Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-01
ODD CHINESE DISHES
APPETIzING DESCRIPTION OF THE
WAY THEY ARE MADE.
Popularity of Oriental Viands in Bohe-
milan America-CulinaryA Art
Of the Far East


lea The manifestations OF this popularity
are:
Frst-In some American restaurants such
Chinese dishes as chop suey'' and ''geish
main are served side by side with soft
shell crabs and brofled lobster.
Second-There is hardly an American city
that has not its Chinese restaurants. to
which persons of every class like to so.
Third-Few Bohemian gatherings are
complete without pail Of chop suey,
brought, fresh and hot from Chinatown.
Fourth-Many rich families employ Chi
| nese cooks-men expert IN the best French
and American dishes, and expert also in
the best dishes of China. which. now and
then, they serve.
1t is not strange that Chinese food in a
cosmopolitan country like America, should
be popular. for Chinese cooking an art as
difficult French cooking has a taste
that Is as pleasant to the occidental as TO
the oriental palate. while Chinese cooks
and Chinese Kitchens are as clean as many
a white-tiled dairy.
Some Chinese restaurants are furnished
extensively with teakwood stools and
tables inlaid with ivory and mother OF
pearl They have entrances 50 constructed
that the patron to reach the dining room,
must pass through the kitchen. the idea
being that the patron should examine the
kitchen-should see how clean it is-before
| he eats the food that comes out of 1t.
Chopsticks. as well as the customary
knives and forks, are provided with the
| food. and the American finds 1t interesting
| to try to learn to eat with these two little
ebony or ivory utensils.
Chinese Menu.
The Chinese menu Is puzzling 1t Is COM
posed of dishes with such names as mo
gu sue XII" Chow main." ..geish MAN,
| ''yock main.'' "fln Ia nau yok." III Chez"
Isl an" up tread MAN," yang WALL"
| n atc JiSbac
are agreeable to the American taste. They
range In price from $3.50 to 81 for mo gu
| sue XII (Which Is made of chicken breasts
| and mushrooms. principally to Is cents
Tor yock a MAN,, a composition 81
| noodles chicken and pork
| ''GefSh main and Chop suey'' c.re the
| dishes that Americans like best in each
of them chicken. pork. mushrooms and cell
cry figure. and over each of them a very
| salty. appetizing sauce, called see YOU
| is poured. Bread Is seldom served in
| Chinatown; rice takes it's place-rice
| steamed instead of boiled. Tea is served
with almost every order; pot of tea, drunk
| out of little handleless cups. Neither cream
nor sugar should go with it. for the Chin
csc claim-perhaps correctly-that cream
| and sugar spoil the flavor of good tea
which they knew how to brew long before
the occident was aware that such bever-
| age existed. In the best Chinese restaurants
| every pot and pan is washed after USE
even though 1t is to be used In the making
| of the same dish again Immediately. Thus
| II COOK is preparing an order for chop
| suey' and another order for chop suey'
| comes in before he has finished. he does
| not begin on the second order until, having
| emptied the pan of the first one, he has
scraped and washed it thoroughly.
The Range.
| The Chinese range has odd look. be-
| cause its front is protected by a double
wooden casing. with panels that can be
| lowered when the cook wants to rake out
| ashes or to put on coal The advantage Of
| the wooden casing is that. warding off the
| heat. it allows the cook to stand close to
the fire continually.
! The principal cooking utensils are huge
| basins of brass or copper. The chopping
| block is in constant use, for all meats and
| vegetables are chopped into small pieces
| before they are cooked. Other wise it would
not be possible to eat them with chopsticks.
| Here. though, one exception must be made
| in the case of roast meat. Meats to be
| roasted first cut in strips three inches
wide and six inches long. and afterward
spitted on rods of iron and hung in the
| oven The oven is portable. 1t is set on
the range. a hot. lie is started under it.
and over it a dome-shaped cover is placed.
| Some roast meats-pigs, chickens and
ducks-are rubbed with honey before they
| enter the oven. This gives them lustrous,
| reddish-brown color.
Poetic Desserts
In Chinese cooking the desserts are of in
terest Some of these desserts have poeti-
| cal and delicate quality that should cause
| them to find favor at womens luncheons.
| What could be more tempting to young
| woman, for instance. than a dessert made
| of chrysanthemums, another made of vio-
| let's a third of rose petals, fourth of peach
| blossoms?
| the same way. Take, for instance. the
| chrySanthemum one
A fresh chrysanthemum is selected, and it
is carefully washed. Then its petals
plucked of, and little of the green leaf is
| chopped and stirred into batter made Of
beaten eggs and flour. Now the petals
| themselves are dipped in the batter. and
| afterward they are dropped lightly into a
pan Of boiling peanut Oil. which browns
| them In a moment. They are taken out Of
| the oil and placed on absorbent paper.
| which drains the grease from them. They
| are served warm and sprtnked with pow
| dered sugar.
! Peanut OIL the only foreign ingredient
used in flower desserts. is an excellent oil
| for frying 1t is made purely from peanuts.
| and can be bought at any Chinese grocery
| for 10 or Is cents pint.
Chop suey.
| "Chop suey'' is made of chicken breasts,
celery, onion, pork. water nuts, bean
sprouts, young bamboo and mushrooms.
| Water nuts and young bamboo are tender
| vegetables Of delicate flavor. and all Chi
nese grocers sell them. These various in
gradients are first boiled separately and cut
up-the chicken into dice half an inch
| square the vegetables into small pieces
| and afterward they are fried with a little
peanut oil and with see VOW" See yow,''
| the famous sauce. resembles Worcestershire
sauce in appearance. 1t is imported from
| China where it is made of Chinese beans.
| Chinese peppers and salt prepared in
peculiar manner. This sauce is appetiZing.
"Geish y main" is dish composed of
| noodles. see VOW. onions. mushrooms. eel
| cry. chicken breasts, Chinese water nuts
| and young bamboo. To make It, all the
| ingredients are first boiled separately. and
| afterward all of them except the chicken
and noodles fried together with sea-
soning of see VOW. Geish y main Is served
| in bowl In the bottom of the bowl about
| four tablespoonful of noodles are placed
Over these the main" proper Is poured.
and on top three teaspoonfuls OF chicken
breast cut in dice and sprinkied
Mathematics and Launching.