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China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

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Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#21

Post by anotheral »

mc32 wrote: post #4

I don't think I've ever had chop suey. I used to see canned "chop suey" in NY supermarkets. Never seen them in SF bay area --granted I have not sought it out. I may just have to try it out some day and see what the fuss is all about. Maybe it's the east coast version of Kung Pao chicken (i.e. a quintessential dish) Speaking of east coast dishes I don't see in the SF bay area are NY style calzones or knishes.

Wow, you reminded me about real calzones. I miss 'em; what the Bay Area calls a calzone is a folded-over pizza cut into four pieces. SIgh....

Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#22

Post by candiodari »

Funny thing about international food. It's not very international at all.

French food is great ... except in France it's very different (and outside of the center of Paris sucks pretty bad)

Turkish fast food, specifically Kebab, is as far as I know a German invention taken up by Turks, rather than something that historically existed in Turkey. Now you might say shaved roasted meat existed there, and you'd be right, but that existed pretty much anywhere, and was prepared very differently. Shish kabob are sticks with goat meat. Sucks that I can't find the typical bread they serve Kebab in in Western Europe anywhere here in Asia.

Chinese food in Asia is SO much better than Chinese food in Europe. Cheap Chinese food in Hong Kong is edible to great (esp. the vegetarian stuff is nice). Cheap Chinese food in Paris ... you'll be sick for days.

But there's very little French about French cuisine in SE Asia. Their idea of traditional French cooking: a steak, with a fat edge attached to it, medium rare, with "edges" (really thick fries thickly covered in spices). No sauce. Great French food in France: a clean steak (no fat or nerves or sinews), one of a few sauces made with cream, meat juice and pepper, bearnaise. Thinly cut (not mcdonalds thin, but still far thinner) fries, a good portion of mixed salad, and some cooked vegetable preparation.

Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#24

Post by [deleted] »

inopinatus wrote: post #19

I'm married to a first-generation offspring of Chinese parents, a source of regular and scathing remarks on how what is served in the US as "Chinese food" is often a many-generations-removed facsimile thereof. Three items in particular (Chop Suey, Chow Mein and General Tso Chicken) receive very special ridicule and their appearance on a menu can effectively disqualify any restaurant from further consideration. As the…

[deleted]

Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#25

Post by [deleted] »

inopinatus wrote: post #19

I'm married to a first-generation offspring of Chinese parents, a source of regular and scathing remarks on how what is served in the US as "Chinese food" is often a many-generations-removed facsimile thereof. Three items in particular (Chop Suey, Chow Mein and General Tso Chicken) receive very special ridicule and their appearance on a menu can effectively disqualify any restaurant from further consideration. As the…

[deleted]

Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#26

Post by santoriv »

candiodari wrote: post #22

Funny thing about international food. It's not very international at all. French food is great ... except in France it's very different (and outside of the center of Paris sucks pretty bad) Turkish fast food, specifically Kebab, is as far as I know a German invention taken up by Turks, rather than something that historically existed in Turkey. Now you might say shaved roasted meat existed there, and you'd be right, b…

I think you are generally correct but there are also some exceptions. You can get authentic "international" food if you know where to go.

The most authentic and best tasting Vietnamese restaurant in my area is also incidentally the least successful one because they don't know how to cater effectively American tastes.

There is a menu for the Americans and a secret one for Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese one has the really authentic stuff (coagulated pork blood, pork and chicken with bones, REALLY spicy dishes) etc.

The other two Vietnamese restaurants in town do a lot more business (nice decor, lighting, menu, everything is somewhat Americanized etc.) but they get lazy and put the wrong kind of broths in different soups because only Vietnamese people will notice.

Anyway, the best way I've found to get "authentic" food in the US is to try to find an urban center with a LOT of one kind of ethnic population and then just go wherever they go.

Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#27

Post by nostrademons »

My dad's a Chinese immigrant, and I've been to China and had Chinese food there.

There are two types of Chinese food you can get in America (well, more given all the regional variations, but I'm making a point...). If you went to a strip mall, walked into a P.F. Chang's, and had General Tso's Chicken, that's not Chinese food. But if you walked into an unmarked doorway in Chinatown, walked down a flight of stairs to a very dingy basement, held up a few fingers to tell the hostess how many people were in your party, and then ordered off a menu where nothing was in English and everything either had tendons or organ meat - you're probably getting something pretty close to what you would get in China.

You can get the latter experience in most major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada, but you have to know where to look. Restaurants like that don't send out coupons with the normal advertising circular - basically anything that advertises in an English-language publication is American Chinese food.

Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#28

Post by JBReefer »

azinman2 wrote: post #5
boona wrote: post #2

> China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food Fascinating! :O > vice.com Oh. :/

What's wrong with vice?

Vice is owned by News Corp, which also brings us Fox News. To me, it looks like a generational hedge against declining cable viewership by a company that is very much opposed to what Vice supposedly represents.

Also, I've met a ton of people that say that the pay is terrible, work conditions are awful, and everyone just accepts it because it's a good resume builder. It's also declined in quality a lot since the acquisition - compare old "Vice Kills" episodes with the dreck on HBO.

Re: China Doesn't Understand the Concept of American Chinese Food (2014)

#29

Post by jaredklewis »

candiodari wrote: post #22

Funny thing about international food. It's not very international at all. French food is great ... except in France it's very different (and outside of the center of Paris sucks pretty bad) Turkish fast food, specifically Kebab, is as far as I know a German invention taken up by Turks, rather than something that historically existed in Turkey. Now you might say shaved roasted meat existed there, and you'd be right, b…

My favorite example of this is Japanese sushi. In Japan, where totally fresh fish is abundant and easy to purchase, the focus is entirely on the fish and rice. Most every dish is just raw fish and rice.

There are simple rolls which wrap, fish and rice in seaweed. Sometimes wa few, sparse other ingredients like shallots or cucumbers make there way into the roll.

Then, Sushi gets taken to America, and what I can only assume was a creative solution to the problem of limited access to fresh fish, sushi was transformed into the decadent "maki" rolls that dominate sushi menus in the US. Cheese, fruits, vegetables, fish, meats. US maki rolls that have nearly a dozen ingredients are not uncommon.

Both styles of sushi are amazing, though very different. More like cousins than the same type of cuisine.

Reminds me of how cocktails were invented during prohibition to mask the bad taste of moonshine. Japanese shushi is to American maki what wine is to martinis.

I think when cuisines get transported to foreign counties, they get changed to adapt to their new environment.

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