Asian immigration to British Columbia in the late 19th century brought Asian flavors and cuisine to the region. As Asian immigrants sought work building the Canadian Pacific Railway, they adapted their traditional dishes to local ingredients. Over time, with more immigrants and settlers, Asian cuisine like Chinese food became staples in small towns across Canada. Today, Canadian Asian cuisine has developed into a unique blend, with young chefs creating new dishes that showcase cultural diversity and bring people together.

1. Asian Flavours in BC

2. ORIGINS Started with Asian immigrants looking for work in the late 19th century when the Canadian Pacific Railroad was being built. After arduous battles over racism and notions that the immigrants were taking away from the white people’s jobs. The railroad’s need for cheap labour for its more dangerous jobs brought over more immigrants and is still a topic of controversy to this day. With that surge of immigrants came a feeling of homesickness that led to Canadian adaptations of their traditional dishes. At first it was just changing up ingredients but shortly after the immigrants would bring back ingredients from home that could be preserved or grown in BC. The abundance of seafood in BC made it easier for the cuisine to evolve as many of the Japanese recipes in particular were high in seafood.

3. Progression Once the seeds of change were planted and more settlers arrived the food began to evolve. Chinese food was the first to appear in restaurants along the west coast, it wasn’t long until first nations were replacing their recipes with asian ingredients. With the wave of new immigrants came a strong demand for home cooked Asian comfort foods and with that demand came the birth of Chinese Canadian restaurants. To this day Chinese restaurants are a staple in many small towns across Canada. With that stepping stone established came to development of all Canadian Asian cuisine.

4. Fruition Today in Canada our cuisine is a mark left by the significant changes in the last century. At any given point in major cities you can find a traditional ethnic restaurant that will satisfy your needs. With this cultural mosaic a new breed of young chefs has been born with a culinary repertoire that the world has never seen before. This experience will bring a bright future for Canada that will unite it and showcase just what each piece of the mosaic brings to the big picture.

5. Conclusion Immigration has brought a lot of exciting pieces to the puzzle that will pave the way for the next stage of Canadian cuisine. With the Asian immigration a new wave of produce has hit the market allowing for new interpretations of classic dishes. The immigration brought with it traditional cooking methods that allow people to look at products in a different light than they may have seen it before. Immigration brings a lot more innovative and creative minds together which allows for a country’s cuisine to evolve. These are exciting times in Canada and today’s young chefs have access to a much broader selection of methods and ingredients than ever before.