Key Aims & Messages
The Primary aim of this documentary is gives a history of Chinese American food culture and was to find out who exactly General Tso is and where the origin of General Tso chicken began. The documentary gave a very good look into the progression of Chinese culture and food here in the United States. When Chinese immigrants first came into the United States during the California gold rush in 1849, they were treated as if they were aliens. Americans were very skeptical of the new Chinese population, and saw them as competition. This fear led to the exclusion act of 1882, forcing the Chinese population forcing them out of labor and making them have to be self employed. This led to the opening of the very first Chinese restaurants in the United States.
Ideologies
The main ideology supported in this film would be the transformation of Chinese food in America becoming its own ”type” of food. For example, the fortune cookie is solely an American thing. It was started in the United States and as a way to satisfy the desert needs of the American customer. Most Chinese food in the United States is not authentic Chinese food. It has been adapted for the likings of the American culture. Numerous restaurant owners admit they don’t cook for themselves but what sells the best. “I mean if you’ve looked at our business we’ve changed our menus based on the demands of the tastes of the people around us.”(-Harlan Lee owner of Sing High Chop Suey house in Phoenix, Arizona.) This led to the creation of the first “Chinese-American” dish, Chop Suey. Chop Suey was a dish made to appeal to white audiences. It is basically two things, any chopped meat accompanied by exotic flavorless vegetables. It was made to be basic so Americans would try it. Chinese restaurants also started to serve American dishes as well. Chop Suey could be that food that was foreign, but yet familiar making it more likely for someone to order it. This is considered the beginning of what Chinese-American cuisine was. Chop Suey eventually became a national phenomenon, leading to a big national interest in Chinese food. The Chinese population began to move out of California and make their way all over the country to open different Chinese restaurants to try and not compete with their own culture for customers. Everything changed once President Nixon visited China. A picture of his meal was taken and everyone wanted what he had. New types of Chinese foods were popping up around the United States. This is when the General Tso’s Chicken arrives in the United States.
(Amerowolf, 2013)
Key Storylines
The key story line to show the history of Chinese food culture in America was the search for General Tso and the origin of the dish. First researchers went to the Hunan Dynasty in China to search for answers. They first ask about the dish and to their surprise nobody there has ever heard of it. They have different dishes to remember General Tso that better relate to the Hunan Dynasty and how they prefer and prepare food. General Tso was a 19th century army General for the Qing Dynasty. He is famous for putting down the Taiping Rebellion and for always being victorious. He is extremely popular in this area, having multiple things named after him including schools, a museum, a hotel, and his home which is now a historical sight. The dish, General Tso’s Chicken didn’t make its public appearance into the United States until 1972. In New York, at the Hunam Restaurant General Tso’s Chicken was first introduced. The restaurant received a four star review from the New York Times but the owner doesn’t credit himself for the creation of the recipe. Chef Peng was the person responsible for first inventing the recipe in Taiwan during the 1960’s. Once Chef Peng heard a restaurant from New York had stolen his recipe he went to the United States and cooked it on live television. This only led to people thinking that he was the one copying the recipe from the Hunam Restaurant. He was never able to convince the population that it was originally his recipe.
(Bluejeanfood,2014)
Linkage to Class
The primary linkage from the documentary to the content in the class is how the food from one culture can immigrate to another culture and develop an entirely new type of cuisine. Most of the Chinese food in America is in no way authentic. The food we think of as “Chinese food” in America has our own cultural ideas on taste and consumption about the food. It does share some resemblance to that of authentic Chinese food, but it could be better thought of as Chinese American cuisine. This relates heavily to the Biocultural Model we discussed in class and how cultural factors greatly impact the ideas of diet and cuisine. The original general tso’s recipe never had a sweet component to it. It was only once it arrived in America that this flavor was added to the dish.
Tim’s Opinion
I think the documentary did a fantastic job at not only explaining the roots and origins of Chinese American food, but it also did a great job explain and painting a picture on how immigration can effect the cuisine in an area. Although the early Chinese restaurants were deeply rooted in their own cuisine, it soon changed in order to make their food more popular amongst their American customers. They started to develop changes to recipes that involved new flavors and even new dishes to better relate to the American culture that they are now a huge part.
Max’s Opinion
My opinion: Overall the film was a very interesting way of seeing how the culture of Chinese food as transformed throughout the years. Focusing on General Tso’s chicken one of the more popular Chinese-American dishes was a great way to make the documentary entertaining and educational.
References
Amerowolf, 2013 [General Tso’s Image]. Retrieved March 4, 2019.http://www.infobarrel.com/The_Man_Behind_the_Chicken_-_Who_is_General_Tso
Bluejeanfood, 2014 [General Tso’s image] Retrieved March 4, 2019. https://bluejeanfood.com/tag/general-tso-chicken/
Amanda Murray & Jennifer 8. Lee, Ian Cheney. (2015). The Search for General Tso. United States: Wicked Delicate Films