Is the St. Paul Sandwich from St. Paul?

If you have ever been to a Chinese restaurant in St. Louis, you will probably have noticed St. Paul sandwiches. But what are these sandwiches and where did they come from?

The St Paul Sandwich

There are two theories as to where they came from.

The first theory is that it was created in the 1940's by Steven Yuen at Park Chop Suey in Lafayette Square and named after his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. It is said that he created it because Chinese food was beginning to be popular with non-Asian people, and he wanted to create something that they were a little more used to: a sandwich.

The second theory is that it was created by Chinese immigrant railroad workers. St. Louis was a large railroad town at the time, so many Chinese immigrants came through St. Louis. They created the sandwich for lunches since it was simple and easily portable. As legend has it, since it was not easy for the immigrants to say "Louis", they changed it to a more simple name: "Paul".

Whichever is true, what's clear is that the sandwich has stood the test of time. It was originally contained four slices of bread with chicken and egg stuffed inside. Now, the sandwich is two slices of white bread, an egg foo young patty, pickles, onions, mayo, lettuce, and tomato, and sometimes with either chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp.

You can't find hardly any St. Louis Chinese restaurants that doesn't have the St. Paul sandwich. But you can find it elsewhere too. These sandwiches have popped up in other Missouri cities such as Jefferson City, Columbia, and Springfield. These sandwiches have also begun to pop up in California and Oregon. Sometimes, they are referred to as things like 'egg foo young on a bun', but it's basically the same thing.