Chifa

For decorative buses in Colombia, see chiva bus.

Lomo saltado originated as a chifa dish and became part of mainstream cuisine.

Chifa is a Chinese Peruvian culinary tradition based on Cantonese elements fused with traditional Peruvian ingredients and traditions. The term is also used to refer to restaurants that serve the chifa cuisine. ^{[2] [3]}

Chifa has spread from Peru to neighboring countries including Ecuador, ^[4] and Chile. ^[5]

Etymology

The majority of Chinese Peruvians have origins in southern China, where Cantonese is spoken. ^[6] The Comisión Lexicografía de la Academia Peruana (CLAP) proposed that the word chifa is from Cantonese 食飯 喇 (Jyutping: sik⁹ faan⁶ laa³), lit "to eat cooked rice" ("comer arroz cocido") ^{[2] [6]} but usually meant "Time to eat [meal]". The term came to prominence in Lima in the 1930s, when Limeños heard Chinese people using the expression "chifan" as a call to eat in the restaurants they ran. ^[7]

A similar loanword, chaufa (a chifa fried rice dish), comes from the Cantonese 炒飯 or chaofan (Jyutping: caau³ faan⁶), meaning "fried rice". ^[8]

History

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chinese immigrants came to Peru as workers. They came mainly from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, particularly the capital city of Guangzhou. For the most part, they settled on the coast of Peru and in the capital city of Lima. ^[6]

There are different accounts on the development of chifa restaurants in Lima, such as the following:

Why is the Chinatown of Lima near the central market called Capon? Because on Ucayali Street pigs, bulls, sheep and goats were fattened to be made more appetizing. Near Capon Street there was a piece of land known as Otaiza, which was rented by a group of Chinese free of the [indenturement] contract, doing what they best knew how to do: cooking and merchanting (...) Capon turned into the birthplace of Chinese food and of the first Peruvian chifas, a blessing from the sky. Soon all of Lima comes to eat at Ton Kin Sen, to Thon Po, to Men Yut, and to San Joy Lao where there was dancing to a live orchestra. Chinese restaurants became known as Chifa. For some this word was derived from the Chinese ni chi fan or "Have you eaten yet". Soon later would come the dish chau fan (fried rice), and finally, chaufa, a dish that comes with almost every chifa meal.
– León, R., 2007 pp.134-136. ^[9]

Cuisine

Soy sauce, called sillao in Peru, is an important ingredient

Arroz chaufa , in this case with beef and bean sprouts

Peruvian chifa is distinct, influenced by Peruvian cuisine. Like most Chinese food elsewhere, rice, meat, noodles and vegetables are staples in chifa. Chifa is eaten by all socioeconomic groups, with some directed at those with more disposable income, and chifas de barrio at those with less. Lima had over 6,000 chifa restaurants in 2007. ^[10]

Chifa dishes

Name	Image	Description
Aeropuerto		A mixture of arroz chaufa and tallarín saltado
Arroz chaufa		Cantonese-Peruvian style fried rice (white rice, soy sauce, scallions, fried egg, and meat such as chicken or pork)
Chicharrón de pollo		Fried simmered chicken cubes served with spiced lemon juice
Kam Lu Wantan		Wontons stir fried with sweet and sour sauce, vegetables and meat
Lomo saltado		Stir-fried marinated sirloin strips with onions, tomatoes and peppers and served with french fries and rice.
Pollo Chi jau kai		Chicken with chu-hou sauce
Pollo con tausi		Seasoned chicken with a dark broth
Pollo enrollado		Chicken rolled into fried crust
Pollo Tipa Kay		Chicken with Sweet and Sour sauce.
Sopa estilo chifa		Chinese-style chicken soup
Sopa Fu chi fu		Egg drop soup
Sopa wantan		Cantonese-Peruvian style wonton soup
Tallarin saltado		Cantonese-Peruvian style chow mein
Taypa a la plancha		Stir fry of beef, pork, chicken, fried tofu puffs, seafood, vegetables
Wantan frito		Fried wonton

Chifa in other countries

Since at least the 1970s, Chinese immigrants have opened chifa restaurants in Ecuador, ^[4] Bolivia, Chile, ^[5] and Spain.

See also

• Chinese cuisine
• Peruvian cuisine
• Nikkei cuisine
• Chinese Peruvians
• Chinatown of Lima
• Chinese Latin American cuisine

References

1. Acosta González, Martín (29 May 2011). "La jugosa historia del lomo saltado, un plato fruto del mestizaje: Tal como lo conocemos hoy, se trata de un plato relativamente joven que vio la luz gracias a la fusión de sabores de la cocina peruana y china" [The juicy story lomo saltado, a dish result of crossbreeding: As we know it today, it is a relatively young dish which was created by the fusion of flavors of Peruvian and Chinese Cuisines]. El Comercio (Peru) (in Spanish).
2. Ana Baldoceda E. (2003-12-31). "Resultados de la propuesta lexicográfica peruana en el diccionario de la Real Academia". Boletín de la Academia Peruana de la Lengua (36): 85–162. doi:10.46744/bapl.200202.003.
3. "Chifa". Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (in Spanish) (vigésima segunda edición ed.).
4. "Los chifas se comen el mercado ecuatoriano". Hoy (Ecuadorian newspaper) (in Spanish). 2006-04-26. Archived from the original on 2013-07-24.
5. "Conosur fires up Peruvian chicken, authentic pan-Latin cuisine".
6. Rodrigues Pastor, Humberto (Oct 2004). Cuando Oriente Llegó a América, Contribución de los inmigrantes chinos, japoneses y coreanos (in Spanish). Lima. ISBN   9781931003735.
7. Rodríguez Pastor, Humberto (2008). «Gastronomía chino-cantonesa y el chifa peruano». Gaceta Cultural del Perú (32). «Chifas hay de todas características, desde los muy lujosos hasta los que ofrecen al público el consumo "al paso", o los vendedores que ofertan chifita por las calles limeñas, en puestecillos muy modestos pero a los que no les falta su atractivo anuncio de CHIFA y hay hasta quienes lo venden en triciclos ».
8. «Historia del arroz chaufa». Abrecht. Consultado el 27 de noviembre de 2021. Internet Archive
9. León, Rafo (2007). Lima Bizarra. Antiguía del centro de la capital. 2da edición (in Spanish). Lima-Perú: Aguilar. ISBN   978-9972-848-17-9.
10. "Chinese in Peru: Soul food". Commission Magazine. November 2002.{{cite news}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)

• Zapata Acha, Sergio (noviembre de 2006). Diccionario de gastronomía peruana tradicional (1 edición). Lima, Perú: Universidad San Martín de Porres. ISBN   9972-54-155-X.