Food Trivia Question from the Oriental Oasis Newsletter
TRIVIA QUESTION: Born in Hunan to well-off parents, I had a
distinguished military career, which resulted in my achieving the rank of
general. Eventually I led a more sedentary life as the governor of the province
of Chekiang (home to "thick soy sauce," the brown sauce frequently
used in fried rice dishes). Under my governance a group of rebels was driven out
of the province. (Online Source: The Straight Dope Science Advisory Board,
Mailbag). Today, my claim to fame lies not in my military achievements, but
in the fact that a particularly tasty chicken dish bears my name. Who am
I?
TRIVIA ANSWER: General Tso. According to the source listed above, the good
general (who name is also spelled Tsao) was born in the early 1800's and died in
1885. While details surrounding his life are readily obtainable, the
origins of General Tso's Chicken are more tricky. There's some thought
that the dish was invented in New York in the 1970's, about the time that
residents of the Big Apple discovered spicy Hunan and Szechuan cuisine. However,
in The Chinese Kitchen, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo notes that the dish is an
authentic Hunan classic. Named "chung tong gai," or "ancestor meeting
place chicken," Lo believes that misspellings and incorrect translations
may have eventually led to the dish being renamed. In any event, it is
definitely fit for a general, as the following recipe demonstrates.
Recipes
General Tso's Chicken
