10 British Chinese Dishes That Would Confuse Most Americans

British folks love Chinese food just as much as Americans, and getting Chinese takeout is a go-to option for many of them. This has been the case since the early to mid-1900s, when British Chinese cuisine started evolving. Not that Chinese food wasn't available in the UK before that, but it was a lot more authentic and wasn't as popular. The switch from traditional Chinese options to the dishes available today was simply a result of changing up the cuisine to accommodate what Brits wanted and liked, just like it happened in America.

Now, you'll find that these two versions of Chinese cuisine share some common dishes like chow mein, stir-fries, and spring rolls. But the US and UK have each adapted Chinese foods to their respective tastes. For instance, American orange chicken and crab rangoon, which aren't found in China, can still pass off as partly authentic Chinese dishes. At the same time, many British Chinese foods would easily flabbergast most Americans.

The UK has options like salt and pepper chips, sesame prawn toast, and chips with curry sauce — which in no way seem even slightly close to the traditional cuisine. These are just a couple of dishes out of the lot — we've listed more in this story that will surely make any American scratch their head. Some of them might even baffle you in a good way and make you wonder why they aren't served more commonly in the US.

Prawn crackers are somewhat like the British version of fortune cookies. That's because most Chinese spots in the United Kingdom give a complimentary bag full of them with every order, just like many restaurants in the United States give free fortune cookies at the end of a meal. These fried crackers are prepared with a dough that contains ground prawns. That's how they get their name and also a one-of-a-kind flavor. For their crunchy texture, tapioca flour is usually added to the cracker dough.

The interesting part about prawn crackers is that, though they are a popular item at British Chinese restaurants, it's believed that they aren't originally from China, but instead, one of the Southeast Asian countries. Irrespective of that, they eventually made their way to the UK, and the rest is history. Prawn crackers have a pretty pale appearance, and they've so far made a lot of Americans who've been to the UK and ordered Chinese food wonder if they're even edible. Well, they surely are, as Brits love munching on them alongside Chinese dishes, or even topping the crackers with whatever they've ordered, as they believe these crispy treats make the food taste even better.

You've probably heard of Peking duck (or Beijing Roast Duck) before, but might not have heard of crispy aromatic duck, which is a popular British Chinese dish. This dish was first made in London, and some claims suggest that it's inspired by a dish called xiāng sū yā that's popular in some parts of China. Though it's also a bit similar to the more well-known Peking duck (some also say that's where the inspiration for this dish came from), some major differences could easily bewilder Americans. 

First, the duck is fried for this one, which obviously turns it extremely crispy — that's likely how the dish got its name. In the original Peking duck, the duck is roasted instead to turn it crispy. Chefs in the UK decided to fry the ducks because they wanted to go for a simpler approach while catering to local preferences.

Another thing that sets this British Chinese dish apart is that it's accompanied by a side of savory pancakes and a sauce that is generally made with fermented soybeans and has a kick of umami, called hoisin sauce. Most places also serve spring onions or leeks with them, along with sliced cucumbers. The idea is to roll up the duck in the pancake along with the sauce and sliced veggies, which is unlike dishes served at Chinese restaurants in the United States.

Your mind might instantly take you to classic potato chips with this one — that's what almost everyone except British folks would think of. But for them, chips are what fries are to Americans. The only difference is that chips are much thicker than standard American fries and have long been a popular treat served with fried fish in the United Kingdom. Eventually, they also landed up at British Chinese restaurants, and hence, salt and pepper chips came to be. This dish was first made in Liverpool, though it isn't clear who came up with it. It has now become a favorite everywhere across the United Kingdom.

These chips are usually cooked with sauteed onions, peppers, lots of chilies and garlic, and Chinese salt and pepper seasoning. This seasoning is made with sugar, MSG, Chinese five spice powder, garlic powder, and, true to its name, salt and ground pepper. One reason this dish could baffle Americans is that finding fries at a Chinese restaurant is very unlikely in the US. But once they know how it's made, we're sure at least some Americans would wonder why it's not served stateside. Hopefully, salt and pepper chips will be just as popular in the US someday.

Even though its name may suggest so, Singapore fried rice isn't actually from Singapore at all, and there isn't much solid information available about exactly how it came around. That said, some claims suggest it's loosely inspired by fried rice from Yangzhou, China. What we do know for sure is that Singapore fried rice is now a typical order at Chinese restaurants for many British folks, and it's unlike any run-of-the-mill meat-based, seafood-based, or even vegetable fried rice.

The base is pretty simple, as it consists of sauteed aromatic veggies, prawns, eggs, and chicken. Then comes the strange bit — all of this is seasoned with curry powder, chili flakes, and soy sauce. Some Chinese spots may also add Shaoxing wine and stock cubes to their Singapore fried rice for extra flavor. 

While curry powder in fried rice may sound outright bizarre, this British Chinese dish is somewhat similar to Singapore mei fun, which is also popular in the United States. The main difference is that the latter uses noodles (usually vermicelli) instead of rice, and some versions opt for Chinese barbecue pork instead of chicken. So, though Singapore fried rice from the UK may sound weird in theory, you might just enjoy it if you like mei fun.

Sesame prawn toast supposedly found its way to the UK through Hong Kong and is now considered a classic British Chinese treat. This dish is so cherished in the United Kingdom that chefs there have started giving it new life as a way to pay homage to the classic — like using buns instead of bread, or even turning it into another popular British treat called Scotch eggs.

The original dish, however, just consists of white bread topped with prawn paste and a whole lot of sesame seeds. The paste also contains scallions, ginger, and garlic, though these ingredients may vary from one restaurant to another. A hefty amount is slathered over bread slices, which is further topped with sesame seeds. After that, the bread is cooked on both sides until it gets crispy.

Interestingly, though this dish may sound weird to most Americans today (getting toast at Chinese restaurants is a bit strange, after all), it was once served at Chinese restaurants in the United States, until it was replaced with other options. So, even if you might not know much about sesame prawn toast, it's likely that your parents or grandparents would've heard of it.

For most readers, chicken satay won't sound like an unusual dish, given that it's just as popular in the United States. But Chinese restaurants in the UK cook it and dress it up in different ways.

Chicken satay is originally from Southeast Asia, more specifically Indonesia. It travelled across parts of the world and eventually made its way to the United Kingdom, where it was changed slightly by Chinese restaurants to cater to regional preferences. This classic now has quite a few variations over there, but all of them have one thing in common that sets them apart from the original dish: Most of the time, the chicken isn't grilled. 

Instead, Chinese restaurants cook it with veggies and a variety of sauces, which can include peanut and coconut sauce, stir-fry sauce, or even something called satay paste. Some places also experiment with the peanut and coconut sauce by adding curry powder to it (it's evident that British people love that spice). Unlike eating it on its own like an appetizer, the idea is to have this dish along with carb-based options like fried rice or noodles because the sauce complements these dishes well. That said, some people also enjoy it as-is. It's safe to say that all these versions of chicken satay are far from what most Americans are familiar with.

Crispy shredded beef is one of those "Chinese" foods that you won't find in China, even though the name may suggest otherwise. Also sometimes called crispy chili beef, this dish was, in fact, first made in the UK.

There's nothing too fancy or strange about this dish. It consists of slices of beef that are fried until they have a crunchy bite. After that, those fried bits are tossed in a simple sauce that gives them all the flavor. There's no standard recipe followed for the sauce — some British Chinese places make it with a lot of ginger, while others don't add any ginger at all. One thing remains common, though: The sauce usually has a balanced sweet and mildly spicy flavor. 

Folks across the UK enjoy it like an appetizer or eat it alongside a starchy base like noodles or rice. The only reason we see this dish baffling Americans is that they might wonder why it hasn't found its way to the United States yet. After all, it has all the components to be just as much of a hit in America. Let's just hope Chinese restaurants in the United States are taking notes.

The lemon chicken you'll get at Chinese restaurants in the United Kingdom isn't like the lemon chicken that most Americans know of. The British version consists of chicken pieces coated with a thick batter of flour and cornflour, and then fried. The fried pieces are topped with a rich, tangy sauce that's made with lemon juice and other ingredients like honey, sugar, and cornflour to balance out the sourness and thicken it. 

Though these are the usual ingredients used to make the sauce, some restaurants may also add soy sauce and rice wine for a kick of umami. Either way, it essentially has a balanced sour and mildly sweet flavor. It isn't clear how and when this dish was invented, but it's a staple order at Chinese spots for many British people.

Lemon chicken could bewilder some Americans because it doesn't really scream authentic Chinese cuisine in any way. But if you think about it, it's also a dish that many people from the United States would appreciate, because there's nothing you can't like about fried chicken pieces topped with a delicious, tangy sauce. In fact, some American travelers have tried it in the UK and praised it online.

Since people in the UK love chips, British Chinese restaurants serve a variety of dishes made with them. And chips with curry sauce are a result of that.

You're likely wondering what curry sauce even is. It has the word curry in it, so isn't it Indian? In a way, yes, but curry sauce is unlike any of the types of curries you might know about. It's usually made by cooking oil and flour, then adding stock, soy sauce, Chinese five spice powder, and the ingredient that gives it its name — curry powder. This is the most basic version of the sauce, but it's worth knowing that some variations can have added ingredients like onions, carrots, and garlic, along with cornstarch slurry.

This sauce landed in Chinese restaurants because curries were already getting popular among the British, and these spots wanted to add something familiar to the menu. Today, when British folks get chips with curry sauce as a side, they also like pouring it over the rest of their dishes. Americans may never be able to comprehend this dish.

This British Chinese dish has a pretty misleading name, because although it's called crispy seaweed, there isn't even an ounce of that ingredient in it. It is made with a leafy green vegetable, which is pretty evident. The leafy green is either kale, cabbage, or sometimes even bok choy, but mostly spring greens. Crispy seaweed is most likely adapted from similar dishes found in certain parts of China. But it isn't clear who made it in the UK for the first time, or why it was named so. However, there are some loose theories about the latter. One suggests that it was just because the final dish looked like seaweed.

Americans would find it strange for several reasons. First, it's a dish made with leafy greens, which leads to the expectation that it will be healthy. But the greens are actually deep-fried until they turn crispy, which is a reason why the dish is appealing to most British folks, along with its flavor. Another odd bit about crispy seaweed is that it's topped with dried fish powder, but the saving grace is that this topping isn't mandatory. It's safe to say that most Americans would think this dish is better left in the United Kingdom.