Chow Chop Suey

Food and the Chinese American Journey

Nonfiction, Food & Drink, International, Asian, Chinese, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Emigration & Immigration, Ethnic Studies
Cover of the book Chow Chop Suey by Anne Mendelson, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Anne Mendelson ISBN: 9780231541299
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: November 29, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Anne Mendelson
ISBN: 9780231541299
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: November 29, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Chinese food first became popular in America under the shadow of violence against Chinese aliens, a despised racial minority ineligible for United States citizenship. The founding of late-nineteenth-century "chop suey" restaurants that pitched an altered version of Cantonese cuisine to white patrons despite a virulently anti-Chinese climate is one of several pivotal events in Anne Mendelson's thoughtful history of American Chinese food. Chow Chop Suey uses cooking to trace different stages of the Chinese community's footing in the larger white society.

Mendelson begins with the arrival of men from the poorest district of Canton Province during the Gold Rush. She describes the formation of American Chinatowns and examines the curious racial dynamic underlying the purposeful invention of hybridized Chinese American food, historically prepared by Cantonese-descended cooks for whites incapable of grasping Chinese culinary principles. Mendelson then follows the eventual abolition of anti-Chinese immigration laws and the many demographic changes that transformed the face of Chinese cooking in America during and after the Cold War. Mendelson concludes with the post-1965 arrival of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and many regions of mainland China. As she shows, they have immeasurably enriched Chinese cooking in America but tend to form comparatively self-sufficient enclaves in which they, unlike their predecessors, are not dependent on cooking for a white clientele.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Chinese food first became popular in America under the shadow of violence against Chinese aliens, a despised racial minority ineligible for United States citizenship. The founding of late-nineteenth-century "chop suey" restaurants that pitched an altered version of Cantonese cuisine to white patrons despite a virulently anti-Chinese climate is one of several pivotal events in Anne Mendelson's thoughtful history of American Chinese food. Chow Chop Suey uses cooking to trace different stages of the Chinese community's footing in the larger white society.

Mendelson begins with the arrival of men from the poorest district of Canton Province during the Gold Rush. She describes the formation of American Chinatowns and examines the curious racial dynamic underlying the purposeful invention of hybridized Chinese American food, historically prepared by Cantonese-descended cooks for whites incapable of grasping Chinese culinary principles. Mendelson then follows the eventual abolition of anti-Chinese immigration laws and the many demographic changes that transformed the face of Chinese cooking in America during and after the Cold War. Mendelson concludes with the post-1965 arrival of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and many regions of mainland China. As she shows, they have immeasurably enriched Chinese cooking in America but tend to form comparatively self-sufficient enclaves in which they, unlike their predecessors, are not dependent on cooking for a white clientele.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Marked Men by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Chaos in the Liberal Order by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Cultivating Professional Resilience in Direct Practice by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Black Gods of the Asphalt by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Literature and Film in Cold War South Korea by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Film Violence by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Violent Peace by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book The Layers of Magazine Editing by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book No Place for Russia by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Cinéma Militant by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Social Work by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Mad for Foucault by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Law and Order by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Inside the Red Box by Anne Mendelson
Cover of the book Creating a Learning Society by Anne Mendelson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy