Foodscapes of Chinese America : the transformation of Chinese culinary culture in the U.S. since 1965 / Xiaohui Liu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Liu, Xiaohui, 1985- author.

Contributor:

Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese Americans--Food--History.

Chinese Americans.

Food habits--Social aspects--United States.

Food habits.

Chinese Americans--Ethnic identity.

Chinese Americans--Food.

Food habits--Social aspects.

History.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

238 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Peter Lang, [2016]

Summary:

This book explores the transformation of Chinese food in the U.S. after 1965 from a cultural perspective. The author asks how Chinese food reflects the racial relation between the Chinese community and the mainstream white society and investigates the symbolic meanings as well as the cultural functions of Chinese food in America. She argues that food is not only a symbol that mirrors social relations, but also an agent which causes social and cultural change. A particular geographic focus of this book is California. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction 15

Chapter 2 The Era of Chop Suey - the Early Evolution of Chinese American Food 33

Chapter 3 The Transformation of Chinese American Foodscapes 55

3.1 Culinary Diversification - The Chinese Restaurant Revolution 55

3.1.1 The Coming of the Culinary Diasporas - Change of Restaurant Operators/Chefs 67

3.1.2 How New Cuisines were Introduced - Menus and Other Translation Strategies 79

3.1.3 There was More Than One Cuisine - From Standardized Cantonese American Fare to Diversified Regional Cuisines 93

a The Charms of Hong Kong Cuisine and Its Cultural Identity 94

b The Awakening of the American Palate - America's Love Affair with Spicy Szechuan and Hunan Cuisine 104

3.2 Americanized Panda - The Rise of Chinese Fast Food Chains 114

3.3 Chinese Food and Chineseness in the New Era 142

Chapter 4 Culinary Culture in Metropolitan California 157

4.1 Serving Outsiders: Restaurants for Non-Chinese 160

4.1.1 Chinese Cuisine and Californian Taste - Cultural Adaptations and Negotiations 161

4.1.2 Representing and Reconstructing a New Ethnicity through Restaurant Decor 172

4.2 Serving Insiders: Restaurants for the Chinese Community 182

4.2.1 Features and Cultural Functions 182

4.2.2 Non-Chinese Customers - Authenticity and Foodie Culture 193

4.3 Cross-over Consumption - The Birth of a Transethnic Cuisine and Cosmopolitan Identity 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

9783631671009

3631671008

OCLC:

933218978

Publisher Number:

99967012398