Chinatowns are enclaves where Chinese people congregate. Ubiquitous around the world, these communities of cuisine and culture have since embraced other Asian cultures.
A few years ago, when I was in Berlin, I noted the lack of specific neighbourhoods i.e. no Chinatown! save for the area that is predominantly Turkish. My German friend replied: "Here people are spread out not like in North America where you have ghettos." Well, she did have a point, I suppose.
Thing is, I find Chinatowns comforting. Everywhere I have travelled, I have managed to find a kind of Chinatown – London, Montreal, Paris, Naples, Sao Paulo etc…
Most of these "ghettos" had their start in the early 1800s, when the Chinese government opened up borders and allowed the movement of migrants all over the world (of course, there has been Chinese trade and migration prior to that). Specifically, the Cantonese, the Hokkien, the Teochew and Hakka peoples were the most active – settling in places such as North and South America, Australia and even Cuba.
Most of these communities were bachelor societies as many states forbid these migrant workers to import their wives or children. Of course, this has changed. Eventually, Chinese migrants headed to Africa, India (Calcutta and Bombay), Korea, the Caribbean, England and then, Europe.
Some of the earliest Chinatowns are located in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Manila and Nagasaki in Japan.
CHOPSTICKS IN NORTH AMERICA
The most notable Chinatowns in North America include the ones in New York, Chicago, San Francisco – due to the gold rush in the mid-1800s --, Vancouver, B.C. and Toronto (which has about five Chinatowns now).
Anyone living in the U.S. or Canada can attest to the long history of Chinese-Canadian or American-Chinese cuisine.
Key to this type of cuisine are the dishes of chow mein, chicken balls, egg foo young, chop suey and General Tao's Chicken, It's at this point that I have to say, I had no idea what these dishes were until I arrived in Canada back in the mid-1970s.
Chow Mein: A stir-fried dish of meats, cabbage, yellow noodles, celery, bamboo shoots and soy sauce. Other versions may contain Chinese BBQ pork, bok choy, shrimp and bean sprouts.
Chop Suey: Chicken, Beef, Shrimp or Pork is fried up with bean sprouts, cabbage and celery in a thick, clear sauce. Thought to have originated in Taishan province in China but some experts say it was created by Chinese cooks working on the U.S. railway in the 19th Century.
Chicken Balls: Deep-fried balls of chicken meat, often the size of golf balls, served with a gooey, sweet red sauce. Nuff said.
Egg Foo Young: Essentially an omelette of various veggies (such as bean sprouts, water chestnuts) that is sometimes blended with shredded chicken, shrimp or bits of roast pork.
General Tso's/Tsao's Chicken: Dark chicken meat deep-fried and seasoned with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, spring onions and chilis often served with broccoli. Its origins remain a mystery.
Of course, I haven't even touched upon egg rolls, lemon chicken, egg drop soup or fried rice – all pretty much self-explanatory.
CHICKEN WITH CASHEWS - MISSOURI ORIGINS!
I did find an interesting background though to Cashew Chicken.
This dish as apparently first served in 1973 at Leong's Tea House in Springfield, Missouri. The owner wanted to marry his Chinese dishes with the local palate and came up with a combo of fried chicken – using peanut oil - covered in oyster sauce and fried with cashews and scallions. The restaurant closed in 1997.
Go ahead and attempt this great recipe for Spicy, Garlicky Cashew Chicken from the New York Times.
