A lot of so called "Chinese Food" is actually Californian, in that it was invented in California.
Bill Bryson in "Made in America" reports that the following "Chinese" dishes were invented in America:

Chop-Suey (actually means "miscellany in Cantonese") was invented in San Francisco in the late 19th Century
The fortune cookie comes from Los Angeles (1910s)
Chow Mein was invented in 1927

This is by no means limited to chinese food. The same is the case with many other types of food that does not come from the country people think it comes from.

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