Many people will agree that food served in Chinese restaurants in the US is delicious and the all-you-can-eat buffets crammed with “Chinese” dishes are divine. Who doesn’t love egg rolls, General Tso’s Chicken, egg drop soup, and chop suey? These are a few of the dishes we call “Chinese food” here in the United States, but are they really of Chinese origin? The answer is no.

Many dishes prepared in American-Chinese restaurants today are recipes designed specifically for American tastes or traditional Chinese recipes radically altered. This trend started in the early days of Chinese immigration during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Families would come to America from China to establish new lives and in order to do this, the families had to made money. What would be a good way to make a living in a country where you do not know the language and where eating is not only a necessity but the ultimate pass-time? Open a restaurant, label each dish with a number so that ordering is easier, slap an “Open for Business” sign in the window, and the customers should start pouring in, right? But there is a problem: Americans at the time were not keen on experiencing new and exotic foods. People wanted food they knew or at least close alternatives to the food they had eaten their whole lives. The Chinese families would purchase local ingredients and add them to their recipes and soon they came up with all new recipes to please the American palate. Eventually the customers came, liked to food, spread the word, and American-Chinese food became a permanent fixture in American cuisine.

General Tso’s Chicken
You know that hot and spicy General Tso’s Chicken you love? If you ask a person in China if they like it as well and they will wonder what on Earth you are referring to. General Tso’s Chicken is a dish that was created in New York some time during the 1970’s. Although the dish is not Chinese, it does get its name from a real person. General Tso was a Chinese general living in 19th century China. Why the dish was named after him is unknown. Most likely the inventor wanted a catchy name (who would not want to eat a dish with a name like General Tso’s Chicken? It has a majestic ring to it.)

Egg Rolls
These quintessential appetizers actually have roots in China, but their authentic Chinese cousins are not the same as the ones we chow on in America and lands outside of China. Authentic Chinese egg rolls are wrapped in thinner dough and stuffed with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, Chinese meats, and the cabbage and carrots that are also common in the Americanized egg roll.

Chop Suey
By now, most people know that chop suey is not an authentic Chinese dish, but do you know how and where the dish got its start?

Legend has it that a Chinese chef in 19th century New York City had left over meat and vegetables that he did not want to throw out. He served this dish to railroad workers and miners and the dish was a big success. Another story tells of a Chinese ambassador visiting New York City and asking his cooks to create a dish tailored to the tastes of his American dinner guests and the dish was so popular that word spread and people began asking for chop suey at Chinese restaurants.

Whatever the case may be, chop suey remains a popular American-Chinese dish in the 21st century.

Crab Rangoon by any other name is just as yummy
Only during the researching of this article did I find out that these little gloriously tasty treats are also referred to as Crab Rangoon. I have been a faithful American-Chinese-food eater since I could eat solid foods and as far back as I can remember, these fried wonders were always called cream cheese wontons. After doing some research after a message I posted on a message board concerning favorite Chinese dishes, I found that Crab Rangoon and the cream cheese wontons that I have grown up with are the same thing. You learn something new everyday!

Cream cheese wontons/Crab Rangoon are a mixture of cream cheese, crab meat, and green onions wrapped in a wonton wrapper, then deep fried. They are generally served with sweet and sour sauce as appetizers and can be found on many pu-pu platters (we'll discuss those another time) in Chinese restaurants all over the US. Some say they got their start in the early 1900’s, supposedly during the World Fair of 1904. Others claim this dish was created later, in the 1950’s. Either way, they were created in the US and still loved here today.

Next time you go to your local Chinese restaurant, eat proudly knowing that you are educated on the dishes before you on your plate. And the next time you are eating with a friend, make sure you blow them away with your newly learned information about American-Chinese food. I am sure they will be quite impressed.