JIANG Zichen

VY100 Section 1

Argumentative Essay (final)

6 December 2021

Chinese Recipes Changed in America: Good for Culture Export

With more and more Chinese going to America and even settling down there, Chinese

food becomes common to more and more Americans. As Chinese food spreads wider, Chinese

recipes overseas are also changing visibly such as adding cheese to Chinese dishes. This

seems to be a spoil on authentic Chinese food, but actually, the change of Chinese recipes has

a positive influence on the export of Chinese culture in the U.S.A. in the wave of

globalization. After analyzing the current situation of Chinese food in the United States and

the spread of Chinese recipes, I will show the reasons why it has positive effects, including

Americans’ acceptance of Chinese food and the fusion of food cultures in the age of

globalization.

To figure out why changed recipes are good for Chinese food export, let’s first have a

look at Chinese food in the United States. Chinese food has become an increasingly important

part of many Americans’ lives. Just like what Anthony Bourdain said in Parts Unknown,

Shanghai, “if you didn’t know how to use chopsticks as a New Yorker, you are a terrible New

Yorker.” (“Shanghai” 14:31~14:36) And currently, we can see millions of American books,

magazines, videos on Youtube talking about Chinese food as well as Chinese recipes. But

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many Chinese recipes have been changed in the U.S.A. Typically, use olive oil instead of

vegetable oil which is more commonly used in Chinese’s kitchen; add jam to Yang Zhou fried

rice, which made Uncle Roger quite angry with Jamie Oliver’s recipe(“Uncle Roger HATE

Jamie Oliver Egg Fried Rice” 0:01~0:11); use egg rice but not wheat alkaline noodle to cook

Ramen just like what Gordon Ramsay does(“Homemade Ramen Made Quick” 0:20~0:24).

These behaviors surely “ruin” authentic Chinese food, but these changes in Chinese recipes

are somehow popular in America and even some famous chefs cook Chinese dishes in this

way, which suggests that “changed” Chinese food is well received by Americans.

Besides, we should know how Chinese food is spread overseas, which suggests the

reason why Chinese recipes are altered. According to Anderson’s “150 Years of Chinese Food

in America”, the history of Chinese food in America is closely entwined with the experience

of Chinese immigrants(Anderson 1). Chinese migrants, students who study abroad, and those

who get married to Americans and settle abroad bring Chinese food overseas, because they

didn’t agree with local dietary habits or they were just homesick, missing the taste of home,

and some of them even open Chinese restaurants. With news reports and advertisements of

Chinese food, increasing more Chinese restaurants can be seen in the United States, and

Chinese food become more and more popular among Americans.

Besides, those foreigners traveling in China might bring Chinese food to their own

countries. They first learn cooking from Chinese people and then share Chinese recipes on the

Internet. Moreover, books, magazines, or videos about Chinese recipes also contribute to the

spread of Chinese food. Therefore, more foreigners can try Chinese dishes at home, at least

they can learn something about this oriental food culture.

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 Then we can easily figure out why some Chinese recipes are changed being spread

abroad. First, certain ingredients can't be found overseas, so people may need to find

substitutes or just delete these ingredients. For instance, to make Yan Du Xian, an Hangzhou

dish, it is necessary to use bamboo shoots and Chinese bacon. However, only the Chinese eat

bamboo shoots and it’s hard to find them in the U.S.A. Therefore, Americans have to abandon

this ingredient. Besides, authentic Chinese bacon is rarely seen abroad so people may have to

use foreign-style Chinese bacon instead.

Second, it is likely that the recipes which foreign travelers bring back to their motherland

are changed due to certain skills to process several ingredients are not common in America. In

supermarkets in China, people can easily access many processed ingredients, especially

special ethnic sauces such as thick broad-bean sauce or Lao Gan Ma, which are usually used

directly by Chinese when they are cooking. But these processed ingredients are not quite

available in the United States, so people should make substitutes by themselves, which caused

recipes to change.

Third, the most significant reason is that modified recipes are more acceptable to

Americans’ taste, which offers opportunities to satisfy foreigners’ curiosity about this strange

oriental food style. Typically, adding jam or even milk and cheese to Chinese dishes is strange

to Chinese, but these ingredients make the dishes taste more “western” and westerners can

accept them better because of the big difference in Chinese dietary habits and Western ones

prevent them from getting used to authentic Chinese cuisine quickly. Anderson showed that

many of so-called “Chinese food” abroad do have a Chinese origin, but “their ingredients or

presentation were altered to address the demands an external market fearing a foreign ‘alien’

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culture but craving all they deemed ‘exotic’, to an acceptable extent.” (Anderson, 3) It takes

risks to try a food style from a strange eastern culture, for you may not agree with it or find

the dishes not quite delicious. The alteration of recipes makes the dishes less likely to make

foreign new triers too disappointed or unaccustomed.

Hence, the change of Chinese recipes overseas has a positive influence on the export of

Chinese culture to America. The change is an adaptation to foreign taste and dietary habits,

which can let more Americans try Chinese cuisines and feel Chinese culture. As Alix Ohlin

pointed out in “Chinese Restaurant”, despite in Chinatowns, Chinese customers are rarely

seen in Chinese restaurants abroad(Ohlin 58). That means most of the customers of Chinese

restaurants are foreigners. Moreover, most of the Chinese recipes shared online or published

in the United States are for Americans. There is nothing wrong that the influencers or authors

change the recipes a bit to make the dishes more acceptable to foreign tongues. Typically,

General Tso's chicken, a Chinese cuisine that is quite popular in America, is invented by

Chinese chef Peng. Originally the flavors of it were heavy, sour, hot, and salty, but it became

sweet and deep-fired to meet the taste of Americans, and eventually, Peng himself altered the

recipe, too. (Lewis 3)

The modified recipes can make Americans more willing to try Chinese food, and then

more and more of them can have a taste of Chinese culture through food, for food is an

essential part of Chinese culture and reflects the core content of Chinese culture to a large

extent.

In addition, “foodway is a channel for culture communication,” (Li 344) as Li Li said in

Cultural and Intercultural Functions of Chinese Restaurants in the Mountain West. As

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foreigners are trying more foreign-style Chinese cuisine, they have more chances to be

exposed to Chinese style and learn something behind the dishes. For example, when they are

eating foreign-style rice dumplings, they will think of its authentic version. They may know

this food is special for the traditional Chinese festival Dragon Boat festival, and probably

wonder the story why people eat rice dumplings on this day. In this way, changed recipes

arouse foreign tasters’ curiosity about Chinese culture, which can surely boost Chinese culture

export.

Culture export, as an inevitable result of globalization, has the characteristics of

internationalism and inclusiveness. During Chinese food culture export, it is inevitable that

Chinese cuisines will absorb American diet characteristics. Moreover, the alteration of

Chinese recipes enhances the combination of Chinese and American cultures in the wave of

globalization. Anderson indicated that many Chinese-style dishes are invented in America like

chop suey(Anderson 5). These dishes combine the quintessence of both food cultures and are

welcomed by people from both countries, which accelerates the communication between the

two cultures. As the saying “you are what you eat” indicates, it is often believed that the

consumption of ethnic cuisine demonstrates that one is cosmopolitan and tolerant, which is

quite important in this age of globalization.

We can see that the changes in Chinese recipes abroad seem to spoil authentic Chinese

cuisine, but it actually reflects Chinese culture export. The alteration of Chinese recipes

indeed can’t convey the greatest charm of Chinese culture, but can offer a chance for

foreigners to try Chinese food. Since food carries many core parts of a culture, trying Chinese

food opens a window for having a taste of Chinese culture. Therefore, Chinese food, as well

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as Chinese culture, spread wider and becomes an increasingly important part of foreigners’

life. The change of Chinese recipes overseas indeed has a positive influence on the export of

Chinese culture in the wave of globalization.

Works cited list

Anderson Annika. “150 Years of Chinese Food in America.” Fall 2018,

http://conniewenchang.bol.ucla.edu/menus/index.html. Accessed on 28 November

2021.

“Homemade Ramen Made Quick.” By Gordon Ramsay, October 2021. YouTube,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dWpHngp_ug&t=0s. Accessed on 6 December

2021.

Li Li. “Cultural and Intercultural Functions of Chinese Restaurants in the Mountain West: An

Insider's Perspective.” Western Folklore, Vol. 61, No. 3/4, Western States Folklore

Society, 2002, pp. 329-346. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1500426. Accessed

on 17 Nov 2021.

Lewis Danny. “A Brief History of General Tso’s Chicken.” Smithsonian, Smithsonian

Magazine, 2016, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/general-tsos-

chicken-got-its-start-fine-dining-180956795/. Accessed on 6 December 2021.

Ohlin Alix. “Chinese Restaurant.” Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art, No. 48, 2011,

pp. 58-70. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41951762. Accessed on 17 Nov

2021.
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“Shanghai.” Parts Unknown, by Anthony Bourdain, Season 4, No.28, CNN, 2014. Bilibili,

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1g5411g7DD?

from=search&seid=3742270308123521367&spm_id_from=333.337.0.0. Accessed

on 24 May 2021.

“Uncle Roger HATE Jamie Oliver Egg Fried Rice.” By Uncle Roger, August 2020. YouTube,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_KdbASIkB8. Accessed on 6 December 2021.