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Why is chinese food so americanized?

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mexican food is the same way. There was a mexican joint that opened in my small ass town and it didnt last a year, why? because they served real mexican food. There is also another mexican joint here that does real well, why? because they serve new mexico mexican food and its awesome.
 
Originally posted by: Citrix
mexican food is the same way. There was a mexican joint that opened in my small ass town and it didnt last a year, why? because they served real mexican food. There is also another mexican joint here that does real well, why? because they serve new mexico mexican food and its awesome.
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Same for most Italian food in the U.S.
 
Originally posted by: Landroval
Originally posted by: Citrix
mexican food is the same way. There was a mexican joint that opened in my small ass town and it didnt last a year, why? because they served real mexican food. There is also another mexican joint here that does real well, why? because they serve new mexico mexican food and its awesome.
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Same for most Italian food in the U.S.
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Olive garden woot woot
 
one of the great things about living in a major metropolitan area is always having options 🙂 if I wanted authentic food for seemingly everything except for creol/cajun, it wouldn't be more than a 15-20 minute subway ride.

I don't think there are any good cajun restaurants in a 30 mile radius of NYC, though 😉
 
Because Americans are generally stupid and ignorant and as diverse we like to think we are we really are not and do not like to exceed a certain social norm. So therefore things that do not meet our social norm gets changed/hacked/bastarized and presto it is now American. Just like whatever ethnicity you are they tack an "American" at the end of it to make it more socially accpetable (African American, Japanese American, Hispanic American...)

BTW... cool my 3333th post!
 
Originally posted by: ai42
Because Americans are generally stupid and ignorant
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wtf kind of logic is that?

different regions have different food preferences... Americans are no more stupid for not eating authentic chinese food than the chinese are for not chowing down on a rare burger and fries every night.
 
Press * 7 2 3.

Chickety China.

The Chinese Chicken.

Deliver to 42 Big Walkway. Right next door to Small Walkway.
 
Maybe I just have a piss poor sense of taste, but I like most Americanized foods better.

Had what was called "real" Italian at a restruant in LA, where most of the people in there looked like Vinnie & Tony's. Was told this was "just like being in Italy!" the food was horrible. I have heard from many people that if you go to Italy you won't like the food.

Chinese, I don't like veggies, so authentic Chinese food is out of the question. I do however, love Orange Chicken. Not sure how "real" it is, but I can eat it by the boat load.

The closest thing to real Japanese food I can stomach is Yoshnoia. Their web site says they have locations in Japan, I wonder how close ours are? I don't do Sushi so Japanse food is a no go for me.

I LOVE real Mexican food, but at the same time I cannot deny Americans taking something that's a bastardization to begin with, a Burrito. And making a Breakfast Burrito out of it. I do believe that is the perfect food!

Americanized Chinese joints rock, the one up the street from me, gives you like 3 meals worth of food for 5 bucks. AWESOME Orange & teryaki chicken ummmmmm!!!

 
Around me the chinese food is made by real chinese folk, and the mexican restaurant employs real mexicans. For people who want americanized food there is always taco bell. Of course I happen to like americanized mexican food, since I like cheese.
Speaking of americanized italian, the easiest, most american way to make pizza is to take canned crescent roll, flatten it out in an oiled pan, and add sauce, toppings, cheese, then bake. Not as good as hand-made dough, but less dishes afterwards.
Breakfast brownies beat a breakfast burrito any day.
French fries are really french, except in france they make them out of potatoes instead of beef extract.
French toast, however, does not seem to be french.
 
yeah like sweet and full of coloring too

gosh, so much for those kinda chinese food. Of course there is a special menu that we can opt

=)
 
Originally posted by: Looney
Originally posted by: jonjonsanfru
Ok NOW for the REAL answer:

During the communist revolution there was an extreme shortage of cooking oil. Having cooking oil was a sign of great wealth. Now there is plenty of oil, but there are also plenty of people who remember the shortage. So "authentic" chinese, as you want to call it, gets excessive amounts of oil compared to the "americanized" version because for them it is a sign of good fortune and also it reminds them of when times were much much harder.

There are many variations of Chinese food, mostly regional... but in China and recent immigrants still cook with heavy oil. "Americanized" to you is most likely modified Szechaun or Mandarin, modified means sans heavy oil. Don't dog on peoples cultures, be gracious for the hospitality.
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I find that a little hard to believe... especially since most of the Chinese in NA have never lived in China or experienced the cooking oil shortage of the communist revolution.

More than likely it's because of the way the Chinese use starch to make the sauce... most people think it's a little too oily and thick.
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The OP said he had dinner at his friends place, the food was "all bland, oily and slimey." That is how people IN China cook, and those FOB here may cook... or even, just maybe, 2nd 3rd generations learned how to cook from their parents who learned from their parents.. SOME people pass things down, like how to prepare food. Also to say that people would just forget a revolution that happened 50 years ago? that caused massive famine throughout the country? that killed millions of Chinese? Good news, the Jews can forget about the Holocaust now too 😀 Even "Americanized" chinese cuisine uses corn starch in their sauce, so that is not the reason. The rest of this thread is just an uneducated guess. Take a trip to China, learn the language, ask around if you can find anyone willing to talk about it... then come back and argue with me.
 
there are lots of different chinese food..even in china. like southern cooking compared to other parts of america..cept china had way longer to evolve. not to mention its possible your friend sucks at cooking
 
Originally posted by: Landroval
Originally posted by: Citrix
mexican food is the same way. There was a mexican joint that opened in my small ass town and it didnt last a year, why? because they served real mexican food. There is also another mexican joint here that does real well, why? because they serve new mexico mexican food and its awesome.
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Same for most Italian food in the U.S.
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Same for Indian food 🙁😛
 
Read the history of chop suey. Or watch Food TV enough for a rerun that discusses it. In the late 1800s, there were many Chineese restaurants but white American's didn't eat at them. Only the Chinese immigrants ate at those restaurants. One day, a group of Americans were to eat at a Chinese restaurant, but the authentic Chinese vegetables were in short supply. The restaurant threw all thier table scraps (ie trash) together with a few American vegetables and called it pork chop suey. The Americans loved it. Word spread. Chop suey became a cultural phenom. It was cool to eat chop suey and everyone wanted to try this Chinese dish. Chop suey restaurants popped up everywhere serving chop suey almost exclusively. Problem: it wasn't an authentic chinese dish. Slowly the fad faded, but the numerous new chop suey restaurants were still here: Americanized Chinese food was born.


I disagree with your statment that other foods are authentic. Japenese food is far different than the sushi joints we have here. In America, the sushi is generally the lots of rice rolled around a tiny chunk of meat with dips, soy sauce, and wasabi. In Japan, sushi is so much more. Large chunks of meat (often no rice) eaten plain without a wide array of dips, soy, and wasabi. Sure there often is soy or wasabi but that is just for one item and it is taken away after you eat that one item.

Indian restaurants in America is often just northern Indian cuisine (I've never seen an Indian restaurant with cuisine form other regions of India) with the spices cut down by up to 90%, the bones removed, and the naan made into an appetizer. Virtually no American would eat authentic Mexican food yet there is a Taco Bell on nearly every street corner. Olive Garden and Pizza Hut certainly aren't Italian. I could go on and on.
 
Originally posted by: jEct2
Why I ask you WHY?

I had dinner at my chinese friend's house. I couldn't swallow their food at all.... it was all bland, oily and slimey...
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When things become common (and by that I mean popular) they often become open for butchery--or perfection by way of improvements. That is simply what happened to the Chinese food. Everyone, including the bad Chinese cooks cash in on the interest, status, and phenomenon that "Chinese food" gets. Make the Japanese food as common, and you'll have the same issue. 🙂 This is even true about non-consumable products. There's no longer the desire or motivation to perfect products once the company or product has obtained a god-like status/phenomenon.
 
Originally posted by: Mo0o
California roll? That's classic americanization
also the crappy teryaki and the just the rampant use of the teryaki sauce is also another example
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real teriyaki sauce is made this way

2 part dashi stock (water + seaweed + bonito flakes cooked and drained)
1 part sake
1 part soy sauce
1 part mirin
2 tablespoon of brown sugar

cook and reduce until it is thick.

can be used on boiled eel to make delicious eel bowl.
 
I was in chinatown yesterday and ordered beef and broccoli. They gave me American broccoli🙁 If I go to Chinatown, shouldn't i be able to order this and not specify chiense broccoli?
 
Originally posted by: marvdmartian
Yeah, but have you noticed that there's probably as many chinese restaurants around as there are of all the other asian countries foods, combined? It's simple economics. Give the people what they want, you sell your product. Be willing to change to meet demand, ya know?

I get a kick out of people that think pizza is Italian. Originally, yes, but nowheres near how you see it in the states now. In fact, the Italians have adopted the US style of making pizza, just because it's so much tastier! 😉
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Now this I can relate to. I hate thin-base, thin-crust pizza.
 
any place that sells chicken wings, ribs, french fries ... is not chinese food.

most americans would hate most "authentic" chinese foods anyway.
 
Originally posted by: chowmein
any place that sells chicken wings, ribs, french fries ... is not chinese food.

most americans would hate most "authentic" chinese foods anyway.
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very true. Lots of chinese food consists of leftover leftovers😉
 
i wont even begin to tell you how they prepare the food. this will make some of you lose your lunch and boycott chinese food forever.
 
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
there are lots of different chinese food..even in china. like southern cooking compared to other parts of america..cept china had way longer to evolve. not to mention its possible your friend sucks at cooking
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yea, people may think certain dishes are americanized, but the truth is, they are more authentic than you think. for example.

Kung Pao Chicken. in a good Szechuan restaurant, it is delicious. but from a Cantonese place, they put too much sauce because Cantonese cooking use a lot of sauce.

Also, certain dishes tends to fare better in America compare to others, such as orange chicken versus drunken chicken. In authentic chinese preparation of orange chicken, you use aged and dried orange peels, I've seen places that uses orange jelly instead. hmmmm...

so I guess it depends on what your defination of americanized is and what you mean by authentic.
 
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