Fusion Food

I just witnessed my son, Rodney, tossing 2 slices of cheddar cheese into the pot of Tom Yam flavoured instant ramen  he was cooking. "Fusion food, Ma!", he quipped, in response to my grossed-out face.

Actually, he wasn't wrong. Isn't fusion food after all, borderless? The hubs eats lasagna with kimchi! Korean-Italian fusion, he says!

I am a big fan of fusion food, but not lasagna with kimchi or cheese with ramen though!
Fusion food is like pairing the best of two cuisines together to make a dish that's better than each on its own.  I love Bahn Mi (Vietnamese ingredients inside a French inspired baguette). Yummmmm! Cheese naan (oven baked Indian flatbread heavily stuffed with gooey melting cheese), Thai Tom Yam Pizza, Japanese-Italian fusion pasta... these are all my favourite foods.

Have you tried Chinese style baked cheese rice? Apparently, it is very popular in Hong Kong. Essentially, it's pork chops on a bed of fried rice, topped with mozzarella cheese. Chinese-Italian fusion, if you will. It's Josh's favourite.

Here's the recipe to share.

HONG KONG BAKED RICE

INGREDIENTS
6 pork chops
oil for frying

MARINADE
1 tbsp Chinese wine
1 pip garlic, minced
2 tsp salt
a pinch of ground black pepper

Coating
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten (for coating)

FRIED RICE
6 cups cooked rice
2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

SAUCE
4 large tomatoes, diced
6 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup chicken stock
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
salt
ground black pepper

TOPPING
250 g cups grated mozzarella cheese
⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese

METHOD

PORK CHOPS
Marinate pork chops for at least an hour.
Dip marinated pork chops in beaten egg. Coat with flour.
Pan fry pork chops until golden brown. Set aside.

FRIED RICE
Using a wok, heat oil until smoking point.
Add rice and salt and stir fry for a minute.
Make a well in the middle of the wok , pour in beaten eggs. Allow the eggs to set just a little before scrambling gently. Mix the rice and egg and stir fry for another minute.
Remove from wok and  set aside.

SAUCE
In a bowl, mix tomato ketchup, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock and cornstarch. Set aside.
Sauté  garlic and diced onions until the onions turn transparent. Add diced tomatoes, followed by the sauce mixture. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Place the  fried rice in a casserole, followed by the pork chops. Pour in the sauce and then top with the cheeses. Bake in a  preheated oven at for 220°C for  15-20 minutes or until the cheeses are browned.

Enjoy!

So what's your favourite fusion food?