Yes i understand how when the British colonized India and got those exotic spices and the Indians who immigrated to the UK, opened up lots of restaurants there. But still, in my 1st trip to the UK last year, I saw more Indian dishes than Chinese. Heck, even in a Chinese restaurant, we have the option to add some curry sauce on the side. And for the fish and chip shops, you can even have curry sauce to go with the chips and fish.
Is this a culinary thing, i.e. curries are easier to cook? My friend is Indian and although the curries look easy to make, gathering the correct ingredients is very tricky. Missing one and your dish doesnt turn out well. The UK already had these exotic spices so it is easier to make the dish?
Or is it a regional thing? It is freezing in England and so hot dishes like curries are perfect? Traditional stews are kinda bland so something liquid like curry is better?
Chinese food is a hard one to compare to. Since western Chinese food is not entirely Chinese and more a Cantonese fusion that was invented in new York then exported worldwide. Its main feature being adapting local ingredients to the same base template. So it is always different depending on the region. In China it is considered a form of western fast food and not at all traditional.
Dutch Chinese food is a bizarre mix of Cantonese and Indonesian dishes. As well, we colonized Indonesia.
There was this folk singer who loved Chinese food, so when he visited china he took the menu from his home town restaurant, which had the dishes written in Chinese.
Which is a clever thing to do, in itself, but the Chinese restaurateur in China knew almost none of those dishes
Western Chinese food is not the same in the West! I’ve had Chinese food in Norway, Denmark, UK, USA, and Australia; sure, they all serve sweet & sour, but you will not find honey chicken in Norway (fuck I miss that shit from Australia!).