Chop Suey

For contemporary non-Chinese observers and diners, the appeal of Chinese food stemmed from its inexpensive prices and its convenience, due to Chinese restaurants’ long hours of operation and speedy delivery. This type of food was also what non-Chinese consumers expected of Chinese restaurants. Such ex- pectations refl ected their clear choice between two kinds of Chinese food that were made available to them: the simple and inexpensive dishes like chop suey, and China’s haute cuisine featuring delicacies like shark’s fi ns. The prevalence of the former in the multiplying Chinese restaurants reminds us that the rise of Chinese food performed a social service rather than an admiration of Chinese cooking as a culinary art, and this explains its success.

The triumph of chop suey over shark’s fi ns magnifi ed the lowly position of Chinese food in the minds of Americans. It also fi t the lifestyle and socioeconomic backgrounds of many non-Chinese customers. In addition, it was based on the prevailing puritan/utilitarian approach of mainstream society. By the early twen- tieth century, the chop suey type of Chinese food emerged as a distinctive cuisine, characterized by some Chinese Americans as “Chinese-American food.” This characterization asks an important question: How Chinese is it really? An in- depth analysis of chop suey, the epitome of such “Chinese-American food,” clearly indicates that it was indeed Chinese in origin. At the same time, however, as a highly commodifi ed system of dishes that reached extraordinary levels of brand- name recognition in American food consumption, it was undoubtedly American.

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EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 4/22/2022 4:03 PM via HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM AN: 871562 ; Yong Chen.; Chop Suey, USA : The Story of Chinese Food in America Account: s9009160.main.eds