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Home , American Chinese cuisine

The hinese Restaurant Road Trip A personal exploration of culinary heritage.

By Billy Yang

y brother Alan and I were cruising south on I-15 near Filmore, Utah, when we M saw a billboard advertising a Chinese at the next exit. The restaurant was called something like “ .” Alan and I both laughed. “Do you think it’s actually run by Chinese people?” Alan said. “Do Chinese live in places like Fillmore?” Also, what would Chinese in the American desert be like? We thought we knew. My brother and I had eaten enough , and neon orange sweet and sour to know that the food at this Utah cafe would likely be like any other American Chinese joint. Still, I was intrigued for complicated reasons. The idea of American Chinese restaurants and the people who operate them in small Utah towns soon became an obsession of mine.

saltlakemagazine.com 72 may/june 2015 on the table

saltlakemagazine.com may/june 2015 73 My relationship with American Chinese food has been avoids culinary hybrids like nachos and chop suey. But tumultuous. In my teens, I shunned it. I didn’t come those people miss the point. A mouthful of chop suey is a to fully appreciate that style of and the history bite of years of cultural blending, a taste of not Chinese behind it until my early 20s. Now I love it. Jennifer food, not American food, but something entirely different Lee’s book The Chronicles opens with an and original—authentic American Chinese food, a cuisine incredible statistic: There are more Chinese restaurants of its own. Chinese in the United States than McDonald’s, Burger King and immigrant KFC combined. According to the Chinese American Culture Collision railroad laborers Restaurant Association, there are over 45,000 Chinese American has been around since the mid- brought their style of restaurants peppered across the U.S. These restaurants 1800s, when Chinese immigrants began arriving in the U.S. to Utah in the can be found everywhere from the downtowns of dense- These immigrants were mostly laborers who came here to work in mines, railroads and farms. Most of them arrived in , but the Central Pacific rail line from Sacra- mento to Promontory brought Chinese laborers to Utah, and more than 12,000 worked on the Central Pacific line. Chinese cooks built outdoor ovens in the dirt banks beside the tracks and mixed brown , Chinese , sprouts, seaweed and other seasonings with American chicken in big iron kettles for a taste of home. There were some 300,000 Chinese immigrants in this country by 1882 when the was signed into law. This law, which wasn’t repealed until 1943, restricted the immigration and naturalization of all ethnic Chinese people. In the 1890s, there were about 500 Chinese in Utah, most of them in Ogden, Salt Lake City and Park City. Plum Alley divided the block between Main and State Streets in downtown Salt Lake and became the center of a little with groceries, laundries and restaurants. (Park City also had a Chinatown; white residents built Bridge so they wouldn’t have to walk through Chinatown to reach Main Street.) During the Depression the Utah Chinese population dwindled, and by the 1970s, when it finally began to increase again, almost half worked in the food service business. “ I learned early Confucius say... ly populated cities to strip malls in Fortune cookies are a Chinese suburbia to main streets of small towns on that there’s a American invention. Chinese well off the interstates. immigrants adapted a Japanese It’s no wonder why American Chinese difference between cracker recipe, but who exactly food is so ubiquitous. There’s a bit of genius did the adapting is up for debate. A lot of people claim to it, especially in the battered and fried American-Chinese food to have invented the fortune dishes slathered in sweet and tangy , cookie and even more claim to e.g., sweet and sour , and Chinese food that have popularized it. What we and General Tso’s chicken. Take any of the know for sure is that Shuck Yee of Oakland, , invented aforementioned crispy, deep-fried dishes, Chinese people eat.” the fortune cookie–making pair them with and top it all off machine, and that Yankee- with a splash of dark and you The vast majority of early Chinese immigrants came esque ingenuity allowed fortune have a pretty irresistible plate of food, with from the Guangzhou (or Canton) region. There are four cookies to become cheap enough for restaurants to give sweet, sour, savory, spicy and tangy all major regional styles of cooking in China, and most of away for free—3 billion each working in unison. And who doesn’t love what we consider Chinese food in the U.S. is year. In 1992, a company tried battered and fried cuts of chicken and cuisine or a variation of it. to introduce fortune cookies pork? Those early Chinese American chefs into China, but had to give up. My family came to the U.S. in the late ’70s. I’m a They were considered “too were on to something. second-generation American, and growing up with American.” “Authenticity” is part of the credo of Chinese immigrant parents, we ate a different style of the contemporary gastronome who Chinese cuisine at home than what most Americans

saltlakemagazine.com 74 may/june 2015 Photos Billy Yang ’ even.” one day in twice people same the to see not unusual “It’s said. Pan once aweek,” come in that alot her. of have regulars “We to greet wanting and or leaving coming customers by times several interrupted was conversation Our Iate. me as with sat Pan bites. more manageable into chunks the to cut knife serrated a with it came big so that were pork of battered pieces The soup. drop egg with special pork sour and sweet the I ordered fields. oil nearby in probably worked they like who men looked burly six atable with including parties, acouple There were of large of 6,000. about apopulation with atown in on aSaturday for 3p.m. busy Cantonese. done in were story this for Iconducted interviews of the all and Icontacted owners restaurant other for the tactic same the Iused interview. an to agreed finally Pan up. at home Ispoke growing language to the English from Iswitched yes, answered she When Cantonese. spoke she if her Iasked so barrier, to alanguage due was this Isuspected interview. to an to agree hesitant was she to me, talk would she while and period week atwo- over times several her Icalled Roosevelt. in Star, uphung on me. and no thanks out to said simply Ireached restaurants few The first calling. started and locations more remote the in up popped that dots red for Then Ilooked the restaurants.” “Chinese in typed and of Utah state entire the see could for asit-down. time up a set and doing I’m what about them tell owner, to the to speak I’d ask phone, pick up the just ajournalist. on as worked I’ve articles other the all like asimple process be would story for this interviews Ithought getting Initially China Star inRoosevelt classics. Chinese American the to try Iwanted that Iknew out trips, myroad Iplanned But as eat. China in people Chinese to what eat They want restaurants. at Chinese chicken orange beyond something to order want and notice taken have diners American adventurous Now, savvy, eat. people Chinese that food Chinese and food Chinese American between adifference is there on that early Ilearned Iknow. food Chinese That’s the abalone. and scallops with swimming rice and skin crackling crisp, with belly pork roasted sauce, bean black with stir-fried soy,and clams ginger , with steamed fish enjoying. were diners other some of what the as same look the always didn’t table at our arrived that dishes the places, out at those ate Even we when restaurants. at Chinese have typically dozen part-timers, mostly high-school students looking for for looking students high-school mostly part-timers, dozen a nowover employs The ago. restaurant years 12 Roosevelt in Star enough China money to open saving before City Lake Salt 90s. She and her husband worked in various restaurants in in restaurants various in worked husband her She and 90s. China Star was busy the day I visited—surprisingly Ivisited—surprisingly day the busy was Star China of China owner Pan, Jane with abit more persistent I was I out until zoomed Maps, to Iwent Google wrong. I was whole ordered we out went for dinner, myfamily When Pan immigrated to the U.S. from Taishan, China, in the early early the in China, Taishan, from U.S. to the immigrated Pan saltlakemagazine.com may/june 2015 town Utah. town small- in outpost aChinese Star; from China pork sour and Roosevelt; sweet Street, Main Janeowner Pan; Top: from Clockwise China Star

75 arrived at the restaurant in midafternoon and was one of five patrons. I ordered the beef and lunch special, which came with fried rice, and an . Luo sat and talked with me while I ate. “Locals don’t really eat here. I would say 80 percent of the people who eat here are tourists,” he said. “So my business sees a lot of ups and downs depending on the season.” Luo moved from the Chinese city of to San Francisco in 1983. In those days, business for American Chinese restaurants was great, he said. In 1993, Luo brought his family to Salt Lake City where he worked as a cook at several Chinese places. He eventually made his way to St. George where he opened four restaurants of his own. But business went sour. He closed his restaurants and Clockwise from after-school and summer jobs. Pan’s menu has a burger section moved his family to Kanab five years ago for a fresh start. Top: Luo’s Cafe and a Mexican section­. It’s this variety that made this Eastern “Back when I started, I could’ve opened a Chinese owner Sing Luo; local favorite Utah eatery a must-stop for me, and probably for many others. restaurant anywhere and the business would be booming,” beef and broccoli She rarely sees other Chinese or Asians in this part of the Luo said. “Now Chinese restaurants aren’t doing that well.” with lo mein and state. Occasionally a bus full of Chinese tourists on their We talked about other possible career options for him, but the ubiquitous egg roll; bustling way to Dinosaur National Monument stops at her since he’s in his late 40s, it would be too hard for him to Kanab; Luo’s restaurant, but that’s about it. “You’re probably the first change industries, he said. I ask if he’s considered changing Cafe in “Little American-born Chinese we’ve had eat here,” she told me. the style of food at his restaurant, maybe move away from Hollywood.” Chinese cuisine, which he doesn’t think is viable anymore. Luo’s Cafe in Kanab “I’m Chinese. I’m going to make Chinese food. What else And not many Asian-American visitors stop at Kanab’s am I going to cook? Mexican food?” Luo asked. “Who’d come only Chinese restaurant, Luo’s Cafe, according to its to eat that?” I told him about China Star in Roosevelt and owner Sing Luo. Located between Zion National Park and their eclectic menu. Maybe it gave him food for thought. Bryce Canyon National Park, Kanab sees a lot of tour- ists—lots of European and Asian tourists. The town is also known as “Utah’s Little Hollywood” due to its history as “ I really like the feel of the location for many Westerns. The sidewalks are lined with plaques honoring movie stars. (These days, Kanab is small towns. Everyone better known as the home to Best Friends Animal Society, the city’s largest employer. During my weekend stay, I who comes here to eat noticed an inordinate number of animal lovers walking dogs.) It had rained heavily the day I went to Luo’s Cafe. I knows me.” —Annie Lin

saltlakemagazine.com 76 may/june 2015 American pie by cooking Chinese food. No one said they wanted their kids to take over their restaurants. They all Chop Suey hoped their kids would go to college and find their own paths in life. The people I met were all from my parents’ 1 cup chicken cornstarch until combined. generation and this project helped me appreciate my own 3 Tbsp. soy sauce Add pork pieces to the 2 Tbsp. molasses, remainder. Set aside. family’s story much more. I also came to respect American preferably blackstrap Heat 1 tablespoon oil Chinese cuisine more, which I used to dismiss because I ¼ tsp. freshly ground in a or large nonstick considered it inauthentic Chinese food. But it is authentic. It pepper skillet over medium heat. just happened to be born in the U.S. over 160 years ago. 5 tsp. cornstarch Add pork and cook, stirring 2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided frequently, until most of the It’s authentically Chinese-American. 1 pound pork tenderloin, pink is gone, 2 to 3 minutes. trimmed, halved Transfer to a plate. lengthwise and cut into Increase heat to medium- ¼-inch-thick pieces high. Add the remaining 1 1 medium , slivered tablespoon oil, onion, bell 1 medium red bell pepper, pepper, sprouts and ginger thinly sliced and cook for 3 minutes. Pour Clockwise 3 cups mung bean sprouts in the broth mixture and bring from Top: 1 Tbsp. minced fresh to a boil. Cook, stirring, for Knickknacks ginger 3 minutes. Reduce heat to crowd Snow medium; add the reserved Dragon’s Combine broth, soy sauce, cornstarch mixture and pork entrance; Main molasses and pepper in a (and any accumulated juice) Street, Ephraim; medium bowl. Set aside 2 and cook, stirring, until slightly orange chicken tablespoons of the mixture thickened, about 1 minute. and fried rice; in a small bowl; stir in Serve over cooked rice. another Utah-

Snow Dragon in Ephraim My final destination was Snow Dragon Chinese Restaurant in Ephraim. This central Utah town of 6,000 is anchored by Snow College. “We see quite a few Snow College students dine here,” said Annie Lin, the owner of Snow Dragon. “I’ve seen students from Japan, China, Hong Kong and even Macau.” When I first spoke to Lin on the phone about inter- viewing her for my piece, she was tepid at best. I finally just told her I was going to make the 100-plus mile drive to dine at her restaurant and if her restaurant wasn’t busy, I would appreciate a moment of her time. I showed up late in the af- ternoon on a Monday and ate orange chicken, fried rice and as Lin told me that she lived in Queens, New York, when she first arrived from China 25 years ago. She hated the bustle of New York, so she tried a Montana town of 2,000 people. “I really like the feel of small towns. When I told a friend in Salt Lake this, she told me Utah had a lot. That’s how I found Ephraim,” Lin said. “It’s one of those places that when you go out shopping, most people will stop and say hi because they know you. Everyone who comes in here to eat knows me.” While she was very kind, Lin didn’t give me her first name until I was about to leave. She was also the only restaurateur who refused to let me take her photo. She kept telling me she didn’t want the attention. When I told her she was the only one who had refused to let me shoot a portrait, she said, “Well, that will make me unique, right?”

ng I paid my bill, a scant $7.46 with tax, and went on my way. a Y y I drove hundreds of miles for this project, giving me ll i

B ample time to reflect on all the restaurants I visited. While Visit SLmag.com everyone I talked to had a different story, they all had a for Billy Yang’s Chow Mein recipe. Ph otos common theme. They came here to get a slice of the

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