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Indian Chinese Food - Desi Chinese Cuisine


INDIAN CHINESE CUISINE



Indo-Chinese, Indian Chinese or Desi Chinese cuisine; all these terms refer to the cuisine which originated in Kolkata, India. It is an Indian interpretation of Chinese food by the Chinese community living in India for centuries now.

No doubt, Indian Cuisine has made a great influence across the world. It consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines. Besides which Indo-Chinese or Indian Chinese Cuisine has earned a lot of attention within India too.

ORIGIN

The birth place of Indo-Chinese food is Kolkata. Kolkata is a city in eastern India and it was once the capital of British India in 1700s. During that time a lot of Hakka Chinese traders settled in the city. They were largely silk traders, leather workers and carpenters. They started cooking their Chinese food in Kolkata but with Indian ingredients because many Chinese ingredients were unavailable to them. But the combination of Chinese cooking and Indian ingredients gave birth to this utterly amazing food. Soon they started setting up food shops and Indo-Chinese food restaurants because their original business was slowly dying. The restaurants were set in Tiretta market and Tangra, these two places are still the two only China-towns in India.

Street vendors in Tiretta Bazaar


IS IT REALLY CHINESE?

Yes and no. It is Chinese food but it's not authentic Chinese food. The core recipes and cooking methods are Chinese ; but it has been modified with Indian twists. Indian spices make Indians fall in love with this. If you ask Chinese people from china about gobi manchurian, they'll have no idea about it because not only the Chinese dishes are modified, some new dishes have also emerged. Though in India it's called 'Chinese', but its Indo-Chinese and not the authentic Chinese food of china.

Read: Least visited country in the world

WHY IS IT SO POPULAR?

Indo-Chinese food is really popular in India. In fact it is more popular than the traditional Chinese food; way more popular. A large part of Indian population is vegetarian. But a large menu of traditional Chinese food is not vegetarian-friendly. The popularity of Indo-Chinese food over authentic Chinese food is because it offers a wide variety to vegetarian Indian foodies. Another reason is the spice level. Most Indians crave for spicy food which they get to enjoy with these cuisines which are made using Indian spices and condiments. It has become a subtle part of Indian culture.

 Indo-Chinese cuisine ranks as India's most favourite cuisine after the local food. Its popularity is growing at annual rate of 9 percent. It's the most popular type among young Indians.

AVAILABILITY

Indian Chinese food is available throughout India. It can be found at every corner of street, this is how popular it is. It is also available in dhabas. Dhabas are the roadside stalls mostly found beside a highway. Mainly, restaurants have a Chinese section in their menus and many are entirely dedicated for this food. 

It is also found outside of India in countries like USA, UK and Australia. Chinese food in some African countries like Kenya and Nairobi are also more or less like Indo-Chinese style. Inchin's Bamboo Garden is biggest Indian Chinese food chain in America. Indo-Chinese food is also gaining popularity in the Kansai region of Japan.

Also Read:

POPULAR INDO-CHINESE DISHES

Every Indo-Chinese dish has it's own speciality. There are alot dishes to mention; but here are some most popular dishes :-

  • HAKKA NOODLES 
  • CHOWMEIN
  • SCHEZWAN PRAWNS
  • CHILLI CHICKEN 
  • VEG MANCHURIAN/Gobi Manchurian
  • SPRING ROLLS (with Indian twists)
  • FRIED RICE (with Indian twists)

Also Read: Similarities between Indian and Chinese culture

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