Chinese food in India

Before I left for India, I was reading a book by Jennifer 8. Lee called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, in which, among other things, the author explored the history of the fortune cookies, as well as took it upon herself to find the best Chinese food in the world. (Seriously, how do I get this kind of job?) She talks about the ways in which Chinese food manifests itself in different countries, based upon the various tastes of those particular parts of the world.

I’ve had Chinese food in numerous countries, including several European countries (England, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands), Mexico, and Thailand. Each puts its own spin on how Chinese food ought to be. (Don’t eat Chinese in Hungary. Really.) India, too, has its own regionally-inspired Chinese cuisine. It’s very popular and can be quite tasty.

The most popular dish seems to be little dumplings called momos. Actually, I’m not entirely sure if they’re Chinese – they could be Tibetan. Regardless, these little pouches of dough-wrapped vegetable filling are on almost every menu at every restaurant we go to here in Shimla. At some places, you can get them steamed or fried, but typically, they come steamed. They’re best served with a trio of dipping sauces: soy, vinegar with tiny chopped chilies, and a red, fiery sauce filled with chili seeds. Many places, however, just serve them with Indian-style ketchup, which is less sweet than the kind at home. The filling varies, too, by restaurant. It’s primarily cabbage with wisps of other finely slivered vegetables, and sometimes they have bits of chili pepper thrown in for good measure. (There is a meat variation as well, which we haven’t tried.)

The dish that intrigues me the most is chop suey. To begin with, it’s not pronounced “chop soo-ey” like we say in the States. Here, it’s pronounced “chop see.” It is typically found in the “Chinese” section of nearly every menu, including our hotel’s, next to the chow mein. The chow mein is similar to what we have at home: an oily pile of thick egg noodles, with some veggies or egg thrown in. The chop suey is an entirely different beast. It comes with a tangle of crisp, thin noodles, submerged in an almost too-sweet tomato-based sauce, dotted with vegetables. To be honest, I’ve never actually had chop suey at home, due to its lack of “authenticity,” being that it was a dish invented for the American palate (read: the kind that enjoys eating Wonder Bread and vanilla pudding). I therefore have no basis of comparison to the “original” chop suey. But I find it interesting that this American-Chinese dish has found it way, in one form or another, onto the plates of Indians who enjoy Chinese food.

Besides Dim Sum, where one should only go for momos (as nothing else on the menu is particularly spectacular), we haven’t eaten at any Chinese restaurants here in Shimla. There are a number of tiny places on the middle bazaar, which were crammed packed the one afternoon we wandered down there for lunch. I’m curious to find out how the Indians up here in Himachal envision Chinese food. Being that China is just on the other side of the Himalayan mountains, one would hope that they can do Chinese well – in whatever form it takes.

We did have Chinese food when we were in Delhi, at a place in Connaught Place called Bonsai. It’s kind of off the main tourist drag, down a trashy, stinky street filled with parked cars and stray dogs. It was entirely empty when we arrived, which normally indicates the poor quality of a restaurant, but the food was actually really good. It was “happy hour” (which in India lasts from like noon to eight), and the beer and some dim sum were at half price. We had veggie spring rolls, veggie sui mai, broccoli and shiitakes in oyster sauce, and rice. The spring rolls were the best I’ve ever had in India, comparable to ones I had while in Bangkok: the outer skin was thin and crunchy, not doughy like at other Indian places. The sui mai was intriguing to me, as I’d only ever had sui mai made with pork and shrimp. The filling for the vegetarian version was a variety of diced veggies, which were really tasty, although the skins fell apart upon removal of the dumplings from the steamer which they were served in. They were served with an aioli of unknown origin, which was fabulous nonetheless (I ate the leftover mayo mixture on top of the leftover rice). The broccoli and shiitakes were also very good – the best stir-fried veggies I’ve had in India.

It’s interesting how Chinese food has made its way around the globe and gained widespread popularity. Danny commented that this could be due to the use of the savory or “umami” flavor, typically found in MSG (among other things), in Chinese foods that isn’t necessarily emphasized in other cuisines. Whatever the reason, I’m looking forward to further explorations of Chinese food in India.

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Happy birthday, Mom and Mike! I hope you're going to (speaking of Chinese food) a buffet tonight or this weekend, and I'm extremely jealous.