Australian Chinese cuisine facts for kids
Australian Chinese cuisine is a special way of cooking that was created by people of Chinese background living in Australia. They changed traditional Chinese dishes to suit the tastes of local Australians. This style of cooking started when Chinese workers came to Australia to be cooks in country pubs and large sheep stations.
Many more Chinese people came to Australia during the gold rushes in the 1800s. By 1890, about one-third of all cooks in Australia were Chinese. Historians believe that a rule called the White Australia policy allowed Chinese chefs to come to Australia, which helped Chinese restaurants spread across towns and suburbs. Today, Chinese food is a very common part of general Australian and New Zealand cuisines.
Most early Chinese migrants came from the Guangdong province. Because of this, Cantonese cuisine was the main influence. These dishes used local vegetables and more meat than traditional Chinese recipes. Later, more Chinese people arrived, and Australians became more open to trying new foods. This led to restaurants offering more authentic dishes from different parts of China. Chinese food is now Australia's most popular foreign cuisine.
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History of Chinese Food in Australia
Many Chinese immigrants first came to Australia during the gold rushes. Thousands of Chinese people, mostly from villages in Southern China, especially the Pearl River Delta, arrived. In 1855, over 11,000 Chinese people arrived in Melbourne.
Since gold was hard to find and mining was dangerous, Chinese people started doing other jobs to make a living. Many opened small grocery stores, sold fruits and vegetables, worked in fishing, or became market gardeners. Other Chinese immigrants decided to open restaurants that served traditional dishes.
The White Australia policy had a special rule that allowed chefs to enter the country. This might be why many Chinese immigrants and their families became chefs in Australia. By 1890, it was said that 33% of all cooks in Australia were Chinese. Over time, these Chinese communities grew and created Chinatowns in major cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. They also appeared in goldfield towns like Cairns.
How Chinese Food Changed in Australia
Australian Chinese cooking styles came from provinces like Sichuan and Guangdong. So, early Chinese food in Australia was often hot and spicy (Sichuan cuisine) or sweet and sour (Guangdong cuisine). During the first Gold Rush, Chinese workers often had second jobs in small food places called "cookhouses" to serve their own people.
At first, it was hard to find traditional Chinese ingredients, especially vegetables like bok choy and choy sum. After the White Australia policy was removed, many Chinese migrants brought seeds from China. They started growing their own vegetables at home to add more variety to Australian dishes.
Roy Morgan Research found that Chinese food is Australia's favorite cuisine. However, Australian Chinese cuisine is still a bit different from truly authentic Chinese food. One reason for this is that Chinese chefs had to make food that suited Western tastes. They needed to make sure their restaurants could survive.
For example, in traditional Chinese cooking, vegetables are often a main dish. But Westerners usually see vegetables as side dishes. To please local diners, Chinese restaurants in Australia started offering more meat options on their menus.
Also, Guangdong cooking often focuses on fresh and tender tastes, using steaming and braising methods. But to fit Australian tastes, deep-fried and saucy Asian dishes were added. These include sweet and sour pork, sticky lemon chicken, and dim sim. The "dim sim" or "dimmy" was created by Chinese chef William Wing Young around 1945 in Melbourne. It's a dumpling with a thick, often crispy, skin filled with meat, and it's usually fried. People sometimes confuse it with dim sum, which are small, bite-sized foods usually steamed in baskets.
Another example of how Chinese cuisine adapted is how Matthew Chan helped make Peacock Gardens Restaurant a symbol of modern Australian Chinese food. In the 1970s, Australian customers weren't familiar with dishes like "chicken chop suey" or "san choy bow." Matthew Chan introduced these dishes with some Western changes. For instance, for 'san choy bow,' he knew Australians weren't used to pigeon meat. So, he changed the main protein to pork and beef mince. Many vegetables were also swapped, like cabbage for celery, and Western broccoli became more common than Chinese broccoli.
As Chinese cuisine became more popular in Australia, some Chinese ingredients that were once unknown are now common. For example, tofu, which was not accepted in Australia before, is now a main ingredient in many dishes. Tofu was discovered over 2,000 years ago. It's made by curdling soymilk and pressing it into blocks with different textures. A well-known tofu dish served in Chinese restaurants is Mapo Tofu.
On the other hand, some Australian Chinese dishes are inspired by Western cooking. An example is Wasabi Prawn. Matthew Chan developed this dish after a trip to America. He said, "I got the idea from the Hilton's San Francisco Grill where they had mustard on roast beef. I tried to do mustard steak but it didn't work, so I tried it with prawns." In this dish, prawns are coated with tangy English mustard. They are served with deep-fried spinach leaves sprinkled with sugar to balance the strong mustard flavor.
Most Chinese restaurants in Australia are designed to serve both Chinese and non-Chinese customers. However, some traditional items like chicken liver or pig uteri might "frighten" Western customers. With more Chinese people living in Australia, there are now more restaurants serving very authentic tastes. There's also a wider variety of Chinese restaurants. This includes a big increase in Hong Kong-style cafes, which often mix Cantonese and Western dishes with Hong Kong-style coffee or tea. Taiwanese restaurants have also grown a lot, especially in major cities.
Chinese Restaurants in Australia
Because Chinese food is so popular, you can find Chinese restaurants in most suburbs and cities across Australia. The most concentrated places for Chinese restaurants are in Chinatowns. Here, the dishes are often made for recent Asian immigrants, tourists, and Western people. They offer a wider range of cuisines, including Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Shandong, and Sichuan.
Chinese restaurants can also have different price points. Some serve traditional food, while others offer modern Chinese food. For example, Chinese restaurants in food courts usually provide affordable meals. In Haymarket, Sydney, inside Dixon House, there are many Chinese food stalls with cheap Chinese meals. Dixon House, opened in 1982, is a well-known Chinatown food court. It has restaurants like Oriental Dumpling King and Sizzling and Hot Pot Kitchen, where meals cost around AU$10 - AU$20.
On the other hand, some Chinese restaurants can be very expensive. The Golden Century Seafood Restaurant in Sydney Chinatown is a symbol of luxurious Chinese dining. Opened in 1989, it's known for its "from tank to plate" serving style. This means the seafood is very fresh. Signature dishes like Braised Lobster with Ginger and Shallot or Braised Whole Abalone with Oyster Sauce can cost around AU$300. The Golden Century Seafood Restaurant is also famous for hosting important people like royalty, politicians, and celebrities. Former US president George W. Bush has eaten Peking Duck there, and celebrities like Rihanna and Lady Gaga have enjoyed seafood.
Australia also has authentic restaurants that serve traditional styles, as well as places that offer contemporary Chinese cuisine. Authentic Chinese food can be found at Supper Inn Chinese Restaurant. Supper Inn opened in the 1980s in Melbourne's central business district. Its food is described as classic Chinese/Cantonese: "It is such a simple comfort to eat here, [the restaurant] serves quality consistent Cantonese food." Supper Inn's famous dishes include chicken congee and BBQ Suckling Pig. These dishes have been around in China for thousands of years. The restaurant is also known for its late-night food, staying open until 2:30 AM every day.
In contrast, some restaurants combine authentic Chinese tastes with other cuisines to create their own modern Chinese food. Mr Wong is an example. Co-created by Dan Hong and Michael Lou, Mr Wong is described as a "self-contained Chinatown in the middle of Sydney." It offers a special menu using many foreign ingredients, which has changed how Australians view Chinese cuisine. For example, xiaolongbao, a type of Chinese steamed bun usually filled with minced pork, is now sometimes made with lobster and scallop. Mr Wong also has a modern drinks menu with cocktails and homemade ginger beer, showing its effort to change customers' views on Chinese food.
Popular Australian Chinese Dishes
Here are some Chinese dishes that have been changed to suit Australian tastes:
- Lemon chicken: This dish has pieces of chicken meat that are usually deep-fried and covered in a sticky, sweet, and sour lemon-flavored sauce. Even though it doesn't look like authentic Chinese food from China, lemon chicken is very popular in Australian Chinese restaurants.
- Lettuce Wraps: Also known as San Choy Bow, this is a well-known Chinese dish where, originally, minced pigeon meat was wrapped inside a lettuce leaf. However, in Australia, pork mince is usually used instead of pigeon.
- Chicken Stir-fried: Also called Chicken Chop Suey, this dish has stir-fried chicken meat mixed with green vegetables. In Australia, other vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, or bean sprouts can also be added.
- Chow Sam See: This dish was invented by Matthew Chan. It includes shredded chicken, barbecued pork, and Chinese mushrooms that are stir-fried and then served in a thin pancake. Matthew Chan said he created this to make a less expensive version of Peking Duck.
- Mustard Prawns: This dish was inspired by Western cuisine. The main ingredients are prawns, cooking wine, mustard, and sweet and sour sauce.
- Dim Sim: Developed by Chinese chef William Wing Young around 1945 in Melbourne. A Dim Sim is a dumpling with a thick (often crispy) skin filled with meat, and it's usually fried.
- Billy Kee Chicken: This dish comes from Sydney's Chinatown in the 1950s. Named after a local person called Billy Kee, it's fried chicken or pork in a sauce made with red wine, Worcestershire sauce, five spice, garlic, and tomato sauce.
- Ham and Chicken Roll: An appetizer made with chicken wrapped around ham, then coated and deep-fried. It's often served with sweet and sour sauce on the side.
- Mango Pancakes: A popular dish in Yum Cha restaurants in Sydney since the 1980s. It's a thin mango crepe filled with whipped cream and pieces of mango.
- Mongolian Lamb: A common dish with stir-fried lamb pieces and spring onions cooked in a soy and hoisin-based sauce. It's often served on a hot, sizzling iron dish.
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