Who is General Tsao?

Question

In most Chinese restaraunts they have a dish called "General Tsao's Chicken". Who was he, and what was so special about his chicken?

Answer 1

Actually General Tsao was named after the popular chicken dish.

Tso What?

Well, General Tsao is a Video game character. For a humorous description of the name and the recipe check out what Eric Hochman has to say at: http://www.echonyc.com/~erich/tso.htm

For an insightful description of Gen. Tso and how the dish may have originated amongst the Chinese read this New York Times article by Michael Browning at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59302-2002Apr16

Browning's knowledge comes from 9 years in China for Knight-Ridder, based in Beijing.

Answer 2

HE is the General who invaded Rangoon in the 2nd Century. This was known as the great poultry war. He invented Chinas superweapon of the time, A catapault that fired large boiling pots of a sweet and sour barbecue sauce. Hence the invention of Gen Tsao's chicken.

Answer 3

General Tso's chicken

Typical General Tso's ChickenGeneral Tso's chicken (左公雞, Hanyu Pinyin Zuǒ gōng jī; or 左宗棠雞, Zuǒ Zōng Táng jī in Mandarin Chinese) is a sweet and spicy deep-fried dish that is popularly served in American and Canadian Chinese restaurants. The dish is unknown in China and other lands home to the Chinese diaspora. It likely was introduced to New York City in the early 1970s as an example of Hunan and Szechuan-style cooking.


Overview
General Tso's Chicken commonly consists of dark-meat tidbits of chicken that are deep-fried and seasoned with ginger, garlic, sesame oil, scallions, and hot chili peppers, and often served with steamed broccoli. Tomato ketchup is sometimes included as part of the recipe. Though relatively inexpensive to produce, General Tso's chicken is often listed as a "Chef's Specialty" at Chinese restaurants in North America, commanding a higher price than other items. Often, more gourmet Chinese restaurants will either not make this dish at all, or will make it with white meat rather than dark meat because white meat is considered better in gourmet American cooking, whereas dark meat is considered better in Asian cooking. Many restaurants, especially in areas with many vegetarians, also serve General Tso's Tofu, which many non-vegetarians also prefer to the dark meat of the chicken typically used in General Tso's Chicken. Other variants substitute shrimp for the chicken.

Answer 4

Cousin of Colonel Sanders.

Answer 5

son of his father

Answer 6

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Tso's_Chicken