Long before I ever watched a drama, I had a passion for Asian food. Watching them cook and eat in dramas just makes me hungrier for it. Chinese food (Americanized) is my favorite if I have to choose, but after trying every single kind under sun I realized that my true favorite is a fusion of different kinds mixed together. And that’s usually how I cook when I make food at home, so I thought I would share some of favorite fusion meals with you all.
My love for Asian fusion food started on Clement Street in San Francisco, which is one of my favorite places on earth. Here is a great guide to it, called 13 Reasons to Love San Francisco’s Clement Street. Clement Street includes almost every type of food in existence, but it’s primarily Asian. Within a 6 block radius you can find amazing dim sum, bahn mi’s, the best thai noodles in the country at the OG King of Thai (which PS does not wear crop tops 😂), korean bbq, sushi, and food from Burma Superstar, one of my all time favorite restaurants. And if you’re like me and try a dish and think it would be even better if you only added blank, there are also many Asian groceries. New May Wah is my personal fav.
New May Wah is how I got started mixing my cuisines together and coming up with really successful results. I could never resist their fresh chow mein noodles, but sometimes I would want them with one of the dozens of Thai curries pastes that they sell. I also LOVE sweet tofu skin, which is the outer home of Japanese Inari. It’s usually stuffed with rice, but I eat it straight, and have stuffed it with chicken teriyaki, avocado and really anything that sounds good at the moment.
So without further adieu, here are some of my favorite fusion dishes and meals in case you are looking for something new to feed yourself or your family.
This weekend I went full Asian fusion since the closest grocery store between my daughters school and home is Asian Mexican (yes really : ) One night I made Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce and Thai basil, Korean kimchi (which the stores sells fresh!) and Thai rice, which all pair really well together. I also made Kimchi pancakes with Japanese rice on the side. Yum!
Some of my favs:
- Tofu stir fried with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (preferably the spring roll dipping sauce which has carrots in it) and Banana Sauce from the Philippines (which I am addicted to). This sauce mix is also great to use for shu mai or spring rolls.
- Sweet Potato or Carrot bisque with light coconut milk. Bonus if you add Vietnamese caramelized shrimp (Slanted Door style). Adding some kimchi is also great.
- Bahn Mi’s with teriyaki chicken, Hawaiian bbq, pulled pork, bacon OR bacon flavored meatballs. Just make sure to use the freshest bread you can find! Also, I sometimes pickle my daikon and carrots for it inside a jar of sweet and spicy jalapeno liquid after I eat most or all of the jalapenos from it.
- Rice noodles with peanut miso sauce
- Rice Noodles or spaghetti with Thai basil pesto, just omit the parmesan from the regular pesto recipe. It can be strong so adding some sweet soy sauce is always a plus or even an alfredo.
- Spaghetti with green curry and pineapple and any vegetables you want to throw in.
- Korean burritos (not my invention. I first tried one at a cute Korean place run by youngins that looks like a pink house on Seventh Street in Long Beach, CA). Just add anything you like into your tortilla: bbq, bibimbap, anything, include rice, some sauce, maybe some kimchi. You can also make them with Thai bbq or cambodian, or Chinese beef, shrimp or chicken.
I could go on for days but I’ll stop here. If you ever want a recipe or a recommendation for food in Northern or Southern California or parts of the Northwest and the South, I’m happy to help.
SHAN SHANS JACKET 