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What could symbolize
Chinese cooking more than chop suey and chow mein?
Even people who steer away from more exotic Asian
fare have enjoyed these two dishes at one time or
another.
Of the two, chow mein
is considered to represent authentic Chinese
cuisine. By contrast, chop suey is generally
considered to be an American creation, possibly
invented in the mid-1800's by one of the Cantonese
immigrants who flooded California searching for
work. Constrained by the lack of Asian vegetables,
and trying to produce a Chinese dish palatable to
westerners, a cook stir-fried whatever vegetables
were handy, added some meat or chicken, and served
the finished product on a plate of steamed rice. He
christened his creation, chop suey, which is the
English pronunciation of the Cantonese words "tsap
seui" ("tsa-sui" in Mandarin) which means "mixed
pieces".
A variation of the
story credits a Japanese chef with inventing chop
suey in an effort to appease a visiting general. As
it was too late in the evening to prepare a proper
meal, the chef simply threw together some leftovers
and chop suey was born. In this version the dish was
originally called Lee Gone Chop Suey, named after
General Lee Hon Chung, the man who inspired its
creation.
Entertaining as these
stories are, the origins of chop suey may actually
lie in the countryside of southern China. According
to anthropologist E.N. Anderson, the idea of
combining leftover vegetables and noodles into a
single, stir-fried dish originated in Toisan, a
rural area south of Canton. Since many of the
original immigrants to the United States were from
this region, they naturally prepared the type of
food they were familiar with.
The historical
background of chow mein is far less mysterious. Ciao
Mein or "fried noodles" originated in Northern
China. While the chow mein served at take-outs and
many American Chinese restaurants is designed to
appeal to western tastes, it is based on an
authentic Chinese dish. Until recently, our
perceptions of Chinese food were based on early
Chinese immigrants, who came primarily from the
Canton
(Guangzhou) region in southern China.
Since they ate rice, we assumed all Chinese eat
rice. However, wheat and not rice is the staple crop
in the north. So, in a way you can say that chop
suey and chow mein represent northern and southern
styles of Chinese cooking.
In
the Kitchen
Besides being easy to
make, both these dishes are very adaptable. Like all
Chinese food, what makes chop suey and chow mein
memorable is not the specific ingredients so much as
the balance between grains and vegetables. I often
make them when I want to clean out the refrigerator
before the vegetables go stale.
While it's preferable
to have a wok, both these dishes can be made in the
frying pan. I've included several recipes to give
you an idea of how much flexibility you have in
deciding precisely what goes into each dish.
According to Epicurious, properly made chop suey and
chow mein both contain some type of meat and a
combination of
water chestnuts, bean sprouts,
bamboo shoots, and onions. You can certainly
stick to these ingredients if you desire, but don't
let the lack of them stop you from enjoying either
dish. The recipes in the linkbox to the right
employ a variety of meats and vegetables - I've even
included a chow mein recipe made with bean sprouts
and tuna. And don't be afraid to make
substitutions if you don't have all the ingredients
called for in a particular recipe. One final tip:
don't make both dishes on the same night - you'll be
eating leftovers for the next week!
Get ready to cook
Chinese food? Get
Nicholas Zhou's Chinese cookbook
"Real & Healthy
Chinese Cooking".
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