The Daily Meal’s list of “Chinese Food you won’t find in China.
General Tso’s Chicken
Crab Rangoon
Fortune Cookies
Chop Suey
Duck Sauce
Sweet and Sour Pork
Egg Foo Young
Beef with Broccoli
Orange Chicken
Egg Drop Soup
Dayton restaurateur Tiger Wang was more than a little confused by the crisp flour, sugar, vanilla and sesame seed oil cookies he found at Chinese restaurants when he came to the United States 30 years ago.
“I was wondering ‘what is a fortune cookie’,” Wang said with a laugh. “I did a little research.”
Like so many dishes that are popular in Chinese restaurants located in the United States, fortune cookies — the invention of Japanese immigrants popularized by the Chinese immigrants — can not be found in China.
(See The Daily Meal list below of ‘Chinese’ Food You Won’t find in China’)
Wang, the owner of four Dayton-area China Cottage locations, said there are several key differences between traditional Chinese food and those modified to satisfy American taste buds.
Many of the differences come down to how the dishes are prepared and the ingredients used.
For instance, chicken and vegetables dishes are popular in American-Chinese restaurants, but there is no concept of the dishes in China, Wang said.
The chicken like beef and other proteins goes solo and no sauce is added.
“We want to bring that flavor out of that main dish and use soy sauce and other spices to enhance that flavor,” he said. “The sauce is made with meal.”
In traditional cooking, soy sauce is used as a spice and not considered a sauce.
Sauces are added to dishes in this country’s Chinese restaurants, leading to more affordable dishes and faster service.
“Every single dish (in traditional Chinese cooking) requires a lot of time to prepare and it is going to be more expensive,” Wang said.
(Click to view the China Cottage's regular and traditional menus.)
American-style Chinese food presents Chinese flavors in a way that appeals to American diners, he said.
Wang said many Chinese people grow to like Americanized Chinese food after being exposed to it.
“It is really nothing wrong with it,” he said. “It is how people like it.”
Contact this columnist at arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com or Twitter.com/DDNSmartMouth
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