Chinese food was one of the major takeout pillars that my family drew upon when nobody felt like cooking. Chow mein—although it was something that we should have been calling lo mein—ham fried rice, sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls with hot mustard were all gleefully consumed by my family on a fairly regular basis. It wasn’t until I was much older that I understood the chasm between the Chinese food of my youth and the traditional Chinese cuisine that inspired it, and now I’m once again expanding my perspective on these versatile dishes.