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Subgum

Chinese dishes with multiple ingredients

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated July 28, 2026
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Subgum or sub gum (simplified Chinese: 什 锦; traditional Chinese: 什 錦; pinyin: shí jǐn; Jyutping: sap6 gam2; lit. 'assorted 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 in Cantonese cuisine and is a common dish on the menus of Chinese restaurants in North America.

01In the United States

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

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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Subgum”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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