"American Food" in China?

[red_des]

Hi all

Comments

[heathergalaxy]

My suggestion is to focus on Native North American cuisine rather than the cuisine of the colonizers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_cuisine Corn, most beans, peppers, potatoes, squash, etc. all come from Americas. While you can do lots of stuff, if you're less familiar with it think Thanksgiving type food. I'd think some sort of cornbread, mashed potatoes, succotash, and pumpkin pie might go over well.

[the_moogie]

This. Start with items that are indigenous to the US.

[briasoleil]

I agree. Too often, we overlook the cuisines of North America's First Peoples.

I'd also suggest bannock with a vegetable stew of some kind. And what about introducing fruit that is native to the Americas? Saskatoons, choke cherries, huckleberries; I would research fruits and vegetables native to the Americas. (Btw, chocolate is native to the Americas.)

Over the years, I've made a dish called "Indian Pudding" with great success. It uses corn grits, hazelnut butter, non-dairy milk of your choice, currants and maple syrup. It could be a not that sweet dessert or a breakfast/brunch dish.

I'm not sure how common wild rice is in the US, but it's fairly common in Canada. It's a bit trickier to cook but has a lovely nutty taste.

I love Gumbo aux herbes, aka Gumbo z'herbes.

[red_des]

Wild rice is pretty common in the US; not sure if I can find it here, but I can certainly check the supermarket. I think it might be interesting for her to try something different from the traditional Chinese white rice.

[red_des]

Thanks for the suggestions!