American Chinese cuisine refers to the style of food served by certain Chinese restaurants in the United States. This type of cooking typically caters to Western tastes, and differs significantly from the cuisine of China.
In the nineteenth century, Chinese restauranteurs developed American Chinese cuisine when they modified their food for Caucasian American tastes. First catering to railroad workers, restaurants were established in towns where C...
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American Chinese cuisine refers to the style of food served by certain Chinese restaurants in the United States. This type of cooking typically caters to Western tastes, and differs significantly from the cuisine of China.
In the nineteenth century, Chinese restauranteurs developed American Chinese cuisine when they modified their food for Caucasian American tastes. First catering to railroad workers, restaurants were established in towns where Chinese food was completely unknown. These restaurant workers adapted to using local ingredients and catered to their customers' tastes. Dishes on the menu were often given numbers, and often a roll and butter were offered on the side.
In the process, chefs invented dishes such as General Tso's Chicken. As a result, they developed a style of Chinese food not found in China. Restaurants (along with Chinese laundries) provided an ethnic niche for small businesses at a time when Chinese were excluded from most jobs in the wage economy by racial...
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