Does western people get used to traditional chinese food?

I mean I thought most of western love chinese food before I make friends with them. because they said they like the foods of chinese restaurant in their country. so I am very confident with that they will love meal cooked by my wife - she is a very good chef in chinese viewpoint. but later they turned out to be not used to almost all food in my home, tofu, pork, eggplant, fish, sausage, anything. so I am really confused how chinese food tastes like in western country?Does western people get used to traditional chinese food?
Most white people wouldn't know real chinese food if it hit them in the face :/



This article gives lots of information on what Westernised Chinese food is - http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t%26amp;source鈥?/a>Does western people get used to traditional chinese food?
I have found that many Americans do not like their meat to look like meat. If you go to the supermarket you can buy fillet of fish, beef, boneless skinless chicken breast etc. Basically it makes meat and fish look like it didn't originally come from an animal.

Myself I love fish heads and the shrimp legs etc. Also many do not like to deal with bones of fish, spareribs, chicken.

If you go to the Chinese restaurants many Americans will go for sesame chicken and sweet and sour chicken, sometimes Kung Pao chicken. They like the sweet sauces.

Also if they don't live by the sea or a river they don't like the smell of fish sauce or dried fish. In addition to that they don't like fermented food. Many don't even like western fermented food (like sauerkraut).

They are also not used to the texture of tofu if it is just steamed. They may like fried tofu or dried tofu.
One thing is traditional Chinese cooking and the commercial Chinese food tailored to Western palates, not Chinese. Many Chinese have told me that commercial stuff is nowhere near the real Chinese cooking they are used to. Unfortunately the same thing happens with Japanese and Mexican food. Maybe you need to let them know you will invite them to eat real Chinese food, and that it is not what they would get at a restaurant. I am sure they will understand.
Chinese food is delicious in Los Angeles (as long as it's not a fast food place). They do serve tofu, pork, eggplant, fish, and sausages. Maybe restaurant food is a bit more Americanized here so as to attract less adventurous clientele...but my husband and I frequent a restaurant that is always full of Chinese people and none of the waiters speak a lick of English so I figure it must be real Chinese food. I like it---especially the crispy chow mein.
The chinese dishes here mostly come from take aways, they would outnumber the chinese restuarants. The take aways buy ingrediants in bulk and leave out alot of the traditional chinese ingrediants.

The restaurants are the same and both like to keep their costs low so the food usually isn't of that great a quality.

The chinese ready meals are worse, they are just filled with salt and fat and additives.
Most people are used to Chinese takeout in America. Chinese food here is horrible in comparison to the real stuff, as the quality is shoddy to keep prices low. Most food here is Americanized like crazy! As an Indian, I know how bad the stuff here is in comparison to the real stuff.
most of the Chinese take-away establishments have food that is a bit same-y.
You have to remember that the food most Chinese restaurants serve in America has been altered, Americanized. Many of the dishes will be as strange to you, as real Chinese food would be to an American.



To most Americans, Chinese food is stuff like ';Sweet %26amp; Sour pork';, ';chop suey'; and ';fortune cookies'; - all of which were created in America by Chinese chefs trying to adapt their menus for the American palate.



This happens to all cuisines, to an extent that have come into the US. The food gets altered, blended with other ingredients, and changes into something that may be ';inspired'; or ';based'; on a certain cuisine but is now ';American Ethnic food';. Other examples of this would be ';Spaghetti and meatballs'; (yes, Italy has spaghetti, and has meatballs, but you don't serve them together, and you don't normally put a tomato marinara sauce on spaghetti), the whole Tex-Mex style of food, and Japanese hibachi steak (the places where they fling their knives around while cooking your meal in front of you.)



Of course, depending on where you live, you CAN find places that serve more authentic style food. I'm over near San Francisco which has a huge population from not just China, but Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. As a result, there are many strip-malls packed with stores selling wares from ';back home';. And there's always a couple of authentic restaurants tucked in there as well. The problem is most of these places are somewhat intimidating as the signs and menus aren't in English, and in some cases, even the staff's ability to speak English may be limited.



If you want an idea of what American-Chinese food is like, try places like Panda Express, or P.F.Chang's (2 popular chains) or just about any Chinese restaurant located in an area with little to no Chinese people living near it. You're in for as big of a shock as your guests were.



Oh, and not all Americans are scared of authentic Chinese food... You remember those places I mentioned above where the menus aren't in English? You'll still find Westerners in them, even if they have to resort to the universal method of ordering food: pointing to an item with one hand, while holding money in the other. After all, good food is good food, no matter what it happens to be.