Chifa

Chifa is culinary tradition based on Chinese Cantonese elements fused with traditional Peruvian ingredients and traditions. Though originating in Peru, the Chifa tradition has been adopted by neighboring countries like Ecuador and Bolivia. Chinese immigrants came to Peru mainly from the southern province of Guangdong and particularly its capital city Guangzhou in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They settled for the most part in the coast of Peru and the capital city of Lima. The term chifa is also used to describe a restaurant where this type of food is served. Chinese-Peruvian food has become one of the most popular types of food in Peru; there are thousands of Chifa restaurants across all districts of Lima and many more throughout other cities of Peru, with sometimes multiple independent restaurants operating in close proximity on a single city block.

The origin of the term chifa comes from the Cantonese 饎飯 (Jyutping:ci3 faan6) which means "to eat rice or to have a meal." A similar loanword, "chaufa", comes from the Cantonese 炒饭 (Jyutping:caau3 faan6) or "fried rice." Many other words in the Peruvian colloquial language that are of Chinese origin include: "kion" from Cantonese 薑 (Jyutping: goeng1), and "sillao" from the Cantonese 豉油 (Jyutping si6 jau4).

As Chinese immigrants in Peru progressed economically, they imported a limited number of ingredients to be able 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, the Chinese 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 were given the name Chifa. The Limean aristocracy was amazed by the bittersweet sauce, chaufa rice, the soup, and other dishes of the ancient cuisine. From that moment on, wealthy Limeans became fascinated by Chifa, to an extent that in some regions of the country there are more chifas than creole (which here is used to refer to the natives) restaurants.

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