General Tso’s Chicken Was Created In The 1950s, And Here’s The History Behind The Popular Dish
Across the United States, General Tso’s chicken is a mainstay of any Chinese restaurant. Americans everywhere love the delicious dish of deep-fried boneless chicken nuggets tossed in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce. In 2014, it was the most popular Chinese takeout item, according to the food delivery platform Grubhub.
General Tso’s chicken is known as a Chinese American dish. Maybe you even thought it was first cooked here in the States.
However, it was actually created by a Chinese chef in Taiwan during the 1950s. The chicken was also named after a real 19th-century Hunanese general, Zuo Zongtang, or Tso Tsung-t’ang.
The general came from an impoverished background. He rose through the ranks to establish himself as one of the most prominent military leaders in China.
He was a war hero who worked to suppress the great rebellions that threatened the imperial government during the latter half of the 19th century. Now, that’s chicken with a rich history!
The inventor of General Tso’s chicken was Chef Peng Chang-kuei from China’s Hunan province. He was a famous, talented chef who organized the banquets for the Chinese Nationalist Government.
When the government was defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communists during the revolution of 1949, Peng fled the country and escaped to Taiwan.
During the 1950s, Peng opened up a restaurant in the capital of Taipei. For years, he served food inspired by traditional Hunanese cooking, including General Tso’s chicken.
According to Peng in 2004, the original flavors of the dish were “typically Hunanese—heavy, sour, hot, and salty.”
Akaberka – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
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It wasn’t sweet or deep-fried like the General Tso’s chicken we know today, which are uniquely American twists.
The modern American version arose in 1970s New York with a chef named Tsung Ting Wang. From 1973 to 1975, Wang traveled to Taiwan on a culinary research trip in preparation for the opening of his Hunam Restaurant.
He discovered Peng’s restaurant and incorporated a sweeter, fried version of General Tso’s chicken when he returned to New York.
About a year and a half later, Peng opened his own restaurant in New York City, only to find out that New Yorkers were already eating his food.
Many people even believed he was the one ripping off Wang, so his dish seemed more like an imitation rather than the original. Eventually, Peng adjusted his own recipe to cater to American palates. Peng died in 2016 at the age of 97.
General Tso’s chicken became so popular that some chefs in Hunan Province even added the dish to their menus, citing it as “traditional,” even though it’s untrue.
In America, General Tso’s chicken is often served with broccoli. However, the vegetable isn’t even grown in China.
Italian immigrants introduced broccoli to the U.S. in the early 20th century. Now, it is imported to China, where it is viewed as “exotic” produce.
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