Indian Chinese cuisine
Encyclopedia
Indian Chinese cuisine is the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking
techniques
to Indian tastes
. It is said to have been developed by the small Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century. It is also enjoyed by Indian and Chinese communities in Malaysia, Singapore
, Ilford and North America
.
and Chinese food
is still popular there. At present, the Chinese population in Calcutta stands at approximately 20,000. Most of these people are of Hakka origin; however, the dishes of modern Indian Chinese cuisine, such as Chicken Manchurian, bear little resemblance to traditional Chinese cuisine.
People of Chinese origin mostly live in India's only Chinatown
located around Tereti Bazar and Bowbazar
area which has since been relocated to Tangra, Calcutta
. Most of these immigrants were Hakka
. Chinatown
in India still boasts a number of Chinese restaurant
s specializing in Hakka cuisine
and Indian Chinese variants.
s such as cumin
, coriander
seeds, and turmeric
, which with a few regional exceptions, are traditionally not associated with much of Chinese cuisine
. Hot chilli, ginger
, garlic
and yoghurt
are also frequently used in dishes. This makes Indian Chinese food similar in taste to many ethnic dishes in Southeast Asia
n countries such as Singapore
and Malaysia, which have strong Chinese and Indian
cultural influences.
Non-staple
dishes are by default served with generous helpings of gravy
, although they can also be ordered "dry" or "without gravy". Culinary styles often seen in Indian Chinese fare include chilli (implying hot and batter
-fried), Manchurian (implying a sweet and salt
y brown
sauce), and Szechwan (Sichuan
(usually spelled Schezuan in Indian Chinese cooking), implying a spicy red
sauce). These correspond only loosely, if at all, with authentic Chinese food preparation.
s like Manchow soup
and sweet corn soup
, again available in vegetarian and meat
form, are commonly available, as are starters
such as chicken lollipop
s, spring roll
s and wonton
s (sometimes spelled "wantons").
or vegetable variants of Hakka or Szechwan/Sichuan noodles popularly referred to as chow mein
; and regular or Szechwan/Sichuan fried rice
. American
chop suey
and sweet and sour
dishes can be found at many restaurants. Some South India
n restaurant
s have also come up with spring roll
s and Szechwan dosa
s.
s include:
Often the nomenclature
is such that the main ingredient is mentioned first, followed by the entree style such as "Chicken Chilli" .
options include ice cream
on honey
-fried noodles or date pancake
s.
, Chennai
, Hyderabad, Delhi
, Kolkata
and Bangalore
. It is also available in a number of towns and on dhaba
s (roadside stalls), also popularly referred to as "Fast foods", adjacent to major Indian road
s and highway
s. Many restaurants have a Chinese section in their menu
s, and some are even dedicated to serving Indian Chinese food. It can also be found in the mobile kitchen
cart
s that ply the streets of cities, prepared in wok
s over a portable gas burner. Manchurian sauce, Szechwan sauce, soy sauce
and Hakka noodles are available in many stores in cities across.
Many overseas Indian restaurants in the West
and the Middle East
also cater to the overseas Indians' nostalgic
taste for Indian Chinese food. The cuisine is also branching out into the mainstream in major cities of North America such as New York
, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago
, Houston, Toronto
, Los Angeles
, Atlanta and Vancouver
. Chinese food in Nairobi
, Kenya
, also tends to be of this style. In many of these places, the restaurants are labelled as Hakka Chinese, when in fact the cuisine itself has very little resemblance to authentic Hakka cuisine
. "Hakka" label in these restaurants are usually referring to the owner's origins, and many Chinese restaurant owners in India were of Hakka
origin.
As of 2007, Chinese cuisine ranks India's most favorite cuisine (after local food), growing at 9% annually. It is the most favoured option when young people go out to eat and the second favorite (after south Indian cuisine
) when families dine out.
Inchin's Bamboo Garden is the biggest indian chinese chain in America.
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
techniques
Chinese cooking techniques
Chinese cooking techniques are a set of methods and techniques traditionally used in Chinese cuisine. The cooking techniques can either be grouped into ones that use a single cooking method or a combination of wet and dry cooking methods.-Wet:...
to Indian tastes
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
. It is said to have been developed by the small Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century. It is also enjoyed by Indian and Chinese communities in Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Ilford and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Origins
The cuisine is believed to have originated from the Chinese of CalcuttaChinese of Calcutta
The Chinese community in India are a community of immigrants and their descendants that emigrated from China starting in the late 18th century to work at the Calcutta port...
and Chinese food
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
is still popular there. At present, the Chinese population in Calcutta stands at approximately 20,000. Most of these people are of Hakka origin; however, the dishes of modern Indian Chinese cuisine, such as Chicken Manchurian, bear little resemblance to traditional Chinese cuisine.
People of Chinese origin mostly live in India's only Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
located around Tereti Bazar and Bowbazar
Bowbazar
Bowbazar is a neighbourhood and police stationin central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal...
area which has since been relocated to Tangra, Calcutta
Tangra, Calcutta
Tangra is a region in east Kolkata that traditionally housed a large number of tanneries owned by people of Hakka Chinese origin. "47 South Tangra Road", may be the most confusing postal address, as it used to cover the whole of Chinatown Tangra with over 350 tanneries...
. Most of these immigrants were Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
. Chinatown
Chinatown, Kolkata
Chinatown in the eastern part of the city of Kolkata is the only Chinatown in India. The locality was once home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese, now the population has dropped to 2,000 or so. The traditional occupation of the Chinese community here had been working in the nearby tanning industry and the...
in India still boasts a number of Chinese restaurant
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
s specializing in Hakka cuisine
Hakka cuisine
Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka people, who are primarily found in southeastern China , but also may be found in many other parts of China, as well as in the Chinese diaspora...
and Indian Chinese variants.
Features
Foods tend to be flavoured with spiceSpice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s such as cumin
Cumin
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.-Etymology:...
, coriander
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
seeds, and turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
, which with a few regional exceptions, are traditionally not associated with much of Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
. Hot chilli, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
, garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
and yoghurt
Yoghurt
Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...
are also frequently used in dishes. This makes Indian Chinese food similar in taste to many ethnic dishes in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n countries such as Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malaysia, which have strong Chinese and Indian
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
cultural influences.
Non-staple
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
dishes are by default served with generous helpings of gravy
Gravy
Gravy is a sauce made often from the juices that run naturally from meat or vegetables during cooking. In North America the term can refer to a wider variety of sauces and gravy is often thicker than in Britain...
, although they can also be ordered "dry" or "without gravy". Culinary styles often seen in Indian Chinese fare include chilli (implying hot and batter
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
-fried), Manchurian (implying a sweet and salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
y brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
sauce), and Szechwan (Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
(usually spelled Schezuan in Indian Chinese cooking), implying a spicy red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
sauce). These correspond only loosely, if at all, with authentic Chinese food preparation.
Appetizers
SoupSoup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
s like Manchow soup
Manchow soup
Manchow soup is a soup popular in Indian Chinese cuisine due to its ease of preparation and hot spicy taste. It is available in large restaurants and street food carts alike...
and sweet corn soup
Corn soup
Corn soup is a soup traditionally made of corn It is normally made in corn producing areas of the world, however is now widespread due to greater corn distribution. The basic recipe is some type of soup base with corn added followed by whatever ingredients give it its distinct style...
, again available in vegetarian and meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
form, are commonly available, as are starters
Entrée
An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...
such as chicken lollipop
Chicken lollipop
Chicken lollipop is an hors d'œuvre that is made from the middle segments of chicken wings. The middle segment has one of the two bones removed, and the flesh on the segments is pushed to one end of the bone. These are then coated in a spicy red batter and deep fried...
s, spring roll
Spring roll
Spring rolls is an umbrella term used in some Western cultures to describe disparate varieties of filled, rolled appetizers similar to the Chinese chūn juǎn , from which the term was derived...
s and wonton
Wonton
Not to be confused with WantonA wonton is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.-Filling:...
s (sometimes spelled "wantons").
Rice and noodles
Staple base options for an Indian Chinese meal include chicken, shrimpShrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
or vegetable variants of Hakka or Szechwan/Sichuan noodles popularly referred to as chow mein
Chow mein
Chow mein is a Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles, of which there are many varieties.-Etymology:...
; and regular or Szechwan/Sichuan fried rice
Fried rice
Fried rice is a popular component of Asian cuisine, especially Chinese food. It is made from steamed rice stir-fried in a wok, often with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, and meat. It is sometimes served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets...
. American
American Chinese cuisine
American Chinese cuisine refers to the style of food served by many Chinese restaurants in the United States. This type of cooking typically caters to Western tastes, and differs significantly from the original Chinese cuisine.-History:...
chop suey
Chop suey
Chop suey is a Chinese dish consisting of meat and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery and bound in a starch-thickened sauce...
and sweet and sour
Sweet and sour
Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It has long been popular in North America and Europe, where it is stereotypically considered a component of standard Chinese cuisine...
dishes can be found at many restaurants. Some South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
n restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s have also come up with spring roll
Spring roll
Spring rolls is an umbrella term used in some Western cultures to describe disparate varieties of filled, rolled appetizers similar to the Chinese chūn juǎn , from which the term was derived...
s and Szechwan dosa
Dosa
Dosa or Dhosai is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. It is indigenous to and is a staple dish in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as being popular in Sri Lanka...
s.
Popular entrees
Ubiquitous main course entreeEntrée
An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...
s include:
- Chilli Chicken/Prawn/Fish/Mutton/Beef/Vegetables/Paneer
- Garlic Chicken/Prawn/Fish/Mutton/Vegetables/Paneer
- Szechwan Chicken/Prawn/Fish/Mutton/Vegetables/Paneer
- GingerGingerGinger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
Chicken/Prawn/Fish/Mutton/Vegetables/PaneerManchurian Chicken, consisting of chicken with vegetables in a spicy sauce. It is entirely a creation of Chinese restaurants in India, and bears little resemblance to traditional Chinese cuisineChinese cuisineChinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
. It is said to have been invented in 1975 by Nelson WangNelson WangNelson Wang is a restaurateur in India, founder of the famous China Garden restaurant in Mumbai's Kemps Corner neighbourhood. Various sources credit him with the invention of the popular Indian/Chinese dish "Chicken Manchurian".-Personal life:...
; Wang described his invention process as starting from the basic ingredients of an Indian dish, namely chopped garlic, ginger, and green chilis, but next, instead of adding garam masalaGaram masalaGaram masala is a blend of ground spices common in North Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to intensity of the spices rather than capsaicin content...
, he put in soy sauceSoy sauceSoy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
instead, followed by cornstarchCornstarchCorn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch is the starch of the corn grain obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel.-History:...
and the chicken itself. A popular vegetarian variant replaces chicken with cauliflower, and is commonly known as gobi manchurian. Other possibilities include prawn, fish, mutton, or paneerPaneerPaneer is a fresh cheese common in South Asian cuisine. It is of Indian origin. In eastern parts of India, it is generally called Chhena...
. - Chowmein A popular dish combining noodles, vegetables, scrambled egg, ginger and garlic, soy sauce, green chili sauce, red chili sauce and vinegar
- Hong Kong Chicken
- LemonLemonThe lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
Chicken/Prawn/Fish - HunanHunan' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
Chicken - Sweet and Sour Chicken (Different from the American Version of Sweet and Sour, but similar to General Tso's ChickenGeneral Tso's chickenGeneral Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy, deep-fried chicken dish that is popularly served in North American Chinese restaurants...
) - Chop sueyChop sueyChop suey is a Chinese dish consisting of meat and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery and bound in a starch-thickened sauce...
American style & Chinese Style (Crispy Noodles with a variety of vegetables, chicken or meat and sauces.)
Often the nomenclature
Nomenclature
Nomenclature is a term that applies to either a list of names or terms, or to the system of principles, procedures and terms related to naming - which is the assigning of a word or phrase to a particular object or property...
is such that the main ingredient is mentioned first, followed by the entree style such as "Chicken Chilli" .
Desserts
Indian Chinese dessertDessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
options include ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
on honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
-fried noodles or date pancake
Pancake
A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...
s.
Availability
Indian Chinese food is readily available in major metropolitan areas of India such as MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Hyderabad, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. It is also available in a number of towns and on dhaba
Dhaba
In India and Pakistan highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas In India and Pakistan highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas In India and Pakistan highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas (singular: dhaba; In India...
s (roadside stalls), also popularly referred to as "Fast foods", adjacent to major Indian road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
s and highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
s. Many restaurants have a Chinese section in their menu
Menu
In a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
s, and some are even dedicated to serving Indian Chinese food. It can also be found in the mobile kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
cart
Cart
A cart is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people...
s that ply the streets of cities, prepared in wok
Wok
A wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is used especially in East and Southeast Asia.Woks are most often used for stir frying, but can also be used in other Chinese cooking techniques, such as in steaming, deep frying, braising, stewing, smoking, or making soup...
s over a portable gas burner. Manchurian sauce, Szechwan sauce, soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
and Hakka noodles are available in many stores in cities across.
Many overseas Indian restaurants in the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
also cater to the overseas Indians' nostalgic
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
taste for Indian Chinese food. The cuisine is also branching out into the mainstream in major cities of North America such as New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Houston, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Atlanta and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. Chinese food in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, also tends to be of this style. In many of these places, the restaurants are labelled as Hakka Chinese, when in fact the cuisine itself has very little resemblance to authentic Hakka cuisine
Hakka cuisine
Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka people, who are primarily found in southeastern China , but also may be found in many other parts of China, as well as in the Chinese diaspora...
. "Hakka" label in these restaurants are usually referring to the owner's origins, and many Chinese restaurant owners in India were of Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
origin.
As of 2007, Chinese cuisine ranks India's most favorite cuisine (after local food), growing at 9% annually. It is the most favoured option when young people go out to eat and the second favorite (after south Indian cuisine
South Indian cuisine
South Indian Cuisine is a term used to refer to the cuisines found in the four southern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.-Similarities and differences in "Four states' cuisines":...
) when families dine out.
Inchin's Bamboo Garden is the biggest indian chinese chain in America.