# Chinese Cuisine in India: A Fiery Fusion of Flavors > How Chinese cuisine took root in India and became a cultural phenomenon. We trace the story of a fiery union between two great culinary civilizations. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/kytaiskaia-kukhnia-v-yndyy-ohnennoe-slyianye-vkusov/ - Language: en - Published: 2025-07-28 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Restaurants, India, China, Food & Drinks --- Although Chinese travelers had visited India for millennia in search of Buddhist teachings, Yang Tai Chow was the first recorded Chinese person to migrate to India in pursuit of better material prospects. In 1778 he settled in Calcutta. Known back then as Calcutta, it was the capital of British India and the metropolis most easily reached from China by land. Over the years many more like him arrived, mostly Hakka, and by the early 20th century a Chinatown had grown up in Calcutta, thriving and buzzing with enterprise. The Chinese distinguished themselves as dentists, tannery owners, sauce makers, beauticians and shoe-shop proprietors, but it was as restaurateurs that they truly made their name in India. Like every immigrant community, the Chinese absorbed the Indian worldview and its beliefs. They even embraced one of our goddesses, Kali, as their own, offering noodles, chop suey, rice and vegetable dishes in their rituals as a sign of unity. And so began the culinary fusion of Sino-Indian cultures. About 85 years ago, the Indian culinary world was swept up by a new cuisine. The first Indo-Chinese restaurant, Eau Chew, opened in Calcutta. The crowds, one imagines, walked out full and delighted, beaming their approval to the next batch of people who had yet to taste this newfangled cuisine of foreign origin, yet as spicy and delicious as their own. New restaurants sprang up all over Calcutta, and legends were born, places like Fat Mama and Kim Fa, offering newer dishes with more elaborate combinations and names such as August Moon Rolls and Fiery Dragon Chicken. Before you knew it, "Indian-Chinese" cuisine was tickling taste buds in every little town and city across India. No small feat for a foreign cuisine. Indian-Chinese food was served not only in restaurants large and small, but also by handcart vendors, roadside eateries and mobile Chow Mein vans with inventive names like Hungry Eyes and Dancing Stomach. Classic Mumbai street food now even comes in Chinese versions, with "Chinese bhel" and "Schezwan dosa." ## Why is it so popular? What makes Chinese food so astonishingly popular? The answer lies in Indian food itself. Quickly realizing that Indians love spicy, buttery dishes, the Chinese simply masala-ed and greased up their cuisine into a sticky, winning combination. Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) became Schezwan paneer with Chinese spices. Chicken curry was swapped out for chilli chicken. Aloo bhindi? Kung Pao potatoes with okra in a sweet, spicy, tomato-based dry sauce satisfied both craving and curiosity. Pepper chicken reminded people of South Indian style fried chicken. Non-vegetarian pakoras (batter-fried fritters), chicken, mutton or prawns Manchurian, dry or with gravy. And since an Indian family usually has at least one vegetarian, Manchurian sauce was poured over gobi (cauliflower). For some, Gobi Manchurian is the very outer edge of Indian-Chinese culinary friendship. But wait a minute. Manchurian? Is that even a dish? Not in China, no. But in India it is practically a synonym for Chinese food. It came about when a customer at China Garden, Mumbai's original Indian-Chinese restaurant, asked for something off the menu, and owner Nelson Wang (then a Chinese food supplier to the Cricket Club of India) took cubes of chicken, coated them in cornflour and deep-fried them. Wang then made a red sauce with onion, green chillies and garlic, and added a splash of vinegar and soy. He tossed the fried chicken dumplings back into the sauce and stir-fried them quickly so the flavors would come together, then served it with steamed or fried rice. The customers loved it. As Nelson puts it, "word of mouth" spread the dish's fame, and today it appears on almost every menu offering Chinese food in the country. That word-of-mouth buzz inspired Nelson Wang to open his own restaurant, China Garden, which remains a genuine Mumbai institution to this day. ## Spreading beyond Calcutta These days his son Eddie, a third-generation Chinese Indian, is leading the restaurant's expansion into Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Goa. Not bad for a man who began his career scraping together a modest living from odd jobs, including limbo dancing in Calcutta's clubs, at which, incidentally, he was rather good. The cozy comfort of Indian-Chinese food is heightened by its garnishes. Most dishes are topped with fresh coriander leaves and, depending on the dish, with rings of sliced onion too. But it is the ingredients that set Indian-Chinese food apart from authentic Chinese food. While the cooking methods stay the same, what goes into the dishes is entirely different. Beyond the use of local vegetables and meats, it is the seasonings that make the difference: garam masala (a blend of hand-ground or whole spices used to prepare Indian meat dishes), cornflour for thickening and coating, MSG to boost the "Chinese" flavor, an overdose of chilli, garlic and ginger, and generous pours of soy sauce to top it all off. That is what gives Indian-Chinese food its distinctive rich, spicy taste. Who needs bland, original Chinese food when a spicy garlic prawn sits in front of you? Or Hakka noodles? Noodles cooked with garlic, plenty of chilli, cabbage, bell pepper, carrot, ajinomoto, soy, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar, and finished with spring onion. Or chicken lollipop? Chicken wings skillfully stuffed with more meat, dipped in a red batter and deep-fried. Or crispy fried mutton with red chilli, disguised so well that every bite carries a little danger. Firmly rooted in the Indian culinary landscape, these dishes define the Indian-Chinese dining experience. Today restaurant menus also offer a selection of dishes from various regions of China, steamed and delicate like the originals, but always with an Indian-Chinese counterpart on the same page. As the second and third generations of Chinese Indians grew up, they migrated to other parts of the world. And they did what they knew best. They cooked Indian-Chinese food. Even in Europe and America these days, if you want that extra kick from your takeout boxes, the recipe most likely traces back to Mumbai or Calcutta. Blame Yang Tai Chow. Or thank him. Depending on how much you enjoy your mouth breathing garlic-chilli fire. ## Sanjeev Khamgaonkar's six best places for authentic Indian-Chinese food: ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-85-1-2025.jpg) China Garden, Om Chambers, Kemps Corner, Mumbai Ling's Pavilion, Mahakavi Bhushan Road, Apollo Bunder, Behind the Regal Cinema, Mumbai Mainland China, Branches in Andheri, Powai, Bandra and Haji Ali, Mumbai Chopsticks, 90-A, Manik Mahal, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate, Mumbai Kamling, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate, Mumbai China Gate, 155, RK Patkar Marg, Khar (West), Mumbai Sanjeev Khamgaonkar is a writer, director, foodie and digital artist.