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Do you have any tips on getting real Chinese food in America. I was planning on living in Asia later this year, but it doesn't look like the pandemic will be un

by 41209 5y ago

Do you have any tips on getting real Chinese food in America. I was planning on living in Asia later this year, but it doesn't look like the pandemic will be under control by then

hallway_monitor 5y ago
Go to a homey, family-owned Chinese restaurant when they are not busy. Some have a separate menu for more authentic cooking; you can ask about that and if not, just tell them you want to try authentic regional dishes. I have had good luck with this even in the midwest. Make sure to tell them how adventurous you are - will you eat feet, intestines, head-on fish etc.
azurezyq 5y ago
Just talk to first generation Chinese immigrants. I have to say American Chinese food and authentic Chinese food are belong to different categories and serve different sets of people.
dfxm12 5y ago
That's a pretty broad question, especially if you live in an area without an established Chinatown. If you do, it should be easy enough to go there and scope it out. As far as restaurants go, don't be afraid to ask the servers about this. You could also seek out specific dishes. I like to look for a place that has dry friend green beans (or gan bian si ji dou), chongqing chicken, three cup chicken, congee, dandan noodles or mapo tofu on the menu. Also, don't just look for a "Chinese restaurant", look for a "dim sum restaurant", a "hand drawn noodle restaurant" or a "Sichuan restaurant", etc. If you can't find a decent restaurant, you could try to make stuff on your own. Search foursquare for "Asian supermarket", it will likely carry real Chinese ingredients even if it is primarily Vietnamese or Korean. As far as what to cook, I think https://omnivorescookbook.com/ https://omnivorescookbook.com/ always comes up with something pretty good. I also swear by the Mission Chinese cookbook. While some of those recipes aren't exactly authentic, they are close enough (and the author explains the ways they differ, like they have a recipe for kung pao pastrami - you're not going to find pastrami in China, but the kung pao part is pretty close). China is also a huge place that has many regional variations. Just like BBQ in Texas is different from BBQ in Eastern North Carolina, it's hard to say what is or isn't authentic in terms of Chinese cuisine, or what is authentic to a particular regions, etc. I'm sure they're arguing about it over there, too.

by 41209 5y ago

Do you have any tips on getting real Chinese food in America. I was planning on living in Asia later this year, but it doesn't look like the pandemic will be under control by then

hallway_monitor 5y ago

Go to a homey, family-owned Chinese restaurant when they are not busy. Some have a separate menu for more authentic cooking; you can ask about that and if not, just tell them you want to try authentic regional dishes. I have had good luck with this even in the midwest. Make sure to tell them how adventurous you are - will you eat feet, intestines, head-on fish etc.

azurezyq 5y ago

Just talk to first generation Chinese immigrants. I have to say American Chinese food and authentic Chinese food are belong to different categories and serve different sets of people.

dfxm12 5y ago

That's a pretty broad question, especially if you live in an area without an established Chinatown. If you do, it should be easy enough to go there and scope it out. As far as restaurants go, don't be afraid to ask the servers about this. You could also seek out specific dishes. I like to look for a place that has dry friend green beans (or gan bian si ji dou), chongqing chicken, three cup chicken, congee, dandan noodles or mapo tofu on the menu. Also, don't just look for a "Chinese restaurant", look for a "dim sum restaurant", a "hand drawn noodle restaurant" or a "Sichuan restaurant", etc. If you can't find a decent restaurant, you could try to make stuff on your own. Search foursquare for "Asian supermarket", it will likely carry real Chinese ingredients even if it is primarily Vietnamese or Korean. As far as what to cook, I think https://omnivorescookbook.com/ https://omnivorescookbook.com/ always comes up with something pretty good. I also swear by the Mission Chinese cookbook. While some of those recipes aren't exactly authentic, they are close enough (and the author explains the ways they differ, like they have a recipe for kung pao pastrami - you're not going to find pastrami in China, but the kung pao part is pretty close). China is also a huge place that has many regional variations. Just like BBQ in Texas is different from BBQ in Eastern North Carolina, it's hard to say what is or isn't authentic in terms of Chinese cuisine, or what is authentic to a particular regions, etc. I'm sure they're arguing about it over there, too.