EPISODE · Aug 6, 2025 · 38 MIN
151 The First Chinese Food in America
from The History of American Food · host Margaret Hardin
First of all - sorry about the diferent mic. But this way we get the episode. I'll see what I can do to make things better for next ep - and all will be back to normal by the one after that.Anyway - 19th Century Chinese Food?What can I tell you? It would have looked much the same as lots of the food you will find right now around the Pearl RIver Delta, the old district of Canton - now known as Guangzhou.But this episode is not just about the food - it also looks a bit into how the US and China started dealing with each other. How did that stream of labor from China - that would be essential in the gold fileds and then the construction of the US railroads get a foot hold in California.While there is much made of the Chinese presence in New York - and how they influenced east coast culture - there is the less well known story of China and the early west.So grab your dried fish, pickled vegetables, boiled millet and see what's there.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFoodMusic Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
What this episode covers
First of all - sorry about the diferent mic. But this way we get the episode. I'll see what I can do to make things better for next ep - and all will be back to normal by the one after that.Anyway - 19th Century Chinese Food?What can I tell you? It would have looked much the same as lots of the food you will find right now around the Pearl RIver Delta, the old district of Canton - now known as Guangzhou.But this episode is not just about the food - it also looks a bit into how the US and China started dealing with each other. How did that stream of labor from China - that would be essential in the gold fileds and then the construction of the US railroads get a foot hold in California.While there is much made of the Chinese presence in New York - and how they influenced east coast culture - there is the less well known story of China and the early west.So grab your dried fish, pickled vegetables, boiled millet and see what's there.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFoodMusic Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
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151 The First Chinese Food in America
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