The St. Paul sandwich can be found in many
Chinese American restaurants in
St. Louis, Missouri, as well as in other cities in Missouri, including
Columbia,
Jefferson City, and
Springfield. The
sandwich consists of an
egg foo young patty (made with
mung bean sprouts and minced white onions) served with dill
pickle slices,
white onion,
mayonnaise
Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...
, and
lettuce
Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...
between two slices of
white bread. The St. Paul sandwich also comes in different combinations and specials, such as chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, and other varieties.
Origin
One source has the origin of the St. Paul sandwich dating to the early 1940s, when Chinese restaurants created the sandwich as a unique dish that was in a more familiar sandwich form to appeal to the palates of
Midwestern Americans,
an early example of
fusion cuisine. According to local legend, the St. Paul sandwich was invented by Steven Yuen at Park Chop Suey in
Lafayette Square, a neighborhood near
downtown St. Louis; Yuen named the sandwich after his hometown of
St. Paul, Minnesota.
Food writers
James Beard and Evan Jones believed that the
Denver or Western sandwich was created by "the many Chinese chefs who cooked for
logging camp
A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...
s and railroad gangs in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries" and was probably derived from
egg foo young. They think that the early Denver sandwiches had the same ingredients as what were later known as St. Paul sandwiches in St. Louis and a few other Missouri cities.
This sandwich was featured in the
PBS documentary ''
Sandwiches That You Will Like'' in 2003. It was featured in a 2016 book by artist Kelly Pratt, called ''Stately Sandwiches'', as the sandwich chosen to represent the state of Missouri.
Availability
It is usually only available in Chinese restaurants in the St. Louis metropolitan area as well as a select few
Chinese American restaurants in outlying regions of
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, the owners of which are typically originally from St. Louis.
it is not in the
Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
See also
*''
Bánh mì''
*
Chow mein sandwich
*
Denver sandwich
A Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the ...
*
List of American sandwiches
*
List of egg dishes
*
List of regional dishes of the United States
*
List of sandwiches
*
Roti john
*
Cuisine of St. Louis
References
Further reading
*
External links
Article on the St. Paul sandwich by Thomas Crone"St. Louie Chop Suey," St. Louis Riverfront Times, Nov 15, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul sandwich
American Chinese cuisine
American sandwiches
Asian-American culture in Missouri
Chinese fusion cuisine
Cuisine of St. Louis
Egg sandwiches