① Mother: Do they really all use chopsticks out there?
Me: Yes.
Mother: But it’s just in the restaurants though innit, like 'ere?
Me: No mum, they use them in their homes, too.
② A waitress at a restaurant in China doesn’t understand why foreigners always order sweet and sour chicken.
③ A Chinese cook was denied Canadian visa for not being able to cook sweet and sour pork, a dish commonly served at Chinese restaurants worldwide. 「She didn’t mention green pepper, onion or eggs as ingredients,」 said the visa officer.
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There are many myths regarding Chinese food. Most of these misconceptions come from the dishes people have been exposed to in their home countries.
For expats who have lived here for some time, these are a nice reminder of your first months as you began to explore this exotic nation…
Misconception: Stinky tofu is disgusting
Perhaps you still think so like many Chinese people do.
Misconception: All Chinese people eat insects, organs and pig blood.
Some Chinese people don’t eat organs for cholesterol concerns. Most people in fact find insects disgusting. You may agree that Chinese people like chicken feet more than organs, insects and animal blood.
Misconception: It’s all rice and noodles and no bread.
Misconception: Dog and cat will be on the menu.
You may find restaurants that serve dog or cat meat, but they don’t appear on very menu. And most Chinese people don’t accept the idea of eating domesticated animals.
More restaurants here specialize in snake, bull frog, rabbit head, duck head, and duck tongue than dogs.
Misconception: Ingredients + soy sauce = Chinese food
It’s regarded as grandma’s special sauce. You can add soy sauce to anything and it turns Chinese?
Soy sauce (jiàng yóu) may be Chinese people’s flavor-enhancer of choice, but the golden rule is this: The more fresh the ingredients are, the less sauce is needed. In the past, soy sauce was used to cover unpleasant flavors, such as smells of fish and shrimp.
And it’s not always soy sauce in it when the dish looks brown. Sometimes it’s oyster juice (háo yóu); sometimes it’s fish sauce (yú lù).
Misconception: Chinese dining etiquette is strict
Don’t take the last piece of food on the plate unless it’s offered by the host, or they will hate you forever. Relax! Chinese diners aren’t the food police. Most Chinese people don’t remember all the dining etiquette, either.
Misconception: Fortune cookies come from China
Some of what Westerners consider 「Chinese food」 is pretty much non-existent in China. Fortune cookies are one example.
A few days into your arrival in China, you may find that the Chinese people don’t eat fortune cookies. Most authentic Chinese restaurants in China don’t even HAVE fortune cookies. Many have never seen any fortune cookie if they stay in China their entire life.
Fortune cookies are not Chinese thing. They were said to be invented in the United States.
Misconception: Egg rolls are Chinese food
The thick hard-shelled egg rolls are strictly not spring rolls that you will find in China. Spring rolls are much more delicate and light, while western egg rolls are much more like deep-fried dough stuffed with lettuce and tiny shrimp.
Misconception: Egg Foo Young and Chop Suey originate in China
No, they weren’t. They were Chinese-American inventions like fortune cookies were.
Foo Young sounds like fú róng which means egg white. And Chop Suey sounds like zá suì meaning food scraps.
Misconception: Broccoli is Chinese vegetable
In the States, Broccoli seems to find its way into every stir-fry dish. There are dishes named after broccoli, like 「Beef and Broccoli」 or 「Shrimp and Broccoli.」
The funny thing is, broccoli in mandarin Chinese is called 「Western orchid (xī lán huā),」 indicating it’s a Western produce.
Misconception: THAT take-out box
Take-out boxes you’re given at Chinese restaurants overseas come with a thin handle, and are generally adorable.
However, you never see those boxes in China. Instead, restaurants usually put leftovers in paper boxes.
Misconception: P.F. Chang’s also have branches in China
There are over 200 locations of P.F. Chang’s in the United States, but there is no P.F. Chang’s in China.
It’s actually a funny experience for a Chinese person who visited P.F. Chang’s for the first time, and see an Indian waiter serving Chinese dishes.
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