In article >,
says...
>
> On 2/10/2014 5:14 PM, sf wrote:
> > There is Chinese food and then there is Americanized Chinese food.
> > Both can be delicious, but it's always good to know the difference
> > between the two.
> > http://dc.eater.com/archives/2011/10...e-dont-eat.php
> >
> > 1) Crab Wontons: These deep-fried dumplings filled with crabmeat and
> > cream cheese are popular...but nobody eats cheese in China. We're all
> > lactose intolerant. But we do like to curdle other things, like
> > fermented bean paste and duck blood.
> >
> >
> > 2) General Tso's Chicken: Come on, this guy was too busy warding off
> > rebellions to be cooking. This recipe is strictly American?chunks of
> > chicken battered, fried and sweetened for Western tastes. No one in
> > Hunan had even heard of this before 1970.
> >
> >
> > 3) Chop Suey: Ah yes, the garbage disposal of the omelet world.
> > Refrigerator scraps stir-fried and topped with an egg. It is said that
> > some Chinese cook working during the Gold Rush served it as a personal
> > "**** you" to some drunk American miners.
> >
> >
> >
> > 4) Pu Pu Platter: Everything about this appetizer is an affront to
> > poor people. It's nothing but fried, greasy egg rolls, spare ribs,
> > chicken wings and beef teriyaki?which isn't even Chinese!
> >
> >
> > 5) Sweet 'n' Sour Pork: Chunks of pork, battered, deep-fried and
> > slimed in a thick orange sauce. There are obvious Southern barbecue
> > influences here.
> >
> >
> > 6) Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken: same treatment, but it's all white meat
> > because somehow that makes it better. With pieces of pineapple to
> > assuage your guilt.
> >
> >
> > 7) Salad: We cook our food. When dysentery is a concern, you would
> > too.
> >
> >
> > 8) Egg Rolls: Does anyone eat these? These thick-skinned, blistered
> > rolls that look like Linda Blair's face in The Exorcist are nothing
> > like the real Chinese spring rolls, which are smaller, thin and
> > crispy?and edible.
> >
> >
> > 9) Beef and broccoli: There's really nothing wrong with this dish,
> > except that we don't have Western broccoli in the East.
> >
> >
> > 10) Fortune cookies: Another ploy to amuse Westerners, these
> > flag-bearers of fortune don't even tell you good news anymore, only
> > your closely guarded shortcomings. Chinese people eat something more
> > fortuitous for dessert: oranges. They're good luck.
>
> Mostly pretty correct but rather old news. There is so-called Chinese
> Broccoli but I like it as little as regular. *Very many* Chinese but not
> all are lactose intolerant. I know Fortune Cookies were probably
> invented in San Francisco but they are fun anyway. The chicken was named
> *for* General Tso; nobody thinks he was a cook.

And btw, if you're ever in Providence, RI I strongly recommend Phoenix
Dragon Restaurant on Broadway. It's Asian fusion but they really throw
down on all their food.