Chow mein
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Chow mein
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| Traditional Chinese: | 炒麪 or 炒麵 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese: | 炒面 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning: | stir-fried noodles | ||||||||||||
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Chow mein (chao mian in Mandarin-speaking communities) is a generic Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles, of which there are many varieties. Chow mein is generally made of soft noodles, however Hong Kong-style chow mein is made from thin crispy noodles.[1]
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[edit] American Chinese cuisine
In American Chinese cuisine, it is a stir-fried dish consisting of noodles, meat (usually chicken, although beef, shrimp, or pork may also be used), and cabbage and other vegetables. It is often served as a specific dish at westernised Chinese restaurants with soy sauce and vegetables such as celery, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts.
Chow mein is mentioned as early as 1920, in the novel Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.[2]
There are two kinds of chow meins available in the market: 1) Steamed chow mein, and 2) Crispy chow mein, also known as Hong Kong style chow mein (see below). The steamed chow mein has a softer texture while crispy chow mein is crispier and dryer.
There is a regional difference in the US between the east and west coast use of the term "chow mein". What is known on the west coast as "chow mein" is known as "lo mein" on the east coast.[citation needed]
[edit] Canadian Chinese cuisine
Canadian westernized Chinese restaurants may offer up to three different types of chow mein, none of which are identical to American chow mein. Cantonese style chow mein contains deep-fried crunchy golden egg noodles, green peppers, pea pods, bok choy, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, shrimp, Chinese roast pork (char siu), chicken, and beef, and is served in a thick sauce. Plain chow mein is similar to Western chow mein but contains far more mung bean sprouts; some recipes may be up to one-half bean sprouts. Hong Kong style chow mein is similar to plain chow mein but is always served on a bed of deep-fried crunchy golden egg noodles.
[edit] Indian Chinese cuisine
Chow mein is also common in Indian Chinese cuisine, having been introduced by the Chinese of Calcutta. It is usually offered Hakka or with gravy. Catering to vegetarian diets, there is an Indian variant, vegetable chow mein, which consists of noodles with cabbage, bamboo shoots, pea pods, green peppers, and carrots. In the New Delhi area, chow mein can sometimes include paneer with the mixture of noodles and vegetables.
[edit] Caribbean style
Many West Indian people include chow mein in their cuisine, especially peoples from islands like Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica which include a significant ethnic Chinese population; much of the cooking has infused itself into the population in general. As well, in the South American country Guyana the culture and cuisine is similar to Trinidad's. These chow mein are cooked in a similar manner, with green beans, carrots, peas, onions and sometimes other vegetables. Meat used is mostly chicken and sometimes pork and/or shrimp. The main difference is that local spices are added, and the dish is often served with hot Scotch bonnet peppers and/or pepper sauce.
In Cuba, aside from the foreign owned tourist hotels which often serve Western-style Chinese food, local Chinese restaurants can be found in Havana that offer a distinct Cuban style.
[edit] Nepali style
Tibetans who settled in Nepal brought chow mein with them. Arguably it is the second most popular fast food of Nepal. The Newari people of the Kathmandu Valley use water buffalo meat in their cuisine, and chow mein in Nepali is often cooked with onion, vegetables and buff (water buffalo meat).
[edit] Etymology
The pronunciation "chow mein" comes from the Taishan dialect of Chinese, which was the dialect spoken by the first Chinese immigrants from Taishan to America. In Taishanese it is pronounced chau1 meing4 (IPA: [meɪŋ]). The character for "mein" is 麵, which means "noodles." The original Taishanese phoneme, ŋ, was dropped when adopted by English speakers, thus changing it from the original pronunciation, meɪŋ, to the Americanized pronunciation, meɪn.
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chow mein |
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
- Chinese noodles
- Mein gon (crunchy chow mein noodles)
- Chow mein sandwich
- Yakisoba
- Pancit
- Lo mein
- Chop suey (stir fried meat, bean sprouts, cabbage, celery)
