Chop suey, USA: the story of Chinese food in America

American diners began to flock to Chinese restaurants more than a century ago, making Chinese food the first mass-consumed cuisine in the United States. By 1980, it had become the country's most popular ethnic cuisine. Chop Suey, USA offers the first comprehensive interpretation of the rise of Chinese food, revealing the forces that made it ubiquitous in the American gastronomic landscape and turned the country into an empire of consumption.;Introduction: Chop Suey, the Big Mac of the Pre-McDonald's Era -- 1. Why is Chinese Food so Popular? -- 2. The Empire and Empire Food -- 3. Chinese Cooks as Stewards of Empire -- 4. The Cradle of Chinese Food -- 5. The Rise of Chinese Restaurants -- 6. The Makers of American Chinese Food -- 7. "Chinese-American Cuisine" and the Authenticity of Chop Suey -- 8. The Chinese Brillat-Savarin -- Conclusion: The Home of No Return -- Afterword: Why Study Food?