The delicious arroz chaufa is one of the most popular and consumed recipes by Peruvians. It is common to find a chifa in each district that has fusion dishes on its menu, which has different variants and ingredients for the taste of diners.
For this reason, you will learn more about chaufa rice, such as its origin, preparation, the types and ingredients it contains and what the word chifa means; just as we did in the grilled chicken note.
What is the origin of the Arroz Chaufa?
The history of this dish begins at the end of the 19th century, with the arrival of Chinese immigrants to Peru. The Asian community worked in all types of jobs, mainly on the country’s coastal farms. As part of the payment for their work days, they received a daily ration of rice, combined with spices.
The use of this ingredient and others brought from China, such as soy sauce, seeds and kion, together with the custom they had of taking advantage of the previous day’s food, helped the creation of a dish that used cooking techniques in the frying pan. This is how chaufa rice was born, a word that comes from the Cantonese word “chaofan”, which means fried rice.
As the years went by and when they left jobs on the haciendas, the coolies opened small restaurants that were well received by Peruvians, since the cooking methods and the exquisite flavor of their recipes attracted attention.
The great popularity that chaufa rice achieved in the country meant that it was successfully adapted in different regions of the country, such as seafood chaufa, quinoa rice or Amazonian rice.
What is the origin of the word chifa?
The origin of this word dates back to the same years in which chaufa rice was born, when a new expression was included in the lexicon of Peruvians when they wanted to name the restaurant where they sold the dishes made by the coolies.
It is “sec fan”, which means “come eat rice”, which later led to “shic fan” or “chi fan”, both of which were adapted to the Spanish language as “Chi fa” or simply chifa.