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Australian Chinese cuisine

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Australian Chinese cuisine

Australian Chinese cuisine is a style of cooking developed by Australians of Chinese descent, who adapted dishes to satisfy local Anglo-Celtic tastes. Its roots can be traced to indentured Chinese who were brought to work as cooks in country pubs and sheep stations.

Migrant numbers exploded with the gold rushes of the 19th century. By 1890, a third of all cooks were Chinese. Historians believe exemptions for Chinese chefs under the White Australia policy led to the eventual spread of Chinese restaurants across suburbs and country towns.

Most early Chinese migrants were from Guangdong province, and so Cantonese cuisine became the chief influence, using locally available vegetables and more meat than was usual in traditional recipes. Later Chinese immigration, as well as increasingly adventurous domestic palates, have led to restaurants with more authentic dishes from a wider selection of provinces.

Not until the Australian Gold Rushes did many Chinese immigrants move to the country. The gold rushes drew thousands of Chinese people, mostly from villages in Southern China – especially the Pearl River delta.[citation needed] In 1855, there were 11,493 Chinese arrivals in Melbourne, Victoria.

As gold was rare, and mining always a dangerous job, Chinese people started to do different jobs to earn a living. Many chose to open small grocery stores or fruit and vegetable-hawking businesses, enter the fishing and fish curing industry, or become market gardeners. Other Chinese immigrants decided to open restaurants that served traditional dishes.

Perhaps because the White Australia policy had an exemption for chefs, many Chinese immigrants and their families became chefs in Australia. By 1890, it was said that 33% of all the cooks in Australia were Chinese. Over time, these Chinese communities grew and established Chinatowns in several major cities around Australia, including Sydney (Chinatown, Sydney), Melbourne (Chinatown, Melbourne) and Brisbane (Chinatown, Brisbane) and as well as regional towns associated with the goldfields such as Cairns Chinatown.

Australian Chinese cuisine cooking styles were derived from the cooking styles of provinces such as Sichuan and Guangdong. Therefore, Chinese cuisine in Australia from the beginning were usually hot, spicy and numbing (Sichuan cuisine); and/or sweet and sour (Guangdong cuisine). During the first Gold Rush period, Chinese labourers were found working their second job at small food stores which were referred to as "cookhouses" to serve their own people. However, at this time, there was little accessibility towards traditional ingredients, especially vegetables such as bok choy and choy sum. As a result, after the White Australia policy was revoked, many Chinese migrants brought seeds from China and started to grow their own vegetables at home to increase the variety in Australia.

Chinese food has been named as Australia's favourite cuisine according to Roy Morgan Research. However, despite its popularity, Australian Chinese cuisine still slightly differs to the authentic Chinese cuisine. One of the reason for this is due to the conflicts between Australian and Chinese people. In order for these Chinese restaurants to survive, Chinese chefs were expected to provide food that would not directly compete with that of white establishments, but would still suit Western tastes. As a result, many Australian Chinese restaurants have adjusted their food to better adapt to the Australians' appetites. For instance, traditional cuisines of China considers vegetables as a main dish, while Westerners only treat vegetables as side dishes. To better suit the local diners, Chinese restaurants offer more meat options on the menus.

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