A taste of China that's uniquely American

Thought you all might enjoy this article from the International Herald Tribune: 

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/12/america/cashew.php

One of our closest friends and his wife who had always lived in Springfield, MO have told us about this dish many times.  They say it is the food that they miss the most from that area.

What a delightful article. 
 
I will have to make a point of trying this dish when and if I'm ever back in Springfield (it's been at least 30 years).  It sounds great.
 
I'd love to know what it is about Missouri that prompts these unusual takes on Chinese-American cuisine.   Like this version of icashew chicken, and like the St. Paul sandwich  (egg foo young patty on white bread with mayonnaise), which I believe originated in St. Louis.

very similar to a popular dish served at chinese/american restaurants here in seattle, almond fried chicken, with cashews instead of almonds. the only other difference is that in almond fried chicken, the chicken breasts are battered and deep-fried whole (usually pounded to 1/4" or so..), then sliced diagonally before being topped with brown sauce and chopped or ground almonds and sometimes, chopped scallions/green onions..  the sauce is the same, chicken stock with soy and oyster sauce. the same sauce is also used for egg foo young, but i've never seen an egg foo young sandwich anywhere.... it sounds rather tasty really :)

I cant read the article. What is the name of this dish.

High Springs Gator


I cant read the article. What is the name of this dish.

I may be wrong, but I think this is the article that was moved from the International Herald Tribune URL above:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dining/11cashew.html

Well that's certainly different. Most of the cashew chicken I have eaten around San Antonio , the sauce seems the same, but the chicken isn't deepfried in a batter.
We also don't have egg fu yung sandwiches or chowmein sandwiches here either.Emiril Legasse had that on one of his shows when he was talking about a place in his home town in New England.
 I guess you can deep fry anything. Also, never heard of peanut butter in eggrolls,which was also mentioned in the article.
I just like my chinese food to be more tradtional i guess.
 

what does traditional mean, as far as Chinese-American food goes?

bill voss


what does traditional mean, as far as Chinese-American food goes?

Fortune Cookie Chronicles is a pretty good book that delves into that very question.

Chinese-American food used to be good. Today it is re-heated crap! Served out of buckets. How can a place serve 72 different Combination plates with 1 cook. Its always soggy so you know it came from frozen. Tastes exactly the same no matter where you buy it. Real places do not even serve these dishes anymore like Almond Chicken, Cashew Chicken, General TSO etc. Back when they were made fresh and each location had there own spin. Hot and Sour soup and Egg Drop fall into the same catagorie...Russ

EatingTheRoad

bill voss


what does traditional mean, as far as Chinese-American food goes?

Fortune Cookie Chronicles is a pretty good book that delves into that very question.

IN BED...Russ

We have lots of Asians in Oregon. I would disagree with your assessment, at least on the West Coast.

There are some other threads on the topic of "old-style" Chinese-American food.  I agree it is harder to find than it used to be, but I disagree that it has disappeared.
 
Just to name a few places that still serve it:  Dragon House in Columbia Heights, Minnesota (my current local source -- I just ate there Saturday, and had superb egg rolls with their homemade sweet-and-sour sauce, cantonese boneless chicken, and vegetable chow mein with very fine, crunchy noodles); Orange Garden in Chicago (where they serve a most unusual sweet and sour egg foo young, fabulous egg rolls, and black mushroom chicken chow mein, among many other terrific "traditional" Chinese-American dishes); and Lotus Garden in Greenwood, Indiana (which still has a tiki-style bar and serves rumaki!).  All these places are family-owned and run, and have been, for at least three generations.
 
When I was a kid growing up in Indianapolis, Jong Mea was one of our favorites.  There was a branch of Jong Mea in Columbus, Ohio.  Both are now long gone.   

There is alot of authentic Chinese in Columbus. However they do not serve the Chinese-American Classics. I would love a Almond Chicken made out of real fresh chicken breast covered in that great batter that just holds on to the chicken. Not too greasy sliced on a diagonal with those top quality almond slices. Warm site made sweet and sour sauce. Hand rolled spring roll(when you bite it the different layers seperate instead of sticking together). Hot mustard so hot that it clears your head and sinuses. Instead of a packet. Crunchy Chow Mein Noodles for the appetizer. Maybe some candy coated colored almonds in a dish on the way out.

we've got all that, plus west coast Pink Sauce, a thousand island like diping sauce.

Rod Bangkok, are you an adult movie performer in Thailand?

You weren't in the movie "Thai Me Up, Thai Me Down", were you?