The Search for General Tso (2014)

• Year: 2014
• Released: 02 Jan 2015
• Country: United States, Taiwan, China
• Adwords: N/A
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3576038/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_search_for_general_tso
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, Mandarin
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Documentary, Comedy, History
• Runtime: 71 min
• Writer: Ian Cheney
• Director: Ian Cheney
• Cast: Susan Carter, Ian Cheney, Philip Chiang
• Keywords: food,

	6.9/10
	72/100
	90% – Critics
	75% – Audience

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The Search for General Tso Movie Reviews

Luscious Foodie Documentary Spiced with Humor

The Search for General Tso is an engaging chronicle of cultural assimilation told “with the verve of a good detective story” by writer-director Ian Cheney and producers Amanda Murray and Jennifer 8. Lee and based on a ubiquitous restaurant menu item adapted to Americans’ palate. (A recipe is included on the film’s website.) Shown during the recent Sedona International Film Festival, at other film festivals around the country, and available for viewing through the link above, this popular, humor-laced documentary also traces the history of the real General Tso, a fearsome warrior from the late 19th Century.

The dish was inspired by President Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972 and was introduced at the venerable Shun Lee Palace, near Lincoln Center in New York City. But the dish’s history predates its American introduction. Its originator was a Hunan chef named Peng Chang-kuei, who fled Communist China and settled in Taipei, Taiwan. He created General Tso’s chicken in 1955 for Chiang Kai-shek.

Now 90 years old, Chef Peng frowns when shown a picture of the dish, noting he would never use scallions or decorate the plate with broccoli! To achieve a sweet-and-sour taste, the American version adds sugar—another touch unheard of in traditional Chinese cooking.

Revealing General Tso with plenty of trivia, too!

As someone who loves authentic mainland Chinese cuisine and is consistently perplexed by the Chinese dishes here in USA I was delighted to see this film on the big screen at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) and was not in the least disappointed. The film delves into the history of how and why Americanized Chinese dishes and restaurants spread from San Francisco to the East Coast and also briefly delves into China’s banquet culture and the history of the General himself. The only thing missing from this film for me was some kind of explanation of the extreme use of MSG in dishes such as General Tso’s Chicken but hopefully the directors will take that subject and make a sequel! The style, pace and commentary were all great.

Where did General Tso’s chicken come from?

This amusing film centers around the question “Where did General Tso’s chicken come from?” but the movie is more than that. It uses this relatively silly question to frame Chinese mass emigration to the United States starting with the 1849 Gold Rush in California. This is ground that other sorts of live performances, plays, and movies have covered but “The Search for General Tso” has a particular focus on Chinese restaurants as a major force in spreading the Chinese population in the US out from San Francisco during the 20th century using a series of vignettes shot at Chinese restaurants across the country in the most unlikely (Flagstaff and Phoenix, Arizona; Tucumcarrie, New Mexico; Springfield, Missouri) and likely (San Francisco, New York City) places. Apparently, there were 50,000 Chinese restaurants in the US to choose from.

The movie discusses the origins of what’s perhaps the most popular Chinese dish in America, General Tso. This dish is the seed crystal for the movie’s existence. General Tso did exist. He was a 19th century general in China’s Hunan province. He never ate General Tso’s chicken, which is a 20th century dish that didn’t make it to China until it became popular elsewhere. Part of this movie’s charm is the step-by-step investigation into the origin and evolution of this dish to suit national palettes.

I really enjoyed the light tone of this movie. It and the people interviewed in the movie don’t take themselves too seriously. Everyone on screen is having fun and it shows. If the movie has one flaw, and the reason I marked it down from 10 stars, is that it seems to drag at points even with its short run time. But that should not stop you from seeing it. I heard about it on NBC News and quickly found it could be viewed on Amazon Prime for a few bucks. It’s not likely to get a national run, so Amazon is a good distribution choice.