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. Continue reading “Americanized Chinese Food Invades China”