Childhood craving, comfort food from can and skillet! This “variant of a pulled beef or pork barbecue sandwich, a.k.a.
loosemeat or looseburger” (1) was a satisfying way to stretch our 1950’s food dollars. Dates “back to 1700 with the first published recipe in 1935 and named 'Sloppy' because it rolls or drips off the plate and 'Joe' suggesting to Americans a proletarian character, an unassailable genuineness.” (1) My Mom’s recipe (by way of her sister Justine) called for hamburger, onion, celery, catsup, mustard and a can of Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo Soup. Although Campbell’s still makes the soup it’s difficult to find so I drew on my favorite gumbo recipe for traditional ingredients and seasonings.
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Did it originate in China; not exactly! www.foodtimneline.org confirms “that raw salads were not traditional fare in Asia,
considered dangerous and with little appeal to most Chinese. Chinese salads were customarily made of parboiled or stir-fried vegetables and served hot or cold.” (1) What most Americans know this salad to be - “a cold mixture of shredded iceberg lettuce, crispy fried noodles the strips of roasted chicken all tossed with a slightly, sweet sesame oil-tinged dressing made sprightly with flecks of hot red pepper probably originated in California.” (2) www.wikipedia.org gives Austrian-born chef Wolfgang Puck credit for creating it but my research on this salad dates back to 1962 – thirteen years before Chef Puck arrived in Los Angeles. So, if I have Feast From The East’s “Best Chinese Chicken Salad In Town Since 1981” (www.ffte.com) an ambitious fitness walk from my door or their famous dressing in most major markets, why would I make my own salad? ‘Cause I like to patshke, I looked at a few recipes and here’s how mine evolved.
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