Bloody hell the foodies are getting some bad news...

Chinese Chef Who Created General Tso's Chicken Dies at 98

Hunan Chef Peng Chang-kuei brought the dish stateside in 1973

By Erica Davies






Chef Peng Chang-kuei, the inventor of the world-famous Chinese dish General Tso's Chicken, died at the age of 98 on Wednesday, the Taiwan News reports.
The Hunan, China native began training to be a cook at just 13 years-old. By the end of World War II, he was in charge of running banquets for the Chinese Nationalist government. A military uprising forced Peng to flee to Taiwan, where he created his culinary magnum opus in 1952, according to the newspaper.


The world-renown dish is composed of breaded chicken chunks tossed and fried in a thick, sugary ginger-garlic sauce. Broccoli, baby corn and carrots are sometimes added for extra flavor.

He named the dish in honor of Tso Tsung T'ang, a respected Hunan war general.


Peng brought his famous platter stateside in 1973 with the opening of his restaurant, Peng's, on East 44th Street. News of his delicious dish caught the attention of officials from the neighboring United Nations headquarters and dignitaries like former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

The New York Times published one of the earliest accounts of the dish in a 1977 feature story.


"General Tso's thicken [sic] was a stir-fried masterpiece, sizzling hot in both flavor and temperature," wrote Mimi Sheraton.

A 2014 documentary called "The Search for General Tso" examined the origins of the iconic plate and the history of its eponymous military leader.

Chinese Chef Who Created General Tso's Chicken Dies at 98 | NBC New York