Indo-Chinese food is nothing but a a form of fusion cuisine that involves the generous preparation of Chinese food in Indian style. Over the years, Indo-Chinese food has carved a niche for itself in the traditional Indian cuisine, which has become vastly popular, mainly among the youths. This cuisine said to have originated in the famous eateries of Kolkata in northeastern India, is believed to have developed by the close neat Chinese community there. Indo-Chinese cooking has now evolved as a matter of perfection in the China town localities of major metropolitan cities in India like Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai. Chinese communities scattered in parts of Singapore or Malaysia also follow similar cooking patterns and Indo-Chinese food has become popular in these locations.
Popular Indo-Chinese Recipes / Dishes:
The sweet & sour chicken, sweet & sour mushroom, wanton soup, dumplings, Manchurian chicken, Hakka noodles, Szechwan fried rice/chicken are the widely recognized Indo-Chinese recipes. Variants of spices like cumin, cardamom and turmeric, special to Indian food gives an extra edge to the gravy prepared in Indo-Chinese food. For those who are non-vegetarians, Indo-Chinese food brings together a delicious combo of chicken, lamb, pork, shrimp and prawn on your platter. In India, where there is a wide prevalence of vegetarianism, quite often paneer is incorporated into the Indo-Chinese food so is vegetables like cauliflower and mushroom; although in original Chinese cuisine not all of these ingredients has a place whatsoever. Popular Indo-Chinese food include garlic chicken, garlic prawn, ginger lamb, chowmein, hunan chicken, chopsuey, momos, chili chicken so on and so forth. The term “hakka†in hakka noodles has been derived from the people originating from the hakka region. Indo-Chinese food further has the provision for both gravy and dried recipes, giving it the flexibility to be served as tasty appetizers as well as main entries.