Today I bring you a carefully curated selection of the almost 30 Canadian Foods featured in a new post from Dailyhive.com/Dished. I do this because the fact that these particular menu items were invented in Canada will probably come as a surprise to you – like it did to me!
Ginger Beef with Broccoli: An ‘Asian’ dish created right here in Canada!
Okay… We all know that Poutine, Tarte au Sucre (Sugar Pie) and Tourtière are classic French-Canadian creations. Likewise, the Beaver Tail (a Pastry), the incomparable Nanaimo Bar, and Peameal (‘Back’) Bacon are as Canadian as Rye Whiskey and Butter Tarts. But you’ll pro0bably be surprised to discover that some other iconic foods you know and love were invented here, as well.
Some ‘Asian’ delicacies…
The origins of these classic ‘Asian’ dishes can actually be traced back to Canadian restaurants.
One that surprised even me was Ginger Beef! It’s a stir fry (see photo, above) that features thinly-sliced boneless Beef in a Sweet-Spicy glaze usually accompanied by Sweet Peppers, Carrots and Onions, and occasionally Broccoli. No ancient specialty here; it was first prepared in the mid-1970s by chef George Wong at the Silver Inn in Calgary, Alberta.
And did you know that immigrant cooks at West Coast ‘Chinatown’ restaurants did not invent all the so-called American-Chinese dishes? Chinese immigrants who came to Canada to help build the Canadian-Pacific Railroad founded a Canadian-Chinese restaurant culture exemplified by distinctly-Canadian versions of Cantonese-style dishes such as Chop Suey and Chow Mein. And the creation of the universally-popular ‘Chinese Buffet’ restaurant concept is credited reliably to Asian entrepreneurs on the Canadian Prairies where every town has it’s ‘Chinese Café’.
‘All-American’ foods and brands invented in Canada
Hold onto your spoons: Shreddies Cereal was first manufactured and sold in Canada in 1936, and didn’t début in the U.S. until 1953! Who can forget the saturation campaign of TV commercials of the 60s and 70s pushing ‘Good, Good whole wheat Shreddies’ to kids during the Saturday Morning Cartoons? Shreddies remain a favourite breakfast to this day.
Here’s another one that most folks don’t suspect: Hawaiian Pizza. Created in 1954 in Chatham, Ontario, by Greek-Canadian chef Sotirios Panopoulos, it’s traditionally constructed of regular Red Pizza Sauce topped with Ham and Pineapple (see photo, top of page) and sometimes Bacon. It’s said that Panopoulos was inspired by the Hawaiian ‘national’ craze for Pig in all its forms and the uniqueness of the Pineapple which was then commercially produced en masse for export in Hawaii.
And… I’ll bet you thought the California Roll was either an American creation or an adaptation of a genuine Japanese Sushi specialty. Nope! It was created in Vancouver, BC. in 1971. First dubbed the Tojo-maki Roll, it was created by chef Hidekazu Tojo, a Japanese immigrant. The Roll became associated immediately with the West Coast and was quickly appropriated by California Sushi houses where it built a huge following that soon submerged its original identity.
Anyway…
There are many more Canadian dishes that you’ll think were invented elsewhere… You owe it to yourself to check out the Dailyhive.com post!
~ Maggie J.