TtoE Third Culture Cooking

When you hanker for a dish that your grandmother made, but can't easily obtain the ingredients or can't prepare it just like she did, what do you do? And you're in Japan, steeped in a rich food culture, made even more varied by regional specialties. A recent article in the BBC News got me thinking about how I have adapted my home cooking not to be novel or to pursue "fusion" cooking, but to satisfy my cravings and make the most of what is available.

The column highlights Kung Food, a cookbook written by John Kung who has lived a trans-Pacific life between Hong Kong, Canada, and the US. He sees his cooking not as fusion cuisine but as an outcome of his "lived experience".  He grew his audience on TikTok, appealing to people who have crossed cultures and cuisines.

I get the impulse. I'm a second-generation Canadian whose parents came from two different cultures and settled in a third. A lot of adaptation and experimentation in my grandparents' kitchens resulted in some satisfying and good food.

My Scottish grandfather became adept at tempura batter for fish and chips , learned from Japanese-Canadian neighbors,  and perfectly deep-fried just about but ice cream. My Mennonite grandmother adapted her menu with foods and dishes borrowed from her ethnic Chinese neighbors using whatever was available in the shops. She made a mean rhubarb and apple torte.

A little Japanese, a little Mennonite potato salad

Talking to other foreign residents I learned that they, too, found ways to combine flavors from home. A Thai neighbor told me that she's substituted bamboo shoots for eggplants in some of her dishes.

I try to stretch my cooking to adapt to what's around me and preserve the cuisine of my ancestors. In a tribute to my grandmother's boiled pierogies in tomato sauce, I sub in sui gyoza. I'm thinking next week, I'll make up a batch of sui gyoza with buttermilk sauce as an homage to the rich Mennonite way of serving pierogi. I've also done colcannon with hakusai and naganegi. This week, I did Japanese and Mennonite potato salad. Mennonite descendants are famed in Canada for their rich potato salads. I mimicked the zip of Mennonite potato salad with ponzu and chopped in some roast ham which is typical of Japanese potato salad.

What culinary mashups do you do in your kitchen? Which food cultures do they draw from?