Why were we so confused about authentic Chinese food?
October 9, 2012 by LindsayDavid Chan on the Menuism blog has an illuminating article on how American Chinese food came to be – and why it took us so long to appreciate diverse and authentic Chinese food. It turns out to be a combination of geographical and political factors. Chinese immigration began with the California gold rush and virtually all the travelers came from one small part of China, the rural districts of Toishan outside of the city formerly known as Canton. Then, due to racial enmity, the United States passed a series of laws that made it illegal for most residents of China to come to the United States between 1882 and 1943. So the representative sampling of Chinese culinary tradition was very small and rural. Further, this was modified by the need to substitute ingredients and alter the food for taste preferences. Presto, we had chop suey, chow mein, moo goo gai pan, won ton soup, and egg foo yung.
For the complete story, check out his article here. And if you’re looking for a good book to explore Chinese cooking, one approach is to research the most popular Chinese cookbooks in the EYB community. It’s easy, just go to the Library, and make certain “Books” is chosen at the top. Then, in the right-hand column under “Only Show,” click under “ethnicity,” then “Asia,” then “Chinese. Now sort by popularity. You’ll find this list. And the most popular book owned by EYB members? It’s China Moon Cookbook by Barbara Tropp.
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