From Korean Tacos and Enchilada Meatball bakes to sushi burritos, fusion cuisines combine culinary practices of different cultures. Scholars have pointed out that fusion cuisine illustrates globalization and cultural hybridization, but ultimately what emerges is the creation of a new food and cuisine representative of a very local place. While the boundaries seem to be limitless, there nonetheless seems to remain identifying characteristics in the reinventions of the original dishes.
Let’s consider what makes sushi “sushi.”
1. Shape
The shape ranges from mini cylinders, a cone of seaweed, a rectangle of sliced raw fish or “nigiri”, to small burritos or ‘Sushirritos‘, the name of a popular fast-food franchise in San Francisco that offers Asian-Latin fusion sushi burritos. Toronto’s Rolltation also offers hand-held sushi rolls and other inventive combinations such as the “rice burger,” with buns made out of rice.
2. Utensils
Chopsticks or fingers deliver the miniature pieces to one’s mouth. Eat in one bite. This can be hard, even impossible, with Americanized sushi that is often huge and extravagant with a surplus of mayonnaise, deep-fried crunchy toppings, and sauce. Traditional Japanese sushi rolls are the proper bite size. One should not need knife and fork to cut sushi. Never spear sushi. Behold the nori, a seaweed sheet acting like a flour tortilla, wraps up the filling tidily together in a sushi burrito.
3. Condiments
Wasabi, soy sauce, and pickled ginger are served with sushi, each adding to the perfect bite: wasabi, heat, and soy sauce, a salty richness that cuts through the raw fish and sticky white rice. Ginger offers acidity and mild sweetness, cleansing the palate between bites. Nonetheless, these traditional sauces may not be the best flavorings for your sushi burrito, especially if made with cheese, chicken, etc.
4. Ingredients
Rice, fish, nori, and vegetables are classic ingredients in sushi. Basic sushi rolls have rice (white) and fish (tuna) or vegetables (cucumber) wrapped with nori, a seaweed sheet. Westernized sushi rolls versions tend to be richer with mayonnaise, avocado, cream cheese, and fried tempura. Your sushi burrito may have alternative wraps, such as flour tortillas, rice paper, soy wraps, or lettuce.
5. Clean to eat
Sushi is typically wrapped with nori, which makes it easy to handle with fingers. Sometimes rice is on the outside of the roll and the nori inside, like the ubiquitous California roll, where the rice flavor takes precedence (good if you’re new to seaweed). But, rice on on the outside makes it messy to eat, even more so if there are toppings and sauces. Another factor determining whether one’s cheeks get messy is the size of the roll. If the sushi roll is prepared like a handheld torpedo, then one must take a huge bite to capture all the ingredients.
Naming conventions of fusion cuisine
The locally-specific cultural hybridization of fusion cuisine is evident in the naming of the new inventions. For instance, sushi roll names often reflect the location, a marketing tactic to appeal to wary locals. It makes the food more familiar to the customer. The Gator Roll at University of Florida features fried alligator meat in tribute to its mascot. The Tampa Roll has fried tilapia, avocado, and sesame seeds. The New Mexico roll stars its iconic green chile. The Philadelphia roll has smoked salmon and cream cheese, a spin on the popular lox and Philadelphia cream cheese bagel.
Another naming trick is the use of loan words in fusion cuisine, such as the Spanish adjective for ‘spicy’ in Caliente Roll with sliced jalapeno, spicy sauce, and Sriracha. Another example is “casserole,” for broth, such as Beef and Octopus Casserole with beef, octopus, and vegetables in a spicy broth.
Sushi burritos are inventive examples of how combining cuisines (and cultures) can result in delicious new bites while still paying homage to the original dishes.