Not Quite Made in China Trivia Quiz

Answer: noodles

What the Western world (in particular the US and Australia) refers to as "Chinese" food is actually Cantonese food. Other regional Chinese food is known by the name of its particular region, such as Shanghainese. These Cantonese foods were introduced by Chinese emigrants from the Cantonese regions to the gold rushes in Australia and California. Over time many of these dishes have been adapted to local tastes and, in many cases, the original Chinese meaning has become lost, or at least diluted.

"Lo mien" (also spelled "mein") is Cantonese for "stirred noodles". The noodles are usually egg noodles. The original dish is served with vegetables, and sometimes with protein such as prawn, chicken, or pork. It is a variation of noodle soup with the soup served as a side dish. In the US, lo mien is a popular dish, but is different to its original dish and is sometimes served in what was originally "chow mien" in Canton. In the American version of lo mien the noodles are stir fried with a thin sauce based on soy sauce. Wontons or beef brisket are sometimes added, neither of which are featured in the original Cantonese recipe. A variation called "house lo mien" contains more than one type of meat (like the dish shown in the photo).

Chow mien - from the Cantonese "chaomin" - means stir-fried noodles. The original dish in China consists of stir-fried noodles, vegetables, and, at times, meat or tofu. In the US it is a stir-fried dish of noodles, meat or shrimp, onions and celery; sometimes the dish is served "strained", meaning without the vegetables. Tofu is often offered as a "vegetarian option". There are regional differences in the US: on the East Coast, the noodles are always crispy, and the dish is served with a thick brown sauce, while on the West Coast the noodles are steamed (and therefore soft) with a thin soy sauce.

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Answer: fork-roasted

Char siu is a form of "siu mei", a Cantonese term for meats roasted on a spit over a wood fire, or in a wood-burning oven. A rich barbecue flavour develops in the cooking process, and a thick glaze or sauce, usually sweet like honey, coats the meat before roasting. Five-spice powder is the main seasoning. The characteristic red colour evolves from the red yeast rice traditionally used, though red food colouring is often used contemporaneously. Pork is the main form of this cookery style, usually made from pork loin or belly. It is eaten with rice, or served in a Chinese bun.

In the US, particularly Hawaii, other meats are cooked in the same char siu-style, either from scratch or using commercial spice mixture packets. The meat is cooked in a conventional oven; chicken prepared this way is just as popular as pork.

In Southeast Asia, the dish is served over rice and smothered in a sweet gravy. In Japan it is prepared by actually rolling the meat into a log shape, then seasoning it with soy sauce, sake or mirin, and sugar or sweetener and then braising the concoction. Five spice powder and red colouring are omitted.

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Answer: dumplings

The Chinese word "jiaozi" (possibly derived from "jiao", meaning "horn") refers to filled dumplings, whose distinctive crescent shape resembles the gold and silver ingots ("sycee" or "yuanbao") used as currency in Imperial China. A staple food in northern China, they are traditionally eaten for the Chinese New Year celebrations to bring prosperity. In Guangdong (Canton), where they are called "gaau ji", they are one of the essential components of Cantonese-style "dim sum". Jiaozi wrappers are made with a simple flour-and-water dough, filled with finely chopped meat, seafood, and vegetables. The dumplings are then steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried, and served with a dipping sauce; they can also be served with soup.

Japanese "gyoza" (a word clearly derived from "jiaozi") are characterized by thinner wrappers (generally machine-made) and a more pronounced garlic flavour; the filling is generally minced pork, though vegetarian versions also exist. Gyoza are often pan-fried until the skin becomes crispy on the flat side (as the photo shows), then finished by steaming, and served with a dipping sauce. Both wrappers and ready-filled dumplings can be bought in Japanese supermarkets. In the US, potstickers (a literal translation of the Chinese "guotie", a northern Chinese variant of jiaozi) are generally sold frozen; the most common filling is minced pork.

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Answer: tofu is a Japanese invention adopted by the Chinese

"Tofu", a word that English borrowed from Japanese, comes from the Chinese "doufu", which has the rather unappetizing meaning of "rotten beans". This rather polarizing foodstuff was first created in China during the Han Dynasty, over 2,000 years ago, and from there was introduced to Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, where it is widely used. One of the first mentions of tofu in the English language is found in two letters written by Benjamin Franklin in 1770.

Made by adding coagulants (salts, acids, or enzymes) to soybean milk, then pressing the resulting curds into blocks, tofu is available in a wide range of types, from very soft to extra-firm. Various forms of processed tofu also exist, one of which is the notorious "stinky tofu" - soft tofu that has been fermented in a vegetable and fish brine - a popular street food often sold deep-fried. Pickled, frozen, and freeze-dried tofu are also popular in China and Japan. In Myanmar, so-called Burmese tofu is made with chickpea flour; other ingredients used to make tofu-like products are peanut and almond milk, and sesame seed paste.

While in the West tofu is synonymous with vegan or vegetarian diets, in China and other Asian countries tofu-based dishes often contain meat, seafood, or both. The well-known Sichuan dish "mapo doufu", frequently featured on Chinese restaurant menus, consists of tofu cubes and minced meat (beef or pork) in a spicy red sauce of fermented broad bean and chili paste ("doubanjiang"). Taiwanese dish "yong tau foo" is tofu filled with minced meat or fish paste, then deep-fried, braised, or served in soup. The photo shows slices of fresh tofu served with a minced pork sauce.

LadyNym of the Phoenix Rising team, who actually likes tofu, concocted this question.

Answer: fried

In ancient China, wontons were a type of filled bread, which was known as "hun tun". There was little to distinguish wontons from dumplings at this time, but during the Tang Dynasty differentiation between jiaozi (dumplings) and wontons became apparent. Wontons have less filling than jiaozi and their wrappers are smaller (about 6x6cm/2.3x2.3 in). The filling is generally minced pork and/or shrimp, and seasonings - especially garlic and green onions. The dough is then wrapped around the filling in a globular or triangle shape, and then steamed or boiled. Sometimes the triangle shapes are called by another name, "guotie" (known as pot stickers in the West - these are pan-fried, not boiled). Wontons are served in soup, traditionally made from boiled shrimp shells, pork bones and dried flounder, but jiaozi are usually eaten by dipping the dumpling in a sauce.

Each region has its own variation of wonton, but the style that was exported to the Western world was the Cantonese version - which includes serving the wontons with thin noodles, with red vinegar added sometimes, and the soup on the side. In the US and Canada they are served in a soup, or fried with sauces such as duck, plum, sweet and sour sauce, or sometimes, hot mustard. Two American versions include fried wontons filled with a cream cheese and crab filling (called crab Rangoon, though it has no connection to Burma/Myanmar), and a version that dispenses with the minced pork/shrimp altogether, replacing it with cream cheese, green onions, soy sauce and garlic.

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Answer: Portuguese

"Congee" comes from the Tamil "kanji", meaning "boilings" - a reference to the water in which the rice is cooked. The word came into English from the Portuguese "canje" - as Tamil (a classical Dravidian language) is spoken in parts of the Indian subcontinent that were colonized by the Portuguese. In modern Portuguese, "canja" refers to a similar preparation - a soup of rice and chicken meat cooked in chicken broth. In China, where the dish was first documented in the first millennium BC, it is generally called "juk" in Cantonese or "zhou" in Mandarin, while "congee" is used in Hong Kong, and "porridge" in Singapore.

Congee is made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until it breaks down. The result is a soothing, easily digestible food that is often served to people in hospitals or nursing homes. It is generally eaten for breakfast or as a late supper, either plain or with various accompaniments and seasonings, which can be savoury or sweet; these side dishes include eggs (often preserved), meats, seafood, herbs, and pickled vegetables. Congee is frequently served with "youtiao", or Chinese crullers - lightly-salted, deep-fried strips of dough.

Congee can also be made with other grains than rice, and using milk or coconut milk as a cooking liquid. In Korea, where it is also called "juk", it is often made with beans, nuts or seeds instead of rice. In Southeast Asia, on the other hand, spices and assertive seasonings such as dried salted fish are often added. Eateries serving congee in its many variants can be found throughout East and Southeast Asia.

This question was simmered for a long time, then carefully dished out by Phoenix Rising team member LadyNym.

Answer: No

Raw vegetables of any kind are hardly ever eaten in China, so any salad dishes you will see on a restaurant menu are likely to be Western creations (such as the "Chinese chicken salad" in the photo) that include some East Asian ingredients, such as soy sauce or sesame oil, or crunchy, deep-fried noodles or wonton skins.

There are a number of reasons why the Chinese refrain from eating raw vegetables. Until the advent of refrigeration and higher focus on hygiene, raw vegetables were not safe to eat due to contamination from the "night soil" (animal and human waste) commonly used as a fertilizer. This is why, even in the few Chinese preparations that resemble Western salads, the vegetables are parboiled (lightly cooked) beforehand. In a small number of recipes (generally involving cucumbers) the vegetables are "cured" with salt - a method that, like parboiling, draws out moisture from the vegetables, leaving them somewhat limp rather than crisp and crunchy like their Western counterparts, though ready to absorb the tasty dressings.

Chinese cuisine features a number of cold dishes, "liang ban cai" (meaning "cold-stirred dishes"), which are traditionally served as appetizers. These dishes, however, put the emphasis on other ingredients than vegetables, such as noodles or chicken. Some popular cold-stirred dishes come from the southwestern Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, renowned for their hot and spicy cuisines.

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Answer: egg roll

Spring rolls can be traced back to China, when pancakes filled with fresh spring vegetables - especially cabbage - were eaten at the spring festival to celebrate the end of having to eat preserved foods through the winter. Pork is sometimes added; the pancake evolved into a pastry that is pan- or deep-fried. In Hong Kong they are a dim sum portion, and usually contain pork, grated carrot and bean sprouts, but always with a dipping sauce.

While there are many variations on the basic recipe around the world, they are always called spring rolls except in the US - though you may find them on the menu of "authentic" Chinese restaurants. In the US an egg roll is almost equivalent to a spring roll, and is found everywhere you find American-Chinese food. There is no egg in either the pastry or the filling, but "egg" sounds very close to the Chinese word for "spring". The recipe can be traced back to two Chinese restaurants in New York City in the early 1930s. While they contain similar ingredients to the spring roll, they did not, at first, contain cabbage.

Summer rolls, a Vietnamese speciality, are uncooked, with rice paper used as a wrapper. Chiko rolls are popular Australian savoury snacks, inspired by spring rolls.

This question was written into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member JAM6430.

Answer: Peru

In China and other Asian countries, fried rice is made with cooked rice stir-fried in a wok over high heat with other ingredients, which include eggs, meats, seafood, and vegetables. When made at home, it is a great way to use leftovers, especially day-old rice (which is believed to be the best choice for this dish); it is also widely sold as fast food. Like many other traditional Chinese dishes, fried rice has been around for many centuries, its first record dating from the Sui Dynasty (late 6th century-early 7th century AD).

There are probably as many versions of fried rice in East and Southeast Asia as there are cooks, as the dish lends itself to countless variations, and utilizes ingredients that most people have in their pantries. Regional varieties of Chinese fried rice include Hokkien fried rice (with a thick, stew-like sauce poured over fried rice with egg), and Yangzhou fried rice, characterized by the use of a combination of proteins (often pork, shrimp and chicken or duck). American-style fried rice almost always includes egg, and is often served with the American Chinese concoction known as "chop suey" (meat, eggs and vegetables in a starch-thickened sauce).

The Peruvian Chinese dish called "arroz chaufa" (from "chaofan", the Chinese name of fried rice) is probably the best-known example of "Chifa", a fusion of Cantonese cuisine and Peruvian ingredients and traditions. Arroz chaufa is fried in a wok, generally with dark soy sauce as a seasoning; sometimes quinoa or pearled wheat replace the rice. Though generally made with beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp, other kinds of meat - such as jerky, sausages, or hot dogs - can be added to the rice.

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Answer: broccoli

While cruciferous vegetables are frequently used in Chinese cuisine, broccoli is not one of them. In fact, the broccoli that is widely used in American Chinese dishes - such as the popular stir-fried beef or chicken with broccoli - is not native to China, but to the Mediterranean region.

That being said, there is a vegetable known as Chinese broccoli, or "gai lan", which is a cultivar of Brassica oleracea like broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower. This cultivar, named Alboglabra, has much larger leaves and much smaller florets than broccoli, and also a spicier, more bitter taste - reminiscent of the rapini, or broccoli rabe, used in Southern Italian cuisine. A hybrid of gai lan and broccoli is marketed in the US with the name of "broccolini". Gai lan is quite common in Chinese cuisine, and is often stir-fried with ginger and garlic, or boiled and served with oyster sauce.

Many of the vegetables used in Chinese cuisine are not widely known in the West, though these days they can be found relatively easily in Asian supermarkets. Chinese eggplant is slender, light purple-coloured, and thin-skinned - unlike the larger, dark purple American eggplant. The photo shows various vegetables and other ingredients ready to be used in a hotpot.

The broccoli-hating US President was George H.W. Bush, who frequently stated his deep-seated dislike of the vegetable.

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