Kolkata Chinese: A guide to the city's favourite dishes

Kolkata’s love for Chinese food goes back a long way. It isn’t a trend or a borrowed taste — it’s something closer to comfort food, the kind of cooking that has been part of the city’s daily life for so long that most people don’t think of it as foreign at all.

The story begins in the late eighteenth century, when Chinese immigrants started to settle in central Kolkata around Bentinck Street and Tiretta Bazaar, establishing the city’s first Chinatown. It housed a now-defunct Chinese printing press, a lively mahjong club, an ornate Chinese temple and authentic sauce makers who catered to the growing community. Over the decades, demographic shifts and urban changes prompted a significant migration to the eastern fringes of the city, to Tangra. This area soon became known as the new Chinatown, primarily built around the tannery business before transitioning into a bustling restaurant district. Despite this exodus, the old Chinatown retains echoes of its vibrant past. A few beloved eateries continue to serve foodies, serving as delicious remnants of the original settlement.

As the community rooted itself in the city, a unique culinary tradition was born — the result of tweaking traditional Hakka and Cantonese recipes to suit local palates. In the early days of the old Chinatown, the food was subtler: comforting broths and steamed dishes. With the migration to Tangra, however, chefs began incorporating generous amounts of green chillies, dark soy and garlic. This evolution created the Calcutta Chinese cuisine that is now intrinsically woven into the gastronomic fabric of the city.

Here are some of the dishes that define it.

Chilli Chicken
The quintessential Kolkata Chinese dish, traditionally prepared by tossing fried chicken pieces in a robust, glossy gravy of dark soy sauce, minced garlic and green chillies. Some old-time establishments, however, serve a distinct version that avoids heavy, dark sauces and relies primarily on the heat and flavour of generous amounts of fresh green chillies.

Chilli Garlic Pepper Chicken
A popular offering at old Chinatown restaurants, this dish features tender chicken tossed in a highly aromatic base. It combines pungent minced garlic and crushed black pepper with fresh green chillies, resulting in a sharp and peppery flavour profile that suits the local palate well.

Mixed Fried Rice
A true staple of the city’s Chinese joints, prepared by wok-tossing rice with a mix of shredded chicken, fresh prawns and, in some places, diced pork. Seasoned lightly with soy sauce and white pepper, it carries a distinct smoky aroma from the high heat of the wok. It offers a rich and comforting flavour that balances the bolder, spicier gravies it is typically paired with.

Whole Garlic Steamed Bhetki
A refined dish that reflects the subtler Cantonese roots of the early Chinese settlers. A fresh whole bhetki fish is gently steamed in a light soy sauce broth and then generously crowned with slow-sizzled garlic and fresh spring onions.

Wonton Chow
Colloquially known as Singhara Chow at local eateries, this comforting dish represents the blending of cultures. It features traditional Chinese dumplings served alongside or tossed with local street-style noodles, creating a hearty and filling meal.

Hoi Sin Chicken
Served at a few historic establishments, this dish adapts the classic Chinese hoisin sauce for the city. The naturally sweet and salty plum-based sauce is often tweaked with a touch of local heat, giving the chicken a rich, dark and deeply flavourful glaze.

Kung Pao Chicken
While the authentic Sichuan recipe relies on dry heat from peppercorns, the Calcutta Chinese adaptation is distinctly different. The local version features a thicker, sweeter and more soy-forward gravy tossed with chicken, vegetables and roasted cashewnuts to create a comforting and rich main course.

Drums of Heaven
A popular appetiser across the city. Frenched chicken wings are pulled down to form lollipops, deep-fried until crisp and then vigorously wok-tossed in a vibrant, spicy, sweet and garlicky sauce heavily influenced by local Indian-Chinese flavour preferences.

Cantonese Noodles
A Kolkata favourite known locally as gravy noodles. Pan-fried versions are crisped on a griddle until golden and topped with a glossy, egg-ribboned gravy; steamed versions sit soft in the sauce. The gravy is the constant: a light, starchy sauce loaded with vegetables, and — depending on the order — chicken, prawns, pork or a mix of all three. The dish is milder than most other Kolkata Chinese fare — closer to the Cantonese roots of the old Chinatown kitchens.

Chilli Roast Pork
This dish marries traditional Chinese roasting techniques with the bold flavours of Tangra. Succulent slices of Chinese-style roast pork are stir-fried with onions, fresh green chillies and dark soy sauce, creating a rich, spicy and deeply savoury preparation.

 

To taste any of these or other quintessentially Kolkata Chinese dishes check out Tastefully Yours. (https://soulfulbengal.com/experiences/tastefully-yours-unique-food-festival-spread-across-kolkata)