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From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express
A History of Chinese Food in the United States
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2015
About this book
Received an Honorable Mention for the 2015-2016 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, Adult Non-Fiction category
Finalist in the Culinary History category of the 2016 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express takes readers on a compelling journey from the California Gold Rush to the present, letting readers witness both the profusion of Chinese restaurants across the United States and the evolution of many distinct American-Chinese iconic dishes from chop suey to General Tso’s chicken. Along the way, historian Haiming Liu explains how the immigrants adapted their traditional food to suit local palates, and gives readers a taste of Chinese cuisine embedded in the bittersweet story of Chinese Americans.
Treating food as a social history, Liu explores why Chinese food changed and how it has influenced American culinary culture, and how Chinese restaurants have become places where shared ethnic identity is affirmed—not only for Chinese immigrants but also for American Jews. The book also includes a look at national chains like P. F. Chang’s and a consideration of how Chinese food culture continues to spread around the globe.
Drawing from hundreds of historical and contemporary newspaper reports, journal articles, and writings on food in both English and Chinese, From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express represents a groundbreaking piece of scholarly research. It can be enjoyed equally as a fascinating set of stories about Chinese migration, cultural negotiation, race and ethnicity, diverse flavored Chinese cuisine and its share in American food market today.
Finalist in the Culinary History category of the 2016 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express takes readers on a compelling journey from the California Gold Rush to the present, letting readers witness both the profusion of Chinese restaurants across the United States and the evolution of many distinct American-Chinese iconic dishes from chop suey to General Tso’s chicken. Along the way, historian Haiming Liu explains how the immigrants adapted their traditional food to suit local palates, and gives readers a taste of Chinese cuisine embedded in the bittersweet story of Chinese Americans.
Treating food as a social history, Liu explores why Chinese food changed and how it has influenced American culinary culture, and how Chinese restaurants have become places where shared ethnic identity is affirmed—not only for Chinese immigrants but also for American Jews. The book also includes a look at national chains like P. F. Chang’s and a consideration of how Chinese food culture continues to spread around the globe.
Drawing from hundreds of historical and contemporary newspaper reports, journal articles, and writings on food in both English and Chinese, From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express represents a groundbreaking piece of scholarly research. It can be enjoyed equally as a fascinating set of stories about Chinese migration, cultural negotiation, race and ethnicity, diverse flavored Chinese cuisine and its share in American food market today.
Author / Editor information
HAIMING LIU is a professor of Asian American studies in the Ethnic and Women’s Studies Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is also the author of The Transnational History of a Chinese Family: Immigrant Letters, Family Business, and Reverse Migration (Rutgers University Press).
Reviews
“Haiming Liu turns the topic of restaurants into a discussion of Chinese American history and explores complex issues concerning race relations and ethnic identity, as well as political and regional affiliations among the Chinese in the United States.”
— Xiaojian Zhao, author of The New Chinese America"Liu's book is accessible and impressive with is scope....Overall, the book is one of the best American Chinese food history books out there and should be read by a wide audience in the United States and abroad."
— Pacific Historical Review"Liu perhaps makes more general readers aware that Chinese food in America is more than just a quick and inexpensive meal. It represents a rich and complex history of people, the food they eat, and the food they serve to others."
— Digest"This slender book delivers its tales with lively storytelling and well-placed details, with obvious relish for the telling anecdote, and a careful folding of such into its narrative."
— China Review International"Liu exercises his considerable talents as a transnational historian to reveal the United States as a culinary crossroads where food and business acumen circulate along many paths across continents and oceans—a must read."
— Donna R. Gabaccia, University of Toronto ScarboroughTopics
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Frontmatter
i -
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CONTENTS
vii -
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ix -
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NOTE ON ROMANIZATION
xi -
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INTRODUCTION
1 -
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1. Canton Restaurant and Chinese Forty- niners
8 -
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2. Flags of Yellow Silk
18 -
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3. “Chinamen Live on Rice”
29 -
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4. Chop Suey and Racial America
49 -
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5. Kung Pao Kosher: American Jews and Chinese Food
71 -
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6. General Tso’s Chicken Made in Taiwan
86 -
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7. The San Gabriel Valley as a Capital of Chinese Food
107 -
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8. Who Owns Culture?
128 -
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9. Din Tai Fung as a Global Dumpling House
146 -
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Conclusion
157 -
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Notes
159 -
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Selected Bibliography
181 -
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Index
193 -
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
203
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
September 2, 2019
eBook ISBN:
9780813574776
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9780813574776
Keywords for this book
history of immigrant dining; immigrant restaurants in America; food and cultural identity; adaptation of immigrant cuisine; immigrant food traditions; American Asian food culture; General Tso’s chicken story; chop suey history; Asian American cuisine; immigrant cuisine in the US; history of American Asian food; Asian restaurants in America; from Canton Restaurant to Panda Express; Asian American Studies Today; From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express; A History of Chinese Food in the United States; HAIMING LIU; Asian American studies; Asian cuisine; Asian food; Chinese food; Chinese cuisine; American cuisine; Cantonese food; Cantones cuisine; history of Chinese food; Panda Express; California Gold Rush; Chinese restaurants; distinct American-Chinese iconic dishes; chop suey; General Tso’s chicken; Chinese Americans; Chinese immigrants; food; social history; American culinary culture; ethnic identity; American Jews; P. F. Chang's; Chinese food culture; Chinese migration; Chinese cultural negotiation; Chinese race and ethnicity; American food market
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
