Anyone interested in Fusion Cooking?

[BWinCA]

Hi,

I have just joined here today, in part because I see there is a lot of great ideas and information posted on this website. In addition to the more general topics listed I am very interested in fusion cooking. I love trying out new and different cuisines, e.g. Thai, Chinese, Mideast, etc. in addition to Italian, Greek, American, etc. Naturally, after a while I see what I can do if I combine ingredients which you would never think would match, but they do!

So I am hoping that there is enough interest in this topic on here so that we can have a spirited exchange of creative, new ideas, either from things you have already experimented with or are thinking how it would go. Maybe someone has already tried it and could tell us!

So I'll start by giving out a creation which I recently discovered which blew my mind at how good it tasted. I made Black Bean Sauce from scratch (the kind you get in Chinese restaurants) and had some pecorino al tartufo cheese. For those of you who aren't familiar with the cheese it is Italian cheese from Tuscany which is made from sheep milk and mine was semi-soft. Those of you who cook Italian food know pecorino well. This one has tiny specks of white and black truffles in it. The truffles makes it sound fancy but it isn't. I got the cheese from Costco

I took, get this, frozen chicken fillets (also from Costco), and microwaved them for lunch! I know...don't be too hard on me. Anyways, I put a slice of the cheese over each piece and topped it with the black bean sauce and put it back in the microwave, covered, for a minute. When it came out it was fantastic! I can't wait to cook it properly.

This post has already gotten long so I will wait to see if anyone is interested in the black bean sauce recipe and will post it then. But feel free to post your fusion ideas- they don't have to be exotic. Combining the simplest ingredients can make a world of difference.

 

[Just Cooking]

Welcome to DC.

I'd like to see your Black Bean Sauce recipe.

Ross

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

Most of us "fusion cook" all the time, without thinking about it, using ingredients from different cuisines we cook, and use the ingredients in many other foods. I cook a lot of SE Asian foods, but I also use fish sauce in many other types of foods, and shrimp paste in a few - sort of like using that anchovy paste seen in many old recipes, that most people turned up their noses at. And people have been using soy sauce, miso, and other Asian ingredients in non-Asian foods for a long time - all these things for that umami flavor, that has only come to the forefront in the last couple decades. And think about all the foods that curry powder is in - not truly Indian, but designed by the English, to make it easier to make something similar to that food they loved in India. Something I use a lot of from the Indian cooking I've learned is all those different lentils, which have also gotten more available in recent years, not just the original brown/green lentils we had. I make more non-Indian dishes with them than Indian. And black beans are a favorite of mine - I have often used them in Indian dishes, though that is a legume rarely seen in Indian cooking.

And many cuisines are actually fusion cooking. One of my favorites, Malaysian cooking, is based on the foods of the many immigrants that brought their cooking to the region - Chinese, Thai, Indian, and many others, make for some delicious and unique foods.

 

[BWinCA]

Welcome to DC.

I'd like to see your Black Bean Sauce recipe.

Ross

Here you go. This recipe was originally on Ming dot com. I made some changes to it after making it a few times.

The quantities listed will make approximately 16 fl ounces.

Ingredients

½ cup grapeseed oil or canola oil, divided
5 oz fermented black beans
1/2 cup minced garlic (in processor)
1/2 cup peeled and minced fresh ginger (in processor)
4-5 scallions, white and green parts, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 ½ tablespoon sambal oelek or hot red pepper sauce
1/2 cup Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon white vinegar
Ghost chili powder, to taste (see note)
white pepper, to taste
sugar to taste

Directions
1) Pulse the garlic and ginger in a processor until you get a 'chunky paste' consistency. (This is personal preference. Feel free to adjust consistency based upon your likes). Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the beans, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until the mixture has softened, 2 to 3 minutes.

2) Add the sambal oelek, soy sauce, vinegar, and wine, decrease the heat to medium, and cook until the mixture is reduced by three quarters, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt, white and black pepper, sugar to taste. Add ghost chili powder, if desired, to taste.

3) Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool. When cool transfer half of the mixture to a blender and purée it at high speed while adding the remainder oil. Stir the purée back into the remaining mixture and cool completely. Use or store. Lasts 2 weeks, refrigerated.

NOTE-
Sambal oelek or hot pepper sauce will give your sauce a certain level of spiciness. If you want to raise the heat, however, I highly recommend ghost chili powder. It not only gives the sauce much more spiciness but has a smoky flavor that complements the black bean wonderfully. A WORD OF WARNING- Ghost chili is one of the spiciest chilies in the world. Its scoville (heat) rating is approximately 1 million. This compares to a jalapeno which has a scoville unit rating of about 2,500-8,000. You treat ghost chili powder very carefully, e.g. don't come into contact with it with your skin, make sure its jar is covered tightly, use very sparingly, etc. The extra care is worth it, however, if you like spiciness and like spiciness which doesn't over-power the food, and instead adds its own flavor profile to it.

 

[BWinCA]

Welcome to the forum!

Most of us "fusion cook" all the time, without thinking about it, using ingredients from different cuisines we cook, and use the ingredients in many other foods. I cook a lot of SE Asian foods, but I also use fish sauce in many other types of foods, and shrimp paste in a few - sort of like using that anchovy paste seen in many old recipes, that most people turned up their noses at. And people have been using soy sauce, miso, and other Asian ingredients in non-Asian foods for a long time - all these things for that umami flavor, that has only come to the forefront in the last couple decades. And think about all the foods that curry powder is in - not truly Indian, but designed by the English, to make it easier to make something similar to that food they loved in India. Something I use a lot of from the Indian cooking I've learned is all those different lentils, which have also gotten more available in recent years, not just the original brown/green lentils we had. I make more non-Indian dishes with them than Indian. And black beans are a favorite of mine - I have often used them in Indian dishes, though that is a legume rarely seen in Indian cooking.

And many cuisines are actually fusion cooking. One of my favorites, Malaysian cooking, is based on the foods of the many immigrants that brought their cooking to the region - Chinese, Thai, Indian, and many others, make for some delicious and unique foods.

Yes, charting the origin of food and ingredients is fascinating, and can lead to great discoveries of how we have developed and immigrated around this world, not to mention it can also lead to serious arguments as to what a 'national dish' really is. For example, does anyone really want to tell the waiter when sitting in a restaurant in Rome that their 'Chinese noodles' with tomato sauce is very good?

 

[pepperhead212]

That sounds good, BW! I assume that the 5 oz. of fermented black beans is for the "wet" kind, in the jars? That seems like far too many of the dry, salted kind.

 

[BWinCA]

That sounds good, BW! I assume that the 5 oz. of fermented black beans is for the "wet" kind, in the jars? That seems like far too many of the dry, salted kind.

I'm afraid I am only familiar with the fermented ones I buy at an Asian store and the 'raw' ones you buy in a clear package in a grocery store. When I google fermented black beans I get "Fermented black beans, which are also called salted or dried black beans, are made from soybeans that have been dried and fermented with salt". So I don't know if those are the 'wet' ones you are referring to.

The texture of them is like a raisin. Here is a link to the product I buy. I really like this brand and they are also processed with ginger. It's only my opinion but if you are going to make it this is the brand I would go with. (Note- I am not associated with this store or product in any way).

https://www.tsemporium.com/en_us/xp...u6zV1PtMHA6weg8br-n2izcpvym_bGYAaAm3QEALw_wcB

 

[Kathleen]

The black bean sauce sounds like something I would try! Thanks for posting it!

And welcome to DC!

 

[BWinCA]

That sounds good, BW! I assume that the 5 oz. of fermented black beans is for the "wet" kind, in the jars? That seems like far too many of the dry, salted kind.

I wrote back with a reply and gave the website where you could find the beans which I use. But the post hasn't been approved yet so thought I'd answer you now with a picture of them.

The black beans are fermented. If you Google fermented black beans you get
"Fermented black beans are made by salting and fermenting black soybeans, resulting in a very salty and lightly bitter and sweet dry bean." So I am not sure if that corresponds with your thinking of it as a 'wet bean' or not. They are the texture of a raisin, put it like that. And soft.

The brand which I use is called Yang Jiang Salted Black Bean with Ginger. I think they are fantastic. Here is a picture of them. Sorry about the blurriness. They are popular in Asian stores and online. Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. Also, feel free to add an ounce or so more beans to the recipe, if you want.

 

[pepperhead212]

Thanks, BW - those dry ones are the ones I use all the time, but it just seemed like way more than I have usually used in recipes. I used to get those back in the 80s in a Chinese store that had them simply in plastic bags, with a price on them - if you didn't know what you were looking for, they did look like small raisins! Those wet ones I referred to don't have nearly as much flavor.

 

[BWinCA]

Thanks, BW - those dry ones are the ones I use all the time, but it just seemed like way more than I have usually used in recipes. I used to get those back in the 80s in a Chinese store that had them simply in plastic bags, with a price on them - if you didn't know what you were looking for, they did look like small raisins! Those wet ones I referred to don't have nearly as much flavor.

It could be more than you are used to. I increased the amount of beans from the original recipe. I just happen to like whole beans mixed in with the pureed beans but feel free to adjust the ratios between the ginger, garlic, beans and onions to your liking. One nice thing about this recipe is that you can adjust it to your liking early on, before you are committed.

 

[Just Cooking]

Thank you for responding, BWinCA.

The recipe is interesting. Copied and saved.

Ross

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Fusion Recipe- WonTon Ravioli

1 cup Marinara Sauce
1 lb. Italian Sausage
1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese, or Cottage Cheese
1/2 lb. minced Porcini Mushrooms
1 pkg, Wonton Skins
a finger bowl o water

These raviolis can be deep fried until golden brown in a couple inches of oil, or boiled in a tomato based veggie soup, or cooked in a marinara.

Make you favorite marinara sauce. Brown the Italian sausage, then degrease. Combine all ingredients, except wonton skins. Let cool.

Lay out a single wo and place a tbs of filling in the middle. Using the finger bowl to wet your fingers, wet all sides of the wonton skins. Fold all corners inward to the center, overlapping them slightly to seal in the filling. Place on a cooling rack for five minutes. Cook as you wish. Serve with steamed asparagus, broccoli, spinach, or salad.

Hope yoy like this.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

I recently had a pizza with butter chicken. It's definitely fusion. It's definitely delicious.

 

[BWinCA]

Fusion Recipe- WonTon Ravioli

1 cup Marinara Sauce
1 lb. Italian Sausage
1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese, or Cottage Cheese
1/2 lb. minced Porcini Mushrooms
1 pkg, Wonton Skins
a finger bowl o water

These raviolis can be deep fried until golden brown in a couple inches of oil, or boiled in a tomato based veggie soup, or cooked in a marinara.

Make you favorite marinara sauce. Brown the Italian sausage, then degrease. Combine all ingredients, except wonton skins. Let cool.

Lay out a single wo and place a tbs of filling in the middle. Using the finger bowl to wet your fingers, wet all sides of the wonton skins. Fold all corners inward to the center, overlapping them slightly to seal in the filling. Place on a cooling rack for five minutes. Cook as you wish. Serve with steamed asparagus, broccoli, spinach, or salad.

Hope yoy like this.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I've used wonton wrappers for different stuffings. Haven't tried this one. Sounds great. Thnx!

 

[BWinCA]

I recently had a pizza with butter chicken. It's definitely fusion. It's definitely delicious.

Now that is a combination I never would have thought! Ok, I will try it. Was this at a restaurant? Indian?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Canadian Yellow Peas Soup with added Red Lentils, and cumin, a fusion of Canadian Pea Soup, and Dahl.

French-Canadian Peas SoupIngredients:
1 lb. dried, yellow whole peas
8 cups water
1 lb. ham hock
1 Large yellow onion large, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup carrots, grated
1 bay leafs
1 tsp. summer savory
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 stick butter.

Place the ham hock into your pressure cooker, or slow cooker and cook unti fall-off-the-bone tender. Remove from the cooking vessel. Add all other ingredients to the pot and cover with broth from the cooked ham hock, plus enough water to cover by two inches. Cover and bring to a simmer. Remove the meat from the ham hock and add to the soup. Continue cooking until the peas are soft.

When the soups is done, add the butter and stir in for a richer flavor. Serve with a crust bread. The soup should be thinner than split pea soup, but not watery either. The pepper is rut really sets this soup apart, along with the mild flavor of the whole, dried yellow pe You can garnish with fresh parsley if you so desire.as. A little cream can be added if you want, but isn't required.

Add an equal amount od Dahl. Link to a past thread. Pick your favorite version from the posts.
https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/dahl-11238.html

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[BWinCA]

Canadian Yellow Peas Soup with added Red Lentils, and cumin, a fusion of Canadian Pea Soup, and Dahl.

French-Canadian Peas SoupIngredients:
1 lb. dried, yellow whole peas
8 cups water
1 lb. ham hock
1 Large yellow onion large, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup carrots, grated
1 bay leafs
1 tsp. summer savory
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 stick butter.

Place the ham hock into your pressure cooker, or slow cooker and cook unti fall-off-the-bone tender. Remove from the cooking vessel. Add all other ingredients to the pot and cover with broth from the cooked ham hock, plus enough water to cover by two inches. Cover and bring to a simmer. Remove the meat from the ham hock and add to the soup. Continue cooking until the peas are soft.

When the soups is done, add the butter and stir in for a richer flavor. Serve with a crust bread. The soup should be thinner than split pea soup, but not watery either. The pepper is rut really sets this soup apart, along with the mild flavor of the whole, dried yellow pe You can garnish with fresh parsley if you so desire.as. A little cream can be added if you want, but isn't required.

Add an equal amount od Dahl. Link to a past thread. Pick your favorite version from the posts.
https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/dahl-11238.html

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Never had yellow peas. A hearty soup with hard crusted bread on a cold night. Perfect. Thanks!

 

[BWinCA]

This is a favorite in our family.

Thai Basil Shrimp Spaghetti

Serves: 2

Ingredients
1/2 lb. thin spaghetti
6 large raw shrimp (peeled and veined)
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh Thai chili (or 1 teaspoon of crush red pepper)
1-2 green onion, chopped (green and white parts)
¼ zucchini, sliced in ¼ inch pieces
mushrooms, sliced, to your liking
½ red bell pepper, sliced
½ tablespoon of Thai soy sauce (you can substitute light Chinese soy sauce but the Thai is much better, imo. You might like it so much that you start using it for Chinese soy sauce)
½ tablespoon of Maggie or Golden Mountain seasoning sauce (can substitute equal quantities of Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce)
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
sugar, to taste
2 tablespoons of water
2 teaspoons of canola oil
½ cup of Thai basil (sweet basil can substitute)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions
• Boil pasta as per the directions on the box. Remove from the heat about 1-2 minutes before it's al dente. Drain and set aside.
• Add the seasoning sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, water, and chilis (or crushed red pepper) in a small bowl. Mix well.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 30 seconds. Then add all the vegetables, turn the heat up to medium-high, and stir quickly.
• When veggies are done to your liking add the pasta to the vegetables and seafood. Stir. Then, add the mixture sauce. Season and stir for 1-2 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

[BWinCA]

Canadian Yellow Peas Soup with added Red Lentils, and cumin, a fusion of Canadian Pea Soup, and Dahl.

French-Canadian Peas SoupIngredients:
1 lb. dried, yellow whole peas
8 cups water
1 lb. ham hock
1 Large yellow onion large, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup carrots, grated
1 bay leafs
1 tsp. summer savory
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 stick butter.

Place the ham hock into your pressure cooker, or slow cooker and cook unti fall-off-the-bone tender. Remove from the cooking vessel. Add all other ingredients to the pot and cover with broth from the cooked ham hock, plus enough water to cover by two inches. Cover and bring to a simmer. Remove the meat from the ham hock and add to the soup. Continue cooking until the peas are soft.

When the soups is done, add the butter and stir in for a richer flavor. Serve with a crust bread. The soup should be thinner than split pea soup, but not watery either. The pepper is rut really sets this soup apart, along with the mild flavor of the whole, dried yellow pe You can garnish with fresh parsley if you so desire.as. A little cream can be added if you want, but isn't required.

Add an equal amount od Dahl. Link to a past thread. Pick your favorite version from the posts.
https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/dahl-11238.html

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Just read the Dahl posts. Have you had a chance to make any of the recipes and, if so, which one (if any) did you favor?