Sunday, October 13, 2013

19th Century Chinese Immigrant Food

From: "Hwee San Ng" sheereng@bu.edu

I'm a food studies graduate student at Boston University and I'm trying to find out if food of the Chinese laborers in the 19th century changed in any particular way due to the fact that they came to America without the women. I'm interested in what they cook for themselves instead of what is served in the Chinese restaurant because my assumption is that if the men had been cooks, their food aren't probably going to change much.

There isn't much said about their private eating so far, except for the fact that they were using pretty much the same ingredients like sea cucumber, dried mushroom, rice, seaweed, pork etc. I was wondering if they stopped cooking stuff like Cantonese soups because it takes hours and that it was usually women's job?

Also, the CPRR Chinese Pottery page is interesting ...

—Sheere


1870 Sisson & Wallace Ad - Railroad Gazetteer 1870 - page 53
Sisson & Wallace, Co. Advertisement - Railroad Gazetteer 1870 - page 53.
Courtesy Kyle Wyatt, California State Railroad Museum.