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When it first appeared in 1963 at the Grove Supper Club, Springfield-style cashew chicken was an instant success. As an attempt to merge the two worlds, chef David Leong, a Chinese immigrant, modified its native cuisine so that it would appeal to the locals' taste.
Instead of stir-frying, he dipped the pieces of chicken meat in batter, deep-fried them, and then coated them with a thickened dressing made from soy sauce, chicken broth, and oyster sauce. The dish is typically served over rice and garnished with crushed cashews and chopped green onions.
MOST ICONIC Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken
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Chicken nuggets are chicken products made from meat slurry that is breaded or battered, then baked or deep-fried. Although the dish is highly caloric, it used to be considered a healthy alternative to the beef that was already offered. The nuggets were invented in the 1950s by a food science professor at Cornell University named Robert C.
Baker. His prototype nugget mastered two challenges: keeping ground meat intact without putting a skin around it, and making batter stick to the meat in spite of the explosive heat of deep-frying. Baker invented the nuggets as a way to boost poultry sales, turning it into convenience food that appealed to lazy cooks.
MOST ICONIC Chicken Nuggets
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Chicken fingers is an American invention consisting of strips of white poultry meat that are coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried in hot oil. They are often served as an appetizer or a snack, although they can be consumed as a main meal, preferably with dips such as ketchup, mayonnaise, honey mustard, or barbecue sauce on the side.
Chicken fingers are often accompanied by french fries, and because they are easy to prepare and can be consumed without any utensils, the popularity of the dish is still intact throughout the country.
MOST ICONIC Chicken Fingers
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “3 Worst Rated American Fried Chicken Dishes” list until April 19, 2025, 3,723 ratings were recorded, of which 3,413 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.