Every culture changes some of its features when it reaches a group of new audiences from another culture, food is the best example of that. Chinese food in America explains "food adaption" the best. Many so-called "Chinese food" places here in America actually never exists in China and we never eat those stuff.

Here are the 3 most symbolic ones.

1. Fortune Cookie

I always thought fortune cookie is something that exists in the American restaurants, but after its appearance in so many movies and when I got on this land, I finally figured it is something that's been titled as "Chinese" for a long time.

I really have no idea why all the Chinese restaurants here in America have this kind of cookie that tells you your "fortune". Some grocery stores and markets even sell these fortune cookies in packs and has a brand on them.

I have no knowledge about this cookie because in China, nobody ever eats it and nobody has ever heard of that kind of cookie in Chinese. I think the cookies have already become the symbol of Chinese restaurants, and people are curious to know what's inside the cookie after they finish their meal. It has become a large portion of the "Chinese-American culture".

2. General Tao's Chicken

I know this dish probably sounds familiar to every American who went to Chinese restaurants before but guess what, I had never had this dish until I got here in America. I remember the first time I saw the name, I was like What? Who is this General Tao?

I feel so weird that I've known this culture since I was in my Mom's belly and now I don't know a single dish in a Chinese restaurant here.

Almost all of the Chinese restaurants in America have this dish and I still haven't tried it once yet. I see the stores are selling the recipe and pre-meal pack for making this dish, but I just feel like I'm looking at a stranger of my own culture every time I see it in the fridge.

3. Crab Rangoon

This is definitely the dish that got me confused the most. How come this is Chinese food and exists in every Chinese restaurant? Why do they call it crab rangoon? Is it because it looks like a crab?

Because I can't taste anything like crab besides the cheese and the flour. I also don't understand why so many people like this dish and become their must-order one.

We actually have something like this in China except the filling of the Rangoon is a lot different than here. In China, many super expensive restaurants put actual lobsters and crab meat inside it with cream cheese, and one dish can cost up to 30 dollars. Only those very nice restaurants would do so, the so-called crab rangoon never exist in cheap restaurants in China.

But I think it is really fun to see a familiar culture to be adapted and blended in a different way into another culture. Ten people have ten ways to depict a culture, and so does a country and another. Maybe this is how Chinese food culture is depicted here in America.

But seriously, if you want to try some real authentic Chinese food in America, please take some of your Chinese friends to order for you, and sometimes they cook even better than the restaurants!