The Search for General Tso
- -From New York City to the farmlands of the Midwest, there are 50,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S., yet one dish in particular has conquered the American culinary landscape with a force befitting its military moniker—“General Tso’s Chicken.” But who was General Tso and how did this dish become so ubiquitous? Ian Cheney’s delightfully insightful documentary charts the history of Chinese Americans through the surprising origins of this sticky, sweet, just-spicy-enough dish that we’ve adopted as our own.
Photos
Storyline
Details
Box Office
Company Credits
Technical Specs
A documentary film about Chinese food in America
This mouthwateringly entertaining film travels the globe to unravel a captivating culinary mystery.
General Tso’s chicken is a staple of Chinese-American cooking, and a ubiquitous presence on restaurant menus across the country.
But just who was General Tso?
And how did his chicken become emblematic of an entire national cuisine?
Director Ian Cheney (King Corn, The City Dark) journeys from Shanghai to New York to the American Midwest and beyond to uncover the origins of this iconic dish, turning up surprising revelations and a host of humorous characters along the way.
Told with the verve of a good detective story,The Search for General Tso is as much about food as it is a tale of the American immigrant experience. A Sundance Selects release from IFC Films.