Indian Chinese Cuisine & Its Rise to Popularity in India
By Conchita de Souza
It can go without saying that in many parts of India, the most popular ‘foreign’ cuisine is that of Chinese cuisine. Street stalls, dhabas and even fancy restaurants boast an array of finger-licking ‘Chinese’ dishes that are increasingly popular with India’s younger generation. These so-called ‘Chinese’ dishes look, smell and taste very different from the western understanding of Chinese food because they are essentially a fusion of the popular base ingredients in Chinese cooking with the spicy and complex flavours of Indian food added in. The term ‘Indian Chinese’ or ‘Indo-Chinese’ therefore refers to the adaptation of specific Chinese dishes to cater to the average Indian palate that is easily tempted by spicy foods.