Yong Chen
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231168922
- eISBN:
- 9780231538169
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231168922.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This book offers an interpretation of the rise of Chinese food in the United States and reveals the forces that made this cuisine ubiquitous in the American gastronomic landscape. It describes how ...
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This book offers an interpretation of the rise of Chinese food in the United States and reveals the forces that made this cuisine ubiquitous in the American gastronomic landscape. It describes how American diners began to flock to Chinese restaurants more than a century ago, making Chinese food the first mass-consumed cuisine in the United States. By 1980, this food had become the country's most popular ethnic cuisine. Epitomized by chop suey, American Chinese food was a forerunner of McDonald's, democratizing the once-exclusive dining-out experience for such groups as marginalized Anglos, African Americans, and Jews. The book describes the emergence of Chinese food in America as an epic story of global cultural encounter. It explains that its development was engineered by a politically disenfranchised, numerically small and economically exploited group of people and that it reflected not only changes in taste but also a growing appetite for a more leisurely lifestyle. It argues that Americans fell in love with Chinese food not because of its gastronomic excellence but because of its affordability and convenience, which is why they preferred the quick and simple dishes of China while shunning its haute cuisine. The book also characterizes the rise of Chinese food as a classic American story of immigrant entrepreneurship and perseverance: Barred from many occupations, Chinese Americans successfully turned Chinese food from a despised cuisine into a dominant force in the restaurant market, creating a critical lifeline for their community.Less
This book offers an interpretation of the rise of Chinese food in the United States and reveals the forces that made this cuisine ubiquitous in the American gastronomic landscape. It describes how American diners began to flock to Chinese restaurants more than a century ago, making Chinese food the first mass-consumed cuisine in the United States. By 1980, this food had become the country's most popular ethnic cuisine. Epitomized by chop suey, American Chinese food was a forerunner of McDonald's, democratizing the once-exclusive dining-out experience for such groups as marginalized Anglos, African Americans, and Jews. The book describes the emergence of Chinese food in America as an epic story of global cultural encounter. It explains that its development was engineered by a politically disenfranchised, numerically small and economically exploited group of people and that it reflected not only changes in taste but also a growing appetite for a more leisurely lifestyle. It argues that Americans fell in love with Chinese food not because of its gastronomic excellence but because of its affordability and convenience, which is why they preferred the quick and simple dishes of China while shunning its haute cuisine. The book also characterizes the rise of Chinese food as a classic American story of immigrant entrepreneurship and perseverance: Barred from many occupations, Chinese Americans successfully turned Chinese food from a despised cuisine into a dominant force in the restaurant market, creating a critical lifeline for their community.
