Food is a great way to study culture.
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It’s not just about the dishes themselves, but also an approach to shared meals and eating.
In Japan, for example, it’s considered bad manners to eat while walking—something you won’t see often, if at all. But slurping on noodles, by contrast, is a hearty and welcome sign that someone is enjoying their meal.
In India, millions eat with their right hand—but not the left hand (never the left). In the US, we’re comfortable using both for a wide range of meals. In Spain, it’s common for meals to start late into the evening and run until midnight.
But eating habits aren’t usually the main focus when eating abroad. Instead, we’re zeroed in on things like flavor, presentation, and new ingredients.
Sampling new foods is one of the best things to do while traveling, after all.
But that doesn’t mean that food habits can’t meld and evolve over time. From the dawn of humankind, we’ve taken our culinary traditions with us around the world. But some twists on food are decidedly modern, leading some culinary writers to adopt the term ‘fusion food’ back in the 1990s.
Since then, the deliberate act of blending distinct culinary worlds has resulted in some truly delicious new flavors. But can you name the world’s most unique and popular culinary fusions? (Hint: two originated in the US.)
American Chinese food (US)
Debates rage on where, exactly, American Chinese food originated from.
Though some people might think of New York City, the tradition likely has its roots in San Francisco. In the late 1800s, refined Chinese restaurants started opening their doors to cater to affluent Chinese patrons.
In these establishments, the focus was on classic dishes from back home for Chinese palettes. Most immigrants hailed from Southern and Southeast China, which meant the focus was on Cantonese food.
As Chinese restaurants expanded their reach outside of San Francisco and began to open in smaller towns, they weren’t only serving Chinese patrons. They also needed to cook for American tastes, as well.
Less liver, less chicken feet. Hence the start of dishes like chop suey, crab rangoon, and sesame chicken.
One of these early (and more remote) American Chinese restaurants is still serving up noodles: Butte, Montana’s Pekin Noodle Parlor, a very storied institution.
If you’re heading to Butte anytime soon, you can eat at the oldest-running Chinese restaurant in the US:
Tex-Mex (US)
Tex-Mex originated in western Texas amongst Tejano populations. (In case you don’t know, Tejanos are Texans of Mexican heritage, descended from both indigenous groups and Spanish colonists.)
This tradition developed slowly over centuries and is differentiated from Mexican cuisine based on its list of ingredients. Tex-Mex regularly uses shredded meats, cumin, pepper jack cheese, and flour tortillas (rather than corn).
It’s not typically spicy, doesn’t involve a little of tomatillo, and isn’t usually made in a cast-iron skillet. Like American Chinese, Tex-Mex is considered an American fusion food.
The next time you’re in Houston, you can eat at one of the oldest Tex-Mex spots still open in the US:
Chifa (Peru)
Want to know one of the most unique things I learned when getting my degree in Global Studies? Every country has a Chinatown. (Except for North Korea.)
This has led to a truly diverse range of Chinese fusion foods—including Peru’s delectable Chifa tradition.
Just like in San Francisco, Cantonese immigrants brought over dozens of favorites. These slowly evolved alongside Peruvian, Bolivian, and Ecuadorian staples.
Some of the most famous dishes are lomo saltado (stir-fried beef with rice), arroz chaufa (fried rise with seafood), and kam lu wontans (crispy wantons with meat).
If you have plans to visit Lima, then sample these Chifa hotspots:
Chifa Titi (for locals, too)
Madam Tusan (high-end)
Itameshi (Japan)
You might think Super Mario is Japan’s most beloved Italy-adjacent export—but it also has Itameshi.
Itameshi is Japan’s take on Italian food, in which Italian staples are remixed with distinct Japanese ingredients.
Some of the most famous dishes include spaghetti made with miso sauce and seafood, pizza with wasabi and seaweed toppings, and even ravioli that are stuffed with green tea and shrimp.
While this might sound like a high-end experiment from major restaurants, there are dozens of Itameshi chains around Japan and throughout Asia, including Saizeriya.
While researching this article, I realized that I used to eat at a Saizeriya location in Taipei, Taiwan when going to university—and the same exact restaurant is still open.
If you’re in Taipei, check out Saizeriya (it’s near a great night market, Shilin):
Desi-Chinese (India)
Are you noticing a pattern yet?
Just like in Peru and the US, Chinese restauranteurs have succeeded in India by adapting Chinese favorites for Indian palettes.
That means dding Indian spices and flavors to Chinese dishes—a trend that’s taken off in neighboring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Jalfrezi chicken is one of the most well-known examples of Desi-Chinese food. There are also India-specific variations of sweet and sour chicken, chow mein, and even chop suey—which made it all the way from the US to India thanks to Chinese chefs.
If you’re heading to India, you’ll be able to find Desi-Chinese options around every corner. A more accessible choice might be London, where Desi-Chinese food is a staple.
You can explore local favorites with the London Eater.