FUSION CUISINE

Fusion cuisine may have acquired a bit of a bad rap in gourmet circles, but it isn't deserved. Celebrity chef Peter Gordon tells Sudeshna Ghosh why.

New Zealand Chef Peter Gordon with Malaysian chefs Jai and Kalai

Fusion in food is probably as old as civilisation itself – we just didn’t call it that, back then. Peter Gordon, widely known as the Father of Fusion – a title he’s learned to live with, not necessarily something he’d choose to call himself – finds combining different flavours from around the world comes naturally to him. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t use the beautiful characteristics of different cuisines into our food,” says Peter, who was in the UAE recently, conducting a series of cooking classes at Jones the Grocer.
“I base my cuisine on the belief that ingredients from different cultures can work in harmony,” he explains. “My food is based on flavours, rather than historical bearing. It is how I picture the world, as a community. That is what my grandmother brought me up to believe.” Having grown up in bountiful New Zealand, where “we gardened, fished, and butchered our own produce,” Peter’s appreciation of fresh, beautiful food started early. “I made my first cookbook when I was four, with snippets from magazines,” he reveals. Travelling to Melbourne at 18, and across Asia thereafter, proved to be a turning point in his culinary life. “I was like a kid in a toy shop, discovering all these different flavours,” he says.
South-east Asia has had the strongest influence on his food, with its clean, refreshing flavours holding a strong appeal for him. His inventive habit of incorporating these flavours into classical dishes has made his restaurants in London, Auckland and Istanbul (The Providores, Kopapa and Tapas Room in London; Dine in New Zealand, and Muzedechanga in Istanbul where he is consultant chef) into awardwinning eateries.
No wonder he reveals his favourite cuisine, without much thought, to be the Malay and Singaporean style. “I love the balance of sweet and salty, the subtle herbs, and the texture that sort of cuisine offers,” says Peter. Middle Eastern flavours are also something he is familiar with, frequently using ingredients like sumac and zaatar in his cooking. So, even though he credits travel, eating out and visiting local markets as his main source of inspiration, his recent visit to UAE was less about learning about the local cuisine, and more about sharing his own expertise at his cooking classes.
His top tips for home chefs keen to try their own hand at fusion cooking is simple. “Have a good understanding of the classics, then deviate. It is important to understand the fundamentals, learn the techniques, and practice cooking,” says Peter. So, once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s easy to experiment. But, are there any rules of thumb we need to remember before we get experimenting in our kitchens? “I don’t believe in rules,” Peter says. “The only rule I follow in the kitchen is safety rules!” Here, he shares recipes of some of his rule-breaking fusion dishes, to inspire innovation in home chefs.

RECIPE

Deep-fried egg with lime chilli dressing, garam masala and crispy shallots

Serves 4
4 eggs
2 juicy limes
1 tbsp grated pale palm sugar
½ bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced (any other red chilli will also do)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 small pc ginger, finely julienned
1 tbsp garam masala
A small handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp crispy shallots (available from Asian food stores or can be made at home simply by deep-frying chopped shallots in hot oil)

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1. Boil eggs for 4½ minutes. Peel then place in a bowl of cold water.
2. Finely grate the zest from half the lime. Add the palm sugar and chilli and mash it together. Squeeze the juice from the limes over this mixture (around 40–50 ml) and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the fish sauce and ginger and keep aside.
3. Heat 6 cm of vegetable oil to 180˚C. Take the eggs from the water and pat dry. Carefully lower them into the oil and move them around a little to colour them evenly. Remove them from the oil, place on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil, then roll on a plate scattered with the garam masala.
4. Place eggs on individual plates and scatter with the coriander and spring onion. Drizzle on the lime chilli dressing and finish with the crispy shallots.

Excerpts from the magazine 'BBC Good Food", May, 2012. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.