The Chinese Coolie Labour Routes: Chifa, Jamaican Chinese, and the Coolie Kitchen
I
Origin
Chinese workers — recruited under exploitative "coolie" contracts — were brought to Peru, Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad, Panama (for the canal construction), and California (for the railroad construction) in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In each location, Chinese workers adapted their culinary knowledge to available ingredients, producing synthesis traditions — the most significant being Peru's Chifa tradition, Cuba's chino-latino cooking, and Jamaica's Chinese-Caribbean cooking.
II
Description
The Chinese coolie culinary routes and their synthesis traditions.
III
The Thread
—Peruvian Nikkei (same synthesis mechanism — Japanese-Peruvian parallel), Louisiana Creole (same multi-ethnic synthesis), Cape Malay (same colonial labour force culinary synthesis)
IV
Flavour Context
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Pillars V — VII
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