Americanized Chinese food usually consists of a main meat, with side dishes such as rice or noodles with vegetables. In reality, the opposite is true with authentic Chinese dishes, which use ingredients such as vegetables, rice, noodles and soy more often. Grab a bite of Shrimp Shumai in Shanghai and you'll be surprised by a taste that's completely different from the bittersweet dish you're used to. Chinese-American food tends to take on sweeter, heavier tones (does anyone want bittersweet pork?) than traditional Chinese food, such as pào mo (also known as lamb stew), which opts for lighter and tastier flavors.
Chinese American food tends toward sweetness and heavier flavors, while authentic Chinese food tends to be lighter and tastier. In addition, the use of vegetables is more intense in authentic Chinese food, while meat takes precedence in Chinese American food. They also have their own unique dishes. While neither method is revolutionary, since they have existed for a long time around the world, they are rarely seen in Chinese American food.
Their foods include many things unusual in the West, such as different types of mushrooms, different types of sea vegetables, dogs, turtles, frogs, insects, exotic marine animals, snakes, bok choi, bamboo shoots, bitter melon, giant white radishes, lotus pods, tofu and mung beans. When I was a child, I took for granted the food served in American and Chinese restaurants, naively believing that the bittersweet pork in front of me was an impeccable replica of a dish prepared on the mainland. In fact, you probably won't find anyone from China who remembers their home because of the common dishes found in American Chinese restaurants. Traditional customs required that people not eat fresh raw vegetables, such as fresh Western salad, because farmers used human and animal waste to fertilize fields, so cooking food prevented diseases.
An important category of food in authentic Chinese food that doesn't exist in Chinese American food is medicinal food. While fish is meat, it deserves special mention because it's one of the things you won't see as much in Chinese American food. The Chinese wouldn't understand the appeal of crab rangoon, fried wontons filled with fake crab meat and cream cheese. However, apricots are uncommon in China, which means that they are quite far from authentic Chinese inspiration.
While these cooking methods are trademarks of Chinese-American cuisine, traditional Chinese dishes are prepared in a variety of ways. The difference between the two is quite remarkable, which gives the two cuisines of common origin a number of differences. In fact, tofu is often used to improve the amount of protein in a dish, while there is no danger that Chinese American food will lack protein. While the basic elements of the dish in both kitchens are the same, consisting of rice from the day before, soy sauce and other condiments, there are several things that make the Chinese American version stand out as different.
The enormous differences in every part of the kitchen, from the general flavor profile to the ingredients used and the way they are prepared, have resulted in very different dishes. Hong Kong is famous for its noodle soups, and shrimp meatball soup is far superior to the American version.
