Who doesn’t enjoy a good Twitter debate? Well we do! On Monday, the New York Times published an article about Chicken Manchurian, claiming it to be a “stalwart of Pakistani Chinese cooking.” Indian nationalists quickly turned into keyboard warriors, flooding the microblogging app with justifications and “proofs” of how chicken Manchurian is “originally an Indian dish.” Several people accused the publication of being anti-Indian and pro-Pakistan.
“A stalwart of Pakistani Chinese cooking, chicken Manchurian is immensely popular at Chinese restaurants across South Asia,” the outlet wrote on Twitter. The recipe was derived from “attempts at recreating the version served at Hsin Kuang in Lahore, Pakistan, in the late ’90s,” according to the article.
A stalwart of Pakistani Chinese cooking, chicken Manchurian is immensely popular at Chinese restaurants across South Asia. https://t.co/jorY16XePW pic.twitter.com/79hv3URnTm
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 26, 2023
Many users attacked the Pakistani author personally for her biases and demanded that the publication “fact-check” before publishing such news.
“Just because your writer Zainab Shah is Pakistani doesn’t give you the right to appropriate a dish that was invented across the border in India (along with its numerous vegetarian variations using cottage cheese and cauliflower).” Please use basic fact-checking techniques. And, Ms Shah, why do you continue to make fools of innocent white people?” Take a look at the tweet.
A stalwart of Pakistani Chinese cooking, chicken Manchurian is immensely popular at Chinese restaurants across South Asia. https://t.co/jorY16XePW pic.twitter.com/79hv3URnTm
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 26, 2023