How are cultural food fusions creating entirely new cuisines?

The answer

Fusion cuisine has accelerated dramatically with globalization and migration, creating entirely new food categories. Korean-Mexican fusion exploded in Los Angeles when chef Roy Choi launched the Kogi BBQ truck in 2008, selling Korean short rib tacos. Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei cuisine, born from 1899 Japanese migration to Peru, now features in Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide. Indo-Chinese food - Chinese dishes adapted with Indian spices - is a $3 billion industry in India. Tex-Mex, perhaps the oldest major fusion, emerged in the 1940s from Mexican and American Southern cooking traditions. The global fusion food market reached $89 billion in 2024. Food historians note that all cuisines are inherently fusion - Italian food only incorporated tomatoes from the Americas after the 16th century, and chili peppers are not native to any Asian cuisine.