Chinese New Year, Chinese Food

I used to work in a Chinese restaurant, but what we know of in America as "Chinese food" is, to a large part, a separate cuisine which grew out of the Chinese workers that were on the Trans-Continental Rail Road. They fixed food that was quick and used whatever was available. Some ingredients native to the Chinese were introduced, but in general, what the Chinese eat in their homeland is different to what we in America know.

From Wikipedia:

American Chinese food typically treats vegetables as garnish while cuisines of China emphasize vegetables. This can be seen in the use of carrots and tomatos Native Chinese cuisine makes frequent use of Asian leafy vegetables like bok choy and gai-lan and puts a greater emphasis on fresh meat and live seafood. As a result, American Chinese food is usually less pungent than authentic cuisine.

Americanized Chinese restaurants stir fry in a wok or deep fat fry things usualy resulting in a high fat content to the food. MSG is also an ingredent in the food which has resulted in some people avoiding this type of cuisine altogether. Restaurants are changing to accomodate by eliminating the MSG from the menu.

So, if you are going out to celebrate the Chinese New Year in America, and you go to a "Chinese" restaruant, remember that the Chinese have acclimated to America just as much as you have.