In 1946, one of the first companies to market "chow mein" in a can was Chun King. The creator of canned chow mein, who founded the food manufacturer Chun King, admits to using Italian spices to make his product more acceptable to Americans whose ancestors came from Europe. As an example, the chow mein gravy favored in the Fall River area more closely resembles that used in local New England cooking than that used in traditional Chinese cooking. įood historians and cultural anthropologists have noted that chow mein and other dishes served in Chinese American restaurants located away from areas without any significant Asian American population tend to be very different from what is served in China and are heavily modified to fit the taste preference of the local dominant population. In Louisiana, "Cajun chow mein" is actually a noodle-less rice dish that is a variation of jambalaya. Another Minnesotan variant includes ground beef and cream of mushroom soup. A published recipe for Minnesota-style chow mein includes generous portions of celery and bean sprouts. Bay Area journalist William Wong made a similar comment about what is sold as chow mein in places like Minnesota.
Jeremy Iggers of the Star Tribune describes "Minnesota-style chow mein" as "a green slurry of celery and ground pork topped with ribbons of gray processed chicken". In Philadelphia, Americanized chow mein tends to be similar to chop suey but has crispy fried noodles on the side and includes much celery and bean sprouts and is sometimes accompanied with fried rice. When ordering "chow mein" in some restaurants in Chicago, a diner might receive " chop suey poured over crunchy fried noodles". There are also variations on how either one of the two main types of chow mein can be prepared as a dish. The crispy version of chow mein can also be served in a hamburger-style bun as a chow mein sandwich. On the West Coast, "chow mein" is always the steamed style, and the term "lo mein" is not widely used. There, the steamed style using soft noodles is a separate dish called " lo mein". At a few East Coast locations, "chow mein" is also served over rice.
At some restaurants located in those areas, the crispy chow mein noodles are sometimes deep fried and could be crispy "like the ones in cans" or "fried as crisp as hash browns". On the East Coast, "chow mein" is always the crispy kind. There is a regional difference in the US between the East and West Coast use of the term "chow mein". Crispy chow mein is usually topped with a thick brown sauce, while steamed chow mein is mixed with soy sauce before being served. Steamed chow mein can have many different kinds of vegetables in the finished dish, most commonly including onions and celery but sometimes carrots, cabbage and mung bean sprouts as well. Ĭrispy chow mein either has onions and celery in the finished dish or is served "strained", without any vegetables. Crispy chow mein uses fried, flat noodles, while soft chow mein uses long, rounded noodles. The steamed chow mein has a softer texture, while the latter is crisper and drier. In the American market, two types of chow mein include crispy chow mein and steamed chow mein. Vegetarian or vegan chow mein is also common.
It is often served as a specific dish at westernized Chinese restaurants. In American Chinese cuisine, it is a stir-fried dish consisting of noodles, meat (chicken being most common but pork, beef, shrimp or tofu sometimes being substituted), onions and celery. Chaomian was introduced from China into the United States by Chinese immigrants who came from the Guangdong provinces in the California 1849 Gold Rush era bringing with them their Cantonese style of cooking.