Jake Harper
General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried chicken dish that is perhaps the single dish most associated with Chinese food in the U.S. Despite this, the dish is not from Hunan, China, or even Taiwan. It was invented by a Taiwanese chef, Peng Chang-kuei, who adjusted his version of Hunan cuisine for the American palate. The dish was then brought to the U.S. by Chinese chefs.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Named After | Tso Tsung-t'ang (Zuo Zongtang), a Qing dynasty general and statesman |
| Origin | New York City, 1970s |
| Invented By | Peng Chang-kuei, a Taiwanese chef |
| Cuisine | Hunan, Taiwanese-influenced |
| Style | Sweet and spicy, deep-fried |
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What You'll Learn
General Tso's chicken was invented in New York in the 1970s
General Tso's chicken, also known as Zuǒ Zōngtáng jī, is a sweet and spicy deep-fried chicken dish. It was retroactively named after Zuo Zongtang (Tso Tsung-t'ang), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader from Hunan Province, who lived from 1812 to 1885. Chef Eileen Yin-Fei Lo speculated that the name "Zongtang" was not a reference to Zuo Zongtang but rather the homophone "zongtang," meaning "the hall of the ancestors."
General Tso's chicken was invented in New York City in the 1970s by two Chinese chefs, Peng Chang-kuei and T. T. Wang. Peng Chang-kuei, a chef from Hunan Province, created the dish sometime in the 1950s or 1970s. He introduced it to his restaurant in New York, "Uncle Peng's Hunan Yuan," on East 44th Street in 1973. The dish was originally prepared with typical Hunan flavours—heavy, sour, hot, and salty. However, when Peng brought it to New York, he made it the house specialty due to its commonplace ingredients.
T. T. Wang, on the other hand, was the executive chef and part-owner of New York's Shun Lee Palace. He discovered General Tso's chicken while travelling to Taiwan in the 1970s, where he encountered Peng's restaurant. Wang modified the dish by adding a crispier batter to the chicken and making the sauce sweeter. When Peng opened his New York City restaurant, he was surprised to find that his dish had already been introduced to the city by Wang.
Shun Lee Palace, located at 155 E. 55th St. and 43 W. 65th St., also claims to be the first restaurant to serve General Tso's chicken, invented by T. T. Wang in 1972. Michael Tong, the owner, asserted that they were the first Hunanese restaurant in the country, and their dishes were copied by other Hunanese restaurants in America. Thus, General Tso's chicken, as we know it today, with its unique combination of sweet and spicy flavours, was popularized in New York City during the 1970s.
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It was created by a Taiwanese chef
General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried chicken dish that was retroactively named after Zuo Zongtang (Tso Tsung-t'ang), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader from Hunan Province. The dish is said to have been created by Peng Chang-kuei, a Hunanese chef based in Taipei, Taiwan, who fled there with the Chinese Nationalists after their 1949 defeat by Mao Zedong's Communists.
Peng claimed that he first cooked General Tso's chicken sometime in the 1950s, and he introduced the dish to New York City when he opened his first restaurant, Uncle Peng's Hunan Yuan, in 1973. The dish was originally a speciality of his restaurant, but it soon attracted the attention of American food writers and officials at the nearby United Nations HQ, including the American Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, who became a regular customer.
Peng's original recipe for General Tso's chicken was quite different from the modern American version. It was more typical of Hunan cuisine, with heavy, sour, hot, and salty flavours, and without the modern sweetness. In fact, when Peng later introduced the dish to Hunan in the 1990s, locals found it too sweet, and his restaurant quickly closed.
The modern American version of General Tso's chicken was likely influenced by T.T. Wang, a Chinese immigrant chef who worked at New York's Hunan-style restaurant, Hunam, in 1972. Wang borrowed Peng's recipe but adapted it to appeal to American tastes, thickening the batter and sweetening the sauce. This version of the dish drew the attention of food writers such as Fuchsia Dunlop and Jennifer 8. Lee, and it began to appear on the menus of Hunanese restaurants across America.
Despite its international reputation as a Hunanese dish, General Tso's chicken is virtually unknown in Hunan itself. However, some restaurants in Hunan Province have started to add it to their menus as a traditional Hunanese dish due to its popularity among Chinese-Americans.
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It was named after a 19th-century general from Hunan province
General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried chicken dish. It is named after Zuo Zongtang, a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader from Hunan Province, born in 1812 in Xiangyin county and who died in 1885. He led successful military campaigns against various rebel groups and is best known for recapturing Xinjiang from rebellious Uyghur Muslims.
Despite being named after a Hunanese figure, the dish is not actually from Hunan or China. It was invented in New York in the 1970s by a Taiwanese chef who adjusted Hunan cuisine to suit the American palate. The dish was originally less spicy and sweeter than traditional Hunan food, which tends to be hot and salty with fresh chillies.
General Tso's chicken was popularized in the United States by Chef Peng Chang-kuei, who was born in Hunan Province but fled to Taiwan (then called Formosa) with the Nationalists after their defeat by the Communists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. He opened his first restaurant in New York in 1973, and his cooking attracted the attention of officials, including the American Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger.
Although the dish is not authentically Hunanese or Chinese, it has become a key part of Hunanese culinary history and is often considered the most famous Hunanese dish in the world. It embodies the story of the Chinese diaspora and their adaptation to American society.
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The dish is not authentic Hunanese cuisine
General Tso's chicken is named after Tso Tsung-t'ang (now usually transliterated as Zuo Zongtang), a formidable nineteenth-century general from Hunan province. Despite its name, the dish is not authentic Hunanese cuisine.
Although General Tso's chicken is the most famous Hunanese dish outside of China, it is virtually unknown in Hunan itself. When food writer Fuchsia Dunlop lived in Hunan in 2003, she could not find it on any restaurant menus, and no one she met had heard of it. As she learned more about Hunanese food, she realized that the dish was quite different from the local palate, as Hunanese people generally do not like to combine sweet and spicy flavors in the same way that General Tso's chicken does.
Peng Chang-kuei, a chef from Hunan who is often credited with inventing the dish, confirmed that it did not exist in Hunanese cuisine before he created it sometime in the 1950s. He described the flavors of the dish as "typically Hunanese—heavy, sour, hot, and salty," but noted that the locals found it too sweet when he introduced it to Hunan in the 1990s.
Instead, General Tso's chicken seems to have originated in Taiwan and was popularized in the United States, where it has become synonymous with Hunanese cuisine. It was likely adapted to suit the tastes of Americans, and its fame led to it being expected of Hunanese chefs, even though it was not a traditional Hunanese dish.
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It was adapted to suit the American palate
General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried chicken dish that was retroactively named after Zuo Zongtang (Tso Tsung-t'ang), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader from Hunan Province. Although the dish was created by a Chinese chef, it was crafted to suit the taste buds of Americans and was further morphed to accommodate the taste preferences of the general American public.
The dish was first served in the 1950s, when Chef Peng Chang-kuei, a Hunan-born chef, fled to Taiwan with the Nationalists after the Chinese Civil War. In 1952, he was invited by the Republic of China Navy to be in charge of a three-day state banquet during Admiral Arthur W. Radford's visit to Taiwan. Peng claimed that on the third day, he served Tso's chicken on Radford's menu. According to U.S. diplomatic records, Radford's visit was during June 2–6, 1953. However, another story proposed by a Taiwanese food writer claims that Peng improvised the dish for Chiang Ching-kuo, the son of President Chiang Kai-shek, when he paid a late visit to Peng's restaurant and he had run out of ingredients.
In 1973, Peng moved to New York and opened a Hunan-style restaurant called Uncle Peng's Hunan Yuan, which drew a diplomatic crowd, including U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. However, variations of Peng's signature chicken dish were already circulating on rival menus. Among those serving their own takes on General Tso's chicken were Chinese chef Tsung Ting Wang and restaurateur David Keh. Their versions featured thicker batters and sweeter sauces, tailored to contemporary American palates.
When Peng introduced Tso's chicken in Hunan in the 1990s, the locals found the dish too sweet, and his restaurant quickly closed. Traditional Hunan flavors are heavy, sour, hot, and salty, which differ significantly from the sweeter and crispier adaptations of the dish that gained popularity in America. In Taiwan, where the dish originated, it is also not served sweet; the chicken is cooked with its skin, and soy sauce plays a much more prominent role.
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Frequently asked questions
General Tso's chicken is named after Zuo Zongtang, a Qing dynasty general and statesman from Hunan Province. However, the dish was likely invented in Taiwan by a chef who adjusted Hunan cuisine to suit the American palate. It was then brought to the U.S. by Chinese chefs.
No, it is not a traditional Hunan dish. While it is named after a historical figure from Hunan Province and may feature some Hunan flavours, it is not a dish that originated in the region. In fact, it is said to be virtually unknown in Hunan.
General Tso's chicken is named after Zuo Zongtang, a 19th-century general who is said to have enjoyed eating the dish. However, some speculate that the name may be a reference to "zongtang," meaning "the hall of the ancestors."
There is some debate over who invented General Tso's chicken. Two Chinese chefs, Peng Chang-kuei and T.T. Wang, each claimed to have created the dish in New York City. Peng recalled that he first cooked it sometime in the 1950s, while T.T. Wang claimed to have invented it in 1972.
