How 5 Top AAPI Chefs Are Reinventing Asian Fusion Cuisine

When Melissa Miranda moved back to her native Washington after stints in New York and Italy, she didn’t intend for her labor-of-love culinary pop-up Musang to hold a permanent space. Its name, which means “wildcat” in Tagalog—the language of one of the largest ethnic groups in the Philippines—is an ode of sorts to her father, who, after immigrating to the U.S. from Cavite in the early ‘70s proudly sported a black Ford Mustang with a fallen “T.” He met his wife, who had migrated from Quezon City, in Beacon Hill—a charming, Asian-majority Seattle neighborhood where Musang stands today in a Spanish colonial-style periwinkle house. The restaurant’s physical opening in 2020 was the result of four years of mission-driven work with Filipinx leaders in which Miranda experimented with traditional recipes from her parents (many that were never written down). There, the second-generation American chef—who is a James Beard Awards semifinalist for a second year in a row—presents her own renditions of the foods she remembers watching her father fish, bone, and dry himself. 

Unlike the cuisine prepared in the Philippines, however, which is dependent upon the island’s specific ingredients, Miranda’s menu incorporates global influences and seasonal vegetation. Her pinakbet, for example, has unexpected layers of texture not typical to either the Tagalog version with bagoong alamang shrimp paste (her parents’ preference) or the Ilocano version that features a funky-tasting fermented fish. In fact, Miranda describes her pinakbet as more similar to a gumbo than a mushy vegetable stew. “We broke it down into a kabocha squash purée with tomato, onions, and garlic,” she explains. In keeping with the history of both recipes, Miranda’s version does include okra, eggplant, and haricot verts, but they’re battered and deep-fried with sweet potatoes, while her bitter melon is pickled with rice vinegar and Johnny’s Salt and served as a garnish. “Then we actually dehydrate the shrimp bagoong, which makes a beautiful, bright pink,” she says, with a smile. “It’s been really amazing to see the older generation of Filipinos that come into the restaurant and eat it, because they’re very surprised and excited.” 

Chris Ono’s Deconstructed California Roll