Author Description

Here is the authoritative history of the Amer. infatuation with Chinese food. In the Amer. West, Chinese immigrants drawn by the 1848 Gold Rush struggled against racism and culinary prejudice but still established restaurants and farms and imported an array of Asian ingredients. Coe traces the Chinese migration to the East Coast, highlighting that crucial moment when New York “Bohemians” discovered Chinese cuisine. Along the way, he shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-Amer. restaurants; unravels the truth of chop suey’s origins; reveals why Jewish Amer. fell in love with egg rolls and chow mein; and shows how Pres. Nixon’s 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new range of cuisine. Illustrations.