1. Definition

The first thing to know about chifa foods is what they actually are. They are a blend of Chinese foods with Creole Peruvian cuisine. Sounds a bit strange maybe, but the result is so totally tasty that you aren’t even going to care where the foods hail from. This style of eating is very popular in Peru, but is slowly spreading to other parts of the world.

2. How It Came to Be

You might be wondering how Peruvian and Chinese foods came together. Here’s what happened. When Chinese immigrants came to Peru as slaves on sugar plantations, they brought their style of eating with them. When they melded their favorite foods with the ones they could find in Peru, they created chifa foods that we can all love.

3. Lomo Saltado is the Most Popular

What is lomo saltado, you ask? It’s only one of the most delicious sounding chifa foods and is one of the most common on Peruvian menus. It’s a stir fry (hence the Chinese influence), but contains French fries, veggies and meat. Wouldn’t you want to eat a heaping plate of that? I would!

4. There Are Chifa Staples

Much like with Chinese food cooking, there are certain ingredients that are essential to chifa cooking. That includes fried rice, wontons, soy sauce, meat and noodles. Sounds a lot like your local take out menu, right? Combined with these staples are beans and traditional Peruvian meats and vegetables. Sounds delicious to me!

5. Cooking Method

The way that chifa foods are prepared are similar to authentic Chinese styles of food prep. That includes stir-frying foods at a high temperature so they cook quickly and evenly. Steamed rice and sautéed noodles are other common things in chifa cooking. Understanding how to cook chifa foods is great if you can’t find a restaurant that serves the dishes because you can prepare them yourself right at home. Awesome!

6. Other Choices

I know that your mouth is probably watering just reading about the dishes I’ve already mentioned. Get ready for more because there are lots of other common chifa foods. That includes sweet and sour dishes, alpaca, pineapple, beans, corn, hot dogs, shrimp, mango, avocado, chicken, curry, garlic and fish. What’s not to love?

7. You Might Have to Hunt

Head down to Peru and chifa restaurants will be on every corner with some in between those. However, this style of cooking isn’t as popular everywhere. You can find chifa restaurants in other countries, but you may have to hunt for them. All that work will totally be worth the effort though because the food is so delicious that you’ll want to head back time and time again.

Have you ever had chifa foods? What dish would you recommend?