1
00:00:24,310 --> 00:00:26,610
Chi? Chi?
2
00:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,580
Chi?
3
00:00:29,580 --> 00:00:30,940
Hello? Chi?
4
00:00:30,940 --> 00:00:31,970
Yeah.
5
00:00:31,980 --> 00:00:34,210
Are you ready?
Yeah.
6
00:00:34,210 --> 00:00:35,570
Hi!
7
00:00:39,650 --> 00:00:42,850
Give me that dish
and for the oil I need water.
8
00:00:42,850 --> 00:00:45,250
Oil. Water.
9
00:00:46,820 --> 00:00:48,880
Give me the brush.
I need a brush.
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00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,020
1
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00:01:28,030 --> 00:01:29,470
2
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What is General Tso's chicken?
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00:01:44,140 --> 00:01:45,900
General Tso's chicken
is usually...
14
00:01:45,910 --> 00:01:47,140
chicken legs.
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00:01:47,140 --> 00:01:48,500
Dark meat of the chicken.
16
00:01:48,510 --> 00:01:50,000
Best made from dark meat.
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00:01:50,010 --> 00:01:51,610
They, cut about, uh..
18
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Inch square.
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00:01:55,980 --> 00:01:58,010
Marinade that was thick white.
20
00:01:58,950 --> 00:02:01,650
Deep fried in a wok.
21
00:02:01,650 --> 00:02:03,750
And is quickly
tossed in the sauce.
22
00:02:05,390 --> 00:02:07,520
- Garlicky.
- Tangy.
23
00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:08,850
Intensive heat.
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00:02:08,860 --> 00:02:11,030
With sweet intensive taste.
25
00:02:11,030 --> 00:02:13,500
- Salty.
- Outside little crisp.
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00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:14,930
Inside still tender.
27
00:02:14,930 --> 00:02:17,800
A glorious, sweet,
fried chicken dish.
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00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:24,260
I don't think that
General Tso's chicken's
29
00:02:24,270 --> 00:02:27,540
The most popular
ethnic dish in the country
30
00:02:27,540 --> 00:02:29,540
Only because there's pizza.
31
00:02:30,670 --> 00:02:32,030
Restaurant after restaurant
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00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,100
It's become
american food, almost.
33
00:02:35,310 --> 00:02:39,370
My customer, they come here
7 times a week.
34
00:02:39,380 --> 00:02:41,340
Unbelievable.
35
00:02:41,350 --> 00:02:43,790
I can't wait to start
chowing down on this.
36
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,580
I don't know that
there was a manual
37
00:02:53,590 --> 00:02:56,560
For restaurateurs,
but you'll find
38
00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,060
A random Chinese restaurant
in the middle of nowhere
39
00:02:59,060 --> 00:03:01,760
And all of a sudden selling
General Tso's chicken.
40
00:03:02,700 --> 00:03:04,700
How did that happen?
41
00:03:32,690 --> 00:03:34,180
Almond chicken, walnut chicken
42
00:03:34,190 --> 00:03:36,820
Chow gai pan, which
is boneless chicken
43
00:03:36,830 --> 00:03:38,500
Crispy baked chicken,
sesame chicken.
44
00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:42,200
Oh, there he is,
the General, $10.95.
45
00:03:43,500 --> 00:03:47,540
In 1981,
I was new to New York City
46
00:03:47,540 --> 00:03:50,570
And I was alone in an apartment
on the upper westside.
47
00:03:50,570 --> 00:03:53,830
And I heard a riffle at the door
48
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,270
And I thought, "Oh, great,
I've been here three days
49
00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:57,910
and I'm about to get robbed."
50
00:03:57,910 --> 00:04:00,850
And I peeked out
from around the corner
51
00:04:00,850 --> 00:04:03,780
and saw something slide
under the front door
52
00:04:03,780 --> 00:04:05,640
and few minutes later
I got up the nerve
53
00:04:05,650 --> 00:04:07,520
and went and looked at it
and it was from
54
00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,690
Hunan Royal Restaurant.
A Chinese takeout menu.
55
00:04:12,990 --> 00:04:16,460
Thus began, uh,
what's now a quarter century of
56
00:04:16,460 --> 00:04:19,460
Collecting Chinese restaurant
memorabilia.
57
00:04:19,460 --> 00:04:22,390
This is my Chinese restaurant
memorabilia archive.
58
00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,330
It starts up here
with large format menus.
59
00:04:25,330 --> 00:04:28,030
It fills these shelves.
60
00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:29,700
And these shelves.
61
00:04:29,700 --> 00:04:32,400
I have over 10,000
restaurant menus
62
00:04:32,410 --> 00:04:34,640
From all 50 United States
63
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,270
From over a 100 nations
around the world.
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00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,510
This is my Guinness World Record
65
00:04:39,510 --> 00:04:43,170
For the world's largest
collection of restaurant menus.
66
00:04:43,180 --> 00:04:46,640
Rosticceria Chinese,
a Chinese roast shop.
67
00:04:46,650 --> 00:04:48,710
For some reason in Italy
68
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,120
Chinese takeout menus
are squares.
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00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:53,850
Lucky 8 Chinese Restaurant
70
00:04:53,860 --> 00:04:55,390
With Bruce Lee on the cover.
71
00:04:55,390 --> 00:04:58,020
I don't think they're paying
the Bruce Lee family
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00:04:58,030 --> 00:05:00,400
any royalties, but I don't know.
73
00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,770
Beyond the menus I collect
matchbooks, postcards
74
00:05:04,770 --> 00:05:08,370
Toothpicks, chopsticks
calendars, magnets
75
00:05:08,370 --> 00:05:10,570
Baseball caps, t-shirts.
76
00:05:10,570 --> 00:05:13,370
Wooden stir fry
slicing play set.
77
00:05:13,370 --> 00:05:15,670
Our son was given this
when he was born
78
00:05:15,670 --> 00:05:17,670
And I stole it immediately
from him
79
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,780
And leave it in the package.
80
00:05:19,780 --> 00:05:21,810
You can just throw pins
at this menu
81
00:05:21,810 --> 00:05:25,740
And get great stuff
like fresh snake stem
with bean curd slice.
82
00:05:25,750 --> 00:05:28,960
If you see on a menu,
you see these little pen ticks.
83
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,080
Um, most people don't see those
84
00:05:31,090 --> 00:05:32,520
But I'm a menu professional.
85
00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,480
A pen tick around a dish
means that the waiter
86
00:05:35,490 --> 00:05:37,690
Has recommended it many times.
87
00:05:38,590 --> 00:05:41,150
Menus are like mystery books.
88
00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,260
You know th... they answer
a lot of questions
89
00:05:43,260 --> 00:05:44,460
And they are a lot of fun
to read
90
00:05:44,470 --> 00:05:47,040
But they end up
asking more questions.
91
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,530
The mysteries of the Orient.
92
00:05:51,870 --> 00:05:54,740
I must have 15 different
spellings of Tso
93
00:05:54,740 --> 00:05:56,740
In my menu collection.
94
00:06:00,510 --> 00:06:03,870
It's t-s-o, so it's Tso.
How do I pronounce it again?
95
00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:05,910
Uh, I don't know
if you say the t or not.
96
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,550
I just kind of blur a bit,
and that way no one really knows
if I'm saying it right or not.
97
00:06:09,550 --> 00:06:11,410
But I get mine over brown rice.
98
00:06:11,420 --> 00:06:13,490
It's my healthy thing
for the day.
99
00:06:13,490 --> 00:06:16,660
Well, up in Chico
they call it General Chicken.
100
00:06:16,660 --> 00:06:18,530
You know, it's been called,
General Toes
101
00:06:18,530 --> 00:06:22,030
It's been called... I think
the Naval Academy calls it
Admiral Toes.
102
00:06:22,030 --> 00:06:23,730
I feel like no matter
what restaurant you go to
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00:06:23,730 --> 00:06:27,130
There's always a different
spelling of General Tso, so..
104
00:06:27,130 --> 00:06:30,130
So there's a lot
to find about him.
105
00:06:30,140 --> 00:06:32,100
I haven't a clue who he is.
106
00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:35,030
I guess he must've came up
with the recipe himself.
107
00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,080
I think he was a...
a General in the Chinese army
108
00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,540
Who died during the time
of Chairman Mao or something
109
00:06:40,540 --> 00:06:43,310
And that was his favorite dish
and they named it after him.
110
00:06:43,310 --> 00:06:46,840
He, uh, had his private chef
cook this dish, you know?
111
00:06:46,850 --> 00:06:48,820
Uh, even when he went to battle.
112
00:06:48,820 --> 00:06:52,690
I don't think it was a dish
that was made for that General.
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00:06:52,690 --> 00:06:56,490
Maybe it was made in honor of
him a 100 years after his death.
114
00:06:56,490 --> 00:06:59,630
I think they just named it
because it sounds exotic
115
00:06:59,630 --> 00:07:01,900
After somebody nobody's
ever heard of.
116
00:07:01,900 --> 00:07:04,920
I imagine General Tso as almost
117
00:07:04,930 --> 00:07:08,700
A bearded mongolian warrior,
who's on a horse for sure
118
00:07:08,700 --> 00:07:10,770
Riding wildly.
119
00:07:10,770 --> 00:07:13,200
He's a General,
so he obviously has a hat.
120
00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,200
And he has a military uniform.
121
00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,000
But maybe it's bulging
a little bit
122
00:07:17,010 --> 00:07:19,410
Because he's so chubby
from eating all that chicken.
123
00:07:19,410 --> 00:07:23,910
Beautiful armor, you know,
with jade maybe and gold pieces.
124
00:07:23,910 --> 00:07:26,150
He probably looks kind of fancy
125
00:07:26,150 --> 00:07:28,550
With an army of thousands.
126
00:07:28,550 --> 00:07:31,820
Did he love chicken?
We don't know.
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00:07:31,820 --> 00:07:33,420
Nobody knows.
128
00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:00,370
I know that the General's
name is a Chinese name.
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00:08:00,370 --> 00:08:02,700
I can say it
if I knew what it was.
130
00:08:08,810 --> 00:08:10,270
"Zuo Zong Ji"
131
00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,940
Or they also say it
"Zuo Zongtang Ji."
132
00:08:13,950 --> 00:08:16,210
I've only eaten it
when I would have
133
00:08:16,220 --> 00:08:18,860
American-Chinese takeout
when I was little.
134
00:08:18,860 --> 00:08:20,830
I was surprised, I have to say
135
00:08:20,830 --> 00:08:25,920
That I haven't seen it directly
on a menu in China.
136
00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,580
General Tso
was a 19th century General
137
00:12:27,580 --> 00:12:30,480
In the Qing Dynasty.
138
00:12:30,490 --> 00:12:33,590
And helped put down
the Taiping Rebellion
139
00:12:33,590 --> 00:12:36,160
Uh, which was
a great peasant rebellion.
140
00:12:39,130 --> 00:12:40,830
He was a great patriot.
141
00:12:40,830 --> 00:12:42,960
He had tremendous loyalty
from his men.
142
00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:46,590
He was obviously
a very intelligent
143
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:48,840
and strategically
sophisticated person.
144
00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,060
And also, I think, ruthless.
145
00:12:52,070 --> 00:12:55,040
Zuo Zongtang was very much
part of that mentality
146
00:12:55,040 --> 00:13:00,610
Of trying to strengthen China
and maintain Chinese values.
147
00:13:00,610 --> 00:13:02,210
General Tso played
a critical role
148
00:13:02,210 --> 00:13:05,310
in keeping together
what is now modern-day China.
149
00:13:05,310 --> 00:13:07,610
At that point,
there was truly a threat
150
00:13:07,620 --> 00:13:10,050
you know, during
the age of colonization.
151
00:13:10,050 --> 00:13:15,920
And he always wanted to keep
the Westerners out of China.
152
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:20,080
So if you told General Tso that
this dish was named after him
153
00:13:20,090 --> 00:13:22,290
I think he'd raise his eyebrows.
154
00:13:24,260 --> 00:13:26,690
General Tso's chicken,
it's a very sweet dish.
155
00:13:26,700 --> 00:13:27,800
And the Hunanese
156
00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:29,630
although they have
some sweet dishes
157
00:13:29,630 --> 00:13:32,890
they don't really like
mixing sweet and savory foods.
158
00:13:34,470 --> 00:13:37,470
So not only have people
not really heard of it
159
00:13:37,470 --> 00:13:39,330
but, um, it's not really
the kind of flavor
160
00:13:39,340 --> 00:13:41,140
they'd like to eat anyway.
161
00:14:40,490 --> 00:14:42,890
I have no idea.
162
00:14:42,900 --> 00:14:44,560
We don't have a file
on General Tso
163
00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:46,560
At the Chinese
Historical Society.
164
00:14:48,300 --> 00:14:51,540
It's amazing to me
how a pattern developed.
165
00:14:51,540 --> 00:14:53,970
Did several people have
the same idea at the same time?
166
00:14:53,970 --> 00:14:55,760
I mean, it cropped up
in different places.
167
00:14:55,770 --> 00:14:57,770
East coast, west coast,
you know.
168
00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:01,980
So this map gives you the number
169
00:15:01,980 --> 00:15:04,280
according to the 2010 census
170
00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,480
of Chinese
171
00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:08,810
in every state of the union.
172
00:15:08,820 --> 00:15:14,190
Chinese are 1%
of the US population
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00:15:14,190 --> 00:15:17,020
which is a drop in the bucket.
174
00:15:17,020 --> 00:15:21,490
Yet, probably most americans
have eaten Chinese food.
175
00:15:21,490 --> 00:15:24,620
So how do you explain that?
176
00:15:24,630 --> 00:15:26,970
And how many have eaten
General Tso's chicken?
177
00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,400
Even though there's now
General Tso's chicken
178
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:37,400
in restaurants coast to coast
179
00:15:37,410 --> 00:15:40,740
there was a time
when Chinese food
180
00:15:40,740 --> 00:15:43,140
was completely new to America.
181
00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,280
The biggest reason Chinese
began to come to the US
182
00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,180
Was the California gold rush
of the 1850s.
183
00:16:00,020 --> 00:16:03,850
The early Chinese
are primarily Cantonese.
184
00:16:03,860 --> 00:16:06,230
Chinese in the Guangdong area
185
00:16:06,230 --> 00:16:08,670
Started coming
to California in droves
186
00:16:08,670 --> 00:16:11,630
through the port
of San Francisco.
187
00:16:11,630 --> 00:16:14,490
And the Chinese Quarter
got more and more crowded.
188
00:16:17,940 --> 00:16:21,710
For Americans, the Chinese
were the space aliens.
189
00:16:21,710 --> 00:16:25,280
They had their hair
in long braids called queues.
190
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,850
They eat with sticks,
not with forks.
191
00:16:28,850 --> 00:16:32,020
And americans were sort of
amazed by Chinese food
192
00:16:32,020 --> 00:16:34,250
but also little bit
repulsed by it.
193
00:16:35,420 --> 00:16:39,420
The mainstream audience
saw Chinese food
194
00:16:39,420 --> 00:16:41,350
as scary, you know.
195
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:43,960
I mean, they thought of...
they had ideas in their head
196
00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,360
about Chinese people eating rats
and things like that
197
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:49,220
and so you really were
risking something
198
00:16:49,230 --> 00:16:52,170
when you went into Chinatown.
199
00:16:52,170 --> 00:16:53,970
The white authorities saw it
200
00:16:53,970 --> 00:16:56,900
as a quarter of vice and slums
201
00:16:56,900 --> 00:16:59,130
and prostitution and opium dens
202
00:16:59,140 --> 00:17:02,310
and they said, "Let us rid,"
uh, you know
203
00:17:02,310 --> 00:17:04,310
"San Francisco
of its Chinatown."
204
00:17:05,980 --> 00:17:09,550
They saw the Chinese
as the competition.
205
00:17:09,550 --> 00:17:13,550
"The Chinese must go," was the
slogan that a lot of them used.
206
00:17:13,550 --> 00:17:15,140
There were laws
that were put in place
207
00:17:15,150 --> 00:17:19,510
that would make it
legal to prosecute violence
208
00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,920
against Chinese, and, of course
209
00:17:22,930 --> 00:17:26,300
this culminated in
the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
210
00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,570
1882, the law was passed
and it made it difficult
211
00:17:32,570 --> 00:17:34,840
for anyone except for few people
212
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:39,470
in protected classes to, uh,
come to this country.
213
00:17:39,470 --> 00:17:42,230
Uh, made it particularly
difficult for women
214
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:43,930
uh, to arrive.
215
00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,780
The whole idea of these laws
216
00:17:48,780 --> 00:17:52,850
is to somehow stave off
this generation.
217
00:17:52,850 --> 00:17:55,790
They would have white mobs
coming through their communities,
218
00:17:55,790 --> 00:17:57,720
burning them out,
tossing their stuff
219
00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,560
out on to streets.
220
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,020
There's a quote, it said
221
00:18:01,020 --> 00:18:03,680
"They say exclusion,
but they mean extermination."
222
00:18:05,860 --> 00:18:10,530
The exclusion act basically
forced them out of labor.
223
00:18:10,530 --> 00:18:13,390
And so they have
to be self-employed.
224
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,000
And this is where
two very important professions
225
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,600
came in being.
226
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:19,430
One is providing laundry
227
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,770
and one is providing food.
228
00:18:22,770 --> 00:18:25,340
Restaurant work
was one of the few jobs
229
00:18:25,340 --> 00:18:27,600
that the Chinese could find.
230
00:18:27,610 --> 00:18:29,710
And Chinese restaurant owners
discovered
231
00:18:29,710 --> 00:18:31,970
that if they adapted
simple dishes
232
00:18:31,980 --> 00:18:35,610
to American taste
that they could make money.
233
00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:56,470
Hey, how you doin' today?
Is it wet and cold out there?
234
00:18:56,470 --> 00:18:59,210
It's startin' to sprinkle.
Oh, man.
235
00:18:59,210 --> 00:19:01,840
Wish it would have rained
a little while earlier.
236
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:14,120
Believe it or not, she says
she doesn't eat it. So..
237
00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,750
My name is Harlan Lee
and, uh, we are at
238
00:19:17,750 --> 00:19:20,720
Sing High Chop Suey House
here in Phoenix, Arizona.
239
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,450
And, uh, this is my mother.
240
00:19:22,460 --> 00:19:25,630
She is the senior partner
of Sing High.
241
00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,200
My name, uh... Ella Lee.
242
00:19:33,030 --> 00:19:36,630
My grandfather
opened Sing High, uh, in 1928
243
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:38,770
in downtown Phoenix.
244
00:19:38,770 --> 00:19:42,530
You know, Chinese food
was not that popular here yet.
245
00:19:42,540 --> 00:19:44,940
I mean, if you looked
at our business
246
00:19:44,940 --> 00:19:47,500
we've changed our menus based on
247
00:19:47,510 --> 00:19:50,210
the demands and the tastes
of the people around us.
248
00:19:54,690 --> 00:19:58,090
This awareness of having
to make yourself
249
00:19:58,090 --> 00:20:00,490
acceptable to a wider world
250
00:20:00,490 --> 00:20:04,130
was very much on the minds
of Chinese restaurants.
251
00:20:04,130 --> 00:20:06,130
Even then, I mean,
at that early time
252
00:20:06,130 --> 00:20:09,330
they had experienced
outrageous racism.
253
00:20:09,330 --> 00:20:13,160
And to deal with it
they got pretty savvy
254
00:20:13,170 --> 00:20:15,700
I mean, all kinds of dishes
frying up
255
00:20:15,700 --> 00:20:17,860
that would appeal
to white audiences.
256
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,340
You know, Chop Suey is,
simply means, you know
257
00:20:28,350 --> 00:20:31,850
just bits and pieces
of different things.
258
00:20:31,850 --> 00:20:34,190
It's very, very obvious
that it caters
259
00:20:34,190 --> 00:20:37,220
to the more Americanized palate.
260
00:20:37,220 --> 00:20:38,880
Chop Suey is
basically two things.
261
00:20:38,890 --> 00:20:41,960
One it's a meat,
like pork or chicken or beef.
262
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,060
So all meats
that Americans recognize
263
00:20:44,060 --> 00:20:47,500
accompanied by
sort of these exotic vegetables
264
00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:51,270
which are cool,
but very much flavorless.
265
00:20:55,900 --> 00:20:59,370
I... I don't come
in my collection every day.
266
00:21:00,770 --> 00:21:02,770
And... and look and... and..
267
00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:06,980
This is from
the age of Chop Suey.
268
00:21:06,980 --> 00:21:10,650
This is a replica of one of the
oldest menus in my collection,
269
00:21:10,650 --> 00:21:13,050
it's from 1916.
270
00:21:13,050 --> 00:21:15,490
Uh, and I don't handle
the original
271
00:21:15,490 --> 00:21:17,920
'cause it's crump... crink..
It's falling apart.
272
00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:19,920
It's... it's very, very old.
273
00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,860
Chop Suey is 15 cents,
30 cents, 25 cents.
274
00:21:24,860 --> 00:21:29,700
I don't think the General
was part of that scene.
275
00:21:29,700 --> 00:21:33,670
You could get steak
with mushrooms, was 40 cents.
276
00:21:33,670 --> 00:21:36,870
But how you know
that a menu is from 1916?
277
00:21:36,870 --> 00:21:39,300
Scrapbooks, where people
278
00:21:39,300 --> 00:21:42,370
Had this quote-unquote
"exotic meal"
279
00:21:42,370 --> 00:21:46,740
And saved the menu
as a souvenir.
280
00:21:46,740 --> 00:21:49,270
They would have, you know, menus
281
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:50,950
steaks or whatever potatoes.
282
00:21:50,950 --> 00:21:53,780
And yet they would
have Chop Suey on the menu.
283
00:21:53,780 --> 00:21:55,780
And so it's this mash up
284
00:21:55,780 --> 00:21:58,180
of being kind of exotic
and kind of unfamiliar
285
00:21:58,190 --> 00:21:59,950
but not too different.
286
00:21:59,950 --> 00:22:02,050
You know, it's that foreign
yet familiar thing
287
00:22:02,060 --> 00:22:05,760
that was the real beginning
of what
288
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:08,800
Chinese-American cuisine was.
289
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,000
It was a way in for people.
290
00:22:14,130 --> 00:22:17,330
I do vividly recall
I was 18 years old
291
00:22:17,340 --> 00:22:21,140
and got off a Greyhound bus
from Dayton, Ohio.
292
00:22:21,140 --> 00:22:24,640
Got in late at night,
saw the neon signs.
293
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,440
The first thing I ordered
when I got off the bus
294
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:28,740
Was Chop Suey.
295
00:22:28,750 --> 00:22:32,420
I've been eatin' in here for,
well, since the '50s.
296
00:22:32,420 --> 00:22:34,820
Quite frankly I didn't know
what I was eating.
297
00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:36,890
They've served
this food forever.
298
00:22:36,890 --> 00:22:40,020
It's just been very popular
in Flagstaff.
299
00:22:40,020 --> 00:22:44,180
I knew Fred's dad
and his uncles.
300
00:22:44,190 --> 00:22:46,450
Same here, Gina. Haven't seen
you in a long time.
301
00:22:46,460 --> 00:22:47,860
I know.
302
00:22:52,130 --> 00:22:54,130
This right here is a postcard
303
00:22:54,130 --> 00:22:55,620
of the restaurant
304
00:22:55,630 --> 00:22:57,630
back in, probably,
the '50s, you know.
305
00:22:57,630 --> 00:22:59,630
My dad started the restaurant.
306
00:23:00,900 --> 00:23:03,230
Half of my orders
is Chinese food
307
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:04,840
and the other half,
American food,
308
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:06,740
steaks, fried chicken.
309
00:23:08,410 --> 00:23:10,410
This is clubhouse sandwich.
310
00:23:14,310 --> 00:23:15,810
Big sandwich.
311
00:23:19,550 --> 00:23:22,110
All of a sudden,
in Chinatowns all over
312
00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,460
you would find
these huge neon signs
313
00:23:24,460 --> 00:23:26,460
advertising Chop Suey.
314
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,990
Chop Suey became
a national phenomenon.
315
00:23:31,990 --> 00:23:34,050
It basically allowed
for the proliferation
316
00:23:34,060 --> 00:23:35,420
of Chinese restaurants
317
00:23:35,430 --> 00:23:37,860
all across the United States
into little towns.
318
00:23:37,860 --> 00:23:40,960
And in a way it sort of
laid the groundwork for
319
00:23:40,970 --> 00:23:42,970
what was yet to come.
320
00:23:46,270 --> 00:23:48,530
Chinese are very
enterprising people.
321
00:23:48,540 --> 00:23:49,540
So..
322
00:23:51,540 --> 00:23:53,970
I think anywhere in the world
where they can find a place
323
00:23:53,980 --> 00:23:56,580
to put a restaurant
they will do it.
324
00:24:08,260 --> 00:24:11,300
If you were to look
at a map of the us in 1850
325
00:24:11,300 --> 00:24:13,820
you would find
all of the Chinese
326
00:24:13,830 --> 00:24:15,600
in California.
327
00:24:16,900 --> 00:24:18,200
Then over time
328
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,230
after 1882, the exclusion era
329
00:24:21,230 --> 00:24:24,600
they began
a very pronounced migration
330
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,970
into sparsely populated counties
331
00:24:27,970 --> 00:24:29,800
all across the country.
332
00:24:29,810 --> 00:24:33,550
Midwest, east
and even the south.
333
00:24:33,550 --> 00:24:35,750
One of the motivations
for the dispersion
334
00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:39,250
was to escape persecution
on the west coast
335
00:24:39,250 --> 00:24:42,450
and earn a living
in a safer environment.
336
00:24:42,450 --> 00:24:47,250
But the major reason was
an effort to find employment
337
00:24:47,260 --> 00:24:50,800
uh, in a way that didn't
compete with other Chinese.
338
00:24:56,500 --> 00:24:58,670
My restaurant's name's
Golden Dragon.
339
00:24:58,670 --> 00:25:01,440
We are the only Chinese
restaurant in town.
340
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,440
We are the only Chinese family
in town.
341
00:25:09,510 --> 00:25:12,950
It's hard, you know,
to stay in a small town.
342
00:25:12,950 --> 00:25:14,980
A lot of people think I'm crazy.
343
00:25:14,980 --> 00:25:18,510
One of my... lots of my friends,
my family.
344
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,120
But I like it in this town.
345
00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:24,390
When we first come,
this restaurant want to sell.
346
00:25:24,390 --> 00:25:27,290
So we just came, we see it,
and we think
347
00:25:27,290 --> 00:25:31,190
"Oh, yeah, that... that
good for a family," you know.
348
00:25:31,190 --> 00:25:33,050
And then we have kids.
349
00:25:33,060 --> 00:25:35,360
1, 2, 3, 4.
We got 4 kids.
350
00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:37,120
But for me it's okay.
351
00:25:37,130 --> 00:25:40,730
You know, somebody
when tell me, Tammy
352
00:25:40,730 --> 00:25:43,360
"I always travel from New York
to San Francisco.
353
00:25:43,370 --> 00:25:46,240
You are the best!"
354
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,010
They drive me... makes me
so happy, you know.
355
00:26:00,250 --> 00:26:01,250
Hmm.
356
00:26:02,350 --> 00:26:04,050
I am David R. Chan.
357
00:26:04,050 --> 00:26:07,080
I am a tax attorney and
certified public accountant.
358
00:26:07,090 --> 00:26:09,220
And in my spare time, I like to
359
00:26:09,220 --> 00:26:11,520
uh, eat at different
Chinese restaurants.
360
00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:14,560
And over the years,
I've managed to eat at
361
00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:16,990
over 6000 different
Chinese restaurants.
362
00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:23,400
Rice noodle in clay pot.
363
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,400
I don't know, I'm not sure
if that's enough for us.
364
00:26:26,410 --> 00:26:28,580
Maybe we should add
a couple more items.
365
00:26:28,580 --> 00:26:30,100
Steamed chicken buns?
366
00:26:30,110 --> 00:26:32,240
I never thought of
that as a dessert.
367
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,740
Here we have some, uh,
curry fish balls.
368
00:26:35,750 --> 00:26:39,420
Rice pancakes
with minced beef stuffing.
369
00:26:39,420 --> 00:26:42,720
You know, if somebody asks me
why I travel all over
370
00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,690
to seek Chinese restaurants
to eat at,
371
00:26:45,690 --> 00:26:50,620
it's really part of a,
uh, seeking of an identity.
372
00:26:50,620 --> 00:26:54,620
And to see where,
as a Chinese-American, how
373
00:26:54,630 --> 00:26:59,630
you know, how that fits in with
the overall American culture.
374
00:26:59,630 --> 00:27:01,290
I started to notice
375
00:27:01,300 --> 00:27:04,200
most Americanized
Chinese restaurants
376
00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:06,860
they have names
that would be not threatening
377
00:27:06,870 --> 00:27:11,170
to the local population,
like Golden Palace or China Inn.
378
00:27:11,170 --> 00:27:13,370
I don't know how many
China Inns there are.
379
00:27:13,380 --> 00:27:15,480
Some restaurant names
380
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,420
people just don't quite
understand what the words mean.
381
00:27:19,420 --> 00:27:21,250
So for example, I mean,
in New York Chinatown
382
00:27:21,250 --> 00:27:23,320
there's a restaurant
called Strange Taste.
383
00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,590
Well, I mean,
would you really wanna go
384
00:27:25,590 --> 00:27:28,660
to the Strange Taste restaurant?
385
00:27:28,660 --> 00:27:30,190
I noticed even when I was a kid
386
00:27:30,190 --> 00:27:32,390
whenever we traveled
anywhere in the country
387
00:27:32,390 --> 00:27:34,520
there was one Chinese restaurant
388
00:27:34,530 --> 00:27:36,460
at least one Chinese restaurant
in any city
389
00:27:36,460 --> 00:27:38,420
of any particular size.
390
00:27:38,430 --> 00:27:40,400
Actually what happened is
391
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,970
the regional Chinese association
392
00:27:42,970 --> 00:27:44,970
basically assigned territories.
393
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:48,700
Even to this day,
if you go to Chinatowns
394
00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:51,630
you'll see a lot of
buildings that say
395
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:53,380
you know, Wong Association
396
00:27:53,380 --> 00:27:55,580
or, you know,
Fujian Association.
397
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,590
All the takeout restaurants
sell these dishes.
398
00:28:06,590 --> 00:28:07,650
Everywhere.
399
00:28:07,650 --> 00:28:09,110
Everywhere.
400
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:10,410
You know, I know.
401
00:28:10,420 --> 00:28:12,580
I'm in charge
of this organization.
402
00:28:12,590 --> 00:28:16,760
This is one of the oldest
organization in Chinatown.
403
00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:18,600
We are 130 years here.
404
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:23,420
This is the first step,
you know.
405
00:28:23,430 --> 00:28:26,160
A lot of the new immigrant
they just come here
406
00:28:26,170 --> 00:28:28,200
and if the organization
can help them
407
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,430
to set up the business
in a proper way.
408
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:32,870
I mean, register them.
409
00:28:32,870 --> 00:28:35,170
They teach you how to cook
step by step.
410
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:42,610
Chinese restaurant owners,
uh, to a great extent
411
00:28:42,610 --> 00:28:46,740
relied on the traditional
Chinese networks.
412
00:28:46,750 --> 00:28:50,690
Family associations,
district associations.
413
00:28:50,690 --> 00:28:54,890
They would get information
about the popular dishes
414
00:28:54,890 --> 00:28:57,690
to help each other
in a strange place.
415
00:29:24,790 --> 00:29:28,260
It's not easy to settle here
in Chinatown.
416
00:29:28,260 --> 00:29:30,020
Because the rent is high.
417
00:29:30,020 --> 00:29:32,780
The organization
gives you some information
418
00:29:32,790 --> 00:29:36,490
where to go, which state
or which town is better.
419
00:29:36,500 --> 00:29:39,030
That's why they spread out.
All over in the country.
420
00:30:00,180 --> 00:30:04,250
In a lot of the smaller town,
it's very lonely.
421
00:30:04,250 --> 00:30:07,750
Because they have no relatives,
no entertainment there.
422
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:09,590
No place to go.
They don't understand.
423
00:30:09,590 --> 00:30:11,790
They don't speak
English that well.
424
00:30:11,790 --> 00:30:13,890
And then sometimes
they have some trouble.
425
00:30:21,540 --> 00:30:24,170
I'm not exactly sure
where General Tso's chicken
426
00:30:24,170 --> 00:30:26,030
originated from, but I do know
427
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,040
where cashew chicken came from.
428
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,140
Pensacola, Florida.
429
00:30:49,860 --> 00:30:54,430
My father came over from
Canton, China in 1940.
430
00:30:54,430 --> 00:30:56,970
A famous physician
tried my dad's cooking
431
00:30:56,970 --> 00:30:59,270
and loved it and asked him
if he'd be willing
432
00:30:59,270 --> 00:31:01,540
to move to Springfield,
Missouri.
433
00:31:01,540 --> 00:31:04,140
During that time my dad
opened up his own restaurant
434
00:31:04,140 --> 00:31:08,210
for a while, and he was not
very accepted.
435
00:31:08,210 --> 00:31:10,140
He had people picketing
his restaurant
436
00:31:10,140 --> 00:31:11,840
protesting his restaurant.
437
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:13,840
"go back to China."
things like that.
438
00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,750
Actually our restaurant was
blown up before we opened.
439
00:31:18,750 --> 00:31:20,750
It was bombed.
440
00:31:20,750 --> 00:31:23,950
There was a lot of prejudice
about a Chinese person
441
00:31:23,950 --> 00:31:26,850
owning a business here
in Springfield, Missouri.
442
00:31:26,860 --> 00:31:28,920
What won, uh,
the people over though was
443
00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,920
once they started eating
the food they loved it.
444
00:31:31,930 --> 00:31:35,660
He knew that in the midwest,
people like comfort food.
445
00:31:35,660 --> 00:31:37,490
They love their food fried.
446
00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:39,500
What he did was, he, uh
447
00:31:39,500 --> 00:31:41,840
took off the bones
on a fried chicken
448
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:45,540
deep fried it and put
a brown gravy sauce over it.
449
00:31:45,540 --> 00:31:48,410
Hence, that's how he came up
with cashew chicken.
450
00:31:48,410 --> 00:31:50,780
And it just took off
like wild fire.
451
00:31:52,810 --> 00:31:54,610
There's over a couple of
hundred restaurants
452
00:31:54,610 --> 00:31:57,470
just in the Springfield area
now that serve cashew chicken.
453
00:32:03,420 --> 00:32:05,790
There's a little story
about the cashew chicken.
454
00:32:05,790 --> 00:32:08,990
Late '60s or early '70s,
McDonald's corporation
455
00:32:08,990 --> 00:32:11,090
actually came to see
how the technique
456
00:32:11,090 --> 00:32:13,620
was to bread
and fry the chicken nuggets
457
00:32:13,630 --> 00:32:15,930
and they wanted
my dad's recipes and..
458
00:32:15,930 --> 00:32:17,270
But they didn't wanna
pay for it.
459
00:32:17,270 --> 00:32:20,890
My dad's, "Well, I'm not gonna
give it to you."
460
00:32:20,900 --> 00:32:22,770
A year later,
Chicken McNuggets come out.
461
00:32:22,770 --> 00:32:26,170
So, you know, tell me
is that a coincidence or what?
462
00:32:26,170 --> 00:32:29,710
I, uh, I tend to think that,
you know, they owe me royalty.
463
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:32,270
Now, I'll show you
464
00:32:32,270 --> 00:32:35,240
The General Tso's chicken
that we do.
465
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,710
We use the same chicken nuggets
we use on the cashew chicken.
466
00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,150
People ask me, "Wing, do you
think you'll be frying chicken
467
00:32:46,150 --> 00:32:48,350
till the end of your life?"
468
00:32:48,350 --> 00:32:50,610
I said, "I probably will."
469
00:32:50,620 --> 00:32:54,480
Even when I'm dead
I'll be frying chicken.
470
00:32:54,490 --> 00:32:58,190
Cashew chicken
really hit upon this formula.
471
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:03,500
It was chicken, it was fried,
and there was sauce.
472
00:33:03,500 --> 00:33:06,840
Interesting thing about
Springfield cashew chicken
473
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:10,270
is the fact that it's kind of
mind boggling to find
474
00:33:10,270 --> 00:33:16,270
a Chinese dish
becoming so widespread, popular
475
00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:18,310
in an area which has virtually
476
00:33:18,310 --> 00:33:22,110
no Chinese population
of its own.
477
00:33:22,110 --> 00:33:23,640
Springfield cashew chicken
478
00:33:23,650 --> 00:33:26,550
it's not a traditional
Chinese food.
479
00:33:26,550 --> 00:33:28,850
It's something
that's Americanized.
480
00:33:28,850 --> 00:33:32,150
And one thing that most of
the immigrants from China
481
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,560
have learned is to adapt.
482
00:33:54,620 --> 00:33:56,340
My brothers and I were born
in Hong Kong.
483
00:33:56,350 --> 00:33:58,110
We are a family of 5 boys
484
00:33:58,110 --> 00:34:01,270
and my father passed away
when I was 5 years old.
485
00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:03,610
So my mom was widowed
with 5 boys in Hong Kong.
486
00:34:03,620 --> 00:34:05,650
She didn't see
much future there.
487
00:34:05,650 --> 00:34:07,810
When we first opened up
in Hammond
488
00:34:07,820 --> 00:34:09,460
we were the only
Chinese family there.
489
00:34:09,460 --> 00:34:12,380
And it's a smaller town.
It was kinda..
490
00:34:12,390 --> 00:34:14,760
It was culture shock,
it was kinda unique.
491
00:34:19,460 --> 00:34:22,320
Well, I'm gonna get to that
because Dr. Fanning
492
00:34:22,330 --> 00:34:25,730
who's with us today
is here from Albuquerque.
493
00:34:25,740 --> 00:34:27,940
So I was explaining,
I was givin' him the history.
494
00:34:27,940 --> 00:34:31,270
What they did was blend
495
00:34:31,270 --> 00:34:34,640
the best of Louisiana
with the best of Chinese.
496
00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:36,500
It is divine.
497
00:34:36,510 --> 00:34:38,170
It is divine.
498
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,340
Wherever you go you know
you not cook for yourself.
499
00:34:44,350 --> 00:34:47,580
You gotta cook for
what the local people like.
500
00:34:47,590 --> 00:34:50,420
It's alligator leg.
This is a baby alligator.
501
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:52,830
So it's sweet and sour.
502
00:34:52,830 --> 00:34:56,590
You know, I do flounder,
cod fish, alligator.
503
00:34:57,430 --> 00:34:59,030
Chinese gumbo!
504
00:34:59,030 --> 00:35:00,630
Louisiana Chinese gumbo.
505
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:07,940
This lady came and said,
"Oh, Eve... every Sunday
506
00:35:07,940 --> 00:35:11,070
my dad used to take us after
church and eat Chinese food."
507
00:35:11,070 --> 00:35:13,270
And, "Can you make it for me?"
I said, "Yeah, just tell me
what it was."
508
00:35:13,270 --> 00:35:15,800
I walked back by the table
and she had the biggest smile
on her face.
509
00:35:15,810 --> 00:35:19,110
She said, "Oh, yeah, this is
just like I remember
with my dad on sundays."
510
00:35:19,110 --> 00:35:21,670
I said, "You know, I'm...
I'm thinkin', ain't this ironic
511
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:24,010
that Chinese food
has become comfort food?
512
00:35:24,020 --> 00:35:26,650
That, um, it replaced meatloaf
and fried chicken?"
513
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,070
I was growing up
in Saratoga, New York.
514
00:35:44,070 --> 00:35:47,300
And we were
an orthodox Jewish family.
515
00:35:47,300 --> 00:35:49,900
We would go, um,
a couple of times a year
516
00:35:49,900 --> 00:35:51,530
to a restaurant in Schenectady
517
00:35:51,540 --> 00:35:54,440
called Lum Fung's,
a Chinese restaurant.
518
00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:56,340
I remember my mother
would always order
519
00:35:56,340 --> 00:35:58,300
uh, shrimp with lobster sauce.
520
00:35:58,310 --> 00:36:02,710
My father would look at this
as just abominable.
521
00:36:02,710 --> 00:36:05,140
And my dad who's still alive,
he's 95
522
00:36:05,150 --> 00:36:07,520
would never eat pork
or shellfish.
523
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:12,390
Then we get these egg rolls
and I'd say what are these
little brown bits in it?
524
00:36:12,390 --> 00:36:15,860
And then his comment was, "Well,
if you can't identify it,
it's okay to eat."
525
00:36:15,860 --> 00:36:18,390
And I always thought that,
it's called, "safe-treif."
526
00:36:18,390 --> 00:36:19,990
"Treif" meaning forbidden.
527
00:36:19,990 --> 00:36:23,590
And for years, I thought
that was actually
rabbinical statement.
528
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:26,200
Until I asked a few rabbis'
and they said, "No, no, no
529
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,540
if you can't identify it,
absolutely don't eat it."
530
00:36:30,670 --> 00:36:35,570
I can't remember which year,
you know, it was Christmas Day,
when I open.
531
00:36:35,570 --> 00:36:37,170
- Wow!
- Yeah.
532
00:36:37,170 --> 00:36:39,930
Over 90% of Jewish people.
533
00:36:39,940 --> 00:36:44,140
They say, "Jewish people either
Christmas or Thanksgiving."
534
00:36:44,150 --> 00:36:45,280
It's Christmas, yeah.
535
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,420
Only-only Chinese food
and the movie.
536
00:36:47,420 --> 00:36:49,450
There's an old joke that..
537
00:36:49,450 --> 00:36:53,190
Jews have been around for
well over 5,000 years
538
00:36:53,190 --> 00:36:57,620
and the Chinese culture
has been around for... for
a bit over 4,000 years.
539
00:36:57,620 --> 00:37:02,990
Which means that, there's been
about 1,500 years that Jews had
to survive without Chinese food.
540
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,570
Lot of Jews just wanted
to become Americanized.
541
00:37:08,570 --> 00:37:11,100
Part of that is going out to
Chinese restaurants.
542
00:37:12,700 --> 00:37:16,260
We ate Chinese food
growing up once a month
on a Sunday night.
543
00:37:16,270 --> 00:37:18,030
My mom's from Brooklyn.
544
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,740
And we're Jewish
and that was a Jewish thing.
545
00:37:21,740 --> 00:37:24,740
I... I met Sandy Koufax
this past summer.
546
00:37:24,750 --> 00:37:26,650
He liked Chinese food too.
547
00:37:26,650 --> 00:37:29,480
I ate two ethnic foods
as a child.
548
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:33,380
Uh, well, I ate some Jewish food
from my grandmother.
549
00:37:33,390 --> 00:37:36,890
But clearly when we wanted to go
out for something different.
550
00:37:36,890 --> 00:37:39,890
Chinese food was at
the top of the list.
551
00:37:39,890 --> 00:37:41,720
It's part of the American
tradition now
552
00:37:41,730 --> 00:37:43,730
to go to Chinese restaurants.
553
00:37:45,130 --> 00:37:48,170
I'm from a small town
in Montana. Missoula, Montana.
554
00:37:48,170 --> 00:37:51,910
And I remember going to, you
know the pink and the red boots
555
00:37:51,910 --> 00:37:58,330
With the neon and getting
the... um, white takeout boxes
with the fortune cookies.
556
00:37:58,340 --> 00:38:01,770
We had a favorite Chinese
restaurants, it was called
"Wai-Wai."
557
00:38:01,780 --> 00:38:04,410
W-A-I, W-A-I. "Wai-Wai."
558
00:38:04,410 --> 00:38:06,540
And it was about,
maybe about a mile?
559
00:38:06,550 --> 00:38:08,080
- From... from the house.
- Not even.
560
00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:10,240
- Yeah! We were there a lot.
- Yeah, yeah.
561
00:38:10,250 --> 00:38:13,220
They had the best Chinese
buffet you ever had.
562
00:38:13,220 --> 00:38:16,190
Mom doesn't wanna cook,
"Oh, let's call in for Chinese."
563
00:38:16,190 --> 00:38:19,820
It's fast, it's easy and you
don't have to do any dishes.
564
00:38:19,820 --> 00:38:22,150
'Cause everything
is right there for you.
565
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:24,300
They even throw
in the plastic forks. So..
566
00:38:26,730 --> 00:38:29,770
For Americans
this small restaurant
567
00:38:29,770 --> 00:38:34,140
where the lone
Chinese family lives
568
00:38:34,140 --> 00:38:38,270
is their invitation into the
world... of Chinese culture.
569
00:38:38,270 --> 00:38:39,900
Even though it is..
570
00:38:39,910 --> 00:38:42,540
As american as anything else.
571
00:38:52,150 --> 00:38:54,620
This is one of the tradition.
572
00:38:54,620 --> 00:38:57,650
That lasted for more
than 100 years in..
573
00:38:57,650 --> 00:38:59,780
In United States.
574
00:38:59,790 --> 00:39:02,020
People when they go to
a Chinese restaurant
575
00:39:02,020 --> 00:39:05,520
expect that, after the dinner,
they'll have dessert.
576
00:39:05,530 --> 00:39:08,330
And also they can
see the fortunes.
577
00:39:08,330 --> 00:39:13,970
We have some freelance writers
to help us to write, some
students help us to write.
578
00:39:13,970 --> 00:39:19,970
Nowadays, we have more than
10,000 pieces of message
in our database.
579
00:39:19,970 --> 00:39:23,830
I used to say that,
I've never seen a fortune
cookie... uh, in China.
580
00:39:34,820 --> 00:39:37,150
It's a product of a America.
581
00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:42,860
By the 1940s, despite the fact
582
00:39:42,860 --> 00:39:46,590
that there is this prohibition
for Chinese immigration
583
00:39:46,590 --> 00:39:52,490
Chinese food becomes one
of the ways in which Chinese
and Chinese-Americans
584
00:39:52,500 --> 00:39:58,300
gain social acceptance
and cultural acceptance
in the United States.
585
00:39:58,300 --> 00:40:03,000
And at the same time,
as the United States
enters the second world war
586
00:40:03,010 --> 00:40:07,480
um, China becomes, you know,
an ally of the United States.
587
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:11,750
And by 1943,
the Congress is persuaded
588
00:40:11,750 --> 00:40:15,590
To abrogate
the Chinese exclusion acts.
589
00:40:15,590 --> 00:40:18,990
So the kind of really
virulent and violent
590
00:40:18,990 --> 00:40:21,260
Anti-Chinese movement
subsides,
591
00:40:21,260 --> 00:40:23,890
and Chinese restaurants
becomes ubiquitous.
592
00:40:26,330 --> 00:40:27,860
Wherever you go.
593
00:40:27,860 --> 00:40:30,860
You know, there's sunshine...
sunshine on the land
594
00:40:30,860 --> 00:40:33,320
there's a Chinese,
there's a Chinese restaurant.
595
00:40:36,540 --> 00:40:37,970
My favorite fortune..
596
00:40:39,670 --> 00:40:43,610
"Everything you
have prepared, will be
paid off soon."
597
00:40:43,610 --> 00:40:46,410
And also like the message,
"No pain, no gain."
598
00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:06,980
One of the interesting
things about Chinese food
599
00:41:06,990 --> 00:41:10,590
is that, it's always
been linked with
international relations
600
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:12,530
between China and the United States.
601
00:41:14,470 --> 00:41:19,800
In the 1950's,
particularly after the
Chinese communist revolution
602
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:26,570
the image of China and Chinese,
uh, in the United States begins
to change quite dramatically.
603
00:41:26,580 --> 00:41:32,380
United States is gripped with,
uh, anxiety about
the rise of... of Communism.
604
00:41:32,380 --> 00:41:34,650
Particularly in Asia.
605
00:41:34,650 --> 00:41:39,850
So many Chinese families
feel very vulnerable.
606
00:41:39,850 --> 00:41:44,480
China, mainland China
was now enemy, particularly
during Korean war.
607
00:41:44,490 --> 00:41:49,190
And, so everything about China
was negative.
608
00:41:49,190 --> 00:41:52,820
Including Chinese-Americans,
including Chinese food.
609
00:42:04,940 --> 00:42:07,870
When I came here, 1950s
610
00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:10,210
there was Chinese food
in the USA.
611
00:42:11,750 --> 00:42:15,820
Everywhere you go, pretty much
the same, same menu.
612
00:42:15,820 --> 00:42:18,720
It just taste so... pretty bad.
613
00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:19,790
Bland.
614
00:42:19,790 --> 00:42:21,320
- Yeah, no flavor.
- No spice.
615
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:22,790
Yeah, nothing.
616
00:42:22,790 --> 00:42:28,630
I... I tried to introduce the
real Chinese food to Americans.
617
00:42:28,630 --> 00:42:34,230
I opened the Mandarin
Restaurant in 1959
in San Francisco.
618
00:42:34,230 --> 00:42:35,560
Um, Polk Street.
619
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:37,920
It was food
that she grew up with.
620
00:42:37,930 --> 00:42:40,630
That she, you know,
served at the Mandarin.
621
00:42:40,630 --> 00:42:44,360
It had that, sort of... refined
elegance to it, you know.
622
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,330
I really had a tough time.
623
00:42:48,340 --> 00:42:52,610
Those days, a lot of a... what
you call "discrimination."
624
00:42:52,610 --> 00:42:57,580
They didn't give me any credit.
Everything I have to pay cash.
625
00:42:57,580 --> 00:43:00,180
We try to rent..
626
00:43:00,180 --> 00:43:03,140
A apartment in a good location.
627
00:43:03,150 --> 00:43:06,150
American won't rent for me.
628
00:43:06,150 --> 00:43:11,650
Because they said that Chinese
person is very dirty.
629
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:17,230
They weren't assimilated,
they were marginalized.
630
00:43:17,230 --> 00:43:21,600
And... this thing went on, uh,
for a very, very long time.
631
00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,600
After Mao took over China
632
00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:29,330
the same time Chop Suey was
being forgotten.
633
00:43:31,140 --> 00:43:34,200
There was nothing new in Chinese
food. It was in the doldrums.
634
00:43:37,450 --> 00:43:40,750
It's really hard
for me to date menus
635
00:43:40,750 --> 00:43:45,120
so there's a certain esthetic,
you can just tell
these are... are '50s.
636
00:43:46,720 --> 00:43:50,320
Let's see if
General Tso appears.
637
00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:52,780
"Chef special chicken salad."
638
00:43:52,790 --> 00:43:53,950
"Hacked chicken."
639
00:43:57,200 --> 00:43:59,460
This is gotta be '60s.
640
00:43:59,460 --> 00:44:02,460
Let's see what kind
of chicken they had here.
641
00:44:02,470 --> 00:44:04,270
"Pineapple chicken,
curry chicken"
642
00:44:04,270 --> 00:44:07,400
and "steamed chicken
and sausage."
643
00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:10,330
I don't believe
General Tso has reared
644
00:44:10,340 --> 00:44:13,980
his armor
at this point in history.
645
00:44:17,780 --> 00:44:23,020
Premier Zhou Enlai on behalf
of the government of the
People's Republic of China.
646
00:44:23,020 --> 00:44:26,720
Has extended an invitation to
President Nixon to visit China,
647
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:32,360
at an appropriate date,
before May 1972.
648
00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:36,630
President Nixon has accepted
the invitation with pleasure.
649
00:44:36,630 --> 00:44:39,830
There can be no stable
and enduring peace
650
00:44:39,830 --> 00:44:42,000
without the People's
Republic of China.
651
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:46,270
When nixon visited China,
the bamboo curtain lifted.
652
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:50,160
On February 21, 1972
653
00:44:50,170 --> 00:44:53,570
Nixon was hosted at a banquet
by Premier Zhou Enlai
654
00:44:53,570 --> 00:44:55,870
in Beijing's Great Hall
of the People.
655
00:44:55,880 --> 00:45:02,510
And live on national
television, Americans saw
him eat real Chinese food.
656
00:45:02,510 --> 00:45:05,080
And they salivated.
657
00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:08,650
Raising a toast
he drank that very powerful
658
00:45:08,650 --> 00:45:11,410
Chinese wine called the Maotai.
659
00:45:11,420 --> 00:45:14,480
It's like 120 proof,
kind of thing, you know,
if you ever..
660
00:45:14,490 --> 00:45:16,590
It's like jet fuel.
661
00:45:16,590 --> 00:45:21,790
It's sort of sparked a trend,
I think, in terms of all things
Chinese.
662
00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:28,070
Right after Nixon visit China
663
00:45:28,070 --> 00:45:30,640
I got so many phone calls.
664
00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:35,870
And they said, "Can you
duplicate Nixon's dinner."
665
00:45:35,870 --> 00:45:38,400
Suddenly all these
Chinese restaurants
666
00:45:38,410 --> 00:45:41,480
had lines outside the door.
667
00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:44,650
It ushered in,
kind of the golden age
668
00:45:44,650 --> 00:45:47,250
Of fine Chinese cooking
in the United States.
669
00:45:52,620 --> 00:45:56,260
The first Szechuan restaurants,
the first Hunan restaurants
670
00:45:56,260 --> 00:45:58,220
Fujian styled restaurants.
671
00:45:58,220 --> 00:46:01,620
All of a sudden,
here came this wonderful,
well-seasoned food
672
00:46:01,630 --> 00:46:05,270
from the cooler regions
of China, and this stuff
tasted great to us.
673
00:46:06,930 --> 00:46:09,190
But this one dish
just stuck out.
674
00:46:25,580 --> 00:46:28,820
The renaissance in Chinese food
in New York began
675
00:46:28,820 --> 00:46:33,120
with Michael Tong,
the pre-eminent Chinese
restaurateur in America.
676
00:46:33,120 --> 00:46:38,520
He opened his first restaurant
in New York, Shun Lee Palace.
677
00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:44,090
Michael Tong, sort of opened
the door to the Szechuan
and Hunanese food.
678
00:46:58,010 --> 00:47:02,140
American people,
late '60s and the '70s
679
00:47:02,140 --> 00:47:03,840
they urged for something
different.
680
00:47:05,680 --> 00:47:09,580
In 1971, we opened the, uh,
Shun Lee Palace.
681
00:47:09,580 --> 00:47:13,310
1972, we opened Hunan.
682
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:16,190
Then suddenly,
Hunan become a superstar.
683
00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:20,920
Chef T.T. Wang
of the Shun Lee restaurants
684
00:47:22,460 --> 00:47:25,500
Devised a dish that he called
General Tso's chicken.
685
00:47:30,830 --> 00:47:34,930
There was chunks of chicken,
it was put it in a batter,
it was fried
686
00:47:34,940 --> 00:47:38,910
brown sauce, a little sweet,
a little garlicky and spicy.
687
00:47:38,910 --> 00:47:42,080
And the restaurant got a 4 star
review from the New York Times.
688
00:47:44,110 --> 00:47:46,670
Shun Lee and Hunan
were a great great success.
689
00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:56,560
We are the first one who has
General Tso's chicken in the US.
690
00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:00,590
Because we opened the first
Hunanese restaurant in 1972.
691
00:48:00,590 --> 00:48:04,590
Before anybody else and we do
have General Tso's chicken
on the menu.
692
00:48:15,210 --> 00:48:18,440
But I do have to say,
I have to confess
693
00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:23,440
Taiwan do have
General Tso's chicken
in the '60s.
694
00:48:28,020 --> 00:48:30,850
Timing is everything,
right man in the right place
695
00:48:30,850 --> 00:48:32,880
at the right time,
with the right dish.
696
00:48:32,890 --> 00:48:36,160
But whose dish was it?
697
00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:39,090
Chef T.T. Wang
was really inspired
698
00:48:39,090 --> 00:48:42,020
By this restaurant in Taiwan
which was this..
699
00:48:42,030 --> 00:48:45,130
The most famous Hunan-style
restaurant there.
700
00:48:47,570 --> 00:48:51,740
In the early 1970s, businessmen
from the Shun Lee restaurants
701
00:48:51,740 --> 00:48:56,340
went to Taiwan looking to do
something new and interesting
and came back
702
00:48:56,340 --> 00:49:00,780
from there, with dishes
from this particular
restaurant called..
703
00:49:00,780 --> 00:49:03,210
Chef Peng's Hunan Yuan.
704
00:49:06,680 --> 00:49:09,280
Chef Peng, p-e-n-g
705
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:13,350
Emigrated to Taiwan from China.
706
00:49:13,350 --> 00:49:17,380
Peng Chang-Kuei as a
young boy was taken on
as an apprentice
707
00:49:17,390 --> 00:49:20,130
by one of the great
Hunanese chefs.
708
00:49:20,130 --> 00:49:22,030
He was very talented.
709
00:49:22,030 --> 00:49:26,760
He quickly rose to the position
of chef to the nationalist
government
710
00:49:26,760 --> 00:49:29,460
who are fighting the Communists
in the Chinese civil war.
711
00:49:30,630 --> 00:49:32,990
There is this association
in Hunan
712
00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:38,670
um, between eating chilies and
having a fiery military spirit.
713
00:49:38,670 --> 00:49:41,570
His style of cooking was so
influential, you know
714
00:49:41,580 --> 00:49:45,750
he was really regarded as one of
the great Hunanese chefs.
715
00:49:50,380 --> 00:49:54,880
In 1949, when Chairman Mao's
Communists finally conquered
the mainland
716
00:49:54,890 --> 00:50:00,460
Peng Chang-Kuei fled to Taiwan
with the nationalist
government, with the army.
717
00:50:00,460 --> 00:50:03,060
He cooked for
the government there.
718
00:50:03,060 --> 00:50:09,130
His inspiration was the sour
and hot flavors of his much
missed home province Hunan.
719
00:50:09,130 --> 00:50:11,730
Which he had to leave.
720
00:50:11,730 --> 00:50:16,360
You know, Hunan was the home
province of many leading
figures
721
00:50:16,370 --> 00:50:21,210
in Chinese military
and politics like General Tso.
722
00:50:21,210 --> 00:50:25,080
He is one of the famous people
of Hunan province.
723
00:50:26,110 --> 00:50:29,510
People are very proud of him.
724
00:50:29,510 --> 00:50:34,680
So, Peng Chang-Kuei invented
many dishes and one of the
dishes that he invented..
725
00:50:34,690 --> 00:50:36,690
Was General Tso's chicken.
726
00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:56,530
In Taiwan, Chef Peng
understood very early
727
00:50:56,540 --> 00:51:00,340
that a couple of restaurateurs
from New York had come and seen
his restaurant
728
00:51:00,340 --> 00:51:02,670
and went back to New York
and copied it.
729
00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:05,210
And Whef Peng was..
730
00:51:05,210 --> 00:51:07,040
"Hey.
731
00:51:07,050 --> 00:51:11,450
"These guys are ripping me off,
I'm gonna go there and show
them, you know..
732
00:51:11,450 --> 00:51:12,590
The real goods."
733
00:51:22,530 --> 00:51:26,300
Early in 1970,
the Eyewitness News
team decided..
734
00:51:26,300 --> 00:51:30,230
"Here is a new
feature, it'll be called
The Eyewitness News Gourmet."
735
00:51:30,230 --> 00:51:33,490
We'd go to visit a restaurant,
once a week
736
00:51:33,500 --> 00:51:37,600
and would film the preparation
of one of their signature
dishes.
737
00:51:37,610 --> 00:51:42,340
And I've heard that there
was this hot new
Chinese chef in town.
738
00:51:42,340 --> 00:51:45,500
He had come to New York
from Taiwan.
739
00:51:45,510 --> 00:51:49,770
So we went to meet the,
Chef Peng and film the dish.
740
00:51:52,080 --> 00:51:54,480
This is Bob Lape, Channel 7,
Eyewitness News.
741
00:51:57,590 --> 00:51:59,820
He was this, long skinny fellow.
742
00:51:59,820 --> 00:52:02,220
Spoke not a word of English.
743
00:52:02,230 --> 00:52:05,700
He knew precisely what he was
there to do which was to cook.
744
00:52:08,300 --> 00:52:11,800
He came out into the dining
room where we'd wheeled this
display cart
745
00:52:11,800 --> 00:52:13,170
full of pre-chopped ingredients
746
00:52:13,170 --> 00:52:16,400
so that could just go,
bing-bing-bing.
747
00:52:16,400 --> 00:52:20,500
And he'd throw them into
the wok one after the other,
give them a quick stir,
748
00:52:20,510 --> 00:52:22,310
you got the sizzle of the oil,
749
00:52:22,310 --> 00:52:25,880
the cloud of steam rising
that you could smell.
750
00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:27,980
He just whipped through that
dish in the wok
751
00:52:27,980 --> 00:52:31,520
with all sorts of elements
and colors and textures.
752
00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:36,490
We put it on the air and it
was over a thousand requests
for that particular recipe.
753
00:52:42,120 --> 00:52:46,490
But to Chef Peng's dismay,
Americans didn't get
the whole story.
754
00:52:46,490 --> 00:52:50,260
People thought that
Chef Peng was coming
and copying Chef Wang.
755
00:52:52,730 --> 00:52:55,290
Well, in fact it was
the other way around.
756
00:52:55,300 --> 00:52:59,700
But Chef Peng never
really convinced everyone
that he was the original.
757
00:53:05,740 --> 00:53:10,140
It would be great to have
the 16 millimeter film that was
shot of Chef Peng
758
00:53:10,150 --> 00:53:13,180
but that stuff was
just thrown out.
759
00:53:13,180 --> 00:53:18,340
And so, that stuff was probably
gone before 1980 arrived,
sorry to to say.
760
00:53:20,550 --> 00:53:25,380
I never spent enough... quality
time with Chef Peng.
761
00:53:25,390 --> 00:53:29,950
To get into his emotions,
I mean, firstly, he was,
primarily Chinese
762
00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:31,520
And spoke not much English.
763
00:53:31,530 --> 00:53:36,270
What's happened though is,
because chefs and restaurateurs
764
00:53:36,270 --> 00:53:40,010
Feel like they have a certain,
shall we call it
"poetic license"
765
00:53:40,010 --> 00:53:43,000
to rename or recreate things
766
00:53:43,010 --> 00:53:47,380
that when Chef Wang came to
making General Tso's chicken
767
00:53:47,380 --> 00:53:51,220
He felt the american palate
was a sweeter palate than
the Chinese palate.
768
00:53:51,220 --> 00:53:53,510
So he gave it a touch of sugar.
769
00:53:55,150 --> 00:53:57,150
Everybody have their own sauce.
770
00:53:57,150 --> 00:53:59,250
Our General Tso's chicken
771
00:53:59,250 --> 00:54:05,050
It has a little sweet taste,
this is the most american people
like that taste.
772
00:54:06,660 --> 00:54:10,500
Little vinegar and little
sugar is little sweet.
773
00:54:10,500 --> 00:54:12,230
Vinegar, little bit sugar.
774
00:54:14,930 --> 00:54:19,460
They've got some honey in it.
That's the most secret in here.
775
00:54:19,470 --> 00:54:23,140
The dish, in many cases has
become sweeter than it was
originally.
776
00:54:23,140 --> 00:54:27,240
Full of fire, spice
and all these other things
but not sweet, per say.
777
00:54:29,110 --> 00:54:31,450
I think it is a simple matter
778
00:54:31,450 --> 00:54:32,850
of people playing copy cat.
779
00:54:33,980 --> 00:54:35,780
"This works, let's do it."
780
00:54:39,050 --> 00:54:41,690
And in the end it becomes an
entirely different affair.
781
00:54:49,890 --> 00:54:51,090
Crispy chicken
782
00:54:51,090 --> 00:54:54,250
is a national dishes
for Americans.
783
00:54:54,260 --> 00:54:59,160
You can buy chicken nuggets
and adding soya
and sour spicy sauce
784
00:54:59,170 --> 00:55:01,600
You can make your own
General Tso's chicken today.
785
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:07,530
By the time,
General Tso's chicken appeared,
there was this
786
00:55:07,540 --> 00:55:11,710
infrastructure
of Chinese restaurants
and Chinese associations
787
00:55:11,710 --> 00:55:14,410
And Chinese chefs
and Chinese menus.
788
00:55:16,550 --> 00:55:18,610
The dish spread just
all over the place.
789
00:55:18,610 --> 00:55:21,210
And places where you wouldn't
expect to find it at all.
790
00:55:21,220 --> 00:55:23,120
Here's General Tso
marching at the door.
791
00:55:24,890 --> 00:55:28,760
There are about 50,000
Chinese restaurants
in the United States.
792
00:55:28,760 --> 00:55:32,760
The killer combination is to
find an item that everyone
likes.
793
00:55:32,760 --> 00:55:35,060
And keeps ordering
time after time.
794
00:55:35,060 --> 00:55:38,430
Yet, it's something
that we could produce
for a relative price.
795
00:55:41,170 --> 00:55:43,900
How many orders does the
average restaurant sell a day?
796
00:55:43,900 --> 00:55:44,990
Maybe 10?
797
00:55:46,200 --> 00:55:49,800
10 bucks an order?
798
00:55:49,810 --> 00:55:54,240
You start to talk
about a business just
in General Tso's chicken.
799
00:55:54,240 --> 00:55:56,240
That's in the billions
of dollars.
800
00:56:05,090 --> 00:56:10,860
General Tso's chicken
is an icon
in the Chinese food.
801
00:56:10,860 --> 00:56:13,960
It's huge,
it cover the whole country,
802
00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:15,850
cover the whole United States.
803
00:56:18,800 --> 00:56:23,000
I think if Chef Peng were
looking at the scene today
804
00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:28,230
I think he'd be amazed
at the fact that this dish
has become so iconic.
805
00:58:06,330 --> 00:58:09,830
As I know when I was very young.
806
00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:12,600
Chiang Kai-Shek
who is the President,
807
00:58:12,600 --> 00:58:16,230
asked my father to prepare
to present dinner.
808
00:58:18,310 --> 00:58:22,340
My father tried to make
something unique.
809
00:58:22,340 --> 00:58:23,670
Uh, different.
810
00:58:25,110 --> 00:58:30,910
He tried to make some name for
it and then he find
811
00:58:30,920 --> 00:58:36,490
that hunanese very famous
General, who's General Tso.
812
00:58:36,490 --> 00:58:39,290
He is a General,
never lose the battle.
813
00:58:41,660 --> 00:58:45,200
The people honor him,
especially Hunanese people.
814
00:58:48,060 --> 00:58:52,960
General Tso, he likes, he
personally... preferred chicken.
815
00:58:52,970 --> 00:58:55,500
He liked the chicken.
816
00:58:55,500 --> 00:59:00,130
My father is a very happy
to name it as
a General Tso's chicken.
817
00:59:08,450 --> 00:59:12,590
But the name is,
is so popular, is so popular,
is so famous.
818
00:59:12,590 --> 00:59:15,450
This name of General
Tso's chicken.
819
00:59:15,450 --> 00:59:18,680
And he makes all kind
of different version.
820
01:01:00,820 --> 01:01:05,190
In a way, General Tso's
chicken really did come from
Hunan province
821
01:01:05,190 --> 01:01:10,630
Because Chef Peng himself
was inspired by his
own native cuisine.
822
01:01:10,630 --> 01:01:15,670
But one of the ironies about
General Tso's chicken is that
the General himself
823
01:01:15,670 --> 01:01:21,530
Was very much about
preserving Chinese culture
and Chinese tradition.
824
01:01:21,540 --> 01:01:27,270
Then this chicken dish that is
named after him has in fact
evolved, become anything
825
01:01:27,270 --> 01:01:29,070
but authentic Chinese.
826
01:01:35,750 --> 01:01:38,950
The world's most magnificent
culinary culture
827
01:01:38,950 --> 01:01:41,650
and the world's most
diverse cuisine
828
01:01:41,650 --> 01:01:47,150
has been represented
in the west by such
a narrow range of dishes.
829
01:01:47,160 --> 01:01:50,060
And it's not just about eating
and the pleasure of eating.
830
01:01:50,060 --> 01:01:51,990
But also about the culture.
831
01:01:51,990 --> 01:01:55,220
Because food is really at the
heart of Chinese culture.
832
01:01:55,230 --> 01:01:58,830
Food is about love,
it's about doing business,
it's about the family.
833
01:01:58,830 --> 01:02:01,530
It's how you stay connected
with your living relatives.
834
01:02:01,540 --> 01:02:03,200
And all your ancestors.
835
01:02:03,200 --> 01:02:05,800
It's just particularly
important in Chinese culture.
836
01:02:09,210 --> 01:02:11,610
It's so integral
that actually it's the greeting.
837
01:02:11,610 --> 01:02:15,420
Um... You'll see all these old
timers would say...
838
01:02:16,650 --> 01:02:18,280
Which means
"Have you eaten yet?"
839
01:02:18,280 --> 01:02:20,710
But that's their greeting,
it's your hello.
840
01:02:20,720 --> 01:02:22,250
Because it's so important
841
01:02:22,250 --> 01:02:25,920
But becomes a short hand
for your well-being.
842
01:02:28,290 --> 01:02:33,560
Growing up, we learnt to
pick the meat out of crab.
843
01:02:33,560 --> 01:02:38,030
Here, there's no way a child
in America would sit down.
844
01:02:38,030 --> 01:02:40,060
You know, painstakingly,
just to nibble
845
01:02:40,060 --> 01:02:43,660
a little piece of meat
from a crab.
There's no way they do it.
846
01:02:43,670 --> 01:02:46,000
I have some nephew's kids
came here
847
01:02:46,000 --> 01:02:49,960
and visiting me,
so, I give, give them...
and they said
848
01:02:49,970 --> 01:02:52,930
"Oh, grandma,
too much trouble."
849
01:02:52,940 --> 01:02:56,940
At home,
we now, everything pour
it in the blender.
850
01:02:56,940 --> 01:03:00,140
That's real funny to me,
everything put in the blender
851
01:03:00,150 --> 01:03:01,150
Liquid diet.
852
01:03:01,150 --> 01:03:02,990
Then, they just drink it.
853
01:03:07,190 --> 01:03:13,060
I think in America,
there is a downward appreciation
of Chinese food.
854
01:03:15,260 --> 01:03:17,560
If you want French food
855
01:03:17,560 --> 01:03:22,290
You have a lot of labor
and you get charged for it.
856
01:03:22,300 --> 01:03:27,440
Chinese food is a lot of labor,
but they can't get away
charging a lot of money.
857
01:03:27,440 --> 01:03:31,140
So that is a question
of attitude.
858
01:03:31,140 --> 01:03:35,170
The culture attitude, the
perception, China has a place.
859
01:03:35,180 --> 01:03:38,250
Their currency worth nothing
and their labor worth nothing.
860
01:03:40,550 --> 01:03:45,860
Chinese restaurants still are
the first job for immigrants
coming to this country.
861
01:03:46,750 --> 01:03:49,350
You don't speak the language.
862
01:03:49,360 --> 01:03:51,490
You can't find a job.
863
01:03:51,490 --> 01:03:52,960
You know how to cook.
864
01:03:52,960 --> 01:03:55,030
You try to make it work.
865
01:03:55,030 --> 01:04:00,600
You try to make this restaurant
stick, in a place where another
restaurant wouldn't stick.
866
01:04:00,600 --> 01:04:04,200
These dishes are the
economic necessity
867
01:04:04,200 --> 01:04:08,540
and would help you succeed
and survive.
868
01:04:16,740 --> 01:04:21,540
Regarding, the General Tso's
chicken and a different taste
869
01:04:21,550 --> 01:04:25,320
My personally
it's kind of honor.
870
01:04:25,320 --> 01:04:27,220
Is honor.
871
01:04:27,220 --> 01:04:31,190
Is honor to have this people
like to serve this dishes.
872
01:04:32,450 --> 01:04:34,880
I'm proud of to be
my father's son.
873
01:04:37,390 --> 01:04:41,350
We are making some... ah, joke.
874
01:04:41,360 --> 01:04:46,160
The most famous people in the
world is Mr. Zuo Zongtang.
875
01:04:46,170 --> 01:04:52,840
Because every... every day,
everybody order Zuo Zongtang,
Zuo Zongtang, Zuo Zongtang.
876
01:05:07,080 --> 01:05:09,740
This is the General Tso's
chicken we serve.
877
01:05:35,880 --> 01:05:38,510
We started P. F. Chang's,
about 20 years ago.
878
01:05:40,280 --> 01:05:42,810
My mother's food..
879
01:05:42,810 --> 01:05:45,380
At the Mandarin,
it was food of the courts.
880
01:05:45,380 --> 01:05:46,980
We have Peking Duck.
881
01:05:46,980 --> 01:05:51,650
Uh, we had dishes that needed
more preparation, more care.
882
01:05:51,660 --> 01:05:55,620
In my style... part of the
generation gap, I think was..
883
01:05:55,620 --> 01:05:57,680
I like, I wanted something
more casual.
884
01:05:59,660 --> 01:06:03,030
We call it Chang's Chicken
here, it's one of our most
popular dishes.
885
01:06:03,030 --> 01:06:05,530
You know, there's different,
everybody has their version
886
01:06:05,530 --> 01:06:08,630
version of this dish and anyway
this is our version here.
887
01:06:11,040 --> 01:06:15,010
Americans embrace certain
ideas about ethnic food.
888
01:06:15,010 --> 01:06:18,610
You know, whether it's the taco
or french fries or..
889
01:06:18,610 --> 01:06:21,610
You know, Swedish pancakes.
They make it their own.
890
01:06:23,280 --> 01:06:25,480
There's nothing wrong with that.
891
01:06:25,480 --> 01:06:29,010
I mean, Chinese-American food
is, it's a style.
892
01:06:29,020 --> 01:06:31,090
You know, it's a style of
cooking.
893
01:06:31,090 --> 01:06:33,090
It's a cuisine in itself,
I think.
894
01:06:38,030 --> 01:06:43,260
Our idea about authenticity,
we've created this value of
authenticity.
895
01:06:43,260 --> 01:06:46,060
But I don't there is such
a thing as authenticity.
896
01:06:46,060 --> 01:06:50,060
You know, the idea
that there is some
original Chinese cuisine.
897
01:06:50,070 --> 01:06:54,510
Chinese cuisine has changed
everywhere.
898
01:06:54,510 --> 01:06:59,780
You realize that every
country has it's own version of
authentic Chinese food.
899
01:06:59,780 --> 01:07:03,950
Because to them, that's
the version of Chinese food
which is a taste of home.
900
01:07:05,480 --> 01:07:08,120
We are at Chinese mirch
in Manhattan.
901
01:07:08,120 --> 01:07:13,150
We are actually, the first
Indian-Chinese restaurant
to open in New York.
902
01:07:13,150 --> 01:07:16,980
Indian Chinese is Chinese food,
but with Indian flavors.
903
01:07:16,990 --> 01:07:20,430
It is Chinese,
the way we eat it in India.
904
01:07:22,760 --> 01:07:26,430
This is western style
Chinese vegetable fried rice.
905
01:07:26,430 --> 01:07:29,900
Some of the Mexican
restaurant and Italian
restaurants
906
01:07:29,900 --> 01:07:36,710
think that this is a good idea
and have fortune taco cookie and
fortune cannoli cookie.
907
01:07:36,710 --> 01:07:39,180
Nothing is authentic
here in our restaurant
908
01:07:39,180 --> 01:07:43,450
We are not authentic Chinese,
we are not authentic Mexican.
909
01:07:43,450 --> 01:07:45,450
And isn't that American?
910
01:07:46,450 --> 01:07:48,590
So this our General Tso's
veal rib
911
01:07:48,590 --> 01:07:50,540
And Mission Chinese food.
912
01:07:50,550 --> 01:07:53,210
I'm gonna make a General
Tso's tofu sandwich.
913
01:07:53,220 --> 01:07:56,260
I just order General Tso's
soft boiled egg.
914
01:07:56,260 --> 01:07:58,830
Actually, they had
General Tso's snake
915
01:07:58,830 --> 01:08:00,430
At this restaurant.
916
01:08:00,430 --> 01:08:03,800
In fact, you can now get
General Tso's chicken in China.
917
01:08:10,030 --> 01:08:14,530
I admit that I don't
often look for it when
I go to a restaurant.
918
01:08:15,310 --> 01:08:16,910
I've never ordered it.
919
01:08:16,910 --> 01:08:19,880
I did it have a four year
General Tso's love affair.
920
01:08:23,410 --> 01:08:27,170
I don't think,
this dish will disappear.
921
01:08:27,180 --> 01:08:33,450
People will still like enjoying
that sort of groovy sauce.
922
01:08:33,450 --> 01:08:34,510
They like it.
923
01:08:35,120 --> 01:08:36,460
And why not?