The variety of Chinese cuisine is well-known. People in the west absolutely love Chinese food dishes, it’s the best go-to option in many situations: if you need something quick, cheap, or if no one in your family can agree on what to have… as soon as someone mentions Chinese food as an option, everyone will be onboard, not to mention it is delicious!
There are some items, though, that Chinese people would not show any interest in and eat. In reality, though, they are quite common in western nations. Let’s take a quick look at some foods that Chinese people dislike.
Related Reading: Chinese Business Etiquette
Table of Contents
What Foods Do Chinese Won’t Eat?
1. Milk Products
If you’re a big fan of milk products, moving to China might leave you feeling a little letdown. The fact that milk products aren’t given much weight in Chinese food culture is one of the main causes of this. Additionally, because milk products are “incompatible” with Chinese stomachs, Chinese people are not fond of them. Many Chinese complain that they have trouble digesting milk products and don’t frequently buy them as a result. The fact that yogurt is regarded as an essential component of a healthy diet, however, has helped it become more well-liked among young people in China.
2. Bread
Chinese rarely eat bread for breakfast because many of them consider its flavor to be “mediocre,” unlike most people from most western nations. The typical options for a traditional Chinese breakfast include porridge, steamed buns, deep-fried dough sticks, scallion pancakes, and steamed buns. Bread and butter have always been regarded as a type of western food in China, which is another factor in why it failed to spread throughout the country. Some Chinese people, especially the elderly, are reluctant to experience other cultures, so they have little interest in trying western cuisine.
3. Hot Dogs
Hot dogs are hardly ever seen in Chinese stores, despite the fact that sandwiches have made their way into the daily lives of young Chinese people. Some Chinese people aren’t even sure what a hot dog is. And sausage is the only thing that immediately comes to mind for them. It’s generally accepted that the reason hot dogs haven’t taken off in China is because of too much ketchup. In addition, some Chinese believe that hot dogs are only good for afternoon snacks because they are so expensive.
Well-known Meals But Completely Unfamiliar In China
General Tso’s Chicken
many Chinese eateries in the United States. offer a dish entitled Chicken General Tso’s. Perhaps the most iconic American Chinese dish is this sweet and sour fried chicken dish. Although there is no known connection to him, it is named for General Tso Tsung-tang, a statesman and general during the Qing dynasty. If you order it at a restaurant, you’ll be getting a battered, fried dish with up to 1,300 calories, 11 grams of saturated fat, and 3,200 milligrams of sodium. You’re right if you think that sounds bad: It goes over a person’s entire daily recommended sodium intake, half of their daily recommended calorie intake, and between 1/3 and 1/2 of their daily recommended saturated fat intake. Despite having some roots in Hunan cuisine, the widely known variation was created in New York in the 1970s. Fuggedaboutit, that’s not authentic Chinese.
Chop Suey used to be the only “Chinese” dish that most Americans could name before General Tso’s Chicken became a classic. The dish was created by resourceful Chinese restaurateurs during the California Gold Rush to appease a group of inebriated miners, according to the History Channel. In order to make “shap sui,” which translates to “mixed pieces” or “odds and ends” in Chinese, the chefs gathered leftovers and slathered them in soy sauce. You’ll be taking in a lot of sodium today unless you omit the sauce. According to Lori Zadini, RD, CDE, of the Academy of Nutrition, Chinese restaurants are notorious for salting their food excessively.
Fortune Cookies
“According to a common fortune-cookie proverb, “Your imagination is a great asset.” Enterprising Japanese immigrants—not Chinese—who brought the barely edible sugar, flour, vanilla, and sesame oil cookies to the United States used their imaginations to great effect. West Coast in the early 1900s. Orange slices are thought to bring good luck, so the Chinese are more likely to eat them as dessert. The vitamin C they contain might be the reason for that. “According to Marie Murphy, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, vitamin C aids in cell protection and health. The typical fortune cookie, according to the USDA, has 4 grams of sugar and nearly 7 grams of carbohydrates. One cookie contains half of what is regarded as one serving of carbohydrates. Ask if you can replace the water with citrus when you order Chinese food the next time you eat out.
Crab Wontons
Deep-fried dumplings stuffed with crabmeat and cream cheese are known as “crab wontons,” and they originate in the east—specifically, Philadelphia. In China, where a large population of people suffers from lactose intolerance, it is not really a thing. Another indication that these items are not exactly genuine? Crab Rangoon is another name for the dish. The former capital of Burma (now Myanmar), which is distinctly not in China, was Rangoon. Although crab is a good source of protein and zinc, that’s neutralized by the fat in the cream cheese and the process of deep-frying the whole package. There are 37 grams of fat, 8 of them saturated, and 630 mg of sodium in the appetizer Crab Wontons from PF Chang’s. That’s as much fat as one-and-a-third Big Macs and as much sodium as two orders of large fries!
Beef And Broccoli
Beef and broccoli both contain a lot of nutrition if the beef is lean and comes from grass-fed cows. While broccoli is loaded with vitamins and anti-cancer compounds, beef is a protein-rich food that also contains B vitamins, a variety of minerals, and B vitamins. (According to one study, men who consumed three or more half-cup servings of broccoli per week had a 41% lower risk of developing prostate cancer than men who consumed less than one serving.) Chinese broccoli is a leafy green, not the florets that Italian immigrants brought to the US in the late 1800s, according to a study of Chinese dinner tables. Although it is a technicality, it does not make the versions served in Chinese restaurants healthier. They can contain upwards of 900 calories or nearly 50% of your daily recommended calorie intake, and unless the beef is grass-fed, which you should ask about because it probably isn’t, you’re also consuming hormones and pollutants that can cause the storage of belly fat. Instead, stay in and prepare meals using the healthy Chinese food recipes from our guide—there are countless combinations!
The Bottom Line
Even though these preparations are not Chinese, they have developed into a Western tradition that truly captures the essence of the Chinese experience. They’re unique and delicious. However, it doesn’t follow that you can’t find a traditional Chinese restaurant nearby.
With well over a billion people, China has the largest population in the world. So it stands to reason that there are many different types of food available across the nation. There are many delectable traditional Chinese restaurants in the area, where you can actually find dishes like mapo tofu and hot pot.
