In 1922, two college classmates in Detroit — a Korean immigrant named Ilhan New and an American named Wally Smith — founded La Choy, a company that mass-produced Chinese food products. One hundred years later, to Chinese Americans the brand is “synonymous with cultural inauthenticity, even appropriation.” But, as Cathy Erway explores for Taste, the […]
Chinese food
American Pie
On a decade-old family ritual, in which a Chinese woman and her visiting Chinese-American granddaughter make a pilgrimage to Pizza Hut to share a Hawaiian pizza.
Some Like It Hot
The history of the chili pepper is entwined with the history of Chinese Communism and the fiery temperament of the Sichuanese people, but why?
An Ode to Sichuan’s Singular Sensation
The king of peppercorns is literally electric.
Where the Peppers Grow
Sichuan peppercorns are famous for their citrusy, mouth-numbing heat — and for being one of the hardest-to-find spices in the U.S.
Roast Duck Soup for the Chinese-American Daughter’s Soul
Food writer Su-Jit Lin contemplates the role of a favorite dish in her relationship with her immigrant chef father.
American Media is Still Getting Chinese Food All Wrong
Chinese writers can bring a lot more to the table when it comes to writing about Chinese food.
What We Eat When We’re Eating at Christmastime: A Reading List
It’s always the same: a morning arrives in November, and my friend, as though officially inaugurating the Christmas time of year that exhilarates her imagination and fuels the blaze of her heart, announces: “It’s fruitcake weather! Fetch our buggy. Help me find my hat.” “A Christmas Memory,” Truman Capote ’Tis the season! A time for awkwardly posed […]
Chongqing’s Number One Noodle Obsessive
A story about a food writer, his guide, and bowl upon bowl of spicy Sichuanese noodles.
Chongqing’s Number One Noodle Obsessive
A story about a food writer, his guide, and bowl upon bowl of spicy Sichuanese noodles.