Fusion cuisine
[4] In the United Kingdom, fish and chips can be seen as an early fusion dish due to its marrying of ingredients stemming from Jewish, French, and Belgian cuisines.
In Jeddah, 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.
Colonial trade resulted in the exchange of ingredients, such as bánh mì originating from French ingredients used in French Indochina, Jamaican patties combining the turnover with spices and peppers from the British Empire's possessions in Asia and Africa, and ramen originating as "shina soba" or "Chinese noodle" from the Empire of Japan's occupation of China's island territories in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
[15] Alongside the creation of new dishes, colonialism also introduced class dimensions of food as cultural capital that modified consumption patterns.
[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", a portmanteau 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 of McDonald's regional menus which are adapted to "reflect different tastes and local traditions for every country in which we have restaurants".
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.
[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.
Similar cases are Sino-Korean food emerging from Chinese diasporas in Korea and shared borders between Korea and Northeastern China, and Mexican-American cuisine influenced by Mexican immigration to the Southwest United States that combines Mexican, Native American, and European flavors.
[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.
[29] Chef Norman 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.
