Zexi Zhang
Everyone knows the way to win someone’s heart is through their stomach. Food is a universal language that can be communicated with all sorts of people around the world without uttering a single word.
From serving guests small plates and appetizers or tapas, or your favorite home cooked meal to the most well known and appreciated for dessert, people can taste the love and difference in each culture through every bite taken.
Spain happens to be a melting pot for different types of cuisines as they bring in food from every culture all around the world. Whether you are in the mood for some authentic Spanish paellas, or you’re craving the buttery taste of french pastries, or even some rolled Japanese sushi, Spain has it all.
One particular genre of food that has been quickly rising in popularity lately is Asian cuisine. Asian styled foods are well loved by many because of its diverse flavors as it encompasses all types of food from rice to noodles to bread.
Many spaniard restaurants have incorporated asian spanish fusion food.
One great example is Curry and Rice in Sitges, a small beach town, that serves both Indian and Spanish food to offer its guests a blend of both cultures. Guests sit down and enjoy the fiery taste of curry mixed with the wide assortments of Spanish tapas that are offered as an appetizer.
Alongside Indian food, Chinese food is one of the most well known types of food and Spain is no exception to incorporate their styles into their restaurant choices.
In the center of Barcelona is a restaurant called Cuina Deu that is situated in a crowd of many other different restaurants. What makes this quaint little place stand out from the rest is the food itself.
Cuina Deu doesn’t serve the typical Orange Chicken, Lo Mein, Chinese food ordeal, but they get down to business and bring forth the real authentic food that tastes like you’re back in mainland China.
One very popular dish they have is Mapo Tofu which is a Sichuan style dish so it is on the spicier side. It is tofu sauteed with spicy chili oily topped with minced beef and garnished with green onions.
If you can handle the heat, Mapo Tofu is definitely worth a try!
Another popular dish Cuina Deu served was red braised pork-belly which is a classic from mainland China. It is made using an assortment of aromatic spices and showered with dark soy sauce for that
beautiful dark red color.
Don't let the dark color of the braised pork-belly intimidate you!
And of course, vegetables are a must in Chinese cuisines. These two vegetable dishes both contain well known ingredients usually served with Chinese food but may be unusual to the rest.
Classic Chinese sautéed vegetables.
The first one is wood ear, which is a type of mushroom, but some people describe it as a fungus which might throw newcomers off. But these mushrooms are great for soaking in flavor and are known for their crunchy texture and peculiar shape.
Bamboo shoots are also a key ingredient in Chinese dishes as they add more texture to the dish with their crunchiness.
Because of their authentic dishes, a server at the restaurant said they get “many of the guests who visit [their] restaurant come from China so they can get a taste of their hometown.”
Another style of Chinese cuisine that is gaining popularity is Dim Sum, which is Cantonese style a-la-carte cuisine. Some might compare it to Spanish tapas in that they are both small dishes that are expected to be shared around the table.
Uniko in Barcelona is a great place to get introduced to dim sum style food along with Shanghai cuisine. They serve Xiao Long Bao, or more commonly known as soup dumplings, which is a very popular dim sum dish along with fried baos and wonton soups.
YangZhou fried rice and stir fried shredded potatoes were also on the list of dishes to try.
Food from Uniko that will transport you back to Shanghai!
Qingyu Yang, an international student from Shang-hai visiting Spain for the summer, said their food was really authentic. She said “the dumplings and fried rice tasted so delicious that I felt I was eating in the restaurants in Shanghai.”
Located in Madrid is Shangrilla, another Shang-hai style restaurant that serves dimsum. In addition to dimsum and Shang-hai food they also served Roasted Peking Duck which is a well known Bei-Jing delicacy.
The DIY style of Peking duck. Make sure to be ready to get your hands dirty!
Usually Peking Duck found in the states are around $40, but the ones served in Madrid were only 12 euros which was such a pleasant surprise. Peking Duck is like a DIY project where the restaurant provides you steamed Mandarin Pancakes, sliced cucumbers and scallions along with hoisin sauce which you piece together and fold to enjoy like a mini burrito.
It is a very fun experience and so tasty at the same time and definitely worth a try!
Fried Fice, Shrimp Dumplings, Mini Baos, Wonton Soup and Peking Duck from Shangrilla
Right next to China is Japan which Spain has also adopted the cuisines of.
A dainty little Japanese bakery, Takashi Ochiai, is located in Barcelona that specializes in Japanese pastries. They serve a variety of matcha items, from croissants to lattes to cakes. They also have little Japanese tea sets to enjoy with their desserts.
Adorable Japanese pastries from Takashi Ochiai
A customer from Takashi Ochiai said “this is the best matcha croissant I’ve ever had! The matcha is not too sweet but also not bitter so it was a perfect combination with the flakiness of the croissant. Definitely worth a try!”
Mochi is also a common Japanese dessert. It is made from glutinous rice flour so it has a sticky and chewy texture to it. It is sweet and dusted with flour so it’s not as sticky to grab. There are multiple different flavors of mochi as bakers fill it up with an assortment of fillings like matcha, red bean paste, black sesame, and more.
Fluffy little mochi balls
Right next door to Takashi Ochiai is Yatai which serves traditional Japanese style food. They have the typical gyudon beef, udon noodle soup, curry with rice, and an assortment of small Japanese dishes for appetizers.
They also have the typical Japanese style bento box which is a main meal served with small appetizers like a mixed green salad and miso soup.
A very fulfilling meal with different appetizers to start you off
These are just a few examples of Asian Spanish fusion foods found in Spain. There are a lot more of them scattered throughout the city. If you were to ever plan a trip to Spain, make sure to try this genre of food, your stomach will be very happy and your heart very full.
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