Chinese Food

While we were eating the Chinese food today in class I found it very amusing to know that most of the food would never be found on the menu of an authentic Chinese restaurant. Only two of the dishes would have been available: the rice and the broccoli. The other (3?) dishes are very much Americanized entrees that some restaurants now serve in order to have a larger customer group. I remember going out to eat with my family once and I asked my dad if we could order orange chicken. He gave me a confused look and told me he had never heard of such a thing. At the time I didn't understand why not since orange chicken is one of the most popular "Chinese" foods displayed in the media and among my non-Asian friends. Now I understand why there are Americanized Chinese food. If you look on a typical menu you would find some dishes that are considered very strange in the American culture. For example, there's a spicy jellyfish salad appetizer and marinated chicken's feet dim sum that would be strange to the average American. They are not typical meats or parts of an animal eaten, therefore a Chinese restaurant in a largely white community probably wouldn't put it on their menu because it simply wouldn't sell. Today's meal had me laughing about what is now considered Chinese food.

By the way, the spicy jellyfish salad is delicious.