#Chinese American food

[brunchbinch]

General Tso’s chicken

[kineats]

Um... Vegetarian recipes for... Chinese-american dishes ... For Jordan Li (Gen V) kin. Preferably few steps or little time taken ... Thanks

You got it! Sorry for taking so long!! Here's part 1 of 2! I'm gonna focus on Americanized Chinese in this one and some more traditional/lesser known Chinese food in the second one, if that's okay!!

Quick/Easy Veggie Chow Mein (Add eggs or frozen veggies as needed to make variations of it!) Quick Kung Pao Tofu Easy Vegan Hot and Sour Soup Quick Veggie Egg Rolls Broccoli Tofu Stir fry General Tso's Tofu Easy Sweet and Sour Veggies Veggie Lo Mein Easy Veg and Egg Fried Rice (The best results are with day-old rice!) Quick Veggie Stir Fry Easy Ho-Fun Noodles

My best suggestion is get a simple Nonstick Wok to practice cooking on! You can make anything from stir fries to pasta or mac n cheese to shallow fry dishes in a wok. They're an excellent multitool. And nonstick makes easy cleanup! When you're more comfortable with using a wok, or ready for more complicated upkeep, I'd suggest getting a Cast Iron or Carbon Steel one. You need to keep them seasoned and be careful how you clean them, but they also impart way better flavor to anything you cook once you're practiced.

Here's a Wok Cooking Basics video~! And if you'd rather a readable step-by-step for different cooking methods, here's a good Wok 101 and 102 Guide!

[tedturneriscrazy]

Went to a Chinese restaurant in my area, and you can bet I'm coming back

Top: crab puffs

Bottom: wonton noodle soup featuring roast pork, roast duck, and BBQ pork

Bonus: my live commentary to my friend/roommate:

[formeryelpers]

Ming’s Tasty Chinese Food, 456 E Orange Grove Blvd #110, Pasadena, CA 91104

Ming’s Tasty took over the space from another Chinese restaurant. It’s in a neighborhood with very few Chinese, but the owners are Chinese. So, they have Chinese American dishes like orange chicken and beef with broccoli but nothing like chop suey or egg foo young. They have chicken, pork, seafood, lamb, and vegetarian dishes, as well as soups, noodles, fried rice, dumplings, and drinks.

Ma po tofu lunch special with steamed white rice or soy sauce rice, egg roll, and salad ($10.95): So cheap. Soy sauce rice is fried rice I think? The portions were generous. The mapo tofu featured cubes of silken tofu (lots of tofu), a tiny bit of ground pork, and a gravy like spicy sauce that tasted like garlic and mala spices. It was surprisingly spicy – in a tingling, numbing way. Unfortunately, the sauce was too salty. The egg roll had a mushy vegetable filling and tasted like a cheap frozen egg roll. The salad was yellow iceberg lettuce in a tangy Italian vinaigrette.

Unsweetened red iced tea ($2.95): strong tea flavor

The food wasn’t great but it was cheap. While they cater to non-Chinese, it looks like they have authentic Chinese (Sichuan) dishes as well. The interior didn’t look like a Chinese restaurant but it was clean, modern, and pleasant. The meal included a complimentary fortune cookie.  

3 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.

[emptybamboogirl88]

In the 1960s, Chinese American chef David Leong invented his own version of American fried chicken and gravy. But what started as one man's savvy business decision became a hit dish for hundreds of restaurants around Springfield, Missouri.In the 1960s, Chinese American chef David Leong invented his own version of American fried chicken and gravy. But what started as one man's savvy business decision became a hit dish for hundreds of restaurants around Springfield, Missouri.

[source]

with my tiktok fyp inundated with British Chinese food, this Missouri Chinese food phenomenon is another interesting look at how Chinese food adapts and changes depending on the place and time.

[what-marsha-eats]

Joyce Chen's Peking Ravioli

From the Web site of WGBH by Emily Balk

Joyce Chen, a legend of Chinese cooking, popularized Mandarin and Shanghai-style dishes in America, beginning with her restaurants in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Eventually, she had her own public television show, “Joyce Chen Cooks,” which began airing in 1967, and it ushered in a wave of enthusiasm for Asian cooking in American homes that continues to this day.

Chen coined the term "Peking ravioli" to appeal to her first restaurant’s large Italian clientele.

Chen won’t send you on a scavenger hunt for a specific kind of noodle or Sichuan pickled greens. She unabashedly uses MSG to boost the savory flavor and isn’t shy about sugar either. The recipes are a reflection of a time when savvy Chinese restaurateurs adapted traditional dishes in order to bring a diverse American melting pot in the door.

For the filling:

3/4 pound ground meat -- beef or pork

1 pound Chinese celery cabbage (aka Napa cabbage)

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry (or shaoxing wine)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon MSG (optional)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon cooking oil, bacon drippings, or melted lard (If meat is lean, add 1 more tablespoon)

1 tablespoon sesame seed oil (if not available, substitute 1 tablespoon cooking oil)

Wash and drain Chinese cabbage and chop very fine. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt (not included in ingredients above) on cabbage while chopping. Place the chopped cabbage in a cloth bag or cheesecloth and squeeze out enough liquid to make 1 cup. Discard liquid. Put the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, add the chopped cabbage and mix well. Cover and set aside.

For the dough:

2 cups flour (level)

2/3 cup water, lukewarm or cold

Mix the flour and water in a large mixing bowl. Knead for 3 - 4 minutes into a smooth dough. (The dryness of the flour may vary with the humidity of the room in which it is kept. If it has been kept in a heated room for a long time, add 1 more tablespoon of water.)

Cover the dough with a damp towel and let set for about 30 minutes or more so the dough will be smoother. Chinese say this "wakes up the dough".

For the wrapping:

Put a heaping teaspoon of ready-mixed filling in the center of the dough round. Fold in half and pinch edges together tightly to form a half moon. (The edges must be well sealed, otherwise the filling might break out in the cooking and separate from the dough. The best way to seal them is to rub them together between your forefinger and thumb.) It is best to roll a few rounds at a time and then wrap them, alternating this way until they are all wrapped. Keep the formed Chiao-tzu on a well-floured plate until ready to cook. The flour will prevent their sticking together. They may be refrigerated for a few hours before cooking, if desired.

To boil:

Place Chiao-tzu gently in a large pot with enough boiling water to allow them to swim around freely. Cover and cook over medium high heat until water boils again. Add 1 cup of cold water to the pot, cover and cook over lower heat. As soon as the water comes back to the boil, add another cup of cold water. Cover and when the water comes back to the boil for the third time, remove the pot from the heat. Let it stand with the cover on for 2 or 3 minutes. (This is so the filling will be thoroughly cooked.)

Remove the Chiao-tzu from the pot and drain in a colander or strainer.

Serve drained Chiao-tzu immediately with vinegar, soy sauce, or hot pepper sauce as a dip. For a whole meal, allow about 6 to 15 per person. The Chinese serve the cooking water as a soup.

To pan fry:

In China, when the Chiao-tzu are pan fried, they are called KUO-TIEH.

Heat an 8 or 9 inch skillet until it is good and hot, then grease it thoroughly with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Starting at the outside of the pan, arrange the uncooked Chiao-tzu carefully in concentric circles, going in the same direction. They should touch each other lightly. Put two Chiao-tzu in the center, facing each other. (About 16 pieces)

Add 1/2 cup cold water to the pan, cover, and cook over medium high heat for 6 to 7 minutes. When the water has evaporated, lower the heat and continue cooking, still covered, for another 2 minutes or until the Chiao-tzu are golden brown on the bottom.

Before removing, make sure they are not stuck to the bottom of the pan. Push them gently with a spatula to loosen them.

To unmold and serve:

Select a serving plate that will just fit into the skillet. Place it, upside down, over the Chiao-tzu, then holding it in place, invert the pan and give it a little shake so the Chiao-tzu will slip out onto the plate down side up in a nice mold, golden brown on top.

Serve immediately with vinegar, soy sauce, or hot pepper sauce as a dip. This will serve about 4 to 8 Kuo-Tieh per person if used the Chinese way, as a snack.

Notes:

Pre-made dumpling wrappers, easy to find in markets, are a perfectly acceptable and convenient stand-in for the Peking ravioli dough.

Chen included MSG in all of her recipes. Tester Emily Balk used it without any ill effects, but if you are sensitive to MSG or just prefer not to use it, the dish will still be delicious.

[diabolicalmolecule]

this made me weep

[everythingwithwasabi]

Better Than Takeout: General Tso's Tofu

[breaking-noose]

Chunbo Zhang

Born and raised in Shenyang, China, Chunbo Zhang (Bo) is a painter and printmaker currently living in Chicago. In her words:

My current work reflects the anxiety I have experienced as a foreigner living in America and adapting to its culture. In examining this matter, I choose food as the subject because it is not only the essential in our daily life, but also an entry point for a foreigner to understand an unfamiliar culture.

In my existing paintings, I use realistic style and surrealistic approach juxtaposing Chinese antique porcelain wares with American food. The juxtaposition of two cultural references contrasts the differences between hard (raw) vs soft (cooked), inedible vs tasty, ancient vs modern, high vs low in a humorous way.

[americaisdead]

albuquerque, n. mex. august 2024

© tag christof

[antiquatedplumbobs]

no one, absolutely no one: .....

me: ...i think i need to build a 1920s Chinese restaurant...

[perilegs]

wait i read ur tag and i am so curious! u say “its like when u say ur eating tortillas but u dont mean just the bread” but i cant figure out what u mean, ive only ever seen tortilla = tortilla. do u use tortilla to refer to like quesadillas also? tortilla + cheese?

ahh this might be a finnish (+some other countries) thing. if you're, for example hanging out with friends, and you decide to "make tortillas" it doesnt mean making the bread from scratch, but getting those pre-made tortillas (the bread) and putting filling in them like this

the 2nd pic is a tortilla package and as you can see they do sell the bread with the name tortilla as they should, but people just refer to wraps made with tortillas as tortillas here. quesadillas are quesadillas though!

[agentoffangirling]

I'm not going to pretend that American Chinese food is 100% accurate, bc it really isn't, but someone explain to me why tf British Chinese food has FRIES AND GRAVY??

[tedturneriscrazy]

Another night of Chinese takeout...made at home!

Sesame chicken, char siu fried rice, sliced char siu, and restaurant style fried shrimp

Bonus: for anyone wondering, that red sauce is a dipping sauce served at what I recently learned to be pretty much exclusively at Chinese restaurants in Oregon/the Portland metro area. It boggles my mind that so many are unaware of red sauce.

Anyway, here's a quick recipe for any 10,000 reading this:

[weaverpop]

Was scrolling through Reddit, first thing athat pops up-

Wha- am I the only one who thinks that disrespect for other cultures shouldn’t be part of a marketing brand??? Just me???

You don’t gotta like it, some people just don’t like certain foods, but saying they should have left their culture in the country they left behind is just??? Not a ok thing to say???

And you know this shit is automated/faked, which makes it even worse.

[what-marsha-eats]

Joyce Chen's Sweet-and-Sour Pork

from the Web site of WGBH by Emily Balk

Joyce Chen, a legend of Chinese cooking, popularized Mandarin and Shanghai-style dishes in America, beginning with her restaurants in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Eventually, she had her own public television show, “Joyce Chen Cooks,” which began airing in 1967, and it ushered in a wave of enthusiasm for Asian cooking in American homes that continues to this day.

Chen won’t send you on a scavenger hunt for a specific kind of noodle or Sichuan pickled greens. She unabashedly uses MSG to boost the savory flavor and isn’t shy about sugar either. The recipes are a reflection of a time when savvy Chinese restaurateurs adapted traditional dishes in order to bring a diverse American melting pot in the door.

The sweet-and-sour pork is the platonic ideal of the Chinese-American dish, featuring perfectly crisp battered bites of pork with a shiny, sweet, and vinegary sauce. The trinity of carrot, bell pepper, and canned pineapple complete the scene.

In the TV episode, Chen adamantly suggests serving her sweet-and-sour pork with fried rice and warns against boiled white rice ("not salty enough!").

Chen includes MSG in all of her recipes. Tester Emily Balk used it without any ill effects, but if you are sensitive to MSG or just prefer not to use it, the dish will still be delicious.

For the meat:

1 cup lean pork

1 teaspoon dry sherry (or shaoxing wine)

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

Mix the above ingredients thoroughly in a bowl and allow to set for a few minutes.

For the batter:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup egg mixture (1 beaten egg plus enough water to make 1/2 cup mixture)

Mix all the batter ingredients into a very smooth paste.

Cooking:

Dip the marinated pork in the batter to coat completely. Add the coated pork gently (to prevent oil splattering) to the hot oil (1 1/2" to 2" depth of oil at 375-400 degrees) one piece at a time. Deep fry until light golden brown. It is easier to remove and drain the cooked pork all at one time from the hot fat if you use a deep fry basket. Spread drained pork out on absorbent paper and let cool.

(You may do this in advance for this amount or for larger quantities, and keep the deep-fried pork in the refrigerator for a few days, or in the freezer for future use.)

For best results for crisply-coated meat, deep fry the cooled pork a second time in hot oil (400 degrees) just before serving.

For the sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup catsup (aka ketchup)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon MSG

2/3 cup water

Add all the ingredients in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil.

Add:

1/2 cup vinegar (cider vinegar is best)

As soon as it boils again, stir in the cornstarch mixture:

3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with

1/3 cup water

The cornstarch mixture should be thoroughly mixed just prior to its addition to the pan.

When the Sweet and Sour has thickened, mix in:

1 tablespoon hot oil from the deep fry pan. This way, the sauce will shine and its beauty is enhanced.

Add the following fruit and vegetables:

1/2 cup carrots, peeled, in small chunks or 1/4 inch slices

1/2 cup green pepper, seeds removed, in about 1 inch squares

1/2 cup canned pineapple chunks, drained well

First, parboil the carrots in a small saucepan; after about one minute, add the green pepper. Before the water boils again, remove the carrots and green pepper and rinse thoroughly with cold water. This way, the green pepper will retain its green color and crisp texture. This should be prepared in advance.

Second frying of the pork cubes: (while preparing the Sauce, heat the oil for the second pork frying) When the deep fry oil is hot (400 degrees), fry the once-fried pork cubes, preferably in a basket, until they are golden brown. Drain and put in a deep plate or a very shallow bowl. Pour the Sweet and Sour Sauce on the twice-fried pork in the plate and serve immediately.