Do you love Chinese food? Or Indian food? Or Indian Chinese cuisine? If you love any of that, the thing that matters is your passion for the food. But I am sure that you would be not aware of these five facts about the favorite Indian Chinese cuisines. We can bet that you didn’t know about these facts. Check these facts now.
Most of the Chinese restaurants in India are not owned by the Chinese people
If you think that the Chinese restaurants are owned by Chinese people, then there may be some misunderstanding. The fact is that most of the Chinese restaurants and stalls are owned by Indians. As there is the wave of the ban on Chinese in India, people who don’t know this avoid going to Chinese restaurants and don’t eat Chinese. But the reality is that the Chinese food you eat is not Chinese.
Most of the Chinese stall owners in India, make the fusion of Indian vegetables with Chinese styles. So, we can say that it’s Indian Chinese cuisine. You might see people or chefs in the Chinese stalls looking like Chinese people. But these people are mostly from Nepal, they just look like Chinese. This is the trick used by Chinese restaurants to make customers feel like actually Chinese. Surprising right!
Indian Chinese Cuisine was Originated in Kolkata
The origin of Indian Chinese cuisine seems to dates back to the late 1700s, when Calcutta was the capital of the British Empire in India. At that era, Chinese people immigrated to Calcutta to work in ports, tanneries, railways, or as silk traders. These Chinese immigrants adapted India’s style, rituals, and habits. But These Chinese people were missing the food found in China. So, these Chinese people started using local ingredients to satisfy their spicy fried food cravings habits.
The Chinese settlers sold this food to fellow Chinese workers, at Kolkata’s Chinatowns. This slowly raised into the fusion of Indian and Chinese food.
Bollywood’s Favorite: Kolkata’s First Chinese Restaurant
For the local Chinese immigrants, there were Chinese stalls in the Chinatown of Kolkata. Which later got converted into a series of eateries and stalls. In around late 70’s era, The Au family in Kolkata opened a first Kolkata’s first Chinese restaurant ever. That restaurant included artists playing music and melodies with different instruments. The overall restaurant was having a great look and gained popularity. The main reason behind popularity was the Bollywood celebrities at that time.
The Bollywood stars like raj Kapoor, Nargis, Dilip Kumar were the regular guests of these hotels. So, from that era too the Chinese Indian cuisines were famous. With the celebrities, the Chinese Indian cuisines gained popularity in India.
Schezwan Is India’s accent of the Chinese Sichuan Peppercorns
The schezwan sauce we see in India is can be said as India’s take on the Sichuan peppercorns from china. Sichuan is a region or place in china, that is famous for the peppercorns. These peppercorns are famous as a spice and taste addition in Chinese foods.
The accent for the Sichuan is schezwan in India. The schezwan that we use is made up of dried red chilies and garlic. The Sichuan peppercorns are also known for the spiciness and taste. But the Chinese Sichuan and Indian schezwan are somewhat different. Did you get that?
The First Manchurian Dish Was Invented in Mumbai, India
When you think of Chinese food, one of the names that come to mind is Manchurian. But did you know Manchurian is not a Chinese dish, it is an Indian dish? Yes! You heard right. Nelson wang was an Indian chef of Chinese descent, who made the first Manchurian ever. The Manchurian was chicken Manchurian. He combined chicken cubes and garlic, ginger, etc., and Indian spices with Chinese sauces like soya sauce, etc. This was how the first Manchurian ever generated.
So, if you thought that Manchurian is Chinese cuisine then you must be clear now that it is an Indian Chinese cuisine made in Mumbai. That chicken Manchurian is somewhat modified into different Manchurians with various Indian vegetables now. Like Gobi Manchurian etc. etc.
So, these were the five facts about the Indian Chinese cuisines that you might didn’t aware of. Hope that you made all your knowledge clear by knowing these facts.
