Denton's Famed "Flying Tomato"
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iiipopes
- Utility Infielder
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- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2005 1:10 am
We had a Chinese restaurant, Leong's Tea House, close down after the owner needed to retire after 40 years, and none of his boys could or would continue it. No drunken brawls, but on New Year's Eve 1997, its last evening, the place was packed all day into the night. It was great.
Opened in 1962, when the American diet in restaurants consisted of steaks and fried chicken, Leong studied Americans carefully. Knowing that steamed food would not sell in this area, and that if you couldn't cut it once with a knife and eat it with a fork it wouldn't sell, he made his chicken chunks two-bite sized instead of bite sized, breaded them like regular fried chicken but with a blend of cornstarch and flour so it would be lighter, cooked it in peanut oil instead of lard or other oil, served it over rice, and for a "gravy," as he saw Americans loved gravy over potatoes, chicken fried steak, biscuits, etc., he made a brown cornstarch gravy, added oyster sauce and cashews, and then sprinkled a few bits of chopped green onion over the top as it was served. And that was how "modern" "American" Cashew Chicken was invented. True story. Just look in the archives of the Springfield, Missouri newspapers over the years for their feature stories on him.
He came up with variants on the theme to fill out the menu, including a sweet & sour sauce and other items. The fun one was his egg roll. The owner's son finally confessed the recipe to me because as a boy I knew I could taste peanut butter in it, but no one would believe me: in the wrap there is a mixture of slivered cabbage, slivered carrot, natural or unsweetened peanut butter, soy sauce and pepper. The next day I went to the grocery store, bought the ingredients, made some myself, had some family and friends who had eaten there since the beginning try them, and confirmed I had successfully duplicated them.
Epilogue: because it was so easy to make, dozens of clone restaurants opened up, his brother tried his own fine restaurant for a few years, but finally gave it up and retired himself as well after a couple of decades. But the clones are but mere allusions of the original recipe, without the complexity of the original, kind of like a fast food burger just does not have the taste (though Hardees may argue at this point) of a "real" seasoned and grilled burger. Now there is one restaurant that is filling the niche, but as fine as it is, it still doesn't have exactly the same flavor.
Occasionally a local restaurant will lure in one of the sons to make the cashew and sweet & sour chicken occasionally for a periodic special. The sons were taught well. You can get a glimpse or a taste of the former glory. But they don't do the eggrolls, and don't have the hot mustard that can clear your sinuses, or if you're not careful, choke you "to death" if you eat too much at once.
So, I understand and sympathize with the loss of a favorite eating establishment that had become a landmark and tradition.
Opened in 1962, when the American diet in restaurants consisted of steaks and fried chicken, Leong studied Americans carefully. Knowing that steamed food would not sell in this area, and that if you couldn't cut it once with a knife and eat it with a fork it wouldn't sell, he made his chicken chunks two-bite sized instead of bite sized, breaded them like regular fried chicken but with a blend of cornstarch and flour so it would be lighter, cooked it in peanut oil instead of lard or other oil, served it over rice, and for a "gravy," as he saw Americans loved gravy over potatoes, chicken fried steak, biscuits, etc., he made a brown cornstarch gravy, added oyster sauce and cashews, and then sprinkled a few bits of chopped green onion over the top as it was served. And that was how "modern" "American" Cashew Chicken was invented. True story. Just look in the archives of the Springfield, Missouri newspapers over the years for their feature stories on him.
He came up with variants on the theme to fill out the menu, including a sweet & sour sauce and other items. The fun one was his egg roll. The owner's son finally confessed the recipe to me because as a boy I knew I could taste peanut butter in it, but no one would believe me: in the wrap there is a mixture of slivered cabbage, slivered carrot, natural or unsweetened peanut butter, soy sauce and pepper. The next day I went to the grocery store, bought the ingredients, made some myself, had some family and friends who had eaten there since the beginning try them, and confirmed I had successfully duplicated them.
Epilogue: because it was so easy to make, dozens of clone restaurants opened up, his brother tried his own fine restaurant for a few years, but finally gave it up and retired himself as well after a couple of decades. But the clones are but mere allusions of the original recipe, without the complexity of the original, kind of like a fast food burger just does not have the taste (though Hardees may argue at this point) of a "real" seasoned and grilled burger. Now there is one restaurant that is filling the niche, but as fine as it is, it still doesn't have exactly the same flavor.
Occasionally a local restaurant will lure in one of the sons to make the cashew and sweet & sour chicken occasionally for a periodic special. The sons were taught well. You can get a glimpse or a taste of the former glory. But they don't do the eggrolls, and don't have the hot mustard that can clear your sinuses, or if you're not careful, choke you "to death" if you eat too much at once.
So, I understand and sympathize with the loss of a favorite eating establishment that had become a landmark and tradition.
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