A short time back chefs liked to call what they were doing ‘fusion cooking’. A lot of bad food appeared under the fusion banner and today most of them avoid the phrase like the plague. But it’s really a quibble about semantics. Fusion cooking and fusion dishes have existed since we first sat around a fire cooking our food. Today the only difference is that it happens more quickly and we’re conscious of the process.
The process of fusion is believed to have begun in the 1960’s and 70’s when there was a huge influx of Southeast Asian immigrants into Southern California, in the United States. Many of these people opened restaurants and the existing population was introduced to exciting, and for them, new flavours. Eventually some of these new flavours and ingredients worked their way into the local cuisine.
Another example is the California Sushi Roll. It was developed by a Japanese chef working in California who became enamored of avocados, an ingredient seldom seen in his native Japan. He incorporated them into the sushi he was making in his California sushi shop. The result was the California Roll, a type of sushi now popular not only in California, but also in Japan and other parts of the world.
A classic example of fusion in the kitchen occurred right here in Thailand. The chilli pepper is a Johnny-come-lately to the Land of Smiles. It was introduced by Portuguese traders and missionaries traversing the globe in pursuit of money and converts. The Thais, who already enjoyed the pungent flavour of black pepper, quickly incorporated it into
their cuisine.
Arguably many chefs are trying to disassociate themselves from the fusion label. The problem is caused by arbitrarily mixing elements from different cuisines without really knowing what you are doing. For a chef to combine elements from two cuisines into a new dish, he or she has to understand both cuisines and the properties of the ingredients used. This isn’t fusion that slowly evolved over time, but fusion dishes consciously created by a chef in an attempt to make somethng unique and different. To pull this off requires knowledge and experience.
Thai and fusion at Siam Indigo
One good example of a Phuket restaurant, which has the knowledge and experience of fusion cooking is Siam Indigo. Listed as one of the best restaurants in Phuket by Thailand Tatler for 2007-2009, Siam Indigo blends authentic Thai and Fusion cuisine. Items such as the Rock Lobster Ravioli with lemongrass emulsion and the New Zealand Rack of Lamb with a fresh home made tamarind sauce are a delicious combinations of Western and Thai ingredients that both Thais and foreigners can enjoy and identify with.
A chef or restaurateur can’t simply decide to open a fusion restaurant and hope for success. Without experience and training, the food being fused is likely to be discordant and confused. Invariably many restaurants become afflicted with this problem and they don’t survive. Opened by young Thais with good intentions, but no experience, they are doomed for failure as soon as they opened their doors.
Equally important for fusion cooking to survive is the need for significant numbers of people in the area surrounding the restaurant to have had experience with the different cuisines represented. People are more parochial about the food they eat than any other item in their cultural baggage. Try serving a meal of Western delicacies like foie gras, filet mignon and Crêpes Suzette to villagers from Isaarn or tom yum gung, larb moo, and som tom to a group of French peasant farmers and you’ll see what I mean. The California Roll first succeeded largely because significant numbers of Californians are second and third generation immigrants from Japan. Raised on a diet of Japanese and California food, a sushi roll with avocado wasn’t far out and alien to them. It contained ingredients they already knew and enjoyed.
Tapas by the beach at
Mom Tri’s Oasis
In addition to chefs intentionally trying to create fusion dishes, other factors are contributing to the fusion phenomenon. Ingredients formerly found only in certain areas are now spread around the globe. In some instances this is caused by refrigeration and shipping and in others it is a result of the product being grown and raised in new areas. Farmed salmon is a good example. When available only from the wild, it was expensive and enjoyed primarily by those with deep pockets or by locals in areas where it was caught. Today, salmon is farmed, relatively inexpensive, available almost everywhere and is being ‘fused’ into an enormous number of cuisines. It is now possible to find sushi made with salmon, pizza topped with salmon, and even spicy tom yum salmon soup.
Tapas has in recent times received a thumbs up as a bona fide starter or often a meal in itself. The mixing and matching of not only various ingredients but different types of food allows for a more varied eating experience and produces greater social interaction at the table, a fact inherent to the Thai way of eating. Feta Cheese Samosa flavoured with sundried tomatoes, Beef Carpaccio Thai Style flavoured with spicy garlic lime dressing, Mieng Tuna – a combination of cubed lemon, shallot, ginger, chilli, lettuce and tuna served with mieng sauce – are just several hot and cold tapas to enjoy at Mom Tri’s Oasis Tapas Bar & Restaurant. Perfect for a light meal in the afternoon or as evening starters with jazz music playing in the background!
Some chefs prefer to disassociate themselves from using the word fusion and prefer the use of another diction to express the food served in the dining venue. Rockfish Restaurant & Bar in Kamala offers an ‘eclectic cuisine’, contemporary dishes with influences from Spain, North Africa and Asia. The Rockfish n Chips with garlic and pepper, herby side salad and Asian pesto aioli and the Massaman Curry with braised Australian beef, cashew nuts and potato are popular items that lay testimony to the quality of the establishment’s dishes as evidenced by the returning clientele who venture from all over the island to savour the food.
Eclectic cuisine at Rockfish
In spite of the current aversion to the word ‘fusion’, the number of fusion dishes churned out by restaurants is increasing dramatically. In many instances, chefs are simply using different words to describe what they are doing. The quality of this food varies radically and depends largely upon the skills and experiences of the chef working in the kitchen. This doesn’t mean traditional cuisines and traditional dishes are about to disappear. When a dish is done right and widely enjoyed, people will always insist upon having it. But what it does mean is that the number of fusion dishes confronting diners has increased dramatically. Some of it is genuinely horrible and quickly rejected by restaurant goers. In other instances, dishes, like the California Roll, will become a hit and a permanent part of the culinary scene. And as it has been since we first sat around a campfire, separating the wheat from the chaff will be up to the people eating the food.
