Showing Tag: " chinese food" (Show all posts)

Chinese Food For The Uninitiated Masses

Posted by John Jung on Wednesday, November 19, 2014, In : Chinese food

In the early 20th century when there was a growing popularity of chop suey and chow mein among Americans, two enterprising University of Michigan students,Wally Smith and Ilhan New, neither of whom were Chinese, hit upon the idea of creating and mass marketing a line of prepackaged Chinese foods. Thus, La Choy, a coined name to generate the feeling that the foods were ‘oriental’ was born in 1922. Wally Smith, owner of a grocery store in Detroit wanted to sell fresh bean sprou...

Chinese in Italy

Posted by John Jung on Tuesday, October 7, 2014, In : Chinese food

Chinese immigration to Italy has increased dramatically over the past decade or two. As in other places, culture clashes sometimes occur and Chinese and Italians experience similar problems. Award winning journalist Suzanne Ma, a Chinese Canadian, who has a novel "Meet Me in Venice" coming out in February 2015, presents a charming and insightful talk about the negative feelings toward the influx of Chinese, and their food, in Italy.

Is the Food in Chinese American Cookbooks "Authentic"?

Posted by John Jung on Tuesday, June 21, 2011, In : Culture and cuisine

The issue of 'authenticity' inevitably surfaces when ethnic foods of any type, Chinese or other, are evaluated. I have often wondered to what extent "foodie snobbism" is at work. Food dishes, like language, evolve over time and differ over space. Can there be a single recipe that is the authentic version for a dish? Who 'decides,' and using what yardstick, whether a dish is 'authentic'? And, is authenticity the end all which trumps even 'great taste'?
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About Me

John Jung

Cypress, Ca.

After retiring from a 40-year career as a psychology professor, I published 4 books about Chinese immigrants that detail the history of their laundries, grocery stores, and family restaurants in the U. S. and Canada.

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Sweet and Sour: Life in Chinese Family Restaurants