That is part of it. A lot of Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking is based on the wok (cut things into small pieces and stir fry at high heat). This lets them co

That is part of it. A lot of Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking is based on the wok (cut things into small pieces and stir fry at high heat). This lets them cook an entree fast. Others are partly cooked and finished when ordered. Lastly, they work, work, work. You can actually see this in action at a Japanese togo place I frequent. They precook the chicken and then finish on the grill. The difference between Korean and teriyaki chicken is the sauce they finish it with. Sweet and sour <insert protein> at Chinese restaurants has the protein cooked first and then finished when ordered with the sauce. With fried chicken, you fry them earlier and when someone orders it, you fry it again. It’s great because double frying actually makes it crunchier and taste better. You can mix and match as makes sense (bake chicken then grill them to finish). If you want a whole <insert animal> it is going to take longer and cost more unless you go to a banquet place. Those banquet places are optimized for that by precooking and by have a few family dinner sets. If you order something outside that, it is going to cost you and take longer to reach your table.