Chifa

Chifais aChinese Peruvianculinary tradition based onCantoneseelements fused with traditionalPeruvianingredients and traditions. The term is also used to refer to restaurants that serve thechifacuisine.
Though originating in Peru, thechifatradition has spread to neighboring countries likeEcuador,Chile,andBoliviathrough increased Chinese immigration.
Chinese-Peruvian food has become one of the most popular types of food in Peru.The first Chinese-Peruvian fusion restaurants were opened in Lima in around 1920 inLima's Chinatown(Barrio Chino). There are thousands ofchifarestaurants across alldistrictsof Lima and many more throughout other cities of Peru, with sometimes multiple independent restaurants operating in close proximity on a single city block.
The majority of Chinese Peruvians have origins in southern China, whereCantoneseis spoken.The Comisión Lexicografía de la Academia Peruana (CLAP) proposed that the wordchifais from Cantonese食飯喇(Jyutping:sikfanla), lit "to eat cooked rice" ("comer arroz cocido")but usually meant "Time to eat [meal]". The term came to prominence inLimain the 1930s, when Limeños heard Chinese people using the expression "chifan" as a call to eat in the restaurants they ran.
A similarloanword,chaufa(achifafried rice dish), comes from the Cantonese炒飯orchaofan(Jyutping:caaufaan), meaning "fried rice".
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chinese immigrants came to Peru as workers. They came mainly from the southern Chinese province ofGuangdong, particularly the capital city ofGuangzhou. For the most part, they settled on the coast of Peru and in the capital city of Lima.
As the economic status of Chinese Peruvians improved, they imported a limited number of ingredients to produce a more authentic version of their home cuisine. Additionally, they began to plant a variety of Chinese vegetables with seeds imported from China. However, due to a lack of ingredients, they were not able to prepare their cuisine in the authentic manner of their homeland.
Around 1920, the first Chinese Peruvian restaurants were opened in Lima, and they were given the namechifa. Limeños were amazed by the bittersweet sauce,chaufarice, soup, and other dishes. Wealthy Limeños became fascinated bychifa, to the point where in some regions of the country there are morechifasthancriollorestaurants.
Peruvian chefs began to use products used in traditional Chinese cooking such asginger,soy sauce,scallions, and a variety of other ingredients which began to make their way into daily Limeña cuisine.
There are different accounts on the development ofchifarestaurants in Lima, such as the following:
The history ofchifais deeply rooted in the development of the Chinatown of Lima, which has become focal point in cultural, artistic, commercial, and especially gastronomic interest. Chinatown is located near Capon Street in Barrios Altos, in theHistoric Centre of Lima.
Peruvianchifais distinct, due to its Peruvian cuisine influences. Like most Chinese food internationally and within China, rice, meat, noodles and vegetables are important staples tochifa.Chifais enjoyed by all socioeconomic levels, evidenced bychifasdirected toward those with more disposable income, whilechifas de barrioare directed towards a different social stratum. Currently, in the city ofLimathere are over 6,000chifarestaurants.
Since at least the 1970s, Chinese immigrants have openedchifarestaurants inEcuador,Bolivia,Chile,andSpain.