East meets West

Your imagination is the only limit when you combine different styles of cuisine.

Copyright © 2007 All Rights belong to Füsun Atalay

Fusion cooking, despite its relatively recent and avant garde name, has been around for hundreds of years. Fundamentally this type of cooking combines key elements of ethnic recipes and cooking styles with some variations on flavors and spices to create new dishes which look and even taste like the original ones.

A good illustration of this would be the "shish kebab," so common in Middle Eastern countries. Shish is a Turkish word which means "skewer", and "kebab" refers to meat (usually lamb) that is cooked over an open fire.

The authentic shish kebab is made with pieces of cubed lamb arranged on skewers, alternating with onions and green peppers. It is seasoned with cumin and served with yogurt into which crushed fresh garlic and mint have been stirred.

Contemporary North American cuisines have successfully fused this popular dish into their repertoires for many years by using beef, chicken, turkey, pork and even fish. Usually grilled on a charcoal or under the broiler, the fusion version of the shish kebab incorporates vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes or red peppers in addition to the classic onions; and seasonings may vary from Asian flavors of sesame oil with soya sauce to more European hints of olive oil with balsamic vinegar.

At its best, fusion cooking can be compared to a culinary palette where the East meets West, and gives rise to delicious, innovative and colorful dishes. It’s a brilliant showcase that combines cross-cultural, versatile ingredients in harmony under the craft of the chef, and presents them so that they complement each other on the same plate as well as on the palate.

The alchemy of better-known ingredients with lesser known ones is the best approach for successful fusion. For example, a tablespoon of adobo sauce (made from smoked, dried jalapeno chilies, tomato, vinegar and spices) stirred in at the last minute into a humble chicken stew would not only create a fusion dish, but also offer an exotic flavor.

There’s no big secret to fusion cooking other than using the freshest ingredients and the cook’s own imagination and creativity. If you want to experiment with fusion cooking at home, be adventurous and take the first step by using spices other than those for which the recipe calls. But go easy on your first attempt until you see how the chemistry works on your palate.

Be resourceful and make similar substitutions when you cannot find the original item listed in the recipe. For instance, Sumitra Senapaty, a Delhi-based freelance writer on food and culture, suggests using lemon zest for lemon grass in a seafood risotto, or coconut milk for some of the heavy cream in a baked custard. The slightly different but delightful taste will be the result of a fused cuisine.
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Here are two starter recipes for trying fusion cooking at home.

Ginger Garlic Beef with Lime and Teriyaki Sauce

Three key ingredients in Chinese cooking — garlic, ginger, and sesame oil — are combined with lime juice and teriyaki sauce in this fusion dish.

1 pound sirloin steak cut into 2-inch slices
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 stalk celery, sliced diagonally
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, julienned
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. pineapple teriyaki sauce
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp. Asian sesame oil, divided
1 small red onion sliced
1/4 cup cold water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms
pinch red pepper flakes
juice of 1 lime

Combine the steak, yellow onion, green pepper, celery, ginger, soy and teriyaki sauces in a bowl. Add garlic and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of sesame oil in a large pan. Add the red onion and the steak-vegetable mixture.

Cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked through (about 8 minutes), stirring often. Stir in the mushrooms and stir-fry another minute. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water and add to the contents of the pan to thicken the juices. Season with red pepper flakes and lime juice. Serve over rice or noodles and garnish with lime slices.


Asian fusion Orzo-Chicken Salad ~ Yield: 8-10 servings

Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta popular in Italian and Middle Eastern cooking.

450 grams orzo, cooked and drained
1 small cooked chicken, skinned, boned and diced (you can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
1 cup water chestnuts, drained, rinsed and sliced
150-200 grams sugar snap peas (fresh or frozen)
1 red bell pepper, cut in 5-cm strips
3 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
1 to 1-1/2 cups light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. hoisin sauce
1/3 cup toasted, slivered almonds, optional
ground black pepper and salt to taste

In a large bowl, combine sugar snap peas, orzo, water chestnuts, chicken, green onion, and red bell pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegars, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, salt and pepper. Pour over orzo mixture and toss gently to coat. Stir in toasted almonds.

Serve at room temperature. Keep unused portion refrigerated. Taste improves next day.

Copyrighted Material ~ Copyright © 2007 All Rights belong to Füsun Atalay

The Versatile Rhizome

Text and Photography

By:

Füsun Atalay ~ Copyright © 2006

It is used as an aromatic spice in baking, a flavoring in marinating and beverages, or part of the main ingredients in cooking. It can be chopped, sliced. grated, juiced, dried, powdered, candied or pickled. Although it’s a subtropical plant, it’s available year round, and in spite of being commonly referred to as a root, it’s really a rhizome.

If you guessed that this versatile plant is ginger, you’re right on the money.

Ginger first originated in southern China, before its cultivation spread to India, Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the Caribbean. Today, it’s used as an indispensable spice in many cuisines of the world.

Fresh ginger is found at most supermarkets. Look for unblemished smooth skin. Breaking off a piece of the rhizome, called a ‘hand’, doesn't jeopardize the integrity of the whole, thus you can buy as much or as little as you need. The break should be clean and snappy, indicating the freshness of the ginger.

At home, store your purchase in the fridge for a month. You can also freeze fingers of ginger in freezer bags, and grate or slice them into soups, stir fries and other recipes that call for it


Peeling ginger is not a difficult task, and even a spoon will do the job nicely. Hold the ginger in the palm of one hand while you scrape the peel off with the spoon in the other- and voila- you have peeled ginger without even reaching out for fancy peelers! When you use ginger for sugar syrup, tea or marinades from which it will be retrieved, you don’t need to peel it.


Besides its many culinary uses ginger has its own health promoting virtues. Because it stimulates the production of saliva and digestive fluids, its most common use is for relieving indigestion, stomach cramps, gas pains and diarrhea. Perhaps for this reason ginger ale is a common and soothing drink we reach out for during times of upset stomach.

Ginger has been attributed with anti-inflammatory properties, treating nausea, cleansing the body from toxins by stimulating blood circulation and even helping to break fever by warming the body to increase perspiration.

Ginger in the kitchen

While dried and crystallized ginger take up center stage mostly for baking, fresh ginger in all its other forms- fresh, grated, sliced, julienned and pickled enhance our dishes with flavors ranging from spicy-sweetness to intense pepperiness. In cookies, breads, candies and preserves ginger forms great friendships with sweet warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. In savory recipes it gets along well with the spicy tease of garlic, coriander, and cumin.

*Top grilled fish with a dollop of compound butter made by adding grated ginger and lime zest to butter at room temperature and stirring until well combined. Refrigerate until use.

Mix grated fresh ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Pour over chicken, fish, or meat as a delicious marinade.

* Peel and slice fresh ginger. Store in a mild, dry sherry to use the base for a tasty pan gravy for chicken or veal.

*Dip crystallized ginger discs in melted chocolate to add variety to a dessert plate.

*Next time you're making pancakes, stir a couple of teaspoons of finely minced crystallized ginger into the batter for a spicy-sweet surprise.

Ginger-Lime Halibut Steaks ~ Serves 4
4 (6 ounce) halibut steaks
1/4 cup lime juice
2 teaspoons ginger juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
pinch ground chili powder
Nonstick cooking spray

Place fish in a shallow glass baking dish.
Mix remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.

Add marinade, turn fish once to coat.
Cover and refrigerate from1 to 16 hours, turning occasionally.
Spray grill rack with nonstick cooking spray.

Grill fish 4 inches from heat over a medium heat for 7-10 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Frequently brush with remaining marinade while cooking.
Discard any remaining marinade. Fish can also be broiled.

Chewy Ginger Snaps
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3.5 ounces crystallized ginger, chopped coarsely

Preheat oven to 375F.
Combine softened butter, sugar, molasses and egg.
Using a mixer, beat well.
Stir in crystallized ginger.
Sift dry ingredients together.
Add to wet mixture.
Mix well.
Form 1 inch balls.
Roll in granulated sugar.
Place on greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake 8-10 minutes.
Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Copyrighted Material ~ Copyright © 2006 All Rights belong to Füsun Atalay