Where can I eat dishes that feature in western countries' Chinese restaurants?
... apart from western countries like the Australia or the USA themselves.
During my visit to Taiwan, I wasn't able to find the dishes I'd typically encounter in a Chinese restaurant in Australia or the United States, such as sweet and sour pork, honey chicken, Mongolian lamb/beef, and fried ice cream.
I have two main theories on why this is. One is that Chinese restaurant food is totally made up, and has no similarity with food anywhere in the world. In which case, I'd better give up trying to find the right location. This seems to be the case with fried ice cream, which Wikipedia suggests is an artificial modern invention.
The other is that maybe I visited the wrong location. China is a big place, after all. Perhaps visiting another area, such as Inner Mongolia, would find me what I'm looking for, with dishes either the same as, or the un-modified version of what is served in western countries' Chinese restaurants.
The Wikipedia article on Chinese restaurant mentions:
There has additionally been a consequential component of Chinese emigration of illegal origin, most notably Fuzhou people from Fujian Province and Wenzhounese from Zhejiang Province in Mainland China, specifically destined to work in Chinese restaurants in New York City, beginning in the 1980s.
As Fujian province is right next to Taiwan, and has had a major influence on it, it seems plausible that if some of the "Chinese restaurant" dishes were coming from Fujian, I would have seen them in Taiwan, but I didn't.
Where, if anywhere, can I find the dishes that feature in western countries' Chinese restaurants? Also, how should I identify the right kind of eatery in those countries?
Best Answer
These foods are typically unique to where you eat them For example neither deep fried ice cream or honey chicken are "Chinese food" here in Canada. The Wikipedia article on American Chinese food does a pretty job of identifying which North American "Chinese food" dishes map to food you might eat in China and which do not. I don't know if you can construct a similar list for Australian "Chinese food", but look for ingredients like carrots and tomatoes, as well as anything salad-like, to be particular to your home version of Chinese food and less likely to be available in China or other parts of Asia.
Pictures about "Where can I eat dishes that feature in western countries' Chinese restaurants?"
Where would a person go in the United States for great Chinese food?
10 Best Chinese Restaurants In The USWhat is westernized Chinese food?
A large majority of westernized Chinese food is deep fried or soaked in sauce, while deep frying is rarely practiced in China. Most authentic Chinese dishes are stewed, braised, baked, steamed or boiled and utilize spices rather than sauces and salt.What is the difference between western food and Chinese food?
Cooking methods: Where Westerners limit themselves to boiling, frying, roasting, and baking usually, Chinese use more methods of cooking, like steaming, stewing, saut\xe9ing, braising, and quick-frying with a wok. Chinese usually use animal/peanut oil to fry food; Westerners use more butter, sunflower oil, and olive oil.Does Europe have Chinese restaurants?
The best Chinese restaurants in Europe are like the best donuts in America or coffee shops in South America, they're on literally every corner. Authentic, spicy, and full of flavour, you'll find that the best Chinese restaurants in Europe bring a lot to the table, both literally and figuratively.20 Comfort Foods From Around The World
More answers regarding where can I eat dishes that feature in western countries' Chinese restaurants?
Answer 2
Fried ice cream (?????????/"yaki aisukuriimu"), sweet-and-sour pork (??/"subuta", lit. "vinegar pork") or chicken (??/"sudori") are well-known in Japan. If you find yourself in that part of the world, just ask the locals for these things by name.
??????? (sudori ya subuta nado) ?????????, (tabetain'desukara) ????? (konohen ni wa) ????????? (chuugoku-shiki no resutoran) ??????(arimasuka?)
(I would like to eat something like "sudori" or "subuta", is there a Chinese restaurant around here?)
If you want Chinese food in Japan, you go to a Chinese restaurant. Any larger mall has at least one. Sweet and sour chicken can also be found as prepared food in supermarkets and delis (like the food delis in the basements of larger malls).
For Mongolian food, it helps to find a Mongolian restaurant. In China, there is a good one in Shanghai called "Home in the Grasslands". In this restaurant, they actually have a few tables that are under Mongolian style tents (indoors). Lamb features prominently in the menu.
Lamb is is also used in some Xi An style dishes (Shaan-Xi cuisine). If you see "Xi An" in the sign or the equivalent characters ??, take a look.
Answer 3
In addition to the "Chinese" dishes you find let's say in Canada not being identical to the original, consider that China is a huge country. Chinese people living in one part of the country don't cook the same as Chinese people living in another part. The food that you find in Beijing might be very unusual to people in Taiwan. It's similar to asking for "European" food and not being able to find cannelloni in Athens (apart from the cannelloni you find in Italy not being quite what you expect).
Answer 4
This isn't a substantial answer, but I would like to point out that while some Westernised "Chinese" foods - such as Mongolian beef - do seem to be pretty nonexistent in Asia, others aren't.
For instance, I have seen many instances of sweet and sour pork (although the cooking style might be slightly different) in Hong Kong fast food restaurants, and I have definitely heard of fried ice cream (???) while living in Asia.
In my experience though (which of course is somewhat idiosyncratic), these types of Chinese foods aren't really the type seen as epitome of Chinese cuisine, even if they're probably seen as more "Chinese" than eating pasta dishes or McDonald's.
Answer 5
My wife is from Malaysia, and is ethnically Chinese (Hainanese). When she first came to the US to visit, at some point we ended up buying some "Chinese" food at a local supermarket's deli area, probably something like Kung Pao chicken, but I don't exactly remember. When we finally got it home to eat a short time later, she had no idea what she was looking at and asked me "what's this"? When I explained what it was and she tasted it, she considered feeding it to our dogs instead. I think she ate the rice and that was about it.
Fortunately there is a Chinese place in town where the owner makes a few "real" Chinese dishes that she just loves, so I can go have what I consider Chinese, and she can have "real" Chinese at the same restaurant.
When we travel to Malaysia & Singapore, we eat out a lot, but it's very-very-very rare to find what I think of as "Chinese" food, even though it's frequently Chinese food. Fortunately I like most of that as well as the Malay and Indian foods everywhere. However, after several weeks over there, I'm pining for some decent western food. However...
If you're in Malaysia or Singapore and looking for something western-ish, try Ramly-burger if you want a bit of east-west fusion in your burger, or Nando's if you want some Portuguese style chicken thrown into the mix. They're both fast food places I'd kill to have here in the Seattle area.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.