4 Fusion Dishes for Fussy Eaters
If you have a partner who refuses to be adventurous when it comes to food but you would like them to discover the delights of Asian cuisine so you can enjoy such meals together, it might be worth trying a few fusion dishes out at home.
By blending Western cuisine with ingredients and cooking techniques from the Orient, you will be able to introduce your spouse to new dishes whilst still allowing them to stay partially within their comfort zone.
Chinese Pizza – If your partner is a fan of Italian fast food, this is an excellent way to introduce them to something a little more exotic. Prepare the dough as you would for a regular pizza then spread hoisin sauce over the whole surface area. Add the following toppings before baking in an oven
o Extra firm tofu
o Roast duck
o BBQ Pork
o Onion
o Bell pepper
If you prefer, you can make a vegetarian Chinese pizza using Chinese mushrooms, snow peas, water chestnut, bell peppers and baby sweetcorn instead. Once you gain more confidence with exotic toppings, you can start to experiment with any ingredients that you think might work on a pizza.
Steak with Wasabi Sauce – Anybody that loves a good steak will be unable to resist trying this simple fusion recipe and I can vouch for the fact that it tastes delicious. Cook the steaks as you like them and prepare the sauce at the same time. For the sauce, you will need to heat some shallots up in a mixture of white wine and vinegar (1/2 cup shallots, a cup of wine and a tablespoon of vinegar) until there is only a couple of tablespoons of the liquid left. Then, remove the shallots from the liquid that remains and add soy sauce and wasabi sauce to the mix. Add a knob of butter and allow it to melt. You can adjust the amount of soy and wasabi sauce that you use but I would start with just a teaspoon of the latter as it has a very hot, mustard-like taste.
Tandoori Chicken Bruschetta – Another one for Italian foodies, this recipe puts an Indian twist on a traditional antipasto. I like to make enough for 12 slices of bread, as everybody I have introduced this snack to absolutely loves it. If you want to make less, adjust the following quantities as required.
o 2 tbsp. olive oil
o 8 tbsp. finely chopped tomatoes
o 4 finely chopped green chillies
o 8 tbsp. finely chopped onions
o 4 cups shredded tandoori chicken
o 4 tsp. fresh parsley or coriander
o 2 tsp. ground coriander
Heat the olive oil in a pan, then add the onions and tomatoes and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the chillies and continue to fry until all the ingredients are soft and tender. Add the chicken, coriander / parsley leaves and ground coriander then mix well and continue to cook until it is heated through. The quality of the ingredients is important when making an antipasto like this so try to buy produce that carries a British food labelling assurance of quality. There are a number of different schemes to look out for; depending on exactly what it is that you are buying.
Garlic Sausages – This is a Chinese-style dish made with traditional English pork and beef sausages. First you need to cut your sausages into small, chunky slices (4 -6 should be enough to serve 4 people), roll them in corn flour and put to one side. Next, heat some butter and vegetable oil in a pan, sauté 20 thinly sliced garlic cloves until golden brown, add your sausages, 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce, a couple of tablespoons Chinese rice wine, ½ cup water and a sprinkling of sugar. Continue to fry the ingredients until the sausage chunks are nicely browned and cooked all the way through. Remove from heat, add a couple of finely chopped spring onions and serve immediately.
If you feel that you are not yet ready to tackle your own fusion dishes or you would like to see how the professionals do it first, you might like to visit a local restaurant that specialises in mixing elements of various world cuisines into one tasty dish.