Project (by) 8pm – 03/31/2009
Ahhh Chinese takeout. One of the unsung kings of American comfort food. No really. It’s about as American as apple pie or the mac & cheese. And it’s fantastic.
It really is amazing that a twist on dishes from not Western Europe or South America or even Eastern Europe where the majority of Americans hail from can rise up in popularity and ubiquitousness as much as Chinese takeout. Forget the awesome display that the Chinese gave us at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony as proof of the Chinese’s discipline and hard work. Just look at all of the small tiny Chinese takeout joints that are littered throughout the continental United States. All are independently owned and run. All are usually run by a single family. Yet they are all pretty much the same…with pretty much the same menu and pretty much the same system. And with seeming 100x more variety than a McDonalds.
We take it for granted but if you think abuot it it’s quite amazing. This is a pretty racially divided country. Not only that but it is also geographically divided as well. Northerners don’t know much about true Southern cooking. Even in the South some people know about creole cooking while some have no idea and no interest. There are battles over which type of BBQ, dry rub, vinegar based, sweet, sticky, spicy, etc… is better than others. Even pizza has variations including NY style, Chicago deep dish, and even St. Louis style. And people love some and not others. Grits? Most northerners will say no thank you. Raw oysters? Many in the midwest will be disgusted. But Chinese takeout? For all intents and purposes it is universally loved. The sticky sweet and sour chicken. The slightly spicy General Tso’s chicken. The greasy yet tasty pork lo mein. Gravy slathered egg foo young. Hell, even the faux Peking duck! Some of the most vocal of racists will rant and rave about hating every other race than the white race will then, sit down for a nice box of chicken fried rice. Can you imagine the KKK eating crab rangoon? I can.
And all done by small groups of families and workers. No giant corporation like the fast food giants. No overseeing organization. Just typically a Chinatown bus from NYC carrying chefs with questionable legal status to places all over this country. The news rants and raves about the latino immigrants. But the Chinese? They have managed to both integrate into our society and also at the same time, disappear. Not even become a concern. Whenever we move to a new community, we EXPECT a Chinese takeout to be there. No small feat there! Yet most of us won’t give them or this concept a second thought.
Now…to give credit where it’s due. Many of my points here are also covered by a really good book called “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventuers in the World of Chinese Food” by Jennifer 8 Lee. It’s a quick read but entertaining and sometimes even eye opening and touching. She goes from trying to find the origins of the fortune cookie (it’s Japanese!) to the behind the scenes of Chinese takeout. It’s good! Go read it!!
In the meantime I will let this digest… As good as it is…you know what it’s missing? MSG. MSG makes everything taste good. And the MSG headache? Never proven. Hell…my mom used MSG FOREVER and I’m still ok. You can still buy it by the pound in Japan and elsewhere. You all have no idea what you’re missing out on. Chinese takeout tastes good now? It’ll be better with just a bit of MSG :) :) :)
