For well over a year, an international debate has raged over British people's attitudes towards takeout Chinese food. In a since-deleted 2023 post by Asian American TikToker , she expressed disbelief at the Brits' unboxing videos of Chinese to-go meals, or "takeaway," as referred to outside of the US. Beyond seeing food included that is not authentically Chinese, such as fries — pardon, "chips" — and heaps of curry sauce, Soogia especially took offense at British people calling their takeaway boxes "a Chinese.
" Some diners even call it a "cheeky Chinese." Is assigning the name of a race of people to a box of food unintentionally racist, as Soogia mused? . In the UK, to call something "cheeky" implies that it's a little bit naughty, but still enjoyable.
Put it all together, and going for a cheeky Chinese simply means that a British person would like to indulge in their country's not-exactly-healthy take on Chinese cuisine. With the nomenclature sorted, Americans were still aghast at fries and heavy, deep-fried chicken balls sharing space with more conventional Chinese menu items in a takeaway order. Sometimes known as a salt and pepper box thanks to those seasoned chips, "a Chinese" reflects the ingenuity of immigrant restaurant owners in meeting the unique palates and scarce resources for Chinese food's origin in the UK.
How British Chinese food evolved to suit local tastes British and Chinese dining cultures first crossed paths on colonial trading routes, as Chinese men .
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