How We Define Asian Fusion
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July 22, 2021
The History of Pho
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How We Define Asian Fusion
Learn about Asian fusion, its regional Influences, and how Pho 95 fuses it all together
At Pho95, we pride ourselves on our traditional pho and our Asian fusion menu. We love that we can offer you a variety of dishes that combine elements from the different regions of the largest continent in the world.
What is the Definition of Asian Fusion?
Asian Fusion is a type of cuisine that is characterized by a few different ways to use Asian-style dishes and ingredients mixed in with other types of dishes. It’s a cuisine that became popular in America in the 1960s and is really about experimenting with different flavors, ingredients, cooking techniques, and more to create something new.
Where Do These Dishes Come From?
Dishes inspired by Asian cuisine draw from the major regions of Asia: East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern. All of these varieties share some common features like rice, ginger, garlic, tofu, chilies, dried onions, soy, and sesame seeds. Cooking techniques like steaming and stir-frying are common in each region.
East Asia (China, Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan) use mostly rice, noodles, soybeans, and seafood in their cooking.
Southeast Asia (the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) emphasize light dishes with strong aromatic elements featuring flavors, like citrus, and herbs, such as lime, coriander, and basil. Soy sauce is used often and ingredients like galangal, tamarind, and lemongrass become part of the cuisine. Cooking processes include stir-frying, steaming, and boiling.
South Asian (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan) cuisine favors spices and herbs, flavored oil, yogurt, and coconut milk in their dishes, and mostly uses chicken, mutton, and fish.
Central Asian (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) cuisine incorporates raisins, nuts, and various spices into their dishes.
West Asian (Middle East) cuisine commonly uses ingredients like olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, chickpeas, mint, and parsley. Vegetables are typically boiled, stewed, grilled, stuffed, and cooked with meat and also with rice.
North Asian cuisine can be closely related to Russian cuisine and uses heavy spices, noodles, and hearty meats.
Fusing it All Together
You can see all the influences that our chefs work with to bring Asian elements into American dishes. You’re sure to find a dish that will tempt your tastebuds at Pho95.
