Chef Peng Chang-Kuei creator of General Tso's chicken dies at age 98

Creator Of General Tso’s Chicken Chef Peng Chang-Kuei Dead At 98

It’s a sad day at Chinese restaurants and hood eateries all across America and beyond. Chef Peng Chang-kuei, the inventor of the famed “General Tso’s chicken” has passed away from pneumonia at the ripe old age of 98 according to TaiwanNews.

For those of you wondering the origin of this ubiquitous dish, here’s a little history:

According to an interview with the China Times, Peng says that his most famous dish was created in 1952 during a four-day visit by U.S. Seventh Fleet commander Admiral Arthur W. Radford. After three days, he had served the guests most of his repertoire of dishes, so to try and mix things up a bit, he decided to chop some chicken into big chunks, fry it to a golden hue and then added a different combination of sauce and seasoning to create a new dish.

The admiral was so impressed with the dish that he asked Peng what it was called, he thought quickly on his feet and said “General Tso’s Chicken” (左宗棠雞).

Peng chose the name to honor General Tso, a famous military leader from Hunan who helped put down the Taiping Rebellion as well as other rebellions in the 1800s during the Qing Dynasty. He was well respected not only for his successes on the battlefield, but also for his contributions to Chinese agricultural science and education.

Pay homage to a legend. Cop you some General Tso’s chicken for dinner tonight and thank whatever god you pray to for Chef Peng Chang-kuei.

Image via Shutterstock/YouTube