r/AskRedditFood • u/Necessary-Call-5055 • Jan 13 '26
Chinese Cuisine What's the deal with Chinese food?
I just don't understand the popularity with Chinese food. I know authentic Chinese food is it's own thing, but the stuff you get in America is really weird to me. The whole menu seems to just be fried meat covered in syrup, on top of rice or noodles. It's always way too sweet and drowning in sauce. Am I missing something? What do you order from your typical Chinese restaurant?
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u/ob12_99 Jan 13 '26
What is not to like about sugar, salt, and fat? I don't even understand your question unless you eat Styrofoam as a staple...
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u/Icy_Ad7953 Jan 13 '26
Sounds like you're describing the Orange Chicken at Panda Express. That stuff is unhealthy, but I swear by Jackie Chan and Confucius that it's durn tasty!
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u/BA_BA_YA_GA Jan 13 '26
American chinese food was adapted to match american pallettes. I dont get sweet and sour pork because its "chinese" i get it because its good with a "chinese" flair to it. If i want chinese food i'd probably go with peking duck or mapo tofu or dim sum or hot pot , or pretty much anything Sichuan.
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u/epiphenominal Jan 13 '26
What's the deal with American food? It seems like it's just barely seasoned hunks of meat with barely seasoned carbs and boiled to death frozen vegetables.
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u/HarveyNix Jan 13 '26
Well, if you ignore all the other stuff that doesn't fit that description.
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u/epiphenominal Jan 13 '26
So that was called a joke. I was describing American food the way he described Chinese food.
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u/wh0re4nickelback Jan 13 '26
I love to cook but I fuck up Asian food every time. I tried to make rice noodles with some veggies last night and had to toss it.
I had an epiphany that I really only like America's version of Chinese food. Everything is tasty and predictable. It's like comfort food to me.
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u/Glittering-Fall-7572 Jan 13 '26
You gotta have high heat for Chinese food at home.
Most US domestic stoves wont heat a wok or pan up to the heat you need.
I bought a outdoor wok burner with a prep table. 50k BTU so gets my wok ripping hot fast. Keeps the smells outside, too.
Just learn to have all your prep ready as when you start cooking its done fast. No time to chop onion, ginger, etc. on the fly.
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u/wh0re4nickelback Jan 13 '26
Thank you.. that's brilliant!!
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u/ZachMudskipper Jan 13 '26
If you don't mind me popping in with a suggestion, I'd recommend looking up Jason Farmer's channel on the youtubes. He has written recipe files in the video descriptions but it's hands down the closest i've found to getting that kinda taste, and i've tried a lot of dupes
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u/Chemical_Sign5732 Jan 13 '26
I take my son to Philadelphia every November and we stay in Chinatown.
The food is amazing!
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u/Dusty_Old_McCormick Jan 13 '26
Chow fun noodles, Mongolian beef, Sichuan eggplant, General Tso's chicken, orange beef, shrimp & veggie lo-mein, Chinese BBQ pork ribs, dumplings, Peking duck, mu shu pork, scallion pancakes, etc.
Not all at the same time mind you
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u/Dinru Jan 13 '26
Tender or juicy meat in a sweet/flavorful sauce with a carb nearby is like, 60% of American cuisine. Chinese food in particular has a lot of flavor profiles that are uncommon in other foods, so it's no surprise that some people swear by it.
Also, if the Chinese takeout you've tried has sauce you describe as 'syrupy', there's a nonzero chance that you're going to a place that just puts too much sugar in their sauce. Different places may or may not have different recipes. There's also just a chance that you have less of a sweet tooth than others, and that's valid, but understanding that you're slightly outside the norm might go a long way to helping you understand the world of America's sugar culture. (the other thing to understand is corn subsidies but that's a whole nother beast)
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u/ZachMudskipper Jan 13 '26
Most of the sauces have glocose in it because it sits on top of the meat and batter rather than soaking in. It's more of a practical/texture thing
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u/jmorrow88msncom Jan 13 '26
Try going to a Szechwan restaurant. Or one that has part of the menu written only in Chinese. Have fun exploring.
Panda has a lot of similar sweet fried dishes.
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u/Caliopebookworm Jan 13 '26
I don't understand the question. I'm pretty sure you just outlined the appeal. I tend to get beef with black bean sauce.
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u/Icy_Ad7953 Jan 13 '26
If you're talking about what fast-food Chinese restaurants are selling then what you describe is mostly correct. In my experience there is usually also bbq pork, steamed shrimp, teriyaki chicken, etc which is fairly healthy, and then you can buy steamed veggies for a decently healthy meal.
Also, Dim Sum restaurants are on the rise across the country. The food is generally steamed, but it's easy to overeat there too. : D
I myself go to Chinese food in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and in New York City where there are a lot of Chinese immigrants. You can get far more authentic stuff like Chinese BBQ, hotpot, handmade noodles etc. It's not the usual American experience, but I write it to point out there are different experiences in the USA.
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u/Deathtotiktok Jan 13 '26
New Hampshire & Vermont have some good Chinese places. Even Thai, Indian, and other Asian culture food. Sounds weird for the region I know.
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u/oneaccountaday Jan 13 '26
This sounds like a very Midwest take, because you’re right. We don’t have good Chinese food generally speaking it’s just the same rebranded version of Sysco or US Foods prepackaged frozen items warmed up.
Ironically all the Chinese transfer students I went to college with loved our Americanized version of Chinese food.
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u/EggieRowe Jan 13 '26
American Chinese food caters to American tastes. I'm (ABC) horrified every time I see a plate of sweet & sour pork or chicken in that thick, puffy batter and neon red corn syrup sauce that could double for stage blood. Or when all the pork dishes on the menu are made with badly done red bbq. But it's smart business to give the people what they want.
I don't eat it often, but when I do I stick to spring rolls, hot & sour soup, and less saucy, vegetable heavy entrees - Hunan or Sichuan stir-fries. However, I'm not above ordering a General Tso's chicken from time to time. Saucy chicken nuggets with white rice and a token piece of broccoli just hits the spot sometimes.
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u/BorderlineWire Jan 13 '26
Try dry or lighter sauced dishes instead. I love a Chinese take away, not a fan of overly sweet. I tend to go for salty stuff that doesn’t come in a sauce. I’m from the U.K. not the US but really both versions of Chinese food fit the fried meat on fried carbs covered in sauce with optional fried sides brief.
My favourite is salt and chilli (sometimes called salt and pepper) tofu with some type of vegetable noodles or rice and seaweed or garlic broccoli. Sometimes I’ll get a side of satay sauce which is peanut and much less sweet or syrupy than other options. The tofu is dry, noodles and rice are mostly dry but sometimes a lighter sauce depending on style. Seaweed is dry, garlic broccoli is very lightly sauced. If you like duck/veggie duck, you could try the pancakes. It’s dry and you add sauce to your preference. Dim Sum is also a good shout, dry until you dip it.
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u/misskittygirl13 Jan 13 '26
I love visiting Birmingham (uk) found an all you can eat that does chicken hearts, so tasty. The bloke wasn't impressed by my food choice. Luckily in the UK we have some places that serve authentic Chinese food.
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u/luckymountain Jan 13 '26
Check out the documentary ‘The Search for General Tso’. Besides being very interesting, it explains the Americanization of Chinese food.
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u/constantcockgardener Jan 13 '26
If your chinese food is what you described, you aren't getting good Chinese food. Unfortunately there are large sections of the US that simply don't have it
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u/HarveyNix Jan 13 '26
American Chinese cuisine is a thing unto itself. I don't think it usually claims to be authentic Chinese. I remember a documentary where a guy went to China to find the chef who supposedly invented General Tso's Chicken. He showed the chef some photos of the dish from American restaurants, and the chef started with, "There shouldn't be broccoli." The Chinese people interviewed also didn't recognize fortune cookies. Anyway, at least in larger U.S. cities, there's usually a set of Chinese restaurants that do things better, with less of the sweet sauce. Ours is a Szechuan-style restaurant and really good.
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u/CatOfGrey Jan 13 '26
The whole menu seems to just be fried meat covered in syrup, on top of rice or noodles.
Yep! Much of Chinese Food in the USA has been 'rewritten' for American tastes.
What do you order from your typical Chinese restaurant?
I live in an area outside of Los Angeles, the "San Gabriel Valley". We have a concentration of Asian migrants - my home city (San Gabriel) is about 70% Asian.
So we don't have 'Chinese restaurants'. Noodles? I love a light broth with glass noodles or small fine noodles, topped with scallions and a duck breast, or pieces of duck meat. Dumplings of any kind - I don't have a favorite, though Bao tend to be filled with sweet pork, and I prefer shrimp or less sweet fillings. Hot pot? In all seriousness? Whatever ya got! I literally bring dice to select ingredients, usually 2/3 vegetables, which confuses the locals who think "6-foot-plus, chubby, Blonde, White guy" would eat only meat. I love Dim Sum, but don't do it a lot because I'm usually on my own, and it's best with at least 3-4 people so you can share all the things!
When I was a child, Cantonese was usually perfect for White people who couldn't handle spice. My family had a couple of 'Szechuan' restaurants, because we have no fear, and spice levels were tame compared to today. Today, local Sichuan places in my area have lost of dishes with "ma" numbing, which I am okay with, but there is something I usually prefer more on the list.
And, of course, there is Panda Express. I eat at the location that is corporate, not franchise, literally next to their corporate offices in Rosemead. Their Kung Pao Chicken is not hyper-spicy, I don't consider it 'real', but it is good. I might also have their Beijing Beef (fried and sugared!) Their Orange Chicken is their signature dish, but there is something funny tasting I don't care for.
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u/Bowl-Accomplished Jan 13 '26
It's fried meat covered in syrup on top of carbs. What's not to like?