Chifa nombre de Cocina China en el Per

La palabra Chifa parece provenir de la unin de las palabras Chi que significa comer y fan que es arroz en chino, quitndole la ltima letra. Estos restaurantes ocupan un importante lugar en nuestra gastronoma, habindose convertido en la fusin de las tradiciones y la cocina China con la peruana. Una cocina con la que hasta hoy nos seguimos deleitando y reinventando. Los primeros chinos llegaron al Per en el ao 1849 para dedicarse a trabajos agrcolas en las haciendas de la costa del Pacfico. La segunda migracin importante se inicia a principios del siglo XX. Estos primeros colonos llegaban con contratos de trabajo en los que se especificaba hasta la lista de alimentos para su diario sustento. Mariela Balbi, en su libro Los Chifas en el Per menciona que como parte del pago que reciban por el trabajo que realizaban en el campo se les entregaba una libra y media de arroz, 700 gramos aproximadamente. Durante la mayor migracin China, entre los aos 1960 y 1974, llegaron unos 90,000 cules (trabajadores asiticos con escasa cualificacin). 50,000 colonos chinos, consumiran unos 35,000 kilos de arroz diarios y casi 13,000 toneladas al ao. A pesar de que el arroz lleg al Per durante los primeros aos de la conquista espaola (1533), este insumo de origen asitico lleg a Espaa gracias a los rabes. Su consumo en el Per no alcanza altas proporciones hasta la llegada de los colonos chinos, lo que marca tambin el inicio del cultivo intensivo del arroz al norte del Per. Posteriormente se populariza tanto en todas las esferas sociales, que hoy resulta imposible para la mayora de peruanos prescindir de esta guarnicin diariamente, an cuando estn presentes otros carbohidratos como la papa o el camote, tema que muchos europeos no pueden entender. Hay una ancdota sobre Csar Vallejo, famoso poeta y escritor peruano, quien naci en las zonas de los Andes. Al abandonar la sierra para vivir a las costas de Lima, cambi sus hbitos alimenticios e igual que todos en la capital peruana coma arroz todos los das, tanto que cuando se presentaba sola decir: A sus rdenes, Csar Vallejo con arroz! Hoy, uno de los 10 platos preferidos por los peruanos es el Arroz Chaufa, muy comn en todas las casas por su fcil preparacin. Es elaborado a base de arroz (del da anterior) frito con sillao (salsa de soya en chino), tortilla de huevo en trozos, cebolla china y diferentes tipos de carne en pequeos trozos. La palabra Chaufa viene de los vocablos chinos chau fan. Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX la colonia china creci y sus exigencias tambin, por lo que aparecen numerosas casas importadoras que traan

productos chinos. Bsicamente productos enlatados, harinas, aceites, pero tambin frutas y verduras secas o saladas en el caso de estas ltimas. No poda faltar el sillao (salsa de soya), que se importaba por barriles y es hasta hoy imprescindible en todas las casas como ingrediente caracterstico del sabor a Chifa. Estos comercios se congregaban alrededor de la calle Capn, nombre con el que se conoce el barrio chino de Lima. Esta colonia china arrib proveniente de Cantn, provincia de situada al sur de China, muy cerca de Hong Kong. Cantn se caracteriza por tener una de las cocinas ms variadas de China y tambin una de las mejores. Hay un dicho chino que dice: para comer Cantn. De igual forma, el Per es reconocido por la gran diversidad de platos, siendo la cocina china o Chifa una de las comidas de mayor aceptacin. En Lima hay ms de 5,000 Chifas, restaurantes que ocupan el tercer lugar de preferencia para el 20% de la poblacin, luego del tradicional pollo a la brasa y las populares cebicheras. Pero en realidad los Chifas son una fusin de la cocina china y la peruana, ya que estos cocineros incorporaron muchos ingredientes peruanos a sus comidas o en muchos platos adaptaron insumos locales por la ausencia de los originales. No es extrao encontrar aj en la preparacin de comidas chinas u otras costumbres cmo acompaar los guisos chinos con Arroz Chaufa, en lugar de arroz blanco, como se usa en Cantn. Los peruanos a lo largo de nuestra historia nos hemos asimilado los usos y tradiciones de las diferentes poblaciones que han llegado a nuestras tierras y con los chinos no fue una excepcin. Desde su llegada consideramos pintoresca su forma de hablar. Sus exticas palabras fueron tan bien aceptadas que las incorporamos a nuestro lenguaje, por ello la salsa de soya es sillao, el jengibre es kion, lo abundante es Taipa y en los Chifas, el men est en Chino. Durante un congreso internacional en Italia, cen con un peruano, un norteamericano y 6 chinos. El idioma haca la situacin bastante difcil, hasta que el peruano me dijo: hblales en chino. Lo mir con cara de terror y contest: yo no s hablar chino! Pero sugiri que mencionara palabras de los chifas. Yo misma me qued impresionada, no slo por mi amplio vocabulario en chino; sino tambin por lo mal que lo pronunciamos los peruanos esas palabras. Al final, los chifas me sirvieron para disfrutar de una muy entretenida y enriquecedora velada. Chifa de la Unin / Chu Yoc Barranco

Olinda Chan Presidenta Asociacin Peruano China

Berit Knudsen (Lima - Per) Estudi Ciencias de la Comunicacin en la Universidad de Lima, Diseo Interior -Arquitectnico y un posgrado de Marketing. Catedrtico en la Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, en la Escuela de Posgrado - UPC, el Centro de Liderazgo - UPC. En 1999 fue Directora de Marketing y Financias en esta Escuela de Negocios. Ha sido Directora de Proyectos en diversas organizaciones, trabajando durante siete aos en la industria de la perfumera y el mundo de las Fragancias, lo que le ha permitido desarrollar la sensibilidad que hoy aplica a la gastronoma. Su carcter dinmico y observador la ha llevado a viajar por ms de veinte aos realizando tours gastronmicos, recopilando informacin que plasma hoy en sus proyectos. Durante su carrera ha desarrollado importantes restaurantes con marcas como Disdon Pizza, Tanta y Fusin. En el 2009 public el libro Historias, Ancdotas y algunas recetas de la Gastronoma Peruana en Castellano. En el 2010 la Embajada del Per en China, public su obra en Chino Mandarn e ingls, para la Expo Shanghi, convirtindose en el primer libro de gastronoma peruana en dicho idioma. Esta edicin fue reconocida por Gourmand International como el Mejor libro de Gastronoma Peruana del 2010.

Chifa the peruvian name for Chinese food

Chifa is the word that Peruvian people use to call Chinese food and restaurants. This word Chifa seems to come from the union of the words Chi that means to eat and fan that is rice in Chinese, clearing the last letter. These restaurants occupy a very important place in our gastronomy, having it turned into the fusion of the traditions and cuisine between China and Peru. The first Chinese arrived at Peru in 1849 to dedicate themselves to agricultural works in properties located near our coast at the Pacific Ocean. The second important migration starts at the beginning of the XX century. These first colonists arrived with work contracts in which it was specified even the food list for his daily sustenance. Mariela Balbi, in her book Chifas in Peru mentions that, as part of their payment received as a retribution for their job at the fields, they had to give them a pound and a half of rice daily, 700 grams approximately. During the greatest chinese migration, between years 1960 and 1974, there were about 90.000 cules (Asian workers with low qualification) at Peru. 50.000 Chinese colonists, need about 35.000 daily kilos of rice and almost 13.000 tons every year. Although the rice arrived at Peru during the first years of the Spanish conquest (1533), the consumption of this Asian cereal, which originally arrives at Spain thanks to the Arabs, was not very frequent. It reached high proportions afeter the presence of the Chinese colonists, time that also marks the beginning of the intensive sowing of rice at the north area of Peru. Later the rice becomes very popular in all social spheres and today it is impossible for the majority to eat without rice almost any kind of food, even though other carbohydrates like the potatoes or the sweet potato are present in the same plate, subject that many Europeans cannot understand. There is a story from Caesar Vallejo, famous Peruvian poet and writer, who was born in the zones of the Andes. When he left the mountain area to live at Lima, he changed his nutritional habits and just as all in the Peruvian capital people, started eating rice every day. So he changed his way of saying hello and as soon as he appeared in any place he used to say: To you orders, Caesar Vallejo with rice! Today, one of 10 preferred plates by the Peruvians is the Chaufa Rice, very common in all the houses for its easy preparation. It is a plate made with rice (of the previous day) fried with sillao (soya sauce in Chinese), egg tortilla in pieces,

Chinese onion and different types from meat in small pieces. The Chaufa word comes from the Chinese words chau fan, were fan is rice. During second half of century XIX the Chinese colonies in Peru also grew so for the exigencies of this community. This is the reason why many importation houses bring Chinese products. They sell mainly tinned products, flours, oils, but also dry fruits and vegetables, salty in case of these last one. It could not lack sillao (soya sauce), that is imported by barrels and that until nowadays is a basic ingredient in any house because it characterizes the flavor of our Chifa. This commerce congregated around the street named Capon at Lima, so we call Capon to our china town Capon. The Chinese colony arrived originally from Canton, important province of located in the south of China, close from Hong Kong. Canton is characterized not only for being one of the most versatile cuisines from China, but also for being one of the best ones. There is a Chinese saying that prays: to eat Canton. In the same way, Peru is recognized by the great diversity that our gastronomy offers. The Peruvian Chinese restaurants or Chifas are one of the most accepted meals. At Lima there are about 5,000 Chifas and they occupy the third place of preference with 20% of the population, after our traditional chicken called Pollo a la Brasa and our popular cebicheras. But in fact the Chifas are a fusion of the Chinese and Peruvian cuisine, since the chinese cooks incorporated many Peruvian ingredients to their meals and other plates are the result of the adaptation, were they replace local ingredients when Chinese ones were not available. It is not strange to find plates prepared with Aj (Peruvian chili or red pepper), strange combinations like accompanying Chinese stews with Chaufa Rice, since the Cantonese use only white rice as the garnish. Throughout our history Peruvians people had assimilated the uses and the way of living from different populations that have arrived at our country and with the Chinese its not an exception. The way they speak seemed colorful to us. Thus their exotic words were so well accepted, we have incorporated them to our daily language, that is the reason why the sauce of soya is sillao for us, the ginger is kion, something abundant is Taipa and at Chifas, we still read the menu in Chinese. During an international congress in Italy, I had dinner with a Peruvian, a North American and 6 Chinese people. The language made the situation quite tense, until the Peruvians told me: talk in Chinese. I watched them terrified and said: I dont know how to speak Chinese! But he suggested me to mention words from the Chifas. Im sure I really impressed these people, not only by my vast vocabulary in Chinese; but also about my bad pronunciation. Anyway, in the end our Chifas gave me the opportunity to enjoy a very entertaining and enriching night.

Berit Knudsen (Lima - Peru) She studied Communication Sciences at the University of Lima, Interior and Architectonic Design and a degree on Marketing. Was professor at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas UPC, at the Business School UPC and in the Center of Leadership - UPC. In 1999 she became Director of Marketing and Finance in the same Business School. She was Proyect Director in several organizations, working during seven years in the perfumeries industry and the Fragrances world, which has allowed her to develop the sensitivity she applies today to the gastronomy. Her dynamic and observant character has taken her to travel for more than twenty years taking gastronomical Tours and compiling the information she used today on her projects. She had developed important restaurants like Disdon Pizza, T'anta and Fusin. In 2009 she published the book Histories, Anecdotes and some recipes from the Peruvian Gastronomy in Spanish. On 2010 the Peruvian Embassy at China published her work in Chinese Mandarin and English, for the Expo Shanghai, becoming the first Peruvian gastronomy book in this language. This edition was recognized by Gourmand International as the Best book of Peruvian Gastronomy of the 2010.