ABSTRACT
If any of us were asked – in the classroom, or during a radio interview, for instance – whether Asia had made any significant contributions to a global cuisine, I am certain that all of us would answer spontaneously, and in approximately the same manner: ‘Absolutely. Asia has contributed enormously to a global cuisine.’ Despite what would probably be our unanimous agreement, this exploratory chapter demands that the reader accept provisional definitions of two relevant terms, because the question itself is in truth quite vague. One term concerns the boundaries of Asia; the other, the meaning of ‘global cuisine’. How we delimit and define Asia is open to arguments, both broad and narrow; and precisely what is meant by ‘global cuisine’ is similarly unclear. Hence I am obliged to begin with my own quite tentative answers.
