Bibliograph

From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express, a history of Chinese food in the United States, Haiming Liu

Type

Label

From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express, a history of Chinese food in the United States, Haiming Liu

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-191) and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

900194119

Responsibility statement

Haiming Liu

Series statement

Asian American studies today

Sub title

a history of Chinese food in the United States

Summary

"The story of Chinese Americans through the lens of food. From Canton Restaurant in 1849 to Panda Express today, Chinese food history in America spans over 150 years. Chinese 'Forty-niners' were mostly merchants and restaurateurs who migrated here not to dig gold but to do trade. Racism against the Chinese slowed down the growth of the Chinese restaurant business in the late 19th century, but it made a rebound in the format of chop suey. From 1900 to the 1960s, chop suey as imagined authentic Chinese food attracted numerous American customers including Jewish Americans as its collective fan. Then the real Chinese food such as Hunan, Sichuan or Shanghai cuisine replaced chop suey houses in the 1970s following the arrival of new Chinese immigrants after immigration reform in 1965. Those regional-flavored Chinese restaurants were brought in and established by immigrants from Taiwan rather than mainland China. As Chinese restaurants in America turned Chinese in flavor, P.F. Chang's and Panda Express rose fast in the 1990s to meet the need of constantly changing and often multi-ethnically blended eating habits of American customers. Chinese food in America is a fascinating history about both Chinese and Americans. Embedded in this history is the story of human migration, culinary tradition, racial politics, ethnic identity, cultural negotiation, Chinese Diaspora and transnational life, and Chinese cuisine as a global food. Though a scholarly work, this book aims at all readers who are interested in food history and culture."--Publisher information

Table Of Contents

Introduction -- Canton Restaurant and Chinese Forty-Niners -- Flags of yellow silk -- "Chinamen live on rice" -- Chop suey and racial America -- Kung Pao Kosher : American Jews and Chinese food -- General Tso's chicken made in Taiwan -- The San Gabriel Valley as a capital of Chinese food -- Who owns culture? -- Din Tai Fung as a global dumpling house -- Conclusion

Classification