Chinese cuisine is one of the three most popular cuisines around the globe, together with French and Italian cuisine. It certainly made its mark on international food culture, but at the same time was the object of many a crime of lèse-majesté, with counterfeits, imitations and outright inventions that amount to nothing less than treason. Some naive, others funny, but all driven by the need to, literally, cater to local tastes.
Chinese cuisine is known for its diversity, complexity, and distinctive regional styles. From the fiery spices of Sichuan to the delicate dim sum of Cantonese cuisine, China’s culinary heritage is vast and multifaceted. Over centuries, Chinese immigrants have spread the love for their food to every corner of the world. Today, you can find a Chinese restaurant in almost every city and town on the planet.
The tale of Chop Suey
Chop Suey, a “classic” inventedby Chinese immigrants in the United States at the end of the 19th Century
One of the most amusing and baffling chapters in the globalisation of Chinese cuisine is the tale of “chop suey.” In the late 19th century, Chinese immigrants in the United States sought to create a dish that would satisfy American palates. The result was “chop suey,” a mishmash of meat, vegetables, and a starchy, syrupy sauce. This culinary fabrication quickly became a sensation, leading to its viral spreading in American Chinese restaurants.However, the term “chop suey” itself is believed to be a mispronunciation of the Cantonese words “tsaap sui,” which loosely translates to “bits and pieces.” This humorous linguistic twist illustrates how a dish can be created, loved, and celebrated under a name that has little to do with its origins.
Cantonese Rice was made up for European diners
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The luck of Fortune Cookies
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Chicken with almonds, anyone?
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Sweet and Sour debacle
That’s got to be truly Chinese, right? Not really, and certainly not in the version normally served in your average Chinese restaurant outside China. Not that Sweet and Sour as a concept doesn’t exist in Chinese gastronomic tradition, but it is a lot subtler and much more nuanced. Balance of flavours is key to the true Chinese way, with a hint of tanginess complementing the sweetness. Westernised Chinese restaurants offer a simplified and rogue version of the concept, often expressed through heavy and syrupy sauces that are much sweeter and tangier than their traditional counterparts. Sweet and Sour pork, a common item on menus outside China, is a typical example of a dish that was created to satisfy foreign customers in their quest for an exotic “sweet and sour” experience. The pineapple wedges often found in it equate to the pineapple on the pizza that infuriate Italians.Chinese cuisine’s journey around the world has been marked by both genuine appreciation and clumsy misunderstandings. While misinterpretations and humorous anecdotes may abound, the true essence of Chinese cuisine lies in its ability to bridge cultural gaps and bring people together over a shared love for a delicious food that is part of a millenary tradition. For one, we should stop thinking of Chinese cuisine as if it was a single entity, and start appreciating the fact that there is indeed a myriad of different cuisines in China, each with its own characteristics, ingredients and flavours, with each and everyone of them worth discovering for what it truly is.
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