A 21st-century immigrant-driven cuisine blending Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese flavors with American formats — the food truck, the burger, the sandwich.
What it is
Asian-American fusion cuisine took shape in the late 2000s when chef Roy Choi launched Kogi BBQ in Los Angeles, putting Korean short rib into a Mexican taco. The food-truck revolution that followed turned it into a movement, with second-generation Asian-American chefs combining their immigrant family pantries with the formats they grew up eating — burgers, tacos, burritos, sandwiches.
How it tastes
Gochujang and sriracha provide the heat; soy sauce and fish sauce the umami; kimchi and pickled vegetables the acid. The formats are familiar; the seasonings are not. The result is what immigrant kids ate at home, dressed up for downtown lunch lines.
Signature dishes & techniques
The Kogi Korean taco — short rib, kimchi, cilantro on a corn tortilla — set the genre’s tone. David Chang’s Momofuku pork buns, Eddie Huang’s BaoHaus, and a wave of ramen burgers and sushi burritos followed. The cuisine remains a moving target, constantly absorbing new immigrant waves and pop-culture moments.
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