You’d be hard-pressed to find a Chinese restaurant in the United States without General Tso’s (also called General Zuo’s) chicken on the menu. However, if you take a visit to Hunan, a province in China, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has even heard of the dish. General Tso’s chicken is an Americanized Chinese food dish consisting of battered chicken in a sweet and spicy sauce. But how did the dish get its name, and where did it come from?
Tso Tsung-t’ang, also known as Zuo Zongtang, was a general in the 19th century, and legend says that he enjoyed eating the dish. He was part of the military administration through the Qing dynasty and is known for his capturing of the desert region of Xinjiang. General Tsung-t’ang helped recapture the land from the Uyghur Muslims. No one knows how this honored man became the inspiration behind the Chinese food dish we’ve all come to know and love.
The story goes that a notable chef, Peng Chang-kuei, had previously cooked for the general, but when he was asked in New York in the 1970s to make the meal he had made for the general, he could not quite remember. He created what is now known as General Tso’s chicken, which is said to be very different from the original General Tso’s chicken, which had no sugar and tasted more like traditional Hunanese cuisine. However, the dish caught on and was imitated by many. Although it is touted as a historical dish that comes right from Hunan, it was invented in America less than a half century ago.