The Creator of General Tso's Chicken Has Died
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Source: Grub Street
In the canon of 20th-century foods, there are few if any dishes that loom larger than General Tsos Chicken. Its a ubiquitous staple of Chinese restaurants, of which there are more in the United States than Burger Kings, Dominos, McDonalds, Pizza Huts, and Wendys combined. When people talk about Chinese-American food theyre probably talking about General Tsos chicken, and its as much a staple comfort food that Americans cling to as pizza or wings. On Wednesday, the chef whos often credited with inventing the iconic dish, Peng Chang-kuei, died from pneumonia at the age of 98.
Peng was born in Changsha, Hunan, and named his creation, its flavors inspired by his homes cuisine, for one of the provinces famous generals. But as was documented by both Chinese-food authority Fuchsia Dunlop, who wrote an acclaimed cookbook about Hunanese food, and in the documentary Search for General Tso, no one in Hunan really knows about the dish. Thats because it was invented in Taiwan, where a lot of Chinas classically trained chefs fled after the Chinese Civil War. Peng had serious chops: He trained under Hunanese chef Cao Jing-chen, the family cook for one of Chinas former prime ministers, and ran Nationalist government banquets after World War II. Like a lot of Chinas great cooks, who by virtue of their vocation had ties to the upper class, he fled to Taiwan after the fall of the Nationalist government in 1949.
Three years later, according to Peng, he invented the dish that would become a staple of the American diet while cooking for American Admiral Arthur W. Radford. He brought it to the United States in 1971 when he opened a restaurant in New York one Mimi Sheraton of the New York Times called it a stir‐fried masterpiece and it soon became a craze. It quickly landed at Shun Lee Palace, where RedFarm owner and Chinese-food obsessive Ed Schoenfeld says Chef T. T. Wang made it tarter and sweeter to accommodate the American palate. Peng tried to launch a chain of restaurants in the United States, and while his plans were foiled, his creation swept the nation. But drop into any Chinese-American restaurant from Anchorage, Alaska, to Harrisonville, Missouri, to Garden City, Long Island, and youll find General Tsos on the menu.
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JI7
(89,173 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)Must be in the food he ate.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)on the day he died. The idiots made it with no top bun- they used a bottom bun in its place. How do you have a Big Mac without the sesame seeds? On Saturdays, the wife and I go to our local Chinese joint (been going there for 15 years or so), so I guess I know what I will be ordering.
mahatmakanejeeves
(56,888 posts)Solvers of crossword puzzles everywhere are in mourning.
Table
(36 posts)if they had not invented that dish!
NWCorona
(8,541 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)is my go to dish.
Beartracks
(12,761 posts)RIP Peng.
And thanks for the post, brooklynite; I didn't realize that my favorite dish on the local Chinese buffet was such an ubiquitous -- and American -- entree.
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underpants
(182,273 posts)Seriously at this point they should just show up with $25 worth of food - they are bound to get most of it right.
Lochloosa
(16,018 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)we have been going to the same place about once a week for 15 years or so. When I do order carry out, they recognize my voice on the phone.
JudyM
(29,122 posts)Trader Joe's makes a fairly decent bottled version of the sauce. Anyone else have a favorite brand?
RIP, honored chef!
Warpy
(110,900 posts)was a way to stretch one chicken to feed a huge crowd. About the only saving grace of this dish is the hot sauce it's served in. Alas, there are too many bad restaurants out there that make it sugary as well as spicy, totally foul.
marybourg
(12,540 posts)talked about Chinese food (in NYC) were talking about chow mein. There was chicken, shrimp or plain (vegetarian now).
GeorgeGist
(25,294 posts)was General Tso's chicken. Never looked back.
TuslaUltra
(75 posts)of the cultural pluses diversity brings us.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)the thing I miss about Cleveland the most is the ethnic diversity. With that comes a lot of great food. I haven't had a decent pierogi since 1992.
trueblue2007
(17,138 posts)Published on Jul 22, 2013
Who is General Tso and what makes his Chicken so delicious? Find out as Chef Katie Chin unravels the mystery and magic so that you make make this delicious dish right in your own kitchen.
IronLionZion
(45,256 posts)I always figured it was something Americans made up, fried chicken in sweet sauce, that just happens to be everywhere in our country and nowhere else.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,150 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,759 posts)Taipei and Hong Kong and have never heard of it.
Feeling the Bern
(3,839 posts)gou liang (狗粮 means dog food.
BumRushDaShow
(127,295 posts)I've been making my own the past couple years.
Response to brooklynite (Original post)
eppur_se_muova This message was self-deleted by its author.
hollowdweller
(4,229 posts)Such a cool name.
tavernier
(12,322 posts)every few weeks. (My daughter is the cook for 3 schools in our county). Basically just chicken nuggets in sweet and sour sauce with broccoli, but the kids love it. Something different with a nice flavor.
Funny story... once years ago my friend who was the refrigeration guy at all the local restaurants went to our local Chinese, to the back door. While there he noticed the owner and son running over a board with a package on it with their truck. Jon, curious, asked what it was. They told him, "Pressed duck."
Ellen Forradalom
(16,159 posts)To offer his condolences.