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Most of the stuff in Americanized chinese restaurant you can find in china. Except for fried wonton with cream cheese and crabmeat and fortune cookie. I don't think I've EVER seen those anywhere in Taiwan or Hong Kong or in a restaurant that's designed to cater to a Chinese crowd. They don't even fold their wonton like that if they're going to deep fry it.
There's fried rice in Americanized Chinese restaurants and in authentic Chinese restaurants. But generally, Americanized Chinese restaurant's fried rice is almost always JUST a tad off, either too much oil pooling on the bottom, not adding the eggs at the right time so it evenly coat the rice but it's still not too chunky or the rice being too moist (day old rice or put the rice under the air conditioner).
Also the mix of food available is different and tend toward the greasy side for the Americanized Chinese. Tomato and fried egg is a VERY typical dish in bento place in Taiwan and in households and just all over, never seen it before here. Ever. Three cup chicken? Never. Pork belly with pickled radish? Nope. Vegetable dish that stands on its own without meat (like sauteed/boiled kailan with oyster sauce on top please) or ot being a mix medley. Na uh.
I've never seen cream-cheese wontons in Chinese restaurants here. Sounds weird. What I miss from Taiwan is the vegetarian "fake meat" dishes made of tofu or taro root. That taro root sure is good!
I spent an entire summer working in Mexico and never once encountered anything I have seen in a Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant.
I hear ya. I lived in San Antonio for years - my brother is still there - and the Tex-Mex food is different there than up here in the NE. Taco Bell? Ha, but it's better than some so called 'Mexican restaurants'.
I always wondered where the wealth of sour cream comes in, they don't use it in real Mexico. I saw it but it was for tourists. Guacamole...totally American. Peppers and coarse meat is chili. Add beans if you want.
Margaritas? Drink plain Tequila, Tecate or a green XX. Budweiser goes over well there.
We have a Chinatown in DC and they have some good dim sum houses. There are enough authentic Asian restaurants to keep you busy. I was in a Korean joint one time and one dish was raw fish intestines. It didn't bother me but my friend lost it. There are some good Thai places as well as Indian and Kebob houses. there is a Moroccan place downtown that is pretty good. How can you mess up finger food and chicken?
Is a pu pu platter a true Chinese item or more Americanized fluff?
We have Steamed crabs here - a true Maryland delicacy.
Coca-Cola is purely American but has been adopted globally. That is our one true contribution to international cuisine.
You had Dim sum in a Chinese place that caters to Chinese in America not representative of what chinese take-outs in most of America. Where is the Dim sum menu in Chinese take out places? I like to see that.
Here's one. I think I'll have the chicken feet in black bean sauce.
Coca-Cola is purely American but has been adopted globally. That is our one true contribution to international cuisine.
I say our chiles and some things we've done with them are not matched anywhere. Mexico is included as our partner in cuisine. Beyond world class, matched nowhere else. Central America has almost the variety, but doesn't have the desert environment that gives us northerners the spectrum of chiles that is so far not matched anywhere else on Earth.
From what I understand, comparing the food Chinese restaurants serve would be like an American opening an 'American Food' restaurant in China, but they only served what would be considered the traditional Thanksgiving menu, 24/7
I do find it amusing how many people claim they love Chinese food, when in reality, if they had true, authentic Chinese food, they would hate it. I have been to China (to Guangzhou, so eating Cantonese food), and the food there is terrible- it is tasteless- lots of boiled bad cuts of meat, boiled vegetables, and rice. You don't have good cuts of meat, not much meat at all in most dishes, not much real flavor, not many of the sauces that people like in the "Americanized" Chinese food.
I do find it amusing how many people claim they love Chinese food, when in reality, if they had true, authentic Chinese food, they would hate it. I have been to China (to Guangzhou, so eating Cantonese food), and the food there is terrible- it is tasteless- lots of boiled bad cuts of meat, boiled vegetables, and rice. You don't have good cuts of meat, not much meat at all in most dishes, not much real flavor, not many of the sauces that people like in the "Americanized" Chinese food.
Very few places in Asia serves ribeye cuts or 2" steaks. I was in Asia and I barely saw steaks that are more than an inch thick.
Almost all Asian places eat thinly sliced meats even chicken is usually cut to small portions.
The only exception being Korean foods feature a lot of thick chunks of meats and better quality cuts.
I've been to Hong Kong a number of times and LOVED the food. Then again, I was generally eating at more upscale places. Dishes included:
Sweet & Sour pork (I couldn't resist trying out the most famous Cantonese dish in HK)
BBQ pork
Roast duck
Roast goose
Assorted dim sum (crystal prawn dumpling, har gau, XLB, cheung fun, char siu bao, etc)
Various eel/seafood preparations
Various vegetable combinations.
Desserts could be strange looking to a Western palate (golden goop) but were truly delicious (golden goop=mango pudding, and mango is always superb).
Singapore provided another variant, as local Chinese food combines Cantonese and Teochew (sp?) cooking with Malaysian. Black pepper crab/shrimp, satay, hainanese chicken rice, etc.
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