Subgum

Chinese dishes with multiple ingredients

Subgum
Subgum chow mein
Alternative names	shí jǐn
Place of origin	Chinese
Main ingredients	meats, seafood, vegetables

Subgum or sub gum (traditional: 什錦; simplified: 什锦; Cantonese: sap⁶ gam²; pinyin: shí jǐn; literally "ten brocades", metaphorically "numerous and varied") is a type of Chinese dish in which one or more meats or seafood are mixed with vegetables and sometimes also noodles, rice, or soup. It originates from Cantonese cuisine and is a common dish on the menus of Chinese restaurants in North America.

In the United States

The earliest known mention of subgum is in 1902 in a list of Chinese dishes in the Chicago Daily Tribune.^[1] An early indirect mention of sub-gum is in 1906;^[2] in 1909, there is a more explicit reference to sub gum deang at a Chicago restaurant^[3] and in 1913, to sub gum gai suey at a New York City restaurant.^[4]

Notes

^ "A Line-O'-Type Or Two". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 25, 1902. p. 12.
^ Long, J. H.; et al. (January 15, 1906). "Report of the Committee on Preliminary Medical Education". The Councilor's Bulletin. American Medical Association: 260.
^ "'Hi How' Party in Chinatown". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 12, 1909. p. 3.
^ "Sub Gum Hom Theon Gaî". The Edison Monthly. 5 (12): 442. May 1913.