4 ms·

How a fusion of at least four cuisines created crab rangoon

45 points by thomasjudge 7y ago

derefr 7y ago
I think of it this way: immigrant cultures are their own culture, that should not be confused with their "parent" culture in their homeland. Thus, Crab Rangoon is an authentic cuisine... of the American Chinese immigrant culture. As in, it was invented by "American Chinese" people—a particular people—and they can claim it as part of their (rather new-ish) cultural heritage. As long as you make this distinction, the argument over whether something "is" authentic goes away. Everything is authentic. The question becomes: what is this-or-that food an authentic example of?
- dgzl 7y ago
  This seems like an excellent and diplomatic way to address the issue.
- Wistar 7y ago
  Alton Brown, in his inaugural episode of "Good Eats: The Return," points out that most of what is known in the U.S. as Italian food has its origins in Little Italy, New York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kg6regArFY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kg6regArFY
bitxbitxbitcoin 7y ago
Since the author mentioned Yakamein, it's also worth noting that Bourbon Chicken is named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans and is also another American Chinese dish that is native to the South. Another interesting tidbit, from watching the General Tso's documentary, is that the Missouri family that invented Cashew Chicken still adamantly claims that McDonald's took their fried chicken chunks recipe to make their now famous McNuggets.
tetra_proxy 7y ago
>What the Heck is Crab Rangoon Anyway? Delicious, that's what it is.
- Endy 7y ago
  That's perfectly correct, dude.
- pickle-wizard 7y ago
  I was out with a friend a few months a go, who does not like seafood. I ordered some crab rangoon. I offered him one. He said he doesn't like seafood. I told him to trust me and just try a bite. He ended up eating most of them and now every-time we go out to Chinese, he orders them. I've discovered as I've gotten older. It is not so much that I don't like foods, as I don't like ways of preparing it. For example I don't like cooked fish, but I love sushi. Seriously I can go to a sushi restaurant and spent $150 by myself. Something about cooking fish gives it a different taste that I don't like.
  - bduerst 7y ago
    Makes sense - most of the food neophobia that we have as humans is thought to be evolutionary. Basically children hate new foods because the children in previous generations that ate everything didn't survive to a reproducing age. As we get older, anything goes apparently.
  - kian 7y ago
    It might be something about the "cooking fish" that people serve that's different from sushi fish - freshness. I used to hate all fish, then liked only sushi, and only eventually moved into enjoying cooked fish as well. The last only happened when I discovered that fresh fish never smells like fish, even when cooked.
phil248 7y ago
" There’s a fundamental problem with the concept of authenticity in food..." Yes, the problem being that I have never heard someone accuse a food of being inauthentic without sounding like they are desperately trying to sound cultured or cool or high status.
- youeseh 7y ago
  If I'm an Indian in California craving Indian food "just like home", am I desperately trying to sound cultured? Maybe I was cultured to begin with! :D There is a point when food attributed to a culture but not invented by it gains authenticity - when the culture that it is attributed to adopts it. A few examples: - Tikka Masala (British) - Burrito (California) - Siracha Sauce (California) - Pepperoni (New York?). But, we're still waiting on Italians on this one.
  - EnFinlay 7y ago
    Saying you want "authentic" vs "just like home" are very different to me. One implies value judgement, the other does not.
  - seiferteric 7y ago
    The problem is that there is no real definition since all food comes from some place at some time. Even ingredients that are used in many Indian dishes today like Chili peppers and tomatoes are from the new world, so could not have been considered "authentic" at some time int he past. Basically "authentic" when it comes to food feels more like a kind of nostalgia.
  - ivanhoe 7y ago
    Yes, but if you go to another part of India you'll also be served a differently prepared dish, it will never be exactly "just like home". It's not just in India, every cuisine has regional variations, say in Italia there's a big difference in specialties between say Campania and Veneto. So how come that is OK, but emigrants have to make the food just like your mom makes or it's called fake?
  - tomjakubowski 7y ago
Endy 7y ago
Why should anyone worry about 'authenticity' in food? Perhaps I'm very American in my view here, but my thought is that taste comes before history. Crab Rangoon, which I've interestingly never seen relabeled Crab Yangon, is a call back to the more interesting or enthusiastic past. I wish we had that kind of invention left in today's kitchens.
- Splognosticus 7y ago
  The best reason that comes to mind is that the American version is its own separate thing from the original. Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican food for example are both great and I wouldn't want to go without either.
codegeek 7y ago
"American Chinese" food has to be uniquely American. I temporarily lived in HongKong for about 18 months and I still remember my shock of landing in HK and not finding "General Tso's Chicken" anywhere :). The ignorant American in me then realized that Chinese food in HK (and this is not even mainland china) is so different. Then I learned that there is a specific type of Chinese food called Szechuan that is generally spicy which probably comes close but that is a small part of real chinese food. I could still be wrong in understanding all this but at some point, I stopped worrying and start enjoying the food :)
- Duhck 7y ago
  There's a great comedic documentary called "Searching for general tso" that's a great watch on this topic.
- syntheticnature 7y ago
  I have found, during business trips to Germany, that there is a "Germanized American Chinese" food there. Not as a chain, either -- just as random restaurants serving something similar, but not the same, as "American Chinese" food.
- MartijnBraam 7y ago
  It seems like every country kinda has their own "Chinese food", in the netherlands if you go to a chinese restaurant most dishes will actually be indonesian. Also a bunch of dishes you'll only find in dutch "chinese" restaurants that I haven't found in other countries. One example of this is "Babi Pangang"

45 points by thomasjudge 7y ago

I think of it this way: immigrant cultures are their own culture, that should not be confused with their "parent" culture in their homeland. Thus, Crab Rangoon is an authentic cuisine... of the American Chinese immigrant culture. As in, it was invented by "American Chinese" people—a particular people—and they can claim it as part of their (rather new-ish) cultural heritage. As long as you make this distinction, the argument over whether something "is" authentic goes away. Everything is authentic. The question becomes: what is this-or-that food an authentic example of?

dgzl 7y ago
This seems like an excellent and diplomatic way to address the issue.
Wistar 7y ago
Alton Brown, in his inaugural episode of "Good Eats: The Return," points out that most of what is known in the U.S. as Italian food has its origins in Little Italy, New York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kg6regArFY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kg6regArFY

bitxbitxbitcoin 7y ago

Since the author mentioned Yakamein, it's also worth noting that Bourbon Chicken is named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans and is also another American Chinese dish that is native to the South. Another interesting tidbit, from watching the General Tso's documentary, is that the Missouri family that invented Cashew Chicken still adamantly claims that McDonald's took their fried chicken chunks recipe to make their now famous McNuggets.

tetra_proxy 7y ago

>What the Heck is Crab Rangoon Anyway? Delicious, that's what it is.

Endy 7y ago
That's perfectly correct, dude.
pickle-wizard 7y ago
I was out with a friend a few months a go, who does not like seafood. I ordered some crab rangoon. I offered him one. He said he doesn't like seafood. I told him to trust me and just try a bite. He ended up eating most of them and now every-time we go out to Chinese, he orders them. I've discovered as I've gotten older. It is not so much that I don't like foods, as I don't like ways of preparing it. For example I don't like cooked fish, but I love sushi. Seriously I can go to a sushi restaurant and spent $150 by myself. Something about cooking fish gives it a different taste that I don't like.
- bduerst 7y ago
  Makes sense - most of the food neophobia that we have as humans is thought to be evolutionary. Basically children hate new foods because the children in previous generations that ate everything didn't survive to a reproducing age. As we get older, anything goes apparently.
- kian 7y ago
  It might be something about the "cooking fish" that people serve that's different from sushi fish - freshness. I used to hate all fish, then liked only sushi, and only eventually moved into enjoying cooked fish as well. The last only happened when I discovered that fresh fish never smells like fish, even when cooked.

phil248 7y ago

" There’s a fundamental problem with the concept of authenticity in food..." Yes, the problem being that I have never heard someone accuse a food of being inauthentic without sounding like they are desperately trying to sound cultured or cool or high status.

youeseh 7y ago
If I'm an Indian in California craving Indian food "just like home", am I desperately trying to sound cultured? Maybe I was cultured to begin with! :D There is a point when food attributed to a culture but not invented by it gains authenticity - when the culture that it is attributed to adopts it. A few examples: - Tikka Masala (British) - Burrito (California) - Siracha Sauce (California) - Pepperoni (New York?). But, we're still waiting on Italians on this one.
- EnFinlay 7y ago
  Saying you want "authentic" vs "just like home" are very different to me. One implies value judgement, the other does not.
- seiferteric 7y ago
  The problem is that there is no real definition since all food comes from some place at some time. Even ingredients that are used in many Indian dishes today like Chili peppers and tomatoes are from the new world, so could not have been considered "authentic" at some time int he past. Basically "authentic" when it comes to food feels more like a kind of nostalgia.
- ivanhoe 7y ago
  Yes, but if you go to another part of India you'll also be served a differently prepared dish, it will never be exactly "just like home". It's not just in India, every cuisine has regional variations, say in Italia there's a big difference in specialties between say Campania and Veneto. So how come that is OK, but emigrants have to make the food just like your mom makes or it's called fake?
- tomjakubowski 7y ago

Endy 7y ago

Why should anyone worry about 'authenticity' in food? Perhaps I'm very American in my view here, but my thought is that taste comes before history. Crab Rangoon, which I've interestingly never seen relabeled Crab Yangon, is a call back to the more interesting or enthusiastic past. I wish we had that kind of invention left in today's kitchens.

Splognosticus 7y ago
The best reason that comes to mind is that the American version is its own separate thing from the original. Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican food for example are both great and I wouldn't want to go without either.

codegeek 7y ago

"American Chinese" food has to be uniquely American. I temporarily lived in HongKong for about 18 months and I still remember my shock of landing in HK and not finding "General Tso's Chicken" anywhere :). The ignorant American in me then realized that Chinese food in HK (and this is not even mainland china) is so different. Then I learned that there is a specific type of Chinese food called Szechuan that is generally spicy which probably comes close but that is a small part of real chinese food. I could still be wrong in understanding all this but at some point, I stopped worrying and start enjoying the food :)

Duhck 7y ago
There's a great comedic documentary called "Searching for general tso" that's a great watch on this topic.
syntheticnature 7y ago
I have found, during business trips to Germany, that there is a "Germanized American Chinese" food there. Not as a chain, either -- just as random restaurants serving something similar, but not the same, as "American Chinese" food.
MartijnBraam 7y ago
It seems like every country kinda has their own "Chinese food", in the netherlands if you go to a chinese restaurant most dishes will actually be indonesian. Also a bunch of dishes you'll only find in dutch "chinese" restaurants that I haven't found in other countries. One example of this is "Babi Pangang"