Emily Chan
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.”
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