Chinese Food
Chinese Food Recipes
Chinese food intended for American consumption drastically differs from Chinese food intended for Chinese consumption to the extent that American Chinese foods are marketed as a different style of cooking in various countries. American food Chinese was originally developed in the nineteenth century. Chinese cooks and restaurant owners modified standard Chinese food recipes to cater to a Western palate.
The first Chinese food restaurants catered to railroad workers. These restaurants did not have access to standard Chinese ingredients and thus were forced to rely upon local ingredients. Chefs invented so-called “traditional” Chinese dishes such as General Tso’s chicken and chop suey. Other popular dishes on the menu include chow mein, sesame chicken, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, wonton soup and egg rolls.
Today, Chinese food has evolved into a huge restaurant niche. Many restaurants specialize in Chinese food delivery and takeout, buffets or fast food. Chinese delivery food is among the most popular of all takeout, and many a Chinese food menu can be found stuffed into mailboxes or handed out at street corners. Chinese delivery food is placed in the ubiquitous Chinese takeout cardboard box known as an oyster pail and taken to customers’ homes.
You don’t need to go out to a restaurant to enjoy Chinese food. Chinese food recipes are available in cookbooks, on the Internet or on the Food Network. For example, the recipe for General Tso’s Chicken can be easily found just by googling it. It can be made in dozens of different ways. Here is one version of General Tso’s Chicken. You will need 4 chicken legs with thighs, half a cup of soy sauce, half a cup of distilled white vinegar, half a cup of water, one clove of minced garlic, one teaspoon of ginger root, one teaspoon of cornstarch, one beaten egg, a third of a cup of corn oil and four seeded dried hot chilis.
Debone the chicken and cut it up. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, water, garlic and ginger root in a bowl. Combine egg and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Dip chicken pieces into egg-cornstarch mix. Heat the oil up in a wok and fry the chicken in it for four to six minutes. Remove the chicken from the oil and pat it dry. Pour out all but one teaspoon of the oil left in the wok. Add the soy sauce mixture, chili peppers and chicken pieces to the wok and cook it for two minutes until thoroughly heated.
 |  |  |
