Chinese Food in America: A Brief History

Who was General Tso? When did America become obsessed with Chinese takeout? And what's the difference between Chinese food in America and Chinese food in... China?

With unique insight from CEO of Xi'an Famous Foods, Jason Wang. Seriously, if you're in New York you have to try it, the food is unreal.

Food History is a show all about... well, the history of food. Join host Justin Dodd as he brings you the stories of how your favorite meals ended up on your plate. Today, we're talking about Americanized Chinese cuisine, from General Tso to crab rangoon.

Special thanks to Jason Wang and Xi'an Famous Foods.

To read Robert Sietsema's Tianjin cuisine article, click here:

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[Keysame]

Super interesting, I love it!
Often times we refer to Americanized foods as the "fake" versions of their country of origin
But they're moreso an evolution of the original dish akin to regional species of animals
They're not fake by any means, they're the result of adaptation and time

[angrynoodletwentyfive]

I think how a lot of people say americanized chinese foods are "not chinese" is a bit unfair. These foods were developed by chinese americans to be similar to what they knew back home while integrating elements of their new country and making it financially viable to make a living off of selling it. that is like calling those individuals "not chinese"

[romulusnr]

Chinese broccoli and European broccoli, along with cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts, among others, are all actually the same plant, grown and bred differently -- Brassica oleracea.

[puppies.and.pumpkin]

I have never had a craving for my local Chinese restaurant like I did watching this video

[cloudkitt]

I've always been confused at the sneering about Americanized Chinese food as "inauthentic" even though it seemed to be exclusively made by Chinese people. So if it's not Chinese and not American, what is it?
Fortunately people are finally starting to chill out about that.

[HayTatsuko]

This here is my favorite Food History episode, ever! I love that General Tso's Chicken was a legitimate ROC dish before it crossed the pond. For more information, I highly recommend the documentary _The Search for General Tso_ -- it touches on a lot of the same subjects in this video, with some extra interesting bits (I love the Chinese menu collector!) and insight on why most every decent sized town in the US has a Chinese-American restaurant. Though... that may be becoming a thing of the past, as old proprietors pass away and their children decline to keep the family businesses going.

[kimandre]

I kinda want to have authentic Macanese delicacy after watching this. In Macau, there are Portuguese and Indian dishes made with Chinese ingredients and methods.

[UniqueornBacon]

I used to love that TV show American Eats. The history of food is very fascinating because it's almost always a history of culture as well.

[ChainsGoldMask]

Peanut butter chicken, coconut shrimp, and crab Rangoon is all I need to survive.

[maddiejoy]

I've always wondered about the history of Americanized "Chinese" food. This video was very interesting!

[LokianGOP]

Sum Ting Wong? Isn't there also an airline pilot with that name?

[davidelliott]

Love this one. It helps that I am famished and eating! I love the way food is being reclaimed for the right reason. Well done.

[bennypoon]

I was travelling in Northern BC near Prince Rupert, and even in small drive through towns there’s 1, 2 or even 3 Chinese restaurants. Looking through the yelp photos, I learned that these restaurants serve as places for the local First Nations to celebrate birthdays and other family events. It was so heartening to know this food brings so much happiness to people in all corners of the world.

[razonpsu]

Me thinks Sum Ting Wong needs to be investigated a BIT more. Punked?

[grahamrankin]

A YouTube channel "Chinese Cooking Demystified" had a segment on "American Chinese" restaurants in China serving what they believe Chinese-American cuisine is like.

[jeffmatson]

I do like the youngmans narration of his visions of foods of Chinese food . This was a wonderful program. Thank yu !

[franbalcal]

There has been a big chienese community in Peru for 150 years, they created Chinese-Peruvian food we call "Chifa", you can find Chifa restaurants everywhere, its delicious. Chaufa rice, friend wontons, chicharron, pickled turnip.
But as per usual unless a country is an Anglo-Saxon or european country, India, China or Japan, good luck getting mentioned for anything. The rest of the world might as well not exist.
Kinda like how Nobu gets praised as this amazing Japanese restaurant but its actually Japanese-Peruvian yet nobody knows about that part.

[romulusnr]

"I can't believe we're eating Cantonese. Is there no Szechuan up here?" -- Delia Deets, 1988
I never understood that line at all. Of course, it was *meant* to sound pedantically yuppie.

[julienielsen]

The fortune cookie I got yesterday said " It's a good time to buy new shoes." I had the lunch special. Sesame Chicken, Pork Chow Mien, and Pork fried Rice.

[LPTheGas]

My big unanswered question about Americanized Chinese food is, what's the deal with Chinese buffets? You almost never hear of a buffet for any other ethnic cuisine popular in the US - Mexican, Italian, Indian, etc - just generic/Southern American buffets like Golden Corral and Old Country Buffet (and local mom'n'pops in the same style), and then Chinese buffets, which might actually be the more prevalent type now, since OCB and Ryan's collapsed. So why is Chinese the one Americanized ethnic cuisine for which the buffet format took off?