Chinese Influences on America through Cuisine

Since the 20th century, Chinese food has had an influence on American cuisine, with over 40,000 Chinese restaurants across the country. There are more Chinese restaurants in America than all of the McDonald’s, Burger Kings, and KFC’s combined! The Chinese have taken over the American food kingdom.

The history of Chinese food started in the 1800s, when the Chinese came over to the United States during the Gold Rush. But the Chinese didn’t really eat what was considered “normal” food. They ate cats, rats, and sometimes dogs for meals. The Americans considered the Chinese as “aliens” because of their difference in culture. 34 years later, the Chinese were banned from coming …show more content…

There is also a Philly cheese steak roll, which is like an egg roll with cheese steak in it. Another regional twist on Chinese food is the Chow Mein sandwich of New England. It’s basically just two slices of bread with chow mein in the middle, with a gravy sauce. So overall, not only did Chinese cuisine influence general American food, it also influenced regional cuisine throughout the nation, from New England, to Pennsylvania, and all the way to Louisiana.

You may have heard of chop suey. If not, it’s a mixture of noodles, meat, and mostly vegetables. Again, this is a dish that did originate in China, however the version we see today was “Americanized” by the Chinese immigrants. Chinese restaurants in New York caught the eye of a group of artists and writers called the Bohemians in the 1900s, who tried chop suey and said, "The meal was not only novel, but it was good, and to cap the climax the bill was only sixty-three cents!" The meal back then included bean sprouts, chicken’s gizzards and livers, calf’s tripe, dragon fish, dried and imported from China, pork, chicken, and various other ingredients that were unrecognizable. Soon, more and more non-Chinese people came to Chinese restaurants to try the famous chop suey. As more and more non-Chinese people came, they started to change the way they made chop suey to make it more likable for the Americans. The dish was as popular as hot dogs