Chinese Latin American cuisine
A fusion of Chinese and Latin American culinary traditions.
Chinese Latin American cuisine, also known as Chino-Latino cuisine, is a culinary tradition that combines elements of Chinese cuisine with Latin American influences. It is associated with Asian Latin Americans of Chinese origin and is found in Chinese communities and Chinatowns across Latin America, including Peru (where it is called chifa) and Cuba. The cuisine has spread to the United States with the migration of Asian Latin Americans, particularly Chinese Cubans to New York City.
- Also known as
- Chino-Latino cuisine, Cocina China Latinoamericana
- Region of origin
- Latin America (notably Peru and Cuba)
- Key influence
- Chinese cuisine and Latin American cuisines
- Associated communities
- Asian Latin Americans of Chinese origin
- Notable location
- Havana's Barrio chino de La Habana
- Migration impact
- Spread to United States via Chinese Cuban remigration after the Cuban Revolution
Lore & Background
Chinese Cuban cuisine stems from the earliest migration of Chinese migrants to Cuba in the mid-1800s. Due to a labor shortage, close to 125,000 indentured or contract Chinese laborers arrived in Cuba between 1847 and 1874. The laborers were almost exclusively male, and most worked on sugar plantations alongside enslaved Africans. Tens of thousands of Chinese who survived indenture and remained on the island during the 1870s and 1880s gained more physical, occupational, and social mobility, joining agricultural gangs, growing vegetables, peddling goods, or working as artisans.
Reader's Guide
Chinese Latin American cuisine represents a significant cultural and culinary fusion born from migration and adaptation. Core aspects of Cuban and Chinese food are similar in their use of white meats such as pork and starches such as rice. The Cuban-Chinese cuisine itself is the cultivation of the food culture of both countries within one restaurant. Chinese dishes include fried rice, chow mein, or shrimp with black bean sauce, while Cuban dishes include ropa vieja or platanos maduros. Chinese cooking relies on vegetables like bok choy, amaranth, or broccoli, and on oils, sauces, and vinegars such as soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and oyster sauce. Cuban style uses spices like garlic, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, and cilantro, and vegetables like onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. In New York City, Chino-Latino cuisine is primarily associated with Chinese Cubans who immigrated following the Cuban Revolution. These restaurants are rarely found in U.S. Chinatowns but are concentrated in Spanish-speaking areas. By 2023, only a handful of Chino Latino restaurants remained in New York, compared to over 20 in the past.
Did You Know?
- Close to 125,000 indentured Chinese laborers arrived in Cuba between 1847 and 1874.
- One of the oldest and largest Chinatowns is located in Havana, known as Barrio chino de La Habana.
- Chino-Latino restaurants in New York City are rarely found in Chinatowns but are concentrated in Spanish-speaking areas.
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