Blending the best of different worlds, Asian flavours can combine seamlessly with Western for fun, moderns twists to that unite bold spices, fresh ingredients and innovative techniques. Whether it’s adding a touch of lemongrass to taco filling, Korean kimchi to Italian arancini, or infusing street food-inspired flavours into home-cooked favourites, Asian fusion offers endless possibilities for creativity in the kitchen.
Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting out, Asian fusion recipes are a fun way to expand your culinary repertoire. Here are 25 ways to swap predictable meals for creative thrills.
Try Diana Nguyen’s take on Vietnamese rice paper rolls with an Australian fusion twist, which she shares on The Cook Up with Adam Liaw. Honey caramelised onions, sliced chicken breast and creamy avocado aren't normally found combined in a rice paper roll but these unexpected additions are surprisingly good!
Credit: Jiwon Kim
Sicilian rice balls get a Korean-Japanese kick in this Dan Hong recipe: risotto is wrapped around kim chi, miso and cheese, then crumbed and fried for explosive little umami bombs.
The joys of arancini. Source: SBS / SBS Food
Luke Nguyen swaps traditional Marie Rose sauce for ingredients including sambal oelek, rice vinegar and ginger in this playful spin on a retro classic. Chill everything well; the contrast between cold seafood and fiery sauce is the secret thrill.
Credit: Alan Benson
Try these rich miso caramel-coated cubes of salmon and smoky eggplant at your next barbecue. Mirin and soy sauce ensure a lacquered glaze, and a grill kiss adds smoky depth.
Miso salmon and eggplant skewers Credit: Clare Winfield
Say hello to your new brunch staple. In place of yoghurt and dill, this 'shakshuka' version by chef Hetty McKinnon takes inspiration from the classic Chinese dish tomato and egg.
Credit: Hetty McKinnon
If you're lucky enough to find yourself with extra sourdough starter, turn it into these scallion pancakes in just 20 minutes. The texture will be different from the typical version (not as flaky), but the sourdough starter brings a delightfully tangy flavour element. Serve with the usual soy sauce-rice vinegar-chilli dipping sauce.
Credit: Alan Benson
Why choose between a burger and a curry when you can have both?! Cool the chicken curry completely (this can also be made the day before), then spoon it into freshly made bun dough and pop the buns into the oven for 12-15 minutes. You can tailor the size of them to the number of people you're catering for, and wrap with a pandan leaf for each aesthetic pizzazz.
Chicken curry buns Credit: Donal's Asian Baking Adventure
All your favourite elements of a cheeseburger — ground beef, processed cheese, pickles, onion, ketchup and mustard — are creatively reinterpreted into a convenient and crowd-pleasing deep-fried appetiser.
Source: SBS / SBS Food
Who knew seven ingredients could deliver so much flavour, and form a kimchi‑quesadilla‑meets‑naan? (Or think of it an upscale stuffed-crust pizza!) Set aside an hour and you'll find out. This flatbread dough filled with mozzarella, kimchi and mayonnaise is ideal for entertaining or a TV snack.
Credit: Tammi Kwok
Acid-cooked seafood has a place in many cuisines, particularly central and south America, and is also found in European escabeche. Here, it gets an Asian treatment with coconut cream, fish sauce and shrimp sambal added to the classic lime and coriander mix. Swap tostadas for prawn crackers for extra novelty.
Source: SBS / SBS Food
The complexity of Mexican cuisine marries well with the complexity of South Asian cuisine. Many ingredients overlap and flavours can feel similar in their boldness and vibrancy. However, lemongrass in Mexico is typically used as a tea rather than an aromatic. Try this fusion idea to change that, and enjoy the results.
Credit: SBS Food
Arabic in shape, Asian inside — brisket slow‑braises in coconut, turmeric and kaffir, then is pressed onto skewers and char‑grilled for smoky edges. Finish the meat over live flame for crisp edges while staying tender inside.
Coconut-braised beef brisket kebab Credit: Shane Delia's Recipe For Life
Sticky pork ribs wear a Korean gochujang glaze that caramelises into fiery toffee, paired with peanut Indonesian‑style slaw for cooling crunch. Brush the ribs with the flavourful glaze, then roast for around 90 minutes for a melting texture.
Credit: Sippakorn Wongthanapa
Here, an Aussie pub staple (the 'parma') meets san choy bow freshness: panko‑crumbed fish nestles in lettuce leaves with herbs, swapping the classic heavy parma topping for lime and Vietnamese mint mayonnaise and a nuoc cham-style dressing. Try this for your next warm afternoon entertaining snack!
Credit: Prue Ruscoe
While this Sunday-roast-meets-Vietnamese-noodle-broth may not the quickest pie around, it is absolutely worth trying for the new flavours and the impressive results for anyone lucky enough to bite into one! It combines homemade pho broth with all the aromatic fragrance and beef bone broth depth, caramelised onion puree, and an Asian beef stew filling all encased in flaky homemade pastry.
Pho pie Credit: Benito Martin
Umami‑rich kombu is blitzed into brown butter with a few other flavour hacks, then brushed over charcoal‑blistered prawns for a Japanese‑style bisque glaze. Serve with some chopped herbs and drizzle with shellfish oil and freshly cut lime wedges.
Grilled king prawns with kombu butter Credit: Dan Hong
Fried chicken and waffles is a typical American soul food dish. Here, the idea gets an Asian-American twist, using karaage chicken, a Japanese style of frying the chicken. Chicken thigh fillets are marinaded in an aromatic garlic, ginger, soy sauce and vinegar mix for at least six hours to add some fantastic flavour, then dipped in potato flour and fried until golden and crisp. Whip up a creamy ranch dressing, warm some store-bought waffles and serve for a hearty fusion fix.
Chef Luke Nguyen was 'blown away' by the size of spider crabs when catching them in Cornwall, English. While crab cakes are popular in England, often with ingredients like mustard and potato, in this recipe the gentle-flavoured flesh is combined with Vietnamese classics including makrut lime, ginger and fish sauce. If you can’t get your hands on spider crabs, substitute with blue-swimmer, spanner or mud crab.
Credit: Benito Martin
Miso and chicken are just meant to be together. The salty-sweet-umami combination works in a variety of ways. Here, it offers a variation on a classic roast chook that is sure to impress family or guests. The maple‑miso marinade creates caramel skin and juicy meat akin to yakitori, but roast‑pan easy.
Miso chicken Credit: Bondi Harvest
Try a change-up on the much-loved bolognese with this Asian-accented version from Marion Grasby that brews soy sauce and star anise with beef mince to bring the depth and complexity.
Credit: Sippakorn Wongthanapa
Liberally brushing a whole chicken with olive and salt, or smothering butter just under the skin, is well-documented in achieving perfectly juicy meat with a crispy skin — but here's a different trick: using a pastry brush, brush mayonnaise all over the chicken before roasting. For the Asian element, look forward to an aromatic five-spice gravy.
Credit: Sippakorn Wongthanapa
Denmark’s “dream cake” gets a glow up with a favourite Southeast‑Asian flavour: pandan. This grassy, vibrantly hued ingredient was made for the fluffy-centred, gooey-topped, coconut-driven cake.
Pandan drømmekage. Credit: Murdoch Books / Rochelle Eagle
The rich and caramel-like profile of hoisin sauce brings that little something extra you never knew you needed to your apple cake. It's sticky date cake vibes meet Chinese banquet.
Chill-hoisin caramel apple cake Credit: Henry Trumble
Swap France's fleur de sel for Japan's shiro miso in this two‑minute caramel, adding a hint of ferment and extra creaminess for a butterscotch sauce to swirl over vanilla ice‑cream. Simple, nutty, engaging perfection.
Credit: Marion Grasby
Swap your espresso soak for a matcha one, in this Japanese tea‑ceremony take on the Italian classic. Dust with extra matcha just before serving to preserve its vivid jade hue. Creamy and earthy (as expected), it also gives zen garden vibes.
Credit: Page Street Publishing / Catherine Zhang
