Immigrating to the United States is often done by many to accompany their children through their studies; in fact, daily life in the U.S. holds even greater appeal for Chinese people. A recent news story serves as an example: "A wave of Chinese cuisine is sweeping through U.S. universities once again. Peking duck, Kung Pao chicken, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, beef noodle soup... authentic Chinese delicacies are crossing the ocean and appearing in the dining halls of Michigan State University, leaving Chinese students on the other side of the ocean cheering with excitement: they can taste the flavors of home without even stepping off campus!
This is not the first time a 'Chinese food craze' has appeared on U.S. university campuses. Over the past two years, with the surge in immigration to the U.S. and the growing number of Chinese international students, universities such as Boston University, Georgia State University, and The Ohio State University have introduced Chinese menus in their dining halls to improve the remarkably low on-campus residency rates and help students find a sense of belonging through their diet. For instance, all dining halls at Boston University have offered 15 types of Chinese dishes since 2014.
However, students studying at Boston University noted that the crab rangoon previously offered in the dining hall sounded like a delicious Chinese seafood dish, but in reality, it was just deep-fried cream cheese wontons. The spring rolls consisted only of oily wrappers and a pitiful amount of bean sprout and meat filling. Clinging to her stash of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce on campus, she missed the taste of home more than ever.
Today, this situation is changing. According to a recent report by Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, to address the status quo of 'Americanized Chinese cuisine,' the Michigan State University campus dining service invited a team of chefs from Beijing Normal University to serve various authentic Chinese dishes in the campus dining halls for three consecutive days. Campus dining chefs also took the opportunity to learn from the Chinese chef team, hoping to elevate their culinary skills beyond just cooking General Tso's chicken, sesame beef, and lo mein sandwiches.
"Providing students with practical experience is one way to expand extracurricular learning," said Guy Procopio, Director of Culinary Services at Michigan State University. "We are committed to bringing authentic Chinese cuisine into our dining services to encourage students to explore and learn about new cultures and lifestyles. Moreover, we can take advantage of this rare opportunity to learn and interact with these guest chefs, which has been very beneficial."
It is reported that to better launch the Chinese dining service, Guy Procopio previously led a team of chefs to visit Sichuan University, Zhejiang University, and Dalian University of Technology to study the living and dietary habits of Chinese students.
Now, on the menu at the Michigan State University dining hall, items such as char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), chicken noodle soup, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, vegetable potstickers, Yangzhou fried rice, and jianbing (Chinese crepes) are served alongside world cuisines like Mexican tacos, French caramelized apples, various burgers, and sandwiches. Chinese students attending the school have expressed that they have finally tasted the flavors of their memories, with some saying, "I really don't want the chef team to go back to China."
For students who have never tried Chinese food, Michigan State University encourages them to give it a try, claiming they will discover a completely different new world. "It's not like the dining halls of our parents' generation, which only had cinnamon toast and butter. On campus today, we have dozens of Chinese dishes to choose from. This also reminds us of how diverse this rapidly changing world is."