A FOOD TRADITION
Chinese American cuisine
Chinese American cuisine developed through Chinese migration, especially in western railroad towns, urban Chinatowns, and later suburban communities. It draws on Cantonese foundations as well as Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian, and other regional traditions, adapting ingredients, cooking methods, and presentation to American settings. Stir-frying, deep-frying, steaming, braising, and wok cooking are central techniques. Representative examples include chop suey, egg foo young, and American-style beef with broccoli. The category includes both early Chinese restaurant traditions and later regional adaptations, while recognizing that Chinese American cooking is not a single unchanged cuisine or a substitute for the many cuisines of China.
Dishes linked to this cuisine
1–5 of 5
American General Tso's chicken
Crisp battered chicken pieces coated in the sweet, spicy and sticky sauce popularised by New York Chinese restaurants.
Chinese American chop suey
An adaptable Cantonese American stir-fry of assorted meat and vegetables bound with a savoury sauce.
Chinese American chow mein
A Chinese American stir-fried noodle dish developed in early immigrant restaurants and now made in distinct regional styles.
Chinese American fortune cookie
A crisp folded sweet wafer containing a small paper message, developed as a stateside Chinese restaurant custom.
Chinese American lo mein
Soft wheat noodles tossed with vegetables, protein and a glossy soy-based sauce in the Chinese American restaurant tradition.
Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.