Latest features Chinese takeaways take gold

Date Published:

07/08/2008

With the spotlight focussed on China at the moment, there’s one competition the Chinese have been winning for a very long time here in Britain – takeaways. And as Nick Gulhane reveals, there’s more home grown talent in them than you might imagine

Every day millions of us Brits pick up the phone and call for a takeaway. Most of us have a menu stuck somewhere convenient, if not a number in our mobile. Strictly speaking, burgers and fish and chips are the leaders, but the moment we want something more exotic or to eat in at home it’s Chinese we turn to, and for good reason. There's great comfort to be had from soft rice mixed with fruity, spicy flavours and the crisp, crunch of a spring roll. According to researchers Forum For The Future, we comfort ourselves to the tune of around £850 million a year. Not bad for what is basically a cottage industry, dominated by small family run businesses.

What's in a name?

Chinese takeaways started to proliferate in the 1970s and 1980s. The resourceful owners adapted or even created dishes to suit the British palate and, apart from a few key ingredients, Chinese takeaway food is about as Chinese as – well, chips. According to Thomas Chan, Chairman of the Chinese Takeaway Association, when a Chinese dignitary of the Ching Dynasty visited Victorian Britain, his chef provided British officials with a dish made with whatever meats and vegetables were at hand. When asked what it was, the diplomat called it 'assorted bits and pieces' – or to you or I, 'chop suey'.

The modern takeaway menu remains packed with equally iconic dishes many made from ingredients that are surprisingly local - great for British farmers and suppliers and good for the environment too. With the help of Thomas Chan, here's a guide to Chinese cooking British style.

Spices and sauces

These are key to Chinese cooking. They include such things as Szechuan peppercorns for heat, five-spice powder and star anise for sweet, aromatic flavours and ginger for that fresh almost cleansing taste.

Together they form the basis of many marinades such as the classic barbecued spare ribs. In the 1960s there really was such a thing as a free lunch. At that time us Brits had no appetite for bony bits and ribs really were going spare, given away by butchers. Takeaway owners took advantage, covering them in sauce and serving them up sticky and sweet.

Duck!

If there's one meat that Chinese cuisine has really opened peoples eyes to, it's duck. For too long it was associated with the tangy orange sauce of the 1970s; the Chinese way is to cook it in intense heat, making it succulent but much less fatty. But it is the skin that makes duck so popular with the Chinese. In Beijing roast duck is practically a status symbol. The very wealthy will only eat squares of the crisp, rich, red skin, discarding the meat.

Here in Britain we love aromatic crispy duck, stuffing it into pancakes lined with plum sauce, cucumber and spring onions. According to Thomas Chan, this is yet another UK invention, created by a London restaurant owner called Cheung who, knowing of the British passion for crackling, deep-fried his duck to give it that extra crunch.

Since the 1960s, as the Chinese community has become more established, so have the techniques of producing products that once would have been imported. Noodles, the basis of so many Chinese dishes, are now made here in Britain, from the egg noodles found in chow mein to the rice noodles preferred in ho fun soups.

Going local

Restaurant and takeaway owners have long been growing bean sprouts in their own kitchens but one important ingredient that is being manufactured in Britain is tofu. To many, this ingredient smacks of tree hugging vegetarianism but tofu is a versatile ingredient that absorbs flavours well and offers different textures. It used to be imported deep fried and frozen but now factories making even organic tofu can be found across Britain.

From the late 1980s onwards, air transport between the Far East and Britain increased, meaning that it became possible to eat fresh, authentic vegetable dishes like pak choi and choi sum. But even these are now being grown in Britain, making them literally a green(er) option on the menu.

Yes, ingredients like bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and straw mushrooms will always be imported, but for the most part, the Team Britain is making a strong contribution.

Got a hankering for Chinese food? Tuck into these Chinese recipes.

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