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TikTok star Jon Kung is known for his whimsical, almost cartoonish, spins on food. He'll take an enormous Shanghainese-style meatball packed with water chestnuts and five-spice, for instance, deep-fry it and place it on top of a plate of tomato-sauced spaghetti. Or he'll whip up a bowl of Buffalo wing-flavoured shredded chicken and stuff it into wonton wrappers for a modern take on rangoons (deep-fried dumplings). Some might regard the Chinese American chef's dishes as fusion, but for Kung, his food is staunchly and proudly third culture. "Fusion was always a showcase of another culture's cuisine for a dominant culture," he explained. "Third culture is informed by a lived experience." First coined in 1967 by sociologists Ruth Hill and John Useem who were observing expats in India, the term "third culture kid" arose in reference to people who were raised in a culture outside their parents' country of origin and lack a singular settled place. "They are more cosmopolitan and move between cultures and countries," said James Zarsadiaz, professor of Asian American history at the University of San Francisco. "They can't answer this idea of where home is and there is this feeling of being decentred." For some, it can be a disorientating process. "Third culture kids also experience identity crises, as they internally struggle in taking full ownership in any of the countries they have resided in, including their own passport 'home' country," said Dr Angela Gwak, a psychologist at Revive Psychology in New York. Kung grew up between three places: the United States, Canada and Hong Kong. He was first exposed to the term "third culture" when he was attending international school in Hong Kong and surrounded by peers with similar backgrounds. But he started applying the phrase in relation to food only in adulthood, after working in both American and Chinese kitchens around the world. "I was having problems fully accepting my identity as a Chinese cook," he said. His turning point was during the global pandemic, where he began to lean into his diverse upbringing. To synthesise his experiences, he started posting cooking videos online. Boasting 1.7 million followers on TikTok and now based in Detroit, Kung quickly became an ambassador for third culture food during the lockdown, proudly slinging out whimsical dishes like salted duck yolk tomato sandwiches and dumplings in vodka sauce, but also simple, but comforting bowls of raw salmon over rice, which he considers one of his favourite combinations of all time. Viewers were drawn in by the food, but many stayed for his raw and personal voiceovers that frequently touch on topics like gatekeeping and cross-cultural cooking. Kung also infuses his own politics and personal life into his work. "I don't believe in authenticity of culture, but I do believe in authenticity of self," he said. According to Zarsadiaz, food is one of the most common mediums used to encapsulate the unique experience of straddling multiple worlds. "For a lot of my students who take my Asian American studies courses, food is often that gateway for them," he said. "They might feel removed from their Asian side, but food helps them pinpoint particular moments in their lives." For Kung, those moments often hark back to his childhood. He associates spaghetti with cartoons, specifically comically large meatballs placed over saucy red pasta. "I used the avenue of Cantonese cookery to achieve a childhood fantasy," he said of his Chinese meatball and spaghetti mashup. "Luckily, Cantonese cooking is pretty harmonious with Italian food."