Why is Westernized Asian food so sweet?

Question

I read that real Asian food isnt that sweet. And in western cooking, Sweet and Savory are usually separate, and rarely intermingle.

Answer 1

The reason that most Asian food which is made in the west is normally so sweet is because of an additive called monosodium glutamate, which is often marketed as a 'food enhancer' which is present in a lot of processed food, it's also known as E621, sodium glutamate, flavour enhancer 621, MSG, Ajinomoto, Vestin, and Accent.

Answer 2

Chinese home cooking isn't sweet. From my experience, home meals are more like soul food - plain and simple.  Restaurant food is adapted to please their customer base.

Answer 3

Because that's how you get 'stoopid Amelicans' to eat it...

Answer 4

I don't know but I'm from california and although Chinese isn't  my favorite asian cuisine I like Thai and Japanese but now that I live in New York no matter where I've tried chinese food here it's so horrible and everything has that same sweet taste. I went to one recently because I heard it was good and I had Kung Pao chicken and for the first time in my life it was chicken that had been floured and fried.

Answer 5

Asian restaurants in the West are catering to local tastebuds. I read of restaurants that were initially determined to serve authentic Asian food but later were forced to wave the white flag, not because their food is bad but because locals thought their food was not 'authentic'! The unfortunate ones had to close down and the 'lucky' ones had to change their dishes in order to survive. These days it's a bit better due to greater globalisation and more well-travelled Westerners who are growing to appreciate authentic ethnic cuisines.

But you'll still get plenty of Westerners who cling to preconceived ideas about 'Asian' food which they've eaten all their lives in their local small Asian eatery & takeaways. Indeed, in this very forum, some people have said they prefer the taste of Americanised Chinese food over the real stuff. Well, to each their own but I wonder just how much authentic Asian food have they really tasted?

One tip, if you want really authentic Asian food, patronise those restaurants that are packed with Asians from the local Asian community & overseas Asian students. Forget those filled largely with Westerners, even if they may be 'award-winning'. Technically good tasting food, maybe... Really authentic Asian food, nah!