By Natalie Curry With Jack Moran
Part I of Series on American Food in China Part II Part III
After glancing at the menu of any restaurant in America claiming to serve Chinese or Asian food, one might guess that this deep-fried, sweet and sour cuisine is less than authentic. The unique blend of American and Asian cuisine that is present in the United States can hardly be considered Chinese food, but it is developing in a new market, China. Americans living or visiting China are craving Americanized Chinese food and a new selection of restaurants are striving to meet this demand.
A typical American Chinese dish, General Tso’s Chicken at Wok Inn in Greenville
Shanghai is the site of the first Westernized Chinese restaurant, which opened in the fall of 2013. The aptly named Fortune Cookie restaurant specializes in“authentic American Chinese food”, which seems somewhat of a contradictory phrase (Fortune Cookie Restaurant). However, this phrase makes more sense when one considers that the owners of Fortune Cookie are not trying to provide authentic Chinese food, but rather the unique hybrid cuisine that originated with Chinese immigrants and has bloomed into an American favorite. Fortune Cookie serves well-known dishes like Kung Pao Chicken, Crab Rangoon, and Spring Roils (Fortune Cookie Restaurant). Megan Emery-Moore, an American expat teaching in Shanghai, discusses how Fortune Cookie’s sweet and sour chicken makes her feel like she is “at home” (Langfitt). That seems to be the essence of the appeal of Fortune Cookie for Americans, as the flavors and dishes are reminiscent of the ambiguous Chines takeout places located in nearly every American city.
Iconic American Fortune Cookies
One element that assists the dishes at Fortune to have that back home taste are the various American ingredients used in the dishes. These ingredients include “Skippy Peanut Butter, Mott’s Applesauce, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese” along with generous amounts of “Heinz Ketchup” (Langfitt). Ingredients that would be alien to most Chinese people are key for the dishes at Fortune Cookie, but according to some locals who have tried the food they make everything too sweet (Langfitt). David Rossi and Fung Lam, co-owners of Fortune Cookie, also add little touches like the “white cardboard takeout boxes” and self authored fortune cookies (Langfitt,). While Fortune Cookie started off catering to mostly Westerners, as of spring 2014 40% of
Accessed via Flickr
American Chinese Takeout Container
the clientele were Chinese (Langfitt). Some of the appeal for Chinese individuals comes from western TV, as according to the owner, many Chinese people have come in asking for dishes they have seen on popular TV shows like The Big Bang Theory (CBS).
An essential question raised by restaurants like Fortune Cookie is what constitutes American Chinese cuisine and where did it come from. As one might suspect, Chinese food was originally brought to the United States by Chinese immigrants (Langfitt), but it changed rapidly once in the United States. The first American cookbook for Chinese food was printed in 1912 and included such dishes as “chop sooy” and “fried rice” (Coe 186). In the early 20th century Chop Suey restaurants became known for disreputability due to a scandal dealing with a woman murdered by a Chinese restaurant owner (Coe 184-185). After time had passed, wealthy Americans started throwing themed Chinese parties, complete with costumes and versions of Chinese
Accessed via Flickr
A Street in NYC Chinatown
dishes and Chinese restaurants returned to popularity (Coe 187-189). In time Chinese dishes “lost their exotic association” and became one with American culture (Coe 191). Chinese dishes like Chop Suey became “cheap, fun, and filling American food” but lack of access to Chinese ingredients like soy sauce or bean sprouts changed the dishes from their authentic Chinese roots (Coe 192). As seen through the Fortune Cookie restaurant American Chinese food has taken on a life of its own, one mostly unrecognizable to actual Chinese people. For more information on Americanized Chinese food, see this post.
Additionally, restaurants like Fortune Cookie highlight concerns on the potential Americanization of China, which is present not only in Americanized Chinese food but also the expansion of western food chains into China including the “McWorld of indistinguishable fast food restaurants and shopping malls” (Notar 21). This topic is further discussed in parts two and three of this series.
Perhaps David Rossi, co-owner of Fortune Cookie, is correct and “American-Chinese food is another regional cuisine for China”, or maybe homesick Americans are the true driving power behind the success of Fortune Cookie (Langfitt,). What is clear is that the restaurant scene in large cities like Shanghai is extremely varied, and westerners are certainly making an impact on the food culture. While I am slightly skeptical that American Chinese food can compete with traditional regional cuisines in terms of flavor or complexity, Americanized Chinese food has become a distinct cuisine and one that many Americans crave.
Further Reading
The Golden Arches March Into China
The Colonel Infiltrates China
Sweet and Sour America
Works Cited
CBS News. “Shanghai gets a taste of American-Style Chinese food.” December 22, 2014. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-gets-american-chinese-food-at-restaurant-fortune-cookie/
Coe, Andrew. Chop Suey: a cultural history of Chinese food in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/chop-suey-9780195331073?cc=us&lang=en&#
Langfitt, Frank. “Shanghai Warms Up to a New Cuisine: Chinese Food, American-Style.” National Public Radio News, February 12, 2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/12/275628045/cornell-pair-introduce-american-chinese-food-to-shanghai
Notar, Beth E., Displacing Desire: Travel and Popular Culture in China. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 2006. 20-46. http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-4436-9780824830717.aspx
Wow fortune cookie, It’s my favorite. Love the article 🙂
Really enjoyed reading this blog post! I really like the topic, but perhaps the title could be a little more clever? I thought the tags were very useful and you guys seem to have done a good job on the citing- not sure if you have to keep citing information back to back if it is the same writer or not. I thought the fun facts about the little white boxes and fortune cookies were super interesting too!
Wow this is probably my favorite blog post i have read so far. This topic has been on my mind for a while. I have always wondered how traditional Chinese food is compared to the Americanized version of it. It is almost as if the Chinese food here in America is fake. I also found it interesting how 40% of the Fortune Cookie’s customers were Chinese. This tells me that some Chinese citizens are entertained by the notion of having an American version of their food.
Very thoughtful post! I used to think that it might be difficult for you, as an American, to know how Chinese people think about American-Chinese food and American food, but actually you did a great job. I found many points you mentioned in the blog interesting and just found myself feel exactly the same way. The first time I ever saw Americanized Chinese food was from the popular TV show The Big Bang Theory, and that was back in several years ago before I studied in America. I used to be a fan of The Big Bang Theory, so after seeing people in that show eat Americanized Chinese food for so many times, I started to wonder how does it taste like and I really want to try it if I have a chance. I guess that’s why the not-so-tasty Americanized Chinese food could also have Chinese customers in China. I really agree with you that Americanized Chinese food makes American people feel like at home. My favorite fast food in China is KFC. It is the most tasty American food I have ever had. KFC is part of my childhood, since I eat it so frequently just like those people eat Chinese food in The Big Bang Theory. It is the food I ate for 18 years while I’m growing up in China, so it is also part of my home and memory. However, KFC in China is very different from KFC in America. I believe that if I could have anything like what I had in KFC in China here in America, I will call it the taste of “home” instead of a foreign food. Good job!
This article was very interesting. It was normal to see how Chinese food is coming over and being changed to fit our preferences but the fact that these changes are being accepted and integrated into the food culture in China. It is nice I guess to see that we can contribute back to the Chinese food culture considering the major impact it has had on American food culutre. I still agree with you though that authentic Chinese food is still better and more desirable than Americanized but with China becoming one of the most visited countries in the world by foreigners we may eventually see a combination of many different cultures become what the world considers “real Chinese food. Really good job on the post overall.
I find this blog to be extremely interesting. The fact that a country would drift away from its roots in regards to food is shocking. I guess it does make some sense – if it is profitable, why not pursue it? There have to be thousands of Americans living in China due to work and other reasons, so it makes sense that there is a market for Americanized Chinese food in China. I found it interesting that these restaurants use ingredients such as skippy peanut butter, apple sauce and ketchup to give Americans a little taste of home. I am sure many Chinese people are angry about this growing market, but the world is all about money, so that outweighs the disapproval.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/12/275628045/cornell-pair-introduce-american-chinese-food-to-shanghai
(here is a good article on the topic!)
I thought this blog post was well written and had some interesting points. The inclusion of multiple sources also supported some of the claims made in the post. I think the post could benefit from drawing a distinction between fast food chains, like McDonald’s entering China, and restaurants like Fortune Cookie introducing Americanized Chinese food back to China. By lumping the two ideas together, some potentially enlightening information is overlooked. Basically, I would suggest not lumping the two ideas together because they are dense and interesting enough that you could create two separate posts on them, and I want to learn more!
Interesting blog post! I think this topic is very relatable. It is interesting how much Chinese food has been Americanized to fit our likes and tastes. I do not think we would enjoy real chinese food as much as the Americanized version. I liked that you were able to reference American culture in China. The facts stated from the Big Mac documentary were very interesting. I enjoyed ready your post.