotel at the end of this month.)
Yamaguchi is a European-trained chef who worked in several high-profile Los Angeles restaurants before returning to Hawaii. “Euro-Asian” is the phrase he uses to describe his dishes, such as pasta primavera with shiitake mushrooms and a miso-spiked version of the Scandanavian salmon classic, gravlax.
In Spokane, Fugazzi’s Edwards finds her customers warm more quickly to Asian-inspired dishes that have a familiar feel.
“When we put the smoked salmon egg roll with a Thai dipping sauce on the fall menu, people love salmon, so they order it and they’re pleasantly surprised,” she said.
Rod Jessick, the executive chef for The Coeur d’Alene Resort, said kitchens should avoid mixing things up too much.
“All chefs want to experiment, but I believe in honesty in cooking,” he said. “If you mix things up too much, you can come off being cutesy.”
Jessick had the opportunity to turn the fusion equation in the other direction last summer during a three-week trip to China, where he cooked some Western dishes for appreciative audiences.
At hotels in Shanghai and Beijing, Jessick said, his chicken strips received raves. “They went crazy over them,” he said.
He also took along 500 pounds of Idaho potatoes and 200 pounds of salmon, as well as Dungeness crab and other Northwest products.
Jessick worked with chefs at the Great Wall Sheraton to cook up crab cakes, rack of lamb and New York-style cheesecake.
In return, he picked up some new techniques (he learned to make Chinese dumplings, for instance) and discovered a host of unusual ingredients, including black vinegar, pickled cabbage packaged in a baggie and caterpillars in a jar.
Still, it’s unlikely those exotic ingredients will find their way onto the menus at Beverly’s - even at Jessick’s special, sold-out Asian dinner Friday night.
“Just because it’s new doesn’t mean you should use it,” Jessick said.
Fugazzi’s Smoked Salmon Egg Roll
Chef Meg Edwards says this crispy creation is both smoky and spicy.
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1-1/2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup jicama pieces, peeled and sliced thin cup
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 cup EACH red and green cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/4 cup Thai fish sauce, available at most Asian markets and some supermarkets (or substitute 2 tablespoons soy sauce)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3/4 cup smoked salmon, sliced thin
Salt and pepper
6 egg roll wrappers
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons cold water
3 cups peanut or canola oil for frying
Dipping sauce:
1 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons red chili flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 kaffir lime leaves (available at most Asian markets), or the zest of 3 limes
Optional garnish:
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced thin
To make the sauce, bring the rice vinegar and red chili flakes to a boil in a small pot and remove from heat. Add soy sauce, honey and lime leaves or zest and set aside to cool for about 1 hour.
In a large saute pan, lightly saute garlic, ginger and cilantro (do not brown) in 2 tablespoons canola oil. Add all vegetables and saute until just warmed through, about 4-5 minutes.
Add fish sauce and rice vinegar to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add the salmon, toss well and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Mix together cornstarch and cold water. Fill each egg roll wrapper with approximately 1/6 of the mixture. Fold according to the directions on the package; rub edges with cornstarch mixture to seal.
Heat the 3 cups oil in a deep-sided pan or wok to approximately 360 degrees. Carefully place egg rolls in oil and turn when golden brown on first side, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.
If desired, serve egg rolls on a bed of peeled and sliced cucumbers and the sauce. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and julienned basil leaves.
Yield: 6 servings.
Asian Pasta Primavera
A few key Asian ingredients give this Italian classic an exotic twist. Created by chef Roy Yamaguchi for his book “Roy’s Feasts from Hawaii” (Ten Speed Press).
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame or peanut oil
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons minced lemon grass (available at most Asian markets and some larger supermarkets)
1/2 teaspoon minced kaffir lime leaf (available at most Asian markets), or the zest of 1 lime
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, cut into julienne strips
1 cup carrots, cut into julienne strips
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into fine julienne strips
1/2 cup red bell pepper, seeded and cut into fine julienne strips
20 asparagus tips (or 1 cup broccoli spears)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound linguine, cooked al dente
1/4 cup light soy sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
Optional garnish:
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons Japanese plum sauce (available at Asian markets or larger supermarkets)
4 sprigs fresh basil
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds, available at Asian markets
1 sheet nori, cut into julienne strips (available at Asian markets and some larger supermarkets)
Heat the olive and sesame oils together in a large heavy saute pan. Saute the ginger, garlic, lemon grass, and lime leaves for 30 seconds over high heat, or until slightly browned.
Add the mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, bell peppers and asparagus, and saute for about 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.
Add the warm pasta to the vegetables in the pan. Toss well and season with soy sauce and lemon juice.
Serve on warm plates and garnish, if desired, with the goat cheese sprinkled around the noodles, a dollop of the plum sauce on top and a sprig of basil. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and nori.
Yield: 4 servings.
Oriental Gravlax
Also from “Roy’s Feasts From Hawaii” (Ten Speed Press), Yamaguchi’s version of this classic cured salmon derives its mild, slightly sweet quality from the miso.
1 pound fresh salmon fillet, skin on
1/2 cup white miso (available at Asian markets or health food stores)
Curing mixture:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup minced lemon grass (available at Asian markets and some larger supermarkets)
4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped (available at most Asian markets), or the zest of 6 limes
1 tablespoon shichimi togarashi (a Japanese spice blend available at Asian markets)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
With a sharp knife, lightly score the skin of salmon lengthwise with 3 parallel cuts, just breaking the skin. Rub miso over the entire salmon.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a large stainless steel bowl. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap that’s big enough to wrap the fish. Spread with half of the curing mixture in roughly the shape of the piece of salmon. Place the salmon on top and spread it with the remainder of the curing mixture. Wrap the salmon carefully, making sure the package does not leak, and set on a platter. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
Remove the plastic wrap and rinse off all the seasoning. Slice the salmon thinly, removing the skin, and arrange on serving plates. Serve with triangle-shaped pieces of toast, or with a light salad.
Yield: 4 servings.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Staff illustration by Molly Quinn