photo: Hainanese chicken rice risotto served at Stateland Cafe
Tucked away in a little corner, just off a major tourist attraction, is a l dimly-lit bistro serving a different, yet familiar little dish: Hainanese chicken rice risotto. The lightly flavored yet tender steamed chicken sits atop creamy and gingery risotto rice. It is a fusion of taste and texture that simultaneously reminds diners of two different cultures. Such is the endearing and enduring popularity of fusion cuisines.
The term “fusion cuisine” is relatively modern. However, the concept is as old as trading and traveling. As different cultures come in contact with one another, they exchanged knowledge on ingredients and cooking styles, and in many cases, combined them to create new dishes. The most classic example would be the case of Italian spaghetti emerging from Chinese la-mian noodles.
The modern fusion cuisine concept can be traced back to the 1980s, when a handful of Western-trained chefs started combining their familiarity with certain Asian cuisines usingWestern gastronomy styles and gourmet cooking methods. Their creations quickly gained popularity across the US, and then across the globe.
Fusion cuisine is again generating strong interest in the last few years as it evolves away from gourmet restaurants and moving into mainstream and casual food joints. It is in this environment that Southeastern fusion cuisine gains ground to meet the likes of the classy French-American inspired cronut from New York and the classic Japanese-American fusion Californian maki rice roll. Hidden in the clutter of local Southeast Asian hawkers are the unknown chefs innovating in little ways to bring their stalls to prominence.
Social media played a crucial role in enabling innovative new dishes to reach the masses. The most recent fusion cuisine tends to be creative, stylish, and Instagram-worthy. It is through social media that many get introduced to the satay burger, the pad Thai pizza, the Vietnamese coffee mochi cruffin, and the upgraded bak chor mee foie gras pasta. When the fusion is done right, it will be the next online content to go viral.
Vietnamese coffee mochi cruffin for a truly Asian-fusion pastry tea time snack