Fusion cooking is simply combining two cultures and coming up with one dish. Indeed, some will say all food is some kind of fusion which is true in many cases. Fried fish in Thai and Bratwurst in Italian Pasta, are good examples. In this dish, I combined chicken and cilantro dumplings (Chinese) with pasta sauce and veggies (Italian). As with perogies, dumplings are ideally suited to use in pasta, sauces, and stews. Though not the common use, the result is a unique tasty flavor.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken and Cilantro dumplings (pre-packaged)
2 tbsn olive oil
Shaved carrot
Small red pepper, chopped finely
Onion, chopped finely
1 tbsn parsley, chopped
2 tbsns basil, chopped
1/2 can diced tomatoes (preferably Italian herb)
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs white condiment (white wine vinegar as substitute)

METHOD

1. Bake frozen dumplings in oven at 350 for 15 minutes until browned slightly
2. Saute onions in olive oil till golden. Then add carrot and red pepper
3. Add tomatoes and paste, stirring all together
4. Add herbs and mix
5. Add condiment and mix
6. Add dumplings and coat with sauceServe immediately with crusty bread, oil and vinegar.

   This and other recipes occasionally pop up in the Artichoke Hart series (available here), or the London Cartwright series (available here). Both chefs are fictional… the dishes are not.