Imported Recipes That We've Adulterated
I was making lunch today, Chinese Chicken Salad, and I was reminded on how North Americans take a recipe from a foreign land and make it their own. Not that that is always a bad thing. We just take a recipe and tweak it to make use of our own, local ingredients, or to suit our own, American tastes.
After all, Chinese Chicken Salad is not actually Chinese, but it's still pretty good. And what about Chop Suey? It's not a Chinese dish at all, but an American dish made up to appeal to the adventurous eaters. Remember when Chow Mein came only with crispy, fried noodles, even though in China, they use soft noodles? Hey, if it's fried it must be good.
I remember going to a rural town in Washington in 1980 and they had a Mexican restaurant there. Being a California girl, I had to try it. They served food that I didn't recognize. It was terrible! Even the burrito was messed up. I won't even go into Taco Bell's recipes. Sometimes we do miss the mark.
What other foods can you think of that we have changed and made our own? Got any recipes?