- Salsa
with an Asian Accent
- FROM THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE
FOR CANCER RESEARCH
Today, we think nothing of
combining ingredients from assorted cultures. This "fusion
cooking" can be laughable when it goes to excess, like pizza
topped with duck and pineapple, or captivating when it succeeds,
like French vichyssoise with a Mexican jalapeño kick.
Still, fusion cooking has created a growing acceptance of new
ingredients and unexpected flavor combinations.
French Nouvelle Cuisine, which
mixed Japanese ingredients with French cooking techniques, was
hot during the 70s and 80s and is usually credited with starting
this pan-ethnic culinary revolution. But for me, it began much
earlier.
During the 1950s, as Hispanic
influences gained momentum in New York City, what I then thought
of as Spanish restaurants began appearing on the Upper West Side.
They offered arroz con pollo (chicken stewed with rice), tostones
(fried plantains) and other Cuban and Puerto Rican favorites,
but also egg foo yong and other Cantonese Chinese dishes. A neon
sign in the window of these shops, Comidas Criollas y Chinas,
signalled a menu with this peculiar mix of ethnicities.
Eventually I learned that the
roots of this unexpected combination originated far back, when
Caribbean locals grew to like dishes eaten by the Chinese workers
who settled on their islands. When they emigrated to the U.S.
mainland, Cubans and Puerto Ricans brought along this long-standing
taste for Chinese food.
Inevitably, eating home-style
Hispanic dishes and Chinese food at these restaurants led to
the idea of mingling the flavors from these two different cultures.
In my student crowd, which included other precocious cooks, we
feasted from both sides of the menu, shared dishes all around,
then played with ideas inspired by these new sensations.
This Asian salsa was one result.
It demonstrates how deliciously a typical fresh salsa is transformed
by trading scallions for onions, then adding ginger and Chinese
black bean sauce.
Asian Salsa
- 6 medium plum tomatoes, seeded
and chopped
- 1-2 (or as desired) serrano
chile, seeded and minced
- 3 scallions, green and white
parts, chopped
- 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- 2-3 tsp. Chinese black bean
with garlic sauce, or to taste
Combine all ingredients in
a bowl. Let stand 15 minutes so flavors can meld. For best flavor
and texture, this salsa should be served immediately, or within
one hour.
Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 33 calories, 0
g. total fat (0 g. saturated fat), 6 g. carbohydrate, less than
1 g. protein, 2 g. dietary fiber, 22 mg. sodium.
____________________________________
"Something Different"
is written for the American Institute for Cancer Research by
Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy of Soy, and recipe creator for
AICR's book, Stopping Cancer Before It Starts.
AICR offers a Nutrition Hotline
(1-800-843-8114) Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, a free service
that allows you to ask a registered dietitian questions about
diet, nutrition and cancer. The American Institute for Cancer
Research is the only major cancer charity focusing exclusively
on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. The Institute
provides a range of education programs that help millions of
Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also
supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment
at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S.
The Institute has provided more than $62 million in funding for
research in diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR's Web address is
www.aicr.org.
AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.
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