Why American Chinese Restaurants Outnumber McDonald’s | Big Business | Business Insider

America has more Chinese restaurants than it has locations of nearly any fast-food chain. But many of the country's favorite takeout dishes, such as fortune cookies and chop suey, were invented in the US, not China. Throughout the 20th century, traditional Chinese dishes like Peking duck didn’t catch on in America in the same way as dishes made for American palettes, like fortune cookies and chop suey. Chefs endured racism and discrimination, and mainstream America rejected their traditional foods.

Now, with China’s own restaurant industry struggling, many Chinese chains are taking a gamble and betting that Americans are ready to fully embrace their culture and cuisine. We visited the world’s biggest fortune cookie factory, America’s oldest Chinese restaurant, and a Michelin-starred Peking duck house to learn how Chinese food took over America and to find out how the industry has changed.

00:00 - Introduction
01:41 - America’s Oldest Chinese Restaurant: Pekin Noodle Parlor
01:59 - The Rise of Anti-Chinese Sentiment
02:21 - The Pekin Gambling Den
02:57 - What’s Chop Suey?
03:27 - The Rise of Chop Suey
04:34 - The End of the Chinese Exclusion Act
04:43 - Nixon’s Visit to China
05:25 - The Founding of Wonton Food Inc.
05:57 - The Origins of the Fortune Cookie
06:27 - Chinese Takeout Goes Commercial
06:46 - How Fortune Cookies Are Made at America’s Biggest Fortune Cookie Factory
08:00 - How Fortunes Are Written
09:00 - Haidilao and Happy Lamb: Restaurant Brands From China Open in the US
09:32 - Beijing's Peking Duck House Quanjude Takes On New York City
10:28 - How Peking Duck Is Made
12:55 - Despite Anti-China Rhetoric, America’s Chinese Restaurants Persist
14:40 - Credits

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#chineserestaurant #chinesefood #fortunecookie #bigbusiness

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Why American Chinese Restaurants Outnumber McDonald’s | Big Business | Business Insider