659770 Thu Oct 15 15:08:00 -0700 2009 8 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 5106371 There's always a killer dish all over the world, and it doesn't have to be gourmet. But it is old school enough that it carries a lot of history, as well as their stories of how they came to being. Some might be fact, folklore, or modified truths and myths as the generations have passed. Recently I was reading up on how a famous Cantonese Chinese dish, dried fried beef chow fun, specifically its humble beginnings. To copy and paste a thread where I posted: "it is said that the dried fried version of beef chow fun originated during WWII era, Canton province around 1938. A man named Mr Hui, who originally was from Canton/Guangzhou, went northward to Hunan and became a chef. During the war, he was forced to retreat south back home as the Japanese slowly invaded southward, and ended up working at a vendor stall (open by his brother) to sell food. Canton province was eventually taken over by the Japanese in 1938. One night, Mr Hui's food stall ran out of the powder (like a cornstarch thickening agent) for sauces. A military patrolling unit division commander was hungry and wanted to have his wet chow fun. Due to a curfew and ban on late night business activity, the brother was unable to go purchase the powder. They had to tell the commander they couldn't make it. It is also said the commander was so mad he was about to take out his gun and kill someone. Mr Hui's mom and brother immediately went to make some tong yuen (sticky rice dessert dumplings) and Mr Hui himself tended to the kitchen. It was there that he thought about doing it dry stir fried style, and thus the stall (and his family) were sparred from the bullet. Apparently Hui's stall became Guangzhou's first ever location to offer dry fried beef chow fun and became famous for it." And the story of how Cantonese e-fu noodles came into being seemed a bit more hilarious. There's a folklore about a servant who was delivering fresh noodles to a high ranking official's house (whose last name begins with Yi, which sounds like E) and he was running late. He tripped over a rock and the fresh noodles fell into a puddle of mud. Freaking out, he washed away the mud and decided to deep fry the noodles and dry them out. By the time the noodles were delivered, the chef cooked them up (refried them, hahaha) and next thing you know Mr Yi sang mondo praises, and thus the E-Fu noodles were born. So what's your favorite folklore and what is the dish? Thu Oct 15 15:08:00 -0700 2009 12872 K K 1 5109922 Guys were cutting up cassava tubers for drying at a large starch factory (where MSG is a product). One hacked off a toe and cried out, "Aw, gee, no mo' toe (thus Ajinomoto)! Heard this in 1961. Sat Oct 17 05:39:19 -0700 2009 5106371 36661 Sam Fujisaka 2 5110014 Now why on earth would this guy be an English speaker? Actually, Ajinomoto means "the source of flavor" in a crude translation from the Japanese 味の素. In any case, a weird sense of humor. Sat Oct 17 06:58:32 -0700 2009 5109922 11938 Tripeler 3 5110068 it looks to me like the guy was speaking pidgin, not english Sat Oct 17 07:43:13 -0700 2009 5110014 227302 kirinraj 3 5110292 I heard this in Hawaii. We had to tell it in English rather than Japanese because it doesn't work/makes no sense in Japanese. Sat Oct 17 09:52:12 -0700 2009 5110014 36661 Sam Fujisaka 1 5110029 The pan fried dumpling was also the result of an accident. Sat Oct 17 07:09:12 -0700 2009 5106371 11914 monku 1 5135513 I posted my uncle's version of the origin of yee fu noodles here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/38203 "The yee fu noodle dish was a vegetarian version blended with julienned veggies. The spongey noodles were infused with deliciously complex flavors and had a nice chewy texture. Even though I was no longer hungry at the end of this dinner, I had a second helping. I was seated next to Uncle James, who asked me, "do you know the origin of yee fu mein?" Since he's the most scholarly of my uncles, I knew I'd get a well-researched answer from him. "Don't tell me it's a Chinese-American dish", I said. He smiled and assured me it was from the old country. "Yee" is the family name, and "fu" refers to the family residence, meaning noodles in the style of the Yees' house. Apparently, the noodles arose from the Yee family cook dropping the noodles into frying oil by accident instead of boiling water. Not wanting to waste them, he continued with his recipe by adding them to some soup and discovered that they were a delicious vehicle for absorbing flavors from the liquid." Tue Oct 27 14:59:17 -0700 2009 5106371 10039 Melanie Wong 1 5135657 I've heard a number of stories regarding the origin of "chop suey". Here's a link that has most of them: http://www.snopes.com/food/origins/chopsuey.asp I personally think it came from the Cantonese who immigrated to the U.S. during the California Gold Rush. The term sounds a like it is either Cantonese or Toisanese in origin. Tue Oct 27 15:57:24 -0700 2009 5106371 17644 raytamsgv 2 5135702 Yeah English WIKI has an entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chop_suey Tue Oct 27 16:16:47 -0700 2009 5135657 12872 K K