Jason Ross

Globalization of Chinese Food

*One dominating feature of traditional Chinese cooking is the lack of any one defined archetype. In the past, Chinese food types varied widely based not only upon geography location, but also social stratification. Chinese gourmets used to argue (we have recorded works on the subject) whether Chinese cooking could be grouped into 2, 4, 6, or 8 different groups. However, in the modern era migration, communication improvements and food storage methods have smeared the once-defined designations.

While this culinary flexibility is a ‘soft’ fact, derived from historical observation, two historical explanations exist.

1) China has had a long tradition of regarding foreign or exotic ingredients as most highly refined, desirable, and sought after, thus reinventing itself whenever new foods became available. Two examples are:

*Trepang, or sea cucumbers. Highly sought after for nourishment and medicinal qualities, not for taste. By middle 19^th century China was importing a large amount of Trepang from all parts of southern Asia to satisfy the national demand.

*“Bird Nests”. Made of the dried saliva of the swiflet species found exclusively on one side of one small island (Sabah) in Indonesian chain. As early as the Tang period (618-907) these nests became sought after precisely for their exotic nature and extreme rarity. However, by the Ming (1368-1644) the nests became accredited with a ‘cure all’ ability. From clearing the body of toxins to an aphrodisiac, bird’s nests could do it. The importance of bird nests continues to this day.

2) Because China has always placed such a high regard on such a universally appealing good, the supply of exotic and foreign foods was never seriously questioned, even during periods of extreme nationalism. In times when all imports of foreign goods became frowned upon (Song dynasty and Mao era) the supply of food was never questioned, only the quality was important.

Turning to the modern era and Globalization

*In the modern era, Chinese food has been ‘globalized’ for nearly a century, reaching almost every corner of the world. However, it has not followed current theories of global proliferation that describe globalization (food or otherwise) as flowing outwards, fueled by financial backing from the center. Instead, Chinese cooking, especially in restaurants, has moved to new areas (pushed mostly by immigration) and reinvented itself, based upon local food tastes, ingredients and taboos. This is the core concept in global Chinese food; it changes based upon time, place, local tastes and local ingredients. Interestingly, while this food is undergoing a creative process, dishes often become ‘standardized’ to a specific region. A good example is the Western invention of fortune cookies. While several competing stories explain their precise origins, they are an agreed upon early 20^th century Californian creation, accredited to Americanized moon cakes.

*In tracing the diaspora of Chinese cooking the critical concept is patterns and periods of immigration. Data is not currently available on all areas of Chinese immigration as linked to food, but in Australia, Hawaii and the continental United States three principle periods of generalized immigration, and thus food reinvention, exist.

1) 19^th Century Cantonese peasants. During this period, few job possibilities existed and opening, or working at, a Chinese restaurant was a good option. ‘Chop suey,’ (a mixed plate of ‘Chinese’ food) was created from the synthesis of peasant cuisine and local tastes.

-WWII created a new wave of global migration.-

2) 1960-1970’s. New Chinese immigrants came primarily from central and northern China. New cooking styles, preparation, and ingredients were introduced, including a widening of cooking processes, such as ‘prep cooks’ who prepare simple tasks while learning the more complex cooking techniques. In many places chop suey was reduced to 2^nd and 3^rd rate food, characterized by heavy oils, salt, and MSG.

3) 1980-current. Higher levels of education and expected income, from a wider range of the Chinese population, including Hong Kong, are leading to more expensive, higher quality restaurants capable of providing incomes equivalent to white collar jobs. This is the current trend in new global Chinese eating establishments, but is still inventing itself.