Disclaimer: not Chinese or Chinese American, but based on travels and eating in Chinese heritage households, home cooking is quite simple. Quick stir fry, lightly tossed at high heat so it's rarely greasy but simple dishes with a handful of condiments and seemingly always served with rice. If you pick up Chinese cookbooks you'll quickly see it's not a complicated cuisine. But it was a cuisine that emphasized having different textures and flavors for a balance so the ideal was multiple small dishes comprising a meal. And seafood is very important.

If you eat out at restaurants in China, food can definitely be heavier and more "fried" and richer but that seems to be the pattern for restaurant food anywhere in the world. I'll be honest and say the Chinese food I enjoyed the most were the Chinese communities in Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore rather than the Mainland, although we had an excellent food tour in Shanghai.

Anonymous wrote:I'm American Chinese, most Chinese restaurants do not serve authentic cuisine. One sign is that they call it Chinese. That's already an American invention, as opposed to Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan, etc. Each region has its own specialties and ingredients.

There are a few in Rockville that are pretty good.

Which ones and what are the best dishes to order? I'm getting hungry reading this thread!

Anonymous wrote:Caucasian American here- I have wondered for a long time if I’d prefer authentic Chinese food. I can’t stand American Chinese food. Why are the sauces so thick and sugary?? General Tso and orange chicken especially. I just hate it and don’t eat there. Whereas I love authentic thai restaurants.

But are they authentic Thai or American Thai?

Thus thread is reminding me if my favorite Chinese restaurant in San Francisco— Henry Hunan on Minna Street! Yum! I kived there more than 20 years ago and my mouth still waters. Such a variety. Im vegetarian, and I just dont see dishes like henrys here. For more authentic Chinese in dC, head to Rockville. Our typical DC American Chinese place is 14th street asian bistro. They’re super nice.

I had an old Chinese im american cookbook by joyce chen that i stupidly gave away. It was a classic from the early 1960s.

Anonymous wrote:My Chinese-American viewpoint.

American Chinese cuisine is Chinese food. The US has the 4th largest overseas Chinese population in the world. The food has developed in its own way, just as legit as Malaysian Chinese or Singapore Chinese food etc.

I think Tao Las Vegas does really good American Chinese.

I love this. Food is authentic to its time and place no matter what.
Recognizing Chinese American food as its own unique cuisine and not some sad copy of "authentic" Chinese food goes a long way to seeing Chinese Americans as legit Americans.

Caucasian American here- I have wondered for a long time if I’d prefer authentic Chinese food. I can’t stand American Chinese food. Why are the sauces so thick and sugary?? General Tso and orange chicken especially. I just hate it and don’t eat there. Whereas I love authentic thai restaurants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was an entire documentary trying to search for the original of General Tso's Chicken:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3576038/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

What about pork fried rice?

That’s my absolute go to. “Sub gum” for more veggies. I dump duck sauce on top.
Is that just laughable Chinese American food or what.

I mean, almost every Asian person fries rice, especially Chinese people. How else do you use up leftover rice? It's not "inauthentic" or not done in China (or Taiwan, etc.) as much as it's just kind of a vague preparation method. Probably not too many people in Asia eat exactly the kind of fried rice served at most basic Chinese American joints, but it's more like... you can throw some Prego on some San Georgio pasta and sprinkle some cheese on it. Or you can order spaghetti with marinara sauce at an Italian American place. And those aren't much like what you'd get in Italy, but Italy still has pasta with red sauce, with marinara. It's not like fried rice is not Chinese or exists only in the US. It's just prepared a million different ways and the way you eat it, specifically, isn't one of the more common ways to find in Asia itself.

But yeah like spaghetti marinara with grated Parmesan it's not inauthentic but it's at least more to the American palate than other dishes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was an entire documentary trying to search for the original of General Tso's Chicken:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3576038/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

What about pork fried rice?

That’s my absolute go to. “Sub gum” for more veggies. I dump duck sauce on top.
Is that just laughable Chinese American food or what.

I mean, almost every Asian person fries rice, especially Chinese people. How else do you use up leftover rice? It's not "inauthentic" or not done in China (or Taiwan, etc.) as much as it's just kind of a vague preparation method. Probably not too many people in Asia eat exactly the kind of fried rice served at most basic Chinese American joints, but it's more like... you can throw some Prego on some San Georgio pasta and sprinkle some cheese on it. Or you can order spaghetti with marinara sauce at an Italian American place. And those aren't much like what you'd get in Italy, but Italy still has pasta with red sauce, with marinara. It's not like fried rice is not Chinese or exists only in the US. It's just prepared a million different ways and the way you eat it, specifically, isn't one of the more common ways to find in Asia itself.

I'm American Chinese, most Chinese restaurants do not serve authentic cuisine. One sign is that they call it Chinese. That's already an American invention, as opposed to Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan, etc. Each region has its own specialties and ingredients.

There are a few in Rockville that are pretty good.

I'm an American Born Chinese and my parents were both immigrant American Chinese. My mother cooked a lot of Chinese (and taught Chinese cooking classes when I was a kid). I've also visited both Taiwan and China multiple times.

For a fast and quick rule, real Chinese food has a lot less oil and starch in the cooking process. In general, Chinese stir fries use light oil and hot surfaces to cook the food with a minimum of oil. There is almost no food that is breaded, like General Tso's, orange beef, lemon chicken, etc. Sauces in China are much thinner in consistency and not thickened with slurries like the more gravy like sauces in the US. For example, in China, you might have a meal that is essentially steam served in a sauce that is a consistency more like broth rather than the thick clingy sauce that is more gelatinous.

The dumplings in the US are the closest thing that most standard Chinese American restaurants make to actual Chinese food.

Don't get me wrong, I love both Chinese and Chinese American food, but they are very different. Much like you don't find real Indian, real Italian or other authentic ethnic cuisines in most American restuarants.

Anonymous wrote:My Chinese-American viewpoint.

American Chinese cuisine is Chinese food. The US has the 4th largest overseas Chinese population in the world. The food has developed in its own way, just as legit as Malaysian Chinese or Singapore Chinese food etc.

I think Tao Las Vegas does really good American Chinese.

I think it's a legitimate cuisine but a different cuisine. Just like Tex-Mex or Cali-Mex are cuisines but just not Mexican cuisine. And, Creole cuisine has its origins from several different places but now it has its own characteristics. I'm Mexican and when food traditions come to the US, we usually embrace it all but with the American twist (for good and bad) and it then becomes ours.

Anonymous wrote:Reading the thread about someone ordering Chinese food got me thinking: how remotely authentic or recognizable is Americanized Chinese food versus authentic and traditional Chinese food? I know I can Google to learn more, but I love to hear from real people on DCUM. Would any Chinese or Chinese American DCUM posters care to weigh in on this subject? Thank you in advance!

What is the thread about ordering Chinese food?

Anonymous wrote:With Indian food, I've found the dishes are pretty similar in both cheap and fancy restaurants in India -- the difference is quality of ingredients. In the US, most Indian food is at "fancy" places.

Indian food here generally just represents one part of India or adds a dish here and there from others. The food I get at most Indian restaurants is nothing like my mom makes. There are a few South Indian restaurants in the suburbs that get close, but it’s rare. When I eat at friends’ houses who are from north India, homemade food, there is much much less cream, more depth of flavor etc. but I see that the dishes are similar and I can see the connections between what’s on a standard restaurant menu.

granted this is my supersimplified version. i lived in hong kong during uni

hong kong style has ducks w heads on, wonton soups, roast pork, roast goose, dim sum, lots of fresh fish & steamed vegetables. lots of tropical fruit beverages, fushion french cantonese style
there's also a style of western food like this cha chaan teng
https://hongkongfreetours.com/mido-cafe/

taiwanese for me is shilin market, but there's also a strong japanese influence bc of the long japanese occupation
https://guidetotaipei.com/visit/shilin-night-market-%E5%A3%AB%E6%9E%97%E5%A4%9C%E5%B8%82

gotta go
more later

mainland
singapore

My Chinese-American viewpoint.

American Chinese cuisine is Chinese food. The US has the 4th largest overseas Chinese population in the world. The food has developed in its own way, just as legit as Malaysian Chinese or Singapore Chinese food etc.

I think Tao Las Vegas does really good American Chinese.