Round two of the British Invasion is upon us. This time, it has absolutely nothing to do with pop culture, music, or entertainment...and everything to do with Chinese takeout.
Before we go any further, let's just address that, yes, different countries have different food. And they should! It's just fun to see how other countries approach a cuisine as seemingly standard as Chinese takeout fare — which is almost always pretty different from traditional Chinese dishes in the first place.
Anyway, I watched hours of this content on TikTok so you don't have to, and these are my takeaways (no pun intended) on how British and American versions of Chinese takeout are very, very different things.
1. First, there's the "curry sauce" that everyone seems to be pouring all over their food, from the proteins to the noodles to the fried rice. I've yet to see a single video without the sauce; therefore, I know it's standard in just about every order.
The curry sauces offered at these Chinese takeout spots in the United Kingdom actually appear to be very similar to the curry sauce you can order at chippies — aka British fish and chips shops. This leads us to an unexpected crossover...
2. ...and that's the fact that chips — fries, to us Americans — aren't only available on Chinese food menus, but they're a literal staple. I've seen folks loading up their plates with plain fries and many others actually ordering dishes where fries are the main event. Enter: salt and pepper chips, which is a dish that appears to be so popular that the internet is actually jam-packed with copycat recipes for it.
3. The white, foldable takeout containers that American Chinese food comes in? Those aren't a thing in the UK. Over there, food comes in these translucent plastic boxes that seem...kind of expensive, honestly?
Here in the US, you know how your larger menu items will occasionally come in these chaotically flimsy, circular plastic containers (with lids that never quite seal shut)?
Yeah, not across the pond. These deep, rectangular plastic boxes truly appear to be the norm over there, and it's making my American brain combust. Not for nothing, you just know those lids SNAP right on, too.
As one of the Americans who felt incredibly confused by this colloquialism, I did some digging. Turns out that's just how British people refer to all cuisines that aren't standard British fare. Like, they'd say the same thing if they ordered Greek food or Indian food, for example.
5. Next, in terms of freebies, Americans may get crispy wontons as a fun lil' extra if you order a certain amount of food, but in the UK, you get prawn crackers.
There are a whole lot of steps to actually make prawn crackers, but basically, they're deep-fried, puffy crackers made out of shrimp (with only a very light shrimp-y flavor) and they're A+.
6. Importantly, the chicken balls. I'm 90% sure these are just the fried chicken fingers you'd find in sweet and sour chicken here in the States, but officially referred to as chicken "balls" over there. Fascinating.
7. On top of those chicken balls, you'll need sauce. And it actually seems pretty customary to order sauce (and lots of it) on the side. I even perused a bunch of British takeout menus, and I can confirm that most, like the one below, have basically an entire section devoted to sauces on the side. I'm not mad about it!
8. Maybe I'm the only one to notice this, but if lo mein is the classic noodle dish that's on basically every Chinese takeout menu in the US, it's all but no-existent on British menus. Menus in the UK have chow mein as the "standard" instead, which I find totally fascinating.
Welp, time to order some takeout. What do you think about British Chinese food? Drop your takes in the comments below.
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