2/27/09:

If you’ve ever ordered General Tso’s Chicken and found yourself wondering if people in China were eating it, too, here’s your answer: No.

Chinese people were confused when my teammate asked for General Tso’s Chicken, and finally, desperately, if anyone had ever even heard of a General Tso.

In fact, most of the food you get at Chinese restaurants outside of Chinatowns in larger cities have been Americanized to the point of becoming almost a different cuisine.

Of course, the foods you get in Chinatowns in larger cities may also be different cuisines: China recognizes five major regional cuisines, including Cantonese, Hunan and Sichuan (Szechuan), which seem the most popularly available here.

But just because a restaurant calls itself "Szechuan" doesn’t mean it’s serving the same thing Sichuan people eat. If you’re interested in getting the most authentic experience possible, ask where the chef came from and request dishes from that region; some dishes, such as Chongching chicken or Yangzhou fried rice, are associated with a single city, and probably won’t show up on the menu — but they may be available if your chef is from Chongching or Yangzhou.

I’ve had excellent noodles at Peking Kitchen in Beacon, N.Y. off I-84, and more locally, Szechuan Tokyo in West Hartford has good authentic Sichuan food.

But in general, I’ve found that if you want authentic Chinese food, your best bet is to make it yourself.

There’s help. A Dong supermarket, down the street from Szechuan Tokyo in West Hartford, has most of what you’d need to pull off a good Chinese meal, including otherwise hard-to-find vegetables like rape or lotus, hot pot mixes and disposable chopsticks. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you step in, turn left and are greeted by Peking ducks and most of a pig hanging from hooks near the bakery counter.

Now here’s what you can make, authentically, with what you find there.

Well, here are the easiest things, anyway.

Hot pot: Buy a mix and squeeze it out into a pot or wok of boiling water set in the middle of the table where you and your guests will eat.

It will be spicy, and a good mix will look gross going into the pot. But your only prep will be cutting various vegetables — Chinese cabbage, rape, turnip, snap peas — and meats — beef, fish balls, Chinese dumplings — into small enough pieces to cook quickly and eat in a single bite.

Guests can toss in whatever looks good to them and fish it out (preferably with a slotted spoon) when it’s done.

Ramen noodles: No kidding. Though saying Ramen noodles are authentic is as shocking as going to Rome and being served SpaghettiO’s, it’s true. Chinese people eat "kuai mian," or "fast noodles," when they can’t get home-cooked or a sit-down meal — if you’re riding a train, where boiling water is readily available from a spout on each car, or if you’re a poor college student, Ramen noodles are likely a staple of your diet in China.

I think Ramen noodles are best eaten dry and crunchy, whatever continent you’re on, but I’ve never met anyone who ate fast noodles this way who wasn’t from New Britain.

White rice, cooked in a rice cooker: Brown rice is not authentic Chinese; neither is "wild rice."

Rice cookers are incredibly easy to use, quick and do a perfect job every time.

Drinks: You can pick up an aloe vera drink or chrysanthemum tea at A Dong, or you can just drink your water boiling hot. I have yet to find one of my favorite drinks, peanut-walnut milk, in America.

But when I do, I’ll let you know.