Chinese food in Indian cuisine includes a fiery fusion of flavors. Around 250 years ago, the early Chinese community, which immigrated to Kolkata for the prospects of a better life, tweaked their culinary styles with the rich flavors and ingredients found in India. The customization of authentic Chinese cuisine with spicy and oily combinations of Indian flavors won the hearts of the local masses. With the addition of numerous masalas (or Indian herbs and spices) and creativity, multiple new dishes were created - the addition of Chinese spices to Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) gave rise to Sichuan Paneer, and chilli chicken took the place of traditional chicken curry. Pepper chicken nostalgically reminded people of south Indian fried chicken. These are just a few examples of a broad new cuisine that has been developing for decades - the Indo-Chinese or Desi-Chinese cuisine. It has now become a traditional Indian favorite cuisine. The fusion between the two wonderful cuisines gained traction quickly and word about this new blend resulted in numerous restaurants opening in Kolkata and, soon enough, in towns and cities pan-India. A part of its success came from the fact that while the use of Indian masalas made it familiar to local taste buds, the use of the combination of tomatoes, soy sauce, and chilies made it different enough to offer the domestic population flavors they could not find in their daily food choices. The fusion food provided a sense of comfort while giving the local masses an opportunity to explore new territories. With the passage of time, it has been tenaciously engrained in Indian culture to the extent that most Indo-Chinese restaurants are now owned and operated by Indians. The cuisine is popular to date and has been an integral part of my life. I have grown up eating Indo-Chinese food and I cannot remember a single birthday I have celebrated without its presence. Memories of my younger sister and me running toward our house from the bus stop during elementary school to have Indo-Chinese Chili Garlic Soy Noodles are still fresh in my mind. My mother used to make this dish frequently during my childhood. I chose to make this dish as a result of it being close to my heart and because it reminds me of my mother, who is back home in India.

Indo-Chinese food not only holds value in India, but globally as well. Chef Nelson Wang, who worked at the Cricket Club of India, deep-fried chicken cubes and coated them with a spicy peppery sauce to create the Manchurian style of Indo-Chinese food. The world-famous gobi manchurian falls under this variation of Indo-Chinese cooking, which uses gobi or Indian cauliflower. The Hakka style of this cuisine also stemmed from the fusion of the two cuisines. It is arguably one of India’s most democratic forms of cuisines, as it is eaten almost everywhere and adapted to the taste preferences of the demographic of different parts of India. While Chinese food was adapted by immigrants to create this cuisine, the Indo-Chinese cuisine was further adapted to fit the availability of ingredients and the traditional flavors of different regions in India. For instance, Hakka Chinese in east Indian regions like Kolkata, Punjabi Chinese in North Indian regions like New Delhi, and Masala Chinese in west Indian regions have all been popularized and adapted over the course of time. The sub-variations and regional changes to Indo-Chinese food graciously illustrate that the cuisine includes a fiery fusion of flavors. Similarly, Chilli Garlic Soy Noodles and other variations of Indo-Chinese Hakka noodles hold a great societal and historical significance in India. It has found its way into street food, restaurants of all categories, and is even a staple food used in household celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries.

Though Chilli Garlic Soy Noodles is one of my favorite childhood dishes, cooking them was a challenge, as I do not generally enjoy cooking. In the past, I have only made myself eggs, spinach, feta, and soy chorizo quesadillas, and quinoa bowls. I had numerous calls with my mother and sister, who are back home in India, to learn about the process of making the dish. Though they were not physically with me, their support and guidance kept me motivated. Moreover, I was lucky to have had most of the ingredients except spring onions and soy sauce with me during the cooking process. The missing ingredients were easily accessible at a grocery store close to my apartment in Atlanta. However, I was not able to include certain traditional Indian masalas as a part of my recipe, as I did not have access to them. The missing ingredients made me introspect about the intricacies and fusion elements of Indo-Chinese cooking amidst its simplicities. While commonly used ingredients like chili, soy sauce, spring onions, and garlic were easily available, conventional Indian flavors could not easily be incorporated into this dish. This made me appreciate the cultural fusion even more. The entire process of cooking and the project taught me to appreciate and learn more about the cultural, societal, and historical significance of the Indo-Chinese cuisine, which I merely used to enjoy for the virtue of its taste. The entire dish did not take longer than forty minutes to prepare and it is something I see myself cooking more often. This would also help me in limiting the number of times I order in food, while also reminding me of my childhood memories.