Sweet & Sour: Memories of a Chinese restaurant

Do you like Chinese food? What is your favorite dish? Me, I love za jiang mein, it’s an eastern version of spaghetti with meat sauce. For ordering out, you can’t go wrong with ma po tofu and fried rice.

Whatever your preference, have you ever thought about the Chinese menu—the glossy volumes in restaurants or the pieces of paper littering apartment lobbies and kitchen drawers? I know I didn’t. Did you know that menu isn’t just a means to order food? It is also a historical timeline. How? Why? Well, the foods that you commonly find on today’s Chinese menu represent over a 150 years of different waves of immigrants, from different parts of China, each adding their own recipes. Well the ones that sold at least. It is an American immigration story wrapped up in duck sauce and crab rangoon.

Year of the Pig, 1971. Chinese New Year

Full disclosure: I grew up in a Chinese restaurant. I was that kid you saw running around the tables and playing. I had access to some great things—pu pu platters for my birthdays, all the almond cookies I could eat, and when I was old enough I could use the Fry-A-Lator to make dinner. (You will not believe how fast things cook in boiling oil.) It was never something I really thought about. It was home. If you had told me then that my Chinese restaurant experience was the result of over a century of Chinese American stories, I would have told you that you were cuckoo and that I wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers.

Xi’an Restaurant, 1973. Playing around.

Now that I am all grown up, it is my job as a curator at the National Museum of American History to tell you these stories about the American experience, to increase awareness and understanding of Asian Pacific American (APA) history and culture. Join me as I begin a series of blog posts to document the creation of a small exhibition case on Chinese restaurants and food in America. Tell me your favorite Chinese restaurant experiences and dishes and I’ll tell you some of the stories behind them.

To kick-off this project and in celebration of APA Heritage Month, we will explore the mysteries of Chinese cuisine with Jennifer 8 Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. The free program starts at 2:00pm, Saturday, May 8th. At the end of the program, Lee will be on hand to sign books. Throughout May, the Stars and Stripes Cafe will be serving APA related dishes. On May 8, the menu has a particularly savory line up. Come early and try them out.

Jade Inn, 1982. Were lounges still a good idea in 1982?

Cedric Yeh is Deputy Chair and Associate Curator in the Division of Armed Forces History at the National Museum of American History.

Comments

[tom]

I cannot say went to a Chinese place on a first date, but I love eating at them.

I just wonder how bad that boiling grease would feel if it splattered on you when you drop something in it..oww!

[Jane]

The greatest Chinese dish is orange chicken, nice article - thanks for sharing!

[Marianne]

I just love siomai. Siomai is one of my favorite Chinese foods aside from siopao and pancit. I just love the juicy taste so deliciously good.

[John]

I heard that where I live, what is considered as Chinese food, is actually a lot different from what people in China eat. I guess the restaurants all over the world have adapted to the habits of the country they are established in.

[George]

My favorite Chinese dish is orange chicken, this post makes me want some.

[Jack]

I love chinese food! My favorite is chop suey chow mein, fried rice and pork ribs with honey peach.

[pat-brighton photographer]

The best Chinese restaurants I find are those which specialize in authentic regional dishes, cooked by a chef who really knows the ingredients and techniques from the region. "Generic" Chinese food is all so delicious my favorite is The Rice Bowl in the heart of Le Joya, Cal. Hope its still there! Happy memories of a first date with the lady who went on to be my wife in 1990!

[Lee Samui]

I love Chinese restaurants , and the food..

[Disc Jockey Service]

I used to be a DJ and once did a wedding in Oakland, CA at a Chinese restaurant. The bride was Chinese and the groom was Mexican. They did a traditional Chinese dinner, and I'd never before expierience real Chinese meal. It was 7 courses, with the rice being served near the end! It was very enjoyable, but I had to keep asking "What's this thing?"

[Annie]

My aunt owned a Chinese restaurant in Philly's Chinatown. I loved visiting, grabbing sodas, socializing with the staff, and eating the delicious food. She specialized in Chaozhou noodle bowls and my ultimate favorite, Chaozhou fried shrimp rolls!!

[Karen Z.]

When I was on a class trip to China about four years ago many of our meals were pre-arranged Chinese meals. Ninety-five percent of those meals included sweet and sour pork or chicken, a variation of egg drop soup, processed white rice, and a selection of vegetable dishes you would find in any Chinese restaurant in the U.S. After returning to the U.S., it was three months before I could even smell "Chinese" food again.

[Jeff]

Cedric,

Nice article. My favorite Chinese restaurant is China Star in Fairfax.
This is different and a little more special than your average American Chinese restaurant. They have the standard Maine to California Chinese menu, but they also have an authentic Sichuan (Szechuan) menu with almost 80 dishes that cannot be found at the majority of Chinese restaurants. I recommend this restaurant to those who want to try something new. Start with the Szechuan Chili Fish - it is a favorite amongst my family and friends.

-Jeff

[Margaret]

When James Beard was a child, his mother ran a small hotel and loved food, a trait that she passed on to her son. They employed a Chinese cook, so young James ate a lot of Chinese food; he said later, "The Chinese have the perfect palate."

[Carrie]

Love this post...and Ma Po Tofu is possibly one of the most delicious dishes EVER.

[coby]

Sesame chicken is so good! That is TOTALLY my favorite!

[Jenny]

I went to a Chinese wedding this weekend in Gaithersburg, MD, and enjoyed 9 or 10 different dishes. The couple getting married were immigrants from Southern China who both spoke Cantonese, but the wedding itself was in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. I imagine the wedding's menu was also a cultural melting pot!

My favorite dish was the shrimp (fried) with walnuts and broccoli in a white sauce. But the shark fin soup was definitely the most polarizing dish at the banquet!

[Steven Depolo]

This is awesome! Chinese food in the U.S. is such an interesting topic. Steven