Kungtso Subs

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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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>> Chi? Chi?
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Chi?
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Hello? Chi?
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>> Yeah.
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>> Are you ready?
>> Yeah.
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>> Hi!
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[speaking in foreign language]
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>> Give me that dish
and for the oil I need water.
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>> Oil. Water.
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Give me the brush.
I need a brush.
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>> 1
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2
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[camera clicks]
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[chickens clucking]
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>> What is
General Tso's Chicken?
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General Tso's Chicken
is usually --
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>> Chicken legs.
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>> Dark meat of the chicken.
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>> Best made from dark meat.
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>> They, cut about, uh..
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...inch square.
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>> Marinade that was
thick white.
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Deep fried in a wok.
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And is quickly
tossed in the sauce.
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Garlicky.
>> Tangy.
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>> Intensive heat.
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>> With sweet intensive taste.
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>> Salty.
Outside little crisp.
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Inside still tender.
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>> A glorious, sweet,
fried chicken dish.
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>> I don't think that
General Tso's Chicken's
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the most popular
ethnic dish in the country
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only because there's pizza.
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Restaurant after restaurant
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it's become
American food, almost.
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My customer, they come here
7 times a week.
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Unbelievable.
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>> I can't wait to start
chowing down on this.
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>> I don't know that
there was a manual
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for restaurateurs,
but you'll find
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a random Chinese restaurant
in the middle of nowhere
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and all of a sudden selling
General Tso's Chicken.
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How did that happen?
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[oriental music]
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>> Almond chicken,
walnut chicken
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Chow gai pan, which
is boneless chicken
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crispy baked chicken,
sesame chicken.
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Oh, there he is,
the general, $10.95.
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>> In 1981,
I was new to New York City
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and I was alone in an apartment
on the Upper Westside.
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And I heard a riffle
at the door
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and I thought, "Oh, great,
I've been here three days
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and I'm about to get robbed."
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And I peeked out
from around the corner
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and saw something slide
under the front door
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and few minutes later
I got up the nerve
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and went and looked at it
and it was from
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Hunan Royal restaurant.
A Chinese takeout menu.
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Thus began, uh,
what's now a quarter century of
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collecting Chinese restaurant
memorabilia.
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This is my Chinese restaurant
memorabilia archive.
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It starts up here
with large format menus.
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It fills these shelves.
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And these shelves.
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I have over 10,000
restaurant menus
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from all 50 United States
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from over a 100 nations
around the world.
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This is my Guinness
world record
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for the world's largest
collection of restaurant menus.
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Rosticceria Chinese,
a Chinese roast shop.
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For some reason in Italy
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Chinese takeout menus
are squares.
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Lucky 8 Chinese restaurant
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with Bruce Lee on the cover.
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I don't think they're paying
the Bruce Lee family
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any royalties,
but I don't know.
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Beyond the menus I collect
matchbooks, postcards
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toothpicks, chopsticks
calendars, magnets
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baseball caps, T-shirts.
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Wooden Stir Fry
slicing play set.
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Our son was given this
when he was born
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and I stole it immediately
from him
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and leave it in the package.
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You can just throw pins
at this menu
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and get great stuff
like fresh snake stem
with bean curd slice.
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If you see on a menu,
you see these little pen ticks.
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Um, most people
don't see those
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but I'm a menu professional.
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A pen tick around a dish
means that the waiter
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has recommended it many times.
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Menus are like mystery books.
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You know th -- they answer
a lot of questions
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and they are a lot of fun
to read
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but they end up
asking more questions.
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The mysteries of the Orient.
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I must have 15 different
spellings of Tso
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in my menu collection.
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>> It's T-S-O, so it's Tso.
>> How do I pronounce it again?
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>> Uh, I don't know
if you say the T or not.
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I just kind of blur a bit,
and that way no one really knows
if I'm saying it right or not.
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But I get mine over brown rice.
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It's my healthy thing
for the day.
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>> Well, up in Chico
they call it General Chicken.
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>> You know, it's been called,
General Toes
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It's been called -- I think
the naval academy calls it
Admiral Toes.
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>> I feel like no matter
what restaurant you go to
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there's always a different
spelling of General Tso, so..
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...so there's a lot
to find about him.
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>> I haven't a clue who he is.
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I guess he must've came up
with the recipe himself.
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>> I think he was a --
a general in the Chinese army
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who died during the time
of Chairman Mao or something
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and that was his favorite dish
and they named it after him.
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>> He, uh, had his private chef
cook this dish, you know?
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Uh, even when he went to battle.
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>> I don't think it was a dish
that was made for that general.
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Maybe it was made in honor of
him a 100 years after his death.
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>> I think they just named it
because it sounds exotic
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after somebody nobody's
ever heard of.
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>> I imagine General Tso
as almost
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a bearded Mongolian warrior,
who's on a horse for sure
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riding wildly.
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>> He's a general,
so he obviously has a hat.
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And he has a military uniform.
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But maybe it's bulging
a little bit
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because he's so chubby
from eating all that chicken.
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>> Beautiful armor, you know,
with jade maybe and gold pieces.
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He probably looks
kind of fancy
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with an army of thousands.
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>> Did he love chicken?
We don't know.
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Nobody knows.
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[oriental music]
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[toys squealing]
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>> I know that the general's
name is a Chinese name.
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I can say it
if I knew what it was.
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"Zuo Zong ji"
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or they also say it
"Zuo Zongtang ji."
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I've only eaten it
when I would have
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American-Chinese takeout
when I was little.
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I was surprised,
I have to say
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that I haven't seen it directly
on a menu in China.
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[instrumental music]
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[laughs]
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[music continues]
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>> General Tso
was a 19th century general
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in the Qing Dynasty.
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And helped put down
the Taiping Rebellion
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uh, which was
a great pheasant rebellion.
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[war cries]
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>> He was a great patriot.
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He had tremendous loyalty
from his men.
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He was obviously
a very intelligent
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and strategically
sophisticated person.
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And also, I think, ruthless.
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Zuo Zongtang was very much
part of that mentality
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of trying to strengthen China
and maintain Chinese values.
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>> General Tso played
a critical role
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in keeping together
what is now modern-day China.
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At that point,
there was truly a threat
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you know, during
the age of colonization.
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And he always wanted to keep
the westerners out of China.
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So if you told General Tso that
this dish was named after him
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I think he'd raise his eyebrows.
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>> General Tso's Chicken,
it's a very sweet dish.
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And the Hunanese
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although they have
some sweet dishes
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they don't really like
mixing sweet and savory foods.
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So not only have people
not really heard of it
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but, um, it's not really
the kind of flavor
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they'd like to eat anyway.
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[knives swish]
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[ship horn blowing]
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[seagulls squawking]
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[chuckling]
>> I have no idea.
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We don't have a file
on General Tso
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at the Chinese
Historical Society.
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It's amazing to me
how a pattern developed.
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Did several people have
the same idea at the same time?
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I mean, it cropped up
in different places.
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East Coast, West Coast,
you know.
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So this map gives you
the number
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according
to the 2010 census
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of Chinese
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in every state of the union.
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Chinese are 1%
of the US population
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which is a drop in the bucket.
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Yet, probably most Americans
have eaten Chinese food.
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So how do you explain that?
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And how many have eaten
General Tso's Chicken?
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>> Even though there's now
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in restaurants coast to coast
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there was a time
when Chinese food
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was completely new to America.
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>> The biggest reason Chinese
began to come to the US
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was the California gold rush
of the 1850s.
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The early Chinese
are primarily Cantonese.
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Chinese in the Guangdong area
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started coming
to California in droves
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through the port
of San Francisco.
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And the Chinese quarter
got more and more crowded.
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>> For Americans, the Chinese
were the space aliens.
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They had their hair
in long braids called Queues.
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They eat with sticks,
not with forks.
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And Americans were sort of
amazed by Chinese food
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but also little bit
repulsed by it.
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>> The mainstream audience
saw Chinese food
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as scary, you know.
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I mean, they thought of --
they had ideas in their head
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about Chinese people eating rats
and things like that
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and so you really were
risking something
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when you went into Chinatown.
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The white authorities
saw it
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as a quarter of
vice and slums
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and prostitution
and opium dens
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and they said, "Let us rid,"
uh, you know
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"San Francisco
of it's Chinatown."
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>> They saw the Chinese
as the competition.
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"The Chinese must go," was the
slogan that a lot of them used.
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>> There were laws
that were put in place
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that would make it
legal to prosecute violence
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against Chinese,
and, of course
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this culminated in
the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
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>> 1882, the law was passed
and it made it difficult
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for anyone except for
few people
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in protected classes to, uh,
come to this country.
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Uh, made it particularly
difficult for women
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uh, to arrive.
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>> The whole idea of these laws
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is to somehow stave off
this generation.
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>> They would have white mobs
comi communitiesheir
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burning them out,
tossing their stuff
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out on to streets.
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There's a quote, it said
261
00:18:01,148 --> 00:18:03,750
"They say exclusion,
but they mean extermination."
262
00:18:05,985 --> 00:18:10,623
>> The Exclusion Act basically
forced them out of labor.
263
00:18:10,657 --> 00:18:13,493
And so they have
to be self-employed.
264
00:18:13,526 --> 00:18:16,095
And this is where
two very important professions
265
00:18:16,129 --> 00:18:17,697
came in being.
266
00:18:17,730 --> 00:18:19,532
One is providing laundry
267
00:18:19,566 --> 00:18:22,869
and one is providing food.
268
00:18:22,902 --> 00:18:25,438
>> Restaurant work
was one of the few jobs
269
00:18:25,472 --> 00:18:27,707
that the Chinese could find.
270
00:18:27,740 --> 00:18:29,809
And Chinese restaurant owners
discovered
271
00:18:29,842 --> 00:18:32,078
that if they adapted
simple dishes
272
00:18:32,111 --> 00:18:35,682
to American taste
that they could make money.
273
00:18:37,083 --> 00:18:39,018
[knives swish]
274
00:18:42,989 --> 00:18:44,924
[Oriental music]
275
00:18:53,233 --> 00:18:56,569
>> Hey, how you doin' today?
Is it wet and cold out there?
276
00:18:56,603 --> 00:18:59,306
>> It's startin' to sprinkle.
>> Oh, man.
277
00:18:59,339 --> 00:19:01,941
Wish it would have rained
a little while earlier.
278
00:19:01,974 --> 00:19:04,911
279
00:19:09,015 --> 00:19:14,221
>> Believe it or not, she says
she doesn't eat it. So..
280
00:19:14,254 --> 00:19:17,857
My name is Harlan Lee
and, uh, we are at
281
00:19:17,890 --> 00:19:20,827
Sing High Chop Suey house
here in Phoenix, Arizona.
282
00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:22,562
And, uh, this is my mother.
283
00:19:22,595 --> 00:19:25,732
She is the senior partner
of Sing High.
284
00:19:25,765 --> 00:19:28,301
285
00:19:28,335 --> 00:19:31,271
>> My name, uh...Ella Lee.
286
00:19:33,172 --> 00:19:36,743
>> My grandfather
opened Sing High, uh, in 1928
287
00:19:36,776 --> 00:19:38,878
in downtown Phoenix.
288
00:19:38,911 --> 00:19:42,649
You know, Chinese food
was not that popular here yet.
289
00:19:42,682 --> 00:19:45,051
I mean, if you looked
at our business
290
00:19:45,084 --> 00:19:47,620
we've changed our menus
based on
291
00:19:47,654 --> 00:19:50,290
the demands and the tastes
of the people around us.
292
00:19:54,827 --> 00:19:58,197
>> This awareness of having
to make yourself
293
00:19:58,231 --> 00:20:00,600
acceptable to a wider world
294
00:20:00,633 --> 00:20:04,237
was very much on the minds
of Chinese restaurants.
295
00:20:04,271 --> 00:20:06,239
Even then, I mean,
at that early time
296
00:20:06,273 --> 00:20:09,442
they had experienced
outrageous racism.
297
00:20:09,476 --> 00:20:13,280
And to deal with it
they got pretty savvy
298
00:20:13,313 --> 00:20:15,815
I mean, all kinds of dishes
frying up
299
00:20:15,848 --> 00:20:17,950
that would appeal
to white audiences.
300
00:20:25,392 --> 00:20:28,461
>> You know, chop suey is,
simply means, you know
301
00:20:28,495 --> 00:20:31,964
just bits and pieces
of different things.
302
00:20:31,998 --> 00:20:34,301
It's very, very obvious
that it caters
303
00:20:34,334 --> 00:20:37,337
to the more
Americanized palate.
304
00:20:37,370 --> 00:20:39,005
>> Chop suey is
basically two things.
305
00:20:39,038 --> 00:20:42,074
One it's a meat,
like pork or chicken or beef.
306
00:20:42,108 --> 00:20:44,176
So all meats
that Americans recognize
307
00:20:44,210 --> 00:20:47,614
accompanied by
sort of these exotic vegetables
308
00:20:47,647 --> 00:20:51,351
which are cool,
but very much flavorless.
309
00:20:55,955 --> 00:20:59,359
>> I -- I don't come
in my collection every day.
310
00:21:00,827 --> 00:21:02,762
And -- and look and -- and..
311
00:21:04,931 --> 00:21:06,999
This is from
the age of chop suey.
312
00:21:07,033 --> 00:21:10,670
This is a replica of one of the
oldest menus in my collection
313
00:21:10,703 --> 00:21:13,072
It's from 1916.
314
00:21:13,105 --> 00:21:15,508
Uh, and I don't handle
the original
315
00:21:15,542 --> 00:21:17,944
'cause it's crump -- crink..
It's falling apart.
316
00:21:17,977 --> 00:21:19,912
It's -- it's very, very old.
317
00:21:21,213 --> 00:21:24,884
Chop suey is 15 cents,
30 cents, 25 cents.
318
00:21:24,917 --> 00:21:29,722
I don't think the general
was part of that scene.
319
00:21:29,756 --> 00:21:33,693
You could get steak
with mushrooms, was 40 cents.
320
00:21:33,726 --> 00:21:36,896
But how you know
that a menu is from 1916?
321
00:21:36,929 --> 00:21:39,332
Scrapbooks, where people
322
00:21:39,366 --> 00:21:42,402
had this quote-unquote
"exotic meal"
323
00:21:42,435 --> 00:21:46,773
and saved the menu
as a souvenir.
324
00:21:46,806 --> 00:21:49,308
>> They would have,
you know, menus
325
00:21:49,342 --> 00:21:50,977
steaks or whatever potatoes.
326
00:21:51,010 --> 00:21:53,813
And yet they would
have chop suey on the menu.
327
00:21:53,846 --> 00:21:55,815
And so it's this mash up
328
00:21:55,848 --> 00:21:58,217
of being kind of exotic
and kind of unfamiliar
329
00:21:58,250 --> 00:21:59,986
but not too different.
330
00:22:00,019 --> 00:22:02,088
You know, it's that foreign
yet familiar thing
331
00:22:02,121 --> 00:22:05,792
that was the real beginning
of what
332
00:22:05,825 --> 00:22:08,828
Chinese-American cuisine was.
333
00:22:08,861 --> 00:22:10,997
It was a way in for people.
334
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,370
>> I do vividly recall
I was 18 years old
335
00:22:17,404 --> 00:22:21,173
and got off a Greyhound bus
from Dayton, Ohio.
336
00:22:21,207 --> 00:22:24,677
Got in late at night,
saw the neon signs.
337
00:22:24,711 --> 00:22:27,480
The first thing I ordered
when I got off the bus
338
00:22:27,514 --> 00:22:28,781
was chop suey.
339
00:22:28,815 --> 00:22:32,452
>> I've been eatin' in here for,
well, since the '50s.
340
00:22:32,485 --> 00:22:34,854
>> Quite frankly I didn't know
what I was eating.
341
00:22:34,887 --> 00:22:36,923
They've served
this food forever.
342
00:22:36,956 --> 00:22:40,059
It's just been very popular
in Flagstaff.
343
00:22:40,092 --> 00:22:44,230
>> I knew Fred's dad
and his uncles.
344
00:22:44,263 --> 00:22:46,499
Same here, Gina. Haven't seen
you in a long time.
345
00:22:46,533 --> 00:22:47,900
>> I know.
346
00:22:47,934 --> 00:22:49,869
[laughing]
347
00:22:52,204 --> 00:22:54,173
>> This right here
is a postcard
348
00:22:54,206 --> 00:22:55,675
of the restaurant
349
00:22:55,708 --> 00:22:57,677
back in, probably,
the '50s, you know.
350
00:22:57,710 --> 00:22:59,646
My dad started
the restaurant.
351
00:23:00,980 --> 00:23:03,282
Half of my orders
is Chinese food
352
00:23:03,315 --> 00:23:04,884
and the other half,
American food
353
00:23:04,917 --> 00:23:06,753
steaks, fried chicken.
354
00:23:08,488 --> 00:23:10,423
This is clubhouse sandwich.
355
00:23:14,393 --> 00:23:15,828
Big sandwich.
356
00:23:19,632 --> 00:23:22,168
>> All of a sudden,
in Chinatowns all over
357
00:23:22,201 --> 00:23:24,504
you would find
these huge neon signs
358
00:23:24,537 --> 00:23:26,473
advertising chop suey.
359
00:23:29,442 --> 00:23:32,044
>> Chop suey became
a national phenomenon.
360
00:23:32,078 --> 00:23:34,113
It basically allowed
for the proliferation
361
00:23:34,146 --> 00:23:35,482
of Chinese restaurants
362
00:23:35,515 --> 00:23:37,917
all across United States
into little towns.
363
00:23:37,950 --> 00:23:41,020
And in a way it sort of
laid the groundwork for
364
00:23:41,053 --> 00:23:42,989
what was yet to come.
365
00:23:46,358 --> 00:23:48,595
>> Chinese are very
enterprising people.
366
00:23:48,628 --> 00:23:49,562
So..
367
00:23:51,631 --> 00:23:54,033
...I think anywhere in the world
where they can find a place
368
00:23:54,066 --> 00:23:56,636
to put a restaurant
they will do it.
369
00:23:56,669 --> 00:23:58,605
370
00:24:08,347 --> 00:24:11,350
>> If you were to look
at a map of the US in 1850
371
00:24:11,383 --> 00:24:13,886
you would find
all of the Chinese
372
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:15,622
in California.
373
00:24:16,989 --> 00:24:18,257
Then over time
374
00:24:18,290 --> 00:24:21,293
after 1882, the Exclusion era
375
00:24:21,327 --> 00:24:24,664
they began
a very pronounced migration
376
00:24:24,697 --> 00:24:28,034
into sparsely populated
counties
377
00:24:28,067 --> 00:24:29,869
all across the country.
378
00:24:29,902 --> 00:24:33,606
Midwest, East
and even the South.
379
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,808
One of the motivations
for the dispersion
380
00:24:35,842 --> 00:24:39,311
was to escape persecution
on the West Coast
381
00:24:39,345 --> 00:24:42,515
and earn a living
in a safer environment.
382
00:24:42,549 --> 00:24:47,319
But the major reason was
an effort to find employment
383
00:24:47,353 --> 00:24:50,823
uh, in a way that didn't
compete with other Chinese.
384
00:24:56,596 --> 00:24:58,731
>> My restaurant's name's
Golden Dragon.
385
00:24:58,765 --> 00:25:01,500
We are the only Chinese
restaurant in town.
386
00:25:01,534 --> 00:25:04,470
We are the only Chinese family
in town.
387
00:25:09,609 --> 00:25:13,012
It's hard, you know,
to stay in a small town.
388
00:25:13,045 --> 00:25:15,047
A lot of people think I'm crazy.
389
00:25:15,081 --> 00:25:18,585
One of my -- lots of my friends,
my family.
390
00:25:18,618 --> 00:25:21,187
But I like it in this town.
391
00:25:21,220 --> 00:25:24,456
When we first come,
this restaurant want to sell.
392
00:25:24,490 --> 00:25:27,359
So we just came, we see it,
and we think
393
00:25:27,393 --> 00:25:31,263
"Oh, yeah, that -- that
good for a family," you know.
394
00:25:31,297 --> 00:25:33,132
And then we have kids.
395
00:25:33,165 --> 00:25:35,434
1, 2, 3, 4.
We got 4 kids.
396
00:25:35,467 --> 00:25:37,203
But for me it's okay.
397
00:25:37,236 --> 00:25:40,807
You know, somebody
when tell me, tell me
398
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,442
"I always travel from New York
to San Francisco.
399
00:25:43,475 --> 00:25:46,312
You are the best!"
400
00:25:46,345 --> 00:25:49,048
They drive me -- Makes me
so happy, you know.
401
00:25:51,050 --> 00:25:52,985
402
00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:01,293
>> Hmm.
403
00:26:02,461 --> 00:26:04,130
I am David R. Chan.
404
00:26:04,163 --> 00:26:07,166
I am a tax attorney and
certified public accountant.
405
00:26:07,199 --> 00:26:09,301
And in my spare time,
I like to
406
00:26:09,335 --> 00:26:11,604
uh, eat at different
Chinese restaurants.
407
00:26:11,638 --> 00:26:14,641
And over the years,
I've managed to eat at
408
00:26:14,674 --> 00:26:17,076
over 6000 different
409
00:26:17,109 --> 00:26:19,045
[camera clicks]
410
00:26:21,413 --> 00:26:23,482
Rice noodle in clay pot.
411
00:26:23,515 --> 00:26:26,485
I don't know, I'm not sure
if that's enough for us.
412
00:26:26,518 --> 00:26:28,655
Maybe we should add
a couple more items.
413
00:26:28,688 --> 00:26:30,189
Steamed chicken buns?
414
00:26:30,222 --> 00:26:32,324
I never thought of
that as a dessert.
415
00:26:32,358 --> 00:26:35,828
Here we have some, uh,
curry fish balls.
416
00:26:35,862 --> 00:26:39,498
Rice pancakes
with minced beef stuffing.
417
00:26:39,531 --> 00:26:42,802
You know, if somebody asks me
why I travel all over
418
00:26:42,835 --> 00:26:45,772
to seek Chinese restaurants
to eat at
419
00:26:45,805 --> 00:26:50,710
it's really part of a,
uh, seeking of an identity.
420
00:26:50,743 --> 00:26:54,714
And to see where,
as a Chinese-American, how
421
00:26:54,747 --> 00:26:59,719
you know, how that fits in with
the overall American culture.
422
00:26:59,752 --> 00:27:01,387
I started to notice
423
00:27:01,420 --> 00:27:04,290
most Americanized
Chinese restaurants
424
00:27:04,323 --> 00:27:06,959
they have names
that would be not threatening
425
00:27:06,993 --> 00:27:11,263
to the local population,
like Golden Palace or China Inn.
426
00:27:11,297 --> 00:27:13,465
I don't know how many
China Inns there are.
427
00:27:13,499 --> 00:27:15,567
Some restaurant names
428
00:27:15,601 --> 00:27:19,505
people just don't quite
understand what the words mean.
429
00:27:19,538 --> 00:27:21,340
So for example, I mean,
in New York Chinatown
430
00:27:21,373 --> 00:27:23,409
there's a restaurant
called Strange Taste.
431
00:27:23,442 --> 00:27:25,678
Well, I mean,
would you really wanna go
432
00:27:25,712 --> 00:27:28,748
to the Strange Taste Restaurant?
433
00:27:28,781 --> 00:27:30,282
I noticed even
when I was a kid
434
00:27:30,316 --> 00:27:32,484
whenever we traveled
anywhere in the country
435
00:27:32,518 --> 00:27:34,620
there was
one Chinese restaurant
436
00:27:34,653 --> 00:27:36,555
at least one Chinese restaurant
in any city
437
00:27:36,588 --> 00:27:38,524
of any particular size.
438
00:27:38,557 --> 00:27:40,492
Actually what happened is
439
00:27:40,526 --> 00:27:43,062
the Regional Chinese Association
440
00:27:43,095 --> 00:27:45,031
basically assigned territories.
441
00:27:46,532 --> 00:27:48,801
Even to this day,
if you go to Chinatowns
442
00:27:48,835 --> 00:27:51,738
you'll see a lot of
buildings that say
443
00:27:51,771 --> 00:27:53,472
you know, Wong Association
444
00:27:53,505 --> 00:27:55,641
or, you know,
Fujian Association.
445
00:28:03,850 --> 00:28:06,685
>> All the takeout restaurants
sell these dishes.
446
00:28:06,719 --> 00:28:07,754
Everywhere.
447
00:28:07,787 --> 00:28:09,221
Everywhere.
448
00:28:09,255 --> 00:28:10,522
You know, I know.
449
00:28:10,556 --> 00:28:12,691
I'm in charge
of this organization.
450
00:28:12,725 --> 00:28:16,863
This is one of the oldest
organization in Chinatown.
451
00:28:16,896 --> 00:28:18,664
We are 130 years here.
452
00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:23,535
This is the first step,
you know.
453
00:28:23,569 --> 00:28:26,272
A lot of the new immigrant
they just come here
454
00:28:26,305 --> 00:28:28,307
and if the organization
can help them
455
00:28:28,340 --> 00:28:31,543
to set up the business
in a proper way.
456
00:28:31,577 --> 00:28:32,979
I mean, register them.
457
00:28:33,012 --> 00:28:35,247
They teach you how to cook
step by step.
458
00:28:38,785 --> 00:28:42,721
>> Chinese restaurant owners,
uh, to a great extent
459
00:28:42,755 --> 00:28:46,859
relied on the traditional
Chinese networks.
460
00:28:46,893 --> 00:28:50,797
Family associations,
district associations.
461
00:28:50,830 --> 00:28:55,001
They would get information
about the popular dishes
462
00:28:55,034 --> 00:28:57,770
to help each other
in a strange place.
463
00:29:01,007 --> 00:29:03,943
464
00:29:24,931 --> 00:29:28,367
>> It's not easy to settle here
in Chinatown.
465
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,136
Because the rent is high.
466
00:29:30,169 --> 00:29:32,905
The organization
gives you some information
467
00:29:32,939 --> 00:29:36,608
where to go, which state
or which town is better.
468
00:29:36,642 --> 00:29:39,145
That's why they spread out.
All over in the country.
469
00:29:39,178 --> 00:29:42,114
470
00:30:00,332 --> 00:30:04,370
In a lot of the smaller town,
it's very lonely.
471
00:30:04,403 --> 00:30:07,874
Because they have no relatives,
no entertainment there.
472
00:30:07,907 --> 00:30:09,708
No place to go.
They don't understand.
473
00:30:09,741 --> 00:30:11,911
They don't speak
English that well.
474
00:30:11,944 --> 00:30:13,980
And then sometimes
they have some trouble.
475
00:30:17,083 --> 00:30:18,017
[mooing]
476
00:30:21,587 --> 00:30:24,190
>> I'm not exactly sure
where General Tso's Chicken
477
00:30:24,223 --> 00:30:26,058
originated from,
but I do know
478
00:30:26,092 --> 00:30:28,027
where cashew chicken came from.
479
00:30:32,932 --> 00:30:34,934
[speaking with thick accent]
480
00:30:38,137 --> 00:30:40,139
>> Pensacola, Florida.
481
00:30:49,916 --> 00:30:54,453
>> My father came over from
Canton, China in 1940.
482
00:30:54,486 --> 00:30:56,989
A famous physician
tried my dad's cooking
483
00:30:57,023 --> 00:30:59,291
and loved it and asked him
if he'd be willing
484
00:30:59,325 --> 00:31:01,560
to move to Springfield,
Missouri.
485
00:31:01,593 --> 00:31:04,163
During that time my dad
opened up his own restaurant
486
00:31:04,196 --> 00:31:08,234
for a while, and he was not
very accepted.
487
00:31:08,267 --> 00:31:10,169
He had people picketing
his restaurant
488
00:31:10,202 --> 00:31:11,870
protesting his restaurant.
489
00:31:11,904 --> 00:31:13,839
"Go back to China."
Things like that.
490
00:31:15,541 --> 00:31:18,777
Actually our restaurant was
blown up before we opened.
491
00:31:18,810 --> 00:31:20,779
It was bombed.
492
00:31:20,812 --> 00:31:23,983
There was a lot of prejudice
about a Chinese person
493
00:31:24,016 --> 00:31:26,885
owning a business here
in Springfield, Missouri.
494
00:31:26,919 --> 00:31:28,955
What won, uh,
the people over though was
495
00:31:28,988 --> 00:31:31,958
once they started eating
the food they loved it.
496
00:31:31,991 --> 00:31:35,694
He knew that in the Midwest,
people like comfort food.
497
00:31:35,727 --> 00:31:37,529
They love their food fried.
498
00:31:37,563 --> 00:31:39,531
What he did was, he, uh
499
00:31:39,565 --> 00:31:41,867
took off the bones
on a fried chicken
500
00:31:41,900 --> 00:31:45,571
deep fried it and put
a brown gravy sauce over it.
501
00:31:45,604 --> 00:31:48,440
Hence, that's how he came up
with cashew chicken.
502
00:31:48,474 --> 00:31:50,776
And it just took off
like wild fire.
503
00:31:52,878 --> 00:31:54,646
There's over a couple of
hundred restaurants
504
00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,483
just in the Springfield area
now that serve cashew chicken.
505
00:32:03,489 --> 00:32:05,824
>> There's a little story
about the cashew chicken.
506
00:32:05,857 --> 00:32:09,028
Late '60s or early '70s,
McDonald's Corporation
507
00:32:09,061 --> 00:32:11,130
actually came to see
how the technique
508
00:32:11,163 --> 00:32:13,665
was to bread
and fry the chicken nuggets
509
00:32:13,699 --> 00:32:15,968
and they wanted
my dad's recipes and..
510
00:32:16,002 --> 00:32:17,303
But they didn't wanna
pay for it.
511
00:32:17,336 --> 00:32:20,939
My dad's, "Well, I'm not gonna
give it to you."
512
00:32:20,973 --> 00:32:22,808
A year later,
Chicken McNuggets come out.
513
00:32:22,841 --> 00:32:26,212
So, you know, tell me
is that a coincidence or what?
514
00:32:26,245 --> 00:32:29,715
I, uh, I tend to think that,
you know, they owe me royalty.
515
00:32:31,117 --> 00:32:32,318
Now, I'll show you
516
00:32:32,351 --> 00:32:35,287
the General Tso's Chicken
that we do.
517
00:32:35,321 --> 00:32:38,724
We use the same chicken nuggets
we use on the cashew chicken.
518
00:32:43,195 --> 00:32:46,198
People ask me, "Wing, do you
think you'll be frying chicken
519
00:32:46,232 --> 00:32:48,400
till the end of your life?"
520
00:32:48,434 --> 00:32:50,669
I said, "I probably will."
521
00:32:50,702 --> 00:32:54,540
Even when I'm dead
I'll be frying chicken.
522
00:32:54,573 --> 00:32:58,244
>> Cashew chicken
really hit upon this formula.
523
00:32:58,277 --> 00:33:03,549
It was chicken, it was fried,
and there was sauce.
524
00:33:03,582 --> 00:33:06,885
>> Interesting thing about
Springfield cashew chicken
525
00:33:06,918 --> 00:33:10,322
is the fact that it's kind of
mind boggling to find
526
00:33:10,356 --> 00:33:16,328
a Chinese dish
becoming so widespread, popular
527
00:33:16,362 --> 00:33:18,364
in an area which has virtually
528
00:33:18,397 --> 00:33:22,168
no Chinese population
of its own.
529
00:33:22,201 --> 00:33:23,702
>> Springfield cashew chicken
530
00:33:23,735 --> 00:33:26,605
it's not a traditional
Chinese food.
531
00:33:26,638 --> 00:33:28,907
It's something
that's Americanized.
532
00:33:28,940 --> 00:33:32,211
And one thing that most of
the immigrants from China
533
00:33:32,244 --> 00:33:34,580
have learned is to adapt.
534
00:33:54,766 --> 00:33:56,402
>> My brothers and I were born
in Hong Kong.
535
00:33:56,435 --> 00:33:58,170
We are a family of 5 boys
536
00:33:58,204 --> 00:34:01,340
and my father passed away
when I was 5 years old.
537
00:34:01,373 --> 00:34:03,675
So my mom was widowed
with 5 boys in Hong Kong.
538
00:34:03,709 --> 00:34:05,711
She didn't see
much future there.
539
00:34:05,744 --> 00:34:07,879
When we first opened up
in Hammond
540
00:34:07,913 --> 00:34:09,515
we were the only
Chinese family there.
541
00:34:09,548 --> 00:34:12,451
And it's a smaller town.
It was kinda..
542
00:34:12,484 --> 00:34:14,786
It was culture shock,
it was kinda unique.
543
00:34:19,558 --> 00:34:22,394
>> Well, I'm gonna get to that
because Dr. Fanning
544
00:34:22,428 --> 00:34:25,797
who's with us today
is here from Albuquerque.
545
00:34:25,831 --> 00:34:27,999
So I was explaining,
I was givin' him the history.
546
00:34:28,033 --> 00:34:31,337
What they did was blend
547
00:34:31,370 --> 00:34:34,706
the best of Louisiana
with the best of Chinese.
548
00:34:34,740 --> 00:34:36,575
It is divine.
549
00:34:36,608 --> 00:34:38,210
It is divine.
550
00:34:41,980 --> 00:34:44,416
>> Wherever you go you know
you not cook for yourself.
551
00:34:44,450 --> 00:34:47,653
You gotta cook for
what the local people like.
552
00:34:47,686 --> 00:34:50,456
>> It's alligator leg.
This is a baby alligator.
553
00:34:51,457 --> 00:34:52,891
So it's sweet and sour.
554
00:34:52,924 --> 00:34:56,628
You know, I do flounder,
cod fish, alligator.
555
00:34:57,529 --> 00:34:59,097
Chinese gumbo!
556
00:34:59,131 --> 00:35:00,666
Louisiana Chinese gumbo.
557
00:35:05,304 --> 00:35:08,006
>> This lady came and said,
"Oh, eve -- every Sunday
558
00:35:08,039 --> 00:35:11,143
"my dad used to take us after
church and eat Chinese food."
559
00:35:11,177 --> 00:35:13,345
And, "Can you make it for me?"
I said, "Yeah, just tell me
what it was."
560
00:35:13,379 --> 00:35:15,881
I walked back by the table
and she had the biggest smile
on her face.
561
00:35:15,914 --> 00:35:19,185
She said, "Oh, yeah, this is
just like I remember
with my dad on Sundays."
562
00:35:19,218 --> 00:35:21,753
I said, "You know, I'm --
I'm thinkin', ain't this ironic
563
00:35:21,787 --> 00:35:24,089
"that Chinese food
has become comfort food?
564
00:35:24,122 --> 00:35:26,692
That, um, it replaced meatloaf
and fried chicken?"
565
00:35:29,261 --> 00:35:32,198
[Oriental music]
566
00:35:41,507 --> 00:35:44,142
>> I was growing up
in Saratoga, New York.
567
00:35:44,176 --> 00:35:47,379
And we were
an orthodox Jewish family.
568
00:35:47,413 --> 00:35:49,981
We would go, um,
a couple of times a year
569
00:35:50,015 --> 00:35:51,617
to a restaurant in Schenectady
570
00:35:51,650 --> 00:35:54,520
called Lum Fung's,
a Chinese restaurant.
571
00:35:54,553 --> 00:35:56,422
I remember my mother
would always order
572
00:35:56,455 --> 00:35:58,390
uh, shrimp with lobster sauce.
573
00:35:58,424 --> 00:36:02,794
My father would look at this
as just abominable.
574
00:36:02,828 --> 00:36:05,231
And my dad who's still alive,
he's 95
575
00:36:05,264 --> 00:36:07,599
would never eat pork
or shellfish.
576
00:36:07,633 --> 00:36:12,471
Then we get these egg rolls
and I'd say what are these
little brown bits in it?
577
00:36:12,504 --> 00:36:15,941
And then his comment was, "Well,
if you can't identify it,
it's okay to eat."
578
00:36:15,974 --> 00:36:18,477
And I always thought that,
it's called, "safe-treif."
579
00:36:18,510 --> 00:36:20,078
"Treif" meaning forbidden.
580
00:36:20,111 --> 00:36:23,682
And for years, I thought
that was actually
Rabbinical statement.
581
00:36:23,715 --> 00:36:26,285
Until I asked a few rabbis'
and they said, "No, no, no
582
00:36:26,318 --> 00:36:28,587
"if you can't identify it,
absolutely don't eat it."
583
00:36:30,789 --> 00:36:35,661
>> I can't remember which year,
you know, it was Christmas day,
when I open.
584
00:36:35,694 --> 00:36:37,263
>> Wow!
>> Yeah.
585
00:36:37,296 --> 00:36:40,031
>> Over 90%
of Jewish people.
586
00:36:40,065 --> 00:36:44,236
They say, "Jewish people either
Christmas or Thanksgiving."
587
00:36:44,270 --> 00:36:45,371
>> It's Christmas, yeah.
588
00:36:45,404 --> 00:36:47,506
>> Only-only Chinese food
and the movie.
589
00:36:47,539 --> 00:36:49,541
>> There's an old joke that..
590
00:36:49,575 --> 00:36:53,279
...Jews have been around for
well over 5,000 years
591
00:36:53,312 --> 00:36:57,716
and the Chinese culture
has been around for -- for
a bit over 4,000 years.
592
00:36:57,749 --> 00:37:03,088
Which means that, there's been
about 1,500 years that Jews had
to survive without Chinese food.
593
00:37:03,121 --> 00:37:05,891
594
00:37:05,924 --> 00:37:08,660
Lot of Jews just wanted
to become Americanized.
595
00:37:08,694 --> 00:37:11,162
Part of that is going out to
596
00:37:12,831 --> 00:37:16,368
>> We ate Chinese food
growing up once a month
on a Sunday night.
597
00:37:16,402 --> 00:37:18,136
My mom's from Brooklyn.
598
00:37:18,169 --> 00:37:21,840
And we're Jewish
and that was a Jewish thing.
599
00:37:21,873 --> 00:37:24,843
I -- I met Sandy Koufax
this past summer.
600
00:37:24,876 --> 00:37:26,745
He liked Chinese food too.
601
00:37:26,778 --> 00:37:29,581
>> I ate two ethnic foods
as a child.
602
00:37:29,615 --> 00:37:33,485
Uh, well, I ate some Jewish food
from my grandmother.
603
00:37:33,519 --> 00:37:36,988
But clearly when we wanted to go
out for something different.
604
00:37:37,022 --> 00:37:39,991
Chinese food was at
the top of the list.
605
00:37:40,025 --> 00:37:41,827
>> It's part of the American
tradition now
606
00:37:41,860 --> 00:37:43,795
to go to Chinese restaurants.
607
00:37:45,263 --> 00:37:48,266
>> I'm from a small town
in Montana. Missoula, Montana.
608
00:37:48,300 --> 00:37:52,003
And I remember going to, you
know the pink and the red boots
609
00:37:52,037 --> 00:37:58,444
with the neon and getting
the...um, white takeout boxes
with the fortune cookies.
610
00:37:58,477 --> 00:38:01,880
>> We had a favorite Chinese
restaurants, it was called
"Wai-Wai."
611
00:38:01,913 --> 00:38:04,516
W-A-I, W-A-I. "Wai-Wai."
612
00:38:04,550 --> 00:38:06,652
And it was about,
maybe about a mile?
613
00:38:06,685 --> 00:38:08,186
>> From -- from the house.
>> Not even.
614
00:38:08,219 --> 00:38:10,356
>> Yeah! We were there a lot.
>> Yeah, yeah.
615
00:38:10,389 --> 00:38:13,325
>> They had the best Chinese
buffet you ever had.
616
00:38:13,359 --> 00:38:16,294
>> Mom doesn't wanna cook,
"Oh, let's call in for Chinese."
617
00:38:16,328 --> 00:38:19,931
It's fast, it's easy and you
don't have to do any dishes.
618
00:38:19,965 --> 00:38:22,267
'Cause everything
is right there for you.
619
00:38:22,300 --> 00:38:24,403
They even throw
in the plastic forks. So..
620
00:38:24,436 --> 00:38:25,371
[chuckles]
621
00:38:26,872 --> 00:38:29,875
>> For Americans
this small restaurant
622
00:38:29,908 --> 00:38:34,245
where the lone
Chinese family lives
623
00:38:34,279 --> 00:38:38,384
is their invitation into the
world...of Chinese culture.
624
00:38:38,417 --> 00:38:40,018
Even though it is..
625
00:38:40,051 --> 00:38:42,654
...as American as anything else.
626
00:38:42,688 --> 00:38:43,955
[machine whirring]
627
00:38:52,297 --> 00:38:54,733
>> This is one
of the tradition.
628
00:38:54,766 --> 00:38:57,769
That lasted for more
than 100 years in..
629
00:38:57,803 --> 00:38:59,905
...in United States.
630
00:38:59,938 --> 00:39:02,140
People when they go to
a Chinese restaurant
631
00:39:02,173 --> 00:39:05,644
expect that, after the dinner,
they'll have dessert.
632
00:39:05,677 --> 00:39:08,447
And also they can
see the fortunes.
633
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:13,985
We have some freelance writers
to help us to write, some
students help us to write.
634
00:39:14,019 --> 00:39:19,991
Nowadays, we have more than
10,000 pieces of message
in our database.
635
00:39:20,025 --> 00:39:23,862
I used to say that,
I've never seen a fortune
cookie...uh, in China.
636
00:39:23,895 --> 00:39:25,764
637
00:39:25,797 --> 00:39:27,633
638
00:39:34,873 --> 00:39:37,142
>> It's a product
of a America.
639
00:39:39,978 --> 00:39:42,881
>> By the 1940s,
despite the fact
640
00:39:42,914 --> 00:39:46,618
that there is this prohibition
for Chinese immigration
641
00:39:46,652 --> 00:39:52,524
Chinese food becomes one
of the ways in which Chinese
and Chinese-Americans
642
00:39:52,558 --> 00:39:58,329
gain social acceptance
and cultural acceptance
in United States.
643
00:39:58,363 --> 00:40:03,034
And at the same time,
as the United States
enters the second World War
644
00:40:03,068 --> 00:40:07,506
um, China becomes, you know,
an ally of the United States.
645
00:40:07,539 --> 00:40:11,777
And by 1943,
the Congress is persuaded
646
00:40:11,810 --> 00:40:15,614
to abrogate
the Chinese Exclusion Acts.
647
00:40:15,647 --> 00:40:19,017
So the kind of really
virulent and violent
648
00:40:19,050 --> 00:40:21,286
anti-Chinese movement
subsides,
649
00:40:21,319 --> 00:40:23,889
and Chinese restaurants
becomes ubiquitous.
650
00:40:26,391 --> 00:40:27,893
>> Wherever you go.
651
00:40:27,926 --> 00:40:30,896
You know, there's sunshine --
sunshine on the land
652
00:40:30,929 --> 00:40:33,331
there's a Chinese,
there's a Chinese restaurant.
653
00:40:36,602 --> 00:40:37,969
>> My favorite fortune..
654
00:40:39,738 --> 00:40:43,642
"Everything you
have prepared, will be
paid off soon."
655
00:40:43,675 --> 00:40:46,411
And also like the message,
"No pain, no gain."
656
00:40:52,484 --> 00:40:54,853
[indistinct chattering]
657
00:40:56,588 --> 00:40:58,524
658
00:41:04,796 --> 00:41:07,032
>> One of the interesting
things about Chinese food
659
00:41:07,065 --> 00:41:10,636
is that, it's always
been linked with
international relations
660
00:41:10,669 --> 00:41:12,538
between China and United States.
661
00:41:14,540 --> 00:41:19,845
>> In the 1950's,
particularly after the
Chinese Communist Revolution
662
00:41:19,878 --> 00:41:26,618
the image of China and Chinese,
uh, in the United States begins
to change quite dramatically.
663
00:41:26,652 --> 00:41:32,423
United States is gripped with,
uh, anxiety about
the rise of -- of Communism.
664
00:41:32,457 --> 00:41:34,693
Particularly in Asia.
665
00:41:34,726 --> 00:41:39,898
So many Chinese families
feel very vulnerable.
666
00:41:39,931 --> 00:41:44,536
China, Mainland China
was now enemy, particularly
during Korean war.
667
00:41:44,570 --> 00:41:49,240
And, so everything about China
was negative.
668
00:41:49,274 --> 00:41:52,844
Including Chinese-Americans,
including Chinese food.
669
00:42:05,023 --> 00:42:07,926
>> When I came here, 1950s
670
00:42:07,959 --> 00:42:10,228
there was Chinese food
in the USA.
671
00:42:11,830 --> 00:42:15,867
Everywhere you go, pretty much
the same, same menu.
672
00:42:15,901 --> 00:42:18,770
It just taste so -- pretty bad.
673
00:42:18,804 --> 00:42:19,838
>> Bland.
674
00:42:19,871 --> 00:42:21,372
>> Yeah, no flavor.
>> No spice.
675
00:42:21,406 --> 00:42:22,841
>> Yeah, nothing.
676
00:42:22,874 --> 00:42:28,680
>> I -- I tried to introduce the
real Chinese food to Americans.
677
00:42:28,714 --> 00:42:34,285
I opened The Mandarin
restaurant in 1959
in San Francisco.
678
00:42:34,319 --> 00:42:35,621
Um, Polk Street.
679
00:42:35,654 --> 00:42:37,989
>> It was food
that she grew up with.
680
00:42:38,023 --> 00:42:40,692
That she, you know,
served at The Mandarin.
681
00:42:40,726 --> 00:42:44,395
It had that, sort of...refined
elegance to it, you know.
682
00:42:46,097 --> 00:42:48,399
>> I really had a tough time.
683
00:42:48,433 --> 00:42:52,671
Those days, a lot of a...what
you call "discrimination."
684
00:42:52,704 --> 00:42:57,643
They didn't give me any credit.
Everything I have to pay cash.
685
00:42:57,676 --> 00:43:00,245
We try to run..
686
00:43:00,278 --> 00:43:03,214
...a apartment in
a good location.
687
00:43:03,248 --> 00:43:06,217
American won't rent for me.
688
00:43:06,251 --> 00:43:11,690
Because they said that Chinese
person is very dirty.
689
00:43:14,059 --> 00:43:17,295
>> They weren't assimilated,
they marginalized.
690
00:43:17,328 --> 00:43:21,633
And...this thing went on, uh,
for a very, very long time.
691
00:43:23,702 --> 00:43:26,672
>> After Mao took over China
692
00:43:26,705 --> 00:43:29,374
the same time Chop Suey was
being forgotten.
693
00:43:31,242 --> 00:43:34,245
There was nothing new in Chinese
food. It was in the doldrums.
694
00:43:37,548 --> 00:43:40,819
>> It's really hard
for me to date menus
695
00:43:40,852 --> 00:43:45,156
So there's a certain esthetic,
you can just tell
these are -- are '50s.
696
00:43:46,825 --> 00:43:50,395
Let's see if
General Tso appears.
697
00:43:50,428 --> 00:43:52,864
"Chef Special Chicken Salad."
698
00:43:52,898 --> 00:43:53,999
"Hacked Chicken."
699
00:43:57,302 --> 00:43:59,537
This is gotta be '60s.
700
00:43:59,570 --> 00:44:02,540
Let's see what kind
of chicken they had here.
701
00:44:02,573 --> 00:44:04,342
"Pineapple Chicken,
Curry Chicken"
702
00:44:04,375 --> 00:44:07,478
and "Steamed Chicken
and Sausage."
703
00:44:07,512 --> 00:44:10,415
I don't believe
General Tso has reared
704
00:44:10,448 --> 00:44:14,052
his armor
at this point in history.
705
00:44:14,085 --> 00:44:15,620
706
00:44:17,889 --> 00:44:23,094
>> Premier Zhou Enlai on behalf
of the government of the
People's Republic of China.
707
00:44:23,128 --> 00:44:26,798
Has extended an invitation to
President Nixon to visit China.
708
00:44:26,832 --> 00:44:32,437
At an appropriate date,
before May 1972.
709
00:44:32,470 --> 00:44:36,708
President Nixon has accepted
the invitation with pleasure.
710
00:44:36,742 --> 00:44:39,911
>> There can be no stable
and enduring peace
711
00:44:39,945 --> 00:44:42,080
without the People's
Republic of China.
712
00:44:42,113 --> 00:44:46,317
>> When Nixon visited China,
the bamboo curtain lifted.
713
00:44:47,318 --> 00:44:50,255
On February 21, 1972
714
00:44:50,288 --> 00:44:53,658
Nixon was hosted at a banquet
by Premier Zhou Enlai
715
00:44:53,691 --> 00:44:55,961
in Beijing's Great Hall
of the People.
716
00:44:55,994 --> 00:45:02,600
And live on national
television, Americans saw
him eat real Chinese food.
717
00:45:02,633 --> 00:45:05,170
And they salivated.
718
00:45:05,203 --> 00:45:08,740
>> Raising a toast
he drank that very powerful
719
00:45:08,774 --> 00:45:11,509
Chinese wine called the Maotai.
720
00:45:11,542 --> 00:45:14,579
It's like 120 proof,
kind of thing, you know,
if you ever..
721
00:45:14,612 --> 00:45:16,681
It's like jet fuel.
722
00:45:16,714 --> 00:45:21,853
It's sort of sparked a trend,
I think, in terms of all things
Chinese.
723
00:45:23,188 --> 00:45:25,290
[camera clicks]
724
00:45:25,323 --> 00:45:28,159
>> Right after
Nixon visit China
725
00:45:28,193 --> 00:45:30,728
I got so many phone calls.
726
00:45:30,762 --> 00:45:35,967
And they said, "Can you
duplicate Nixon's dinner."
727
00:45:36,001 --> 00:45:38,503
>> Suddenly all these
Chinese restaurants
728
00:45:38,536 --> 00:45:41,572
had lines outside the door.
729
00:45:41,606 --> 00:45:44,742
>> It ushered in,
kind of the golden age
730
00:45:44,776 --> 00:45:47,345
of fine Chinese cooking
in the United Sates.
731
00:45:47,378 --> 00:45:48,579
[upbeat music]
732
00:45:52,750 --> 00:45:56,354
The first Szechuan restaurants,
the first Hunan restaurants
733
00:45:56,387 --> 00:45:58,323
Fujian styled restaurants.
734
00:45:58,356 --> 00:46:01,726
>> All of a sudden,
here came this wonderful,
well-seasoned food
735
00:46:01,759 --> 00:46:05,330
from the cooler regions
of China, and this stuff
tasted great to us.
736
00:46:07,065 --> 00:46:09,267
But this one dish
just stuck out.
737
00:46:14,739 --> 00:46:16,674
[knives swishing]
738
00:46:21,412 --> 00:46:22,513
739
00:46:25,716 --> 00:46:28,920
The renaissance in Chinese food
in New York began
740
00:46:28,954 --> 00:46:33,224
with Michael Tong,
the pre-eminent Chinese
restaurateur in America.
741
00:46:33,258 --> 00:46:38,629
He opened his first restaurant
in New York, Shun Lee Palace.
742
00:46:38,663 --> 00:46:44,169
Michael Tong, sort of opened
the door to the Szechuan
and Hunanese food.
743
00:46:49,841 --> 00:46:51,943
744
00:46:58,149 --> 00:47:02,253
>> American people,
late '60s and the '70s
745
00:47:02,287 --> 00:47:03,922
they urged for something
different.
746
00:47:05,823 --> 00:47:09,694
In 1971, we opened the, uh,
Shun Lee Palace.
747
00:47:09,727 --> 00:47:13,431
1972, we opened Hunan.
748
00:47:13,464 --> 00:47:16,267
Then suddenly,
Hunan become a superstar.
749
00:47:18,069 --> 00:47:21,006
>> Chef T.T. Wang
of the Shun Lee restaurants
750
00:47:22,607 --> 00:47:25,610
devised a dish that he called
General Tso's Chicken.
751
00:47:25,643 --> 00:47:27,578
752
00:47:30,982 --> 00:47:35,053
>> There was chunks of chicken,
it was put it in a batter,
it was fried
753
00:47:35,086 --> 00:47:39,024
brown sauce, a little sweet,
a little garlicky and spicy.
754
00:47:39,057 --> 00:47:42,160
And the restaurant got a 4 star
review from New York Times.
755
00:47:44,262 --> 00:47:46,764
>> Shun Lee and Hunan
were a great great success.
756
00:47:52,770 --> 00:47:56,574
>> We are the first one who has
General Tso's chicken in the US.
757
00:47:56,607 --> 00:48:00,611
Because we opened the first
Hunanese restaurant in 1972.
758
00:48:00,645 --> 00:48:04,582
Before anybody else and we do
have General Tso's Chicken
on the menu.
759
00:48:15,260 --> 00:48:18,463
But I do have to say,
I have to confess
760
00:48:18,496 --> 00:48:23,434
Taiwan do you have
in the '60s?
761
00:48:25,170 --> 00:48:28,039
762
00:48:28,073 --> 00:48:30,875
>> Timing is everything,
right man in the right place
763
00:48:30,908 --> 00:48:32,910
at the right time,
with the right dish.
764
00:48:32,944 --> 00:48:36,181
But whose dish was it?
765
00:48:36,214 --> 00:48:39,117
>> Chef T.T. Wang
was really inspired
766
00:48:39,150 --> 00:48:42,053
by this restaurant in Taiwan
which was this..
767
00:48:42,087 --> 00:48:45,123
The most famous Hunan-style
restaurant there.
768
00:48:47,625 --> 00:48:51,762
In the early 1970s, businessmen
from the Shun Lee restaurants
769
00:48:51,796 --> 00:48:56,367
went to Taiwan looking to do
something new and interesting
and came back
770
00:48:56,401 --> 00:49:00,805
from there, with dishes
from this particular
restaurant called..
771
00:49:00,838 --> 00:49:03,208
...Chef Peng's Hunan Yuan.
772
00:49:06,744 --> 00:49:09,314
Chef Peng, P-E-N-G
773
00:49:09,347 --> 00:49:13,384
emigrated to Taiwan
from China.
774
00:49:13,418 --> 00:49:17,422
>> Peng Chang-Kuei as a
young boy was taken on
as an apprentice
775
00:49:17,455 --> 00:49:20,158
by one of the great
Hunanese chefs.
776
00:49:20,191 --> 00:49:22,060
He was very talented
777
00:49:22,093 --> 00:49:26,797
he quickly rose to the position
of chef to the nationalist
government
778
00:49:26,831 --> 00:49:29,467
who are fighting the Communist
in the Chinese Civil War.
779
00:49:30,701 --> 00:49:33,038
There is this association
in Hunan
780
00:49:33,071 --> 00:49:38,709
um, between eating chilies and
having a fiery military spirit.
781
00:49:38,743 --> 00:49:41,612
His style of cooking was so
influential, you know
782
00:49:41,646 --> 00:49:45,750
he was really regarded as one of
the great Hunanese chefs.
783
00:49:50,455 --> 00:49:54,925
In 1949, when Chairman Mao's
communist finally conquered
the Mainland
784
00:49:54,959 --> 00:50:00,498
Peng Chang-Kuei fled to Taiwan
with the Nationalist
Government with the army.
785
00:50:00,531 --> 00:50:03,101
He cooked for
the government there.
786
00:50:03,134 --> 00:50:09,174
His inspiration was the sour
and hot flavors of his much
missed home province Hunan.
787
00:50:09,207 --> 00:50:11,776
Which he had to leave.
788
00:50:11,809 --> 00:50:16,414
You know, Hunan was the home
province of many leading
figures
789
00:50:16,447 --> 00:50:21,252
in Chinese military
and politics like General Tso.
790
00:50:21,286 --> 00:50:25,090
He is one of the famous people
of Hunan province.
791
00:50:26,191 --> 00:50:29,560
People are very proud of him.
792
00:50:29,594 --> 00:50:34,732
So, Peng Chang-Kuei invented
many dishes and one of the
dishes that he invented..
793
00:50:34,765 --> 00:50:36,734
...was General Tso's Chicken.
794
00:50:36,767 --> 00:50:38,035
795
00:50:52,883 --> 00:50:56,587
>> In Taiwan, Chef Peng
understood very early
796
00:50:56,621 --> 00:51:00,391
that a couple of restaurateurs
from New York had come and seen
his restaurant
797
00:51:00,425 --> 00:51:02,727
and went back to New York
and copied it.
798
00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:05,263
And Chef Peng was..
799
00:51:05,296 --> 00:51:07,098
"Hey.
800
00:51:07,132 --> 00:51:11,502
"These guys are ripping me off,
I'm gonna go there and show
them, you know..
801
00:51:11,536 --> 00:51:12,603
...the real goods."
802
00:51:13,338 --> 00:51:15,240
803
00:51:22,613 --> 00:51:26,351
>> Early in 1970,
the Eyewitness News
team decided..
804
00:51:26,384 --> 00:51:30,288
"Here is a new
feature, it'll be called
The Eyewitness News Gourmet."
805
00:51:30,321 --> 00:51:33,558
We'd go to visit a restaurant,
once a week
806
00:51:33,591 --> 00:51:37,662
and would film the preparation
of one of their signature
dishes.
807
00:51:37,695 --> 00:51:42,400
And I've heard that there
was this hot new
Chinese chef in town.
808
00:51:42,433 --> 00:51:45,570
He had come to New York
from Taiwan.
809
00:51:45,603 --> 00:51:49,807
So we went to meet the,
Chef Peng and film the dish.
810
00:51:52,177 --> 00:51:54,512
>> This is Bob Lape, Channel 7,
Eyewitness News.
811
00:51:57,682 --> 00:51:59,884
>> He was this,
long skinny fellow.
812
00:51:59,917 --> 00:52:02,287
Spoke not a word of English.
813
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:05,723
He knew precisely what he was
there to do which was to cook.
814
00:52:08,393 --> 00:52:11,862
He came out into the dining
room where we'd wheeled this
display cart
815
00:52:11,896 --> 00:52:13,231
full of pre-chopped ingredients
816
00:52:13,264 --> 00:52:16,467
so that could just go,
bing-bing-bing.
817
00:52:16,501 --> 00:52:20,571
And he'd throw them into
the wok one after the other,
give them a quick stir
818
00:52:20,605 --> 00:52:22,373
you got the sizzle
of the oil.
819
00:52:22,407 --> 00:52:25,943
The cloud of steam rising
that you could smell.
820
00:52:25,976 --> 00:52:28,045
He just whipped through that
dish in the wok
821
00:52:28,078 --> 00:52:31,582
with all sorts of elements
and colors and textures.
822
00:52:31,616 --> 00:52:36,521
We put it on the air and it
was over a thousand requests
for that particular recipe.
823
00:52:38,589 --> 00:52:40,157
824
00:52:42,227 --> 00:52:46,564
>> But to Chef Peng's dismay,
Americans didn't get
the whole story.
825
00:52:46,597 --> 00:52:50,301
People thought that
Chef Peng was coming
and copying Chef Wang.
826
00:52:52,837 --> 00:52:55,373
Well, in fact it was
the other way around.
827
00:52:55,406 --> 00:52:59,777
But Chef Peng never
really convinced everyone
that he was the original.
828
00:52:59,810 --> 00:53:01,446
[dramatic music]
829
00:53:05,850 --> 00:53:10,221
>> It would be great to have
the 16 millimeter film that was
shot of Chef Peng
830
00:53:10,255 --> 00:53:13,258
but that stuff was
just thrown out.
831
00:53:13,291 --> 00:53:18,396
And so, that stuff was probably
gone before 1980 arrived,
sorry to to say.
832
00:53:20,665 --> 00:53:25,470
I never spent enough...quality
time with Chef Peng.
833
00:53:25,503 --> 00:53:30,040
To get into his emotions,
I mean, firstly, he was,
primarily Chinese
834
00:53:30,074 --> 00:53:31,609
and spoke not much English.
835
00:53:31,642 --> 00:53:36,347
What's happened though is,
because chefs and restaurateurs
836
00:53:36,381 --> 00:53:40,084
feel like they have a certain,
shall we call it
"poetic license"
837
00:53:40,117 --> 00:53:43,087
to rename or recreate things
838
00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:47,458
that when Chef Wang came to
making General Tso's Chicken
839
00:53:47,492 --> 00:53:51,296
he felt the American palate
was a sweeter palate than
the Chinese palate.
840
00:53:51,329 --> 00:53:53,564
So he gave it
a touch of sugar.
841
00:53:55,266 --> 00:53:57,234
>> Everybody have
their own sauce.
842
00:53:57,268 --> 00:53:59,337
Our General Tso's Chicken
843
00:53:59,370 --> 00:54:05,109
it has a little sweet taste,
this is the most American people
like that taste.
844
00:54:06,777 --> 00:54:10,581
>> Little vinegar and little
sugar is low sweet.
845
00:54:10,615 --> 00:54:12,283
>> Vinegar, little bit sugar.
846
00:54:15,052 --> 00:54:19,557
>> They've got some honey in it.
That's the most secret in here.
847
00:54:19,590 --> 00:54:23,227
>> The dish, in many cases has
become sweeter than it was
originally.
848
00:54:23,260 --> 00:54:27,298
Full of fire, spice
and all these other things
but not sweet, per say.
849
00:54:29,233 --> 00:54:31,536
I think it is a simple matter
850
00:54:31,569 --> 00:54:32,903
of people playing copy cat.
851
00:54:34,104 --> 00:54:35,840
"This works, let's do it."
852
00:54:39,176 --> 00:54:41,779
And in the end it becomes an
entirely different affair.
853
00:54:41,812 --> 00:54:43,748
854
00:54:50,020 --> 00:54:51,188
>> Crispy Chicken
855
00:54:51,221 --> 00:54:54,359
is a national dishes
for Americans.
856
00:54:54,392 --> 00:54:59,263
You can buy Chicken Nuggets
and adding soya
and sour spicy sauce
857
00:54:59,296 --> 00:55:01,666
you can make your own
General Tso's Chicken today.
858
00:55:04,134 --> 00:55:07,638
>> By the time,
General Tso's Chicken appeared,
there was this
859
00:55:07,672 --> 00:55:11,809
infrastructure
of Chinese restaurants
and Chinese associations
860
00:55:11,842 --> 00:55:14,479
and Chinese chefs
and Chinese menus.
861
00:55:16,681 --> 00:55:18,716
>> The dish spread just
all over the place.
862
00:55:18,749 --> 00:55:21,318
And places where you wouldn't
expect to find it at all.
863
00:55:21,352 --> 00:55:23,187
Here's General Tso
marching at the door.
864
00:55:25,022 --> 00:55:28,859
>> There are about 50,000
Chinese restaurants
in the United States.
865
00:55:28,893 --> 00:55:32,863
The killer combination is to
find an item that everyone
likes.
866
00:55:32,897 --> 00:55:35,165
And keeps ordering
time after time.
867
00:55:35,199 --> 00:55:38,503
Yet, it's something
that we could produce
for a relative price.
868
00:55:41,305 --> 00:55:44,008
How many orders does the
average restaurant sell a day?
869
00:55:44,041 --> 00:55:45,075
Maybe 10?
870
00:55:46,343 --> 00:55:49,914
10 bucks an order?
871
00:55:49,947 --> 00:55:54,351
You start to talk
about a business just
in General Tso's Chicken.
872
00:55:54,385 --> 00:55:56,320
That's in the billions
of dollars.
873
00:55:57,722 --> 00:55:59,657
874
00:56:05,229 --> 00:56:10,968
>> General Tso's Chicken
is an icon
in the Chinese food.
875
00:56:11,001 --> 00:56:14,071
It's huge,
it cover the whole country,
876
00:56:14,104 --> 00:56:15,940
cover the whole
United States.
877
00:56:18,943 --> 00:56:23,113
>> I think if Chef Peng were
looking at the scene today
878
00:56:23,147 --> 00:56:28,318
I think he'd be amazed
at the fact that this dish
has become so iconic.
879
00:56:29,787 --> 00:56:31,722
[music continues]
880
00:56:43,000 --> 00:56:45,603
[singing in foreign language]
881
00:56:57,047 --> 00:56:58,983
882
00:57:22,840 --> 00:57:25,976
883
00:57:26,010 --> 00:57:27,945
884
00:58:04,782 --> 00:58:06,350
885
00:58:06,383 --> 00:58:09,854
>> As I know
when I was very young.
886
00:58:09,887 --> 00:58:12,623
Chiang Kai-Shek
who is the president
887
00:58:12,657 --> 00:58:16,226
asked my father to prepare
to present dinner.
888
00:58:18,362 --> 00:58:22,366
My father tried to make
something unique.
889
00:58:22,399 --> 00:58:23,668
Uh, different.
890
00:58:25,169 --> 00:58:30,941
He tried to make some name for
it and then he find
891
00:58:30,975 --> 00:58:36,513
that Hunanese very famous
general, who's General Tso.
892
00:58:36,547 --> 00:58:39,283
He is a general,
never lose the battle.
893
00:58:41,719 --> 00:58:45,189
The people honor him,
especially Hunanese people.
894
00:58:48,125 --> 00:58:52,997
General Tso, he likes, he
personally...preferred chicken.
895
00:58:53,030 --> 00:58:55,532
He liked the chicken.
896
00:58:55,566 --> 00:59:00,137
My father is a very happy
to name it as
a General Tso's Chicken.
897
00:59:08,512 --> 00:59:12,617
>> But the name is,
is so popular, is so popular,
is so famous.
898
00:59:12,650 --> 00:59:15,485
This name of General
Tso's Chicken.
899
00:59:15,519 --> 00:59:18,689
And he makes all kind
of different version.
900
00:59:21,091 --> 00:59:23,093
901
00:59:45,816 --> 00:59:47,752
902
01:00:01,298 --> 01:00:02,667
903
01:00:15,846 --> 01:00:17,214
[music continues]
904
01:00:17,247 --> 01:00:19,183
905
01:00:46,877 --> 01:00:48,813
906
01:01:00,891 --> 01:01:05,229
>> In a way, General Tso's
Chicken really did come from
Hunan province
907
01:01:05,262 --> 01:01:10,667
because Chef Peng himself
was inspired by his
own native cuisine.
908
01:01:10,701 --> 01:01:15,706
But one of the ironies about
General Tso's Chicken is that
the general himself
909
01:01:15,740 --> 01:01:21,578
was very much about
preserving Chinese culture
and Chinese tradition.
910
01:01:21,611 --> 01:01:27,317
Then this chicken dish that is
named after him has in fact
evolved, become anything
911
01:01:27,351 --> 01:01:29,086
but authentic Chinese.
912
01:01:29,987 --> 01:01:31,922
[music continues]
913
01:01:35,826 --> 01:01:38,996
>> The world's most magnificent
culinary culture
914
01:01:39,029 --> 01:01:41,698
and the world's most
diverse cuisine
915
01:01:41,732 --> 01:01:47,204
has been represented
in the west by such
a narrow range of dishes.
916
01:01:47,237 --> 01:01:50,107
And it's not just about eating
and the pleasure of eating.
917
01:01:50,140 --> 01:01:52,042
But also about the culture.
918
01:01:52,076 --> 01:01:55,279
Because food is really at the
heart of Chinese culture.
919
01:01:55,312 --> 01:01:58,883
Food is about love,
it's about doing business,
it's about the family.
920
01:01:58,916 --> 01:02:01,585
It's how you stay connected
with your living relatives.
921
01:02:01,618 --> 01:02:03,253
And all your ancestors.
922
01:02:03,287 --> 01:02:05,823
It's just particularly
important in Chinese culture.
923
01:02:09,293 --> 01:02:11,661
>> It's so integral
that actually it's the greeting.
924
01:02:11,695 --> 01:02:15,465
Um...you'll see all these old
timers would say...
925
01:02:15,499 --> 01:02:16,700
926
01:02:16,733 --> 01:02:18,335
Which means
"Have you eaten yet?"
927
01:02:18,368 --> 01:02:20,771
But that's their greeting,
it's your hello.
928
01:02:20,805 --> 01:02:22,306
Because it's so important
929
01:02:22,339 --> 01:02:25,943
but becomes a short hand
for your well-being.
930
01:02:28,378 --> 01:02:33,617
>> Growing up, we learnt to
pick the meat out of crab.
931
01:02:33,650 --> 01:02:38,088
Here, there's no way a child
in America would sit down.
932
01:02:38,122 --> 01:02:40,124
You know, painstakingly,
just to nibble
933
01:02:40,157 --> 01:02:43,727
a little piece of meat
from a crab.
There's no way they do it.
934
01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:46,063
>> I have some nephew's kids
came here
935
01:02:46,096 --> 01:02:50,034
and visiting me,
so, I give, give them --
and they said
936
01:02:50,067 --> 01:02:53,003
"Oh, grandma,
too much trouble."
937
01:02:53,037 --> 01:02:57,007
At home,
we now, everything pour
it in the blender.
938
01:02:57,041 --> 01:03:00,210
That's real funny to me,
everything put in the blender
939
01:03:00,244 --> 01:03:01,211
>> Liquid diet.
940
01:03:01,245 --> 01:03:03,047
>> Then, they just drink it.
941
01:03:03,080 --> 01:03:04,614
[chuckles]
942
01:03:04,648 --> 01:03:07,251
943
01:03:07,284 --> 01:03:13,090
>> I think in America,
there is a downward appreciation
of Chinese food.
944
01:03:15,359 --> 01:03:17,627
If you want French food
945
01:03:17,661 --> 01:03:22,366
you have a lot of labor
and you get charged for it.
946
01:03:22,399 --> 01:03:27,504
Chinese food is a lot of labor,
but they can't get away
charging a lot of money.
947
01:03:27,537 --> 01:03:31,208
So that is a question
of attitude.
948
01:03:31,241 --> 01:03:35,245
The culture attitude, the
perception, China has a place.
949
01:03:35,279 --> 01:03:38,315
Their currency worth nothing
and their labor worth nothing.
950
01:03:38,348 --> 01:03:40,617
[music continues]
951
01:03:40,650 --> 01:03:45,890
Chinese restaurants still are
the first job for immigrants
coming to this country.
952
01:03:46,857 --> 01:03:49,426
You don't speak the language.
953
01:03:49,459 --> 01:03:51,561
You can't find a job.
954
01:03:51,595 --> 01:03:53,030
You know how to cook.
955
01:03:53,063 --> 01:03:55,099
>> You try to make it work.
956
01:03:55,132 --> 01:04:00,670
You try to make this restaurant
stick, in a place where another
restaurant wouldn't stick.
957
01:04:00,704 --> 01:04:04,274
>> These dishes are the
economic necessity
958
01:04:04,308 --> 01:04:08,612
and would help you succeed
and survive.
959
01:04:08,645 --> 01:04:10,580
[music continues]
960
01:04:16,853 --> 01:04:21,625
>> Regarding, the General Tso's
Chicken and a different taste
961
01:04:21,658 --> 01:04:25,395
my personally
it's kind of honor.
962
01:04:25,429 --> 01:04:27,297
Is honor.
963
01:04:27,331 --> 01:04:31,235
Is honor to have this people
like to serve this dishes.
964
01:04:32,569 --> 01:04:34,939
I'm proud of to be
my father's son.
965
01:04:37,507 --> 01:04:41,445
We are making some...ah, joke.
966
01:04:41,478 --> 01:04:46,250
The most famous people in the
world is Mr. Zuo Zongtang.
967
01:04:46,283 --> 01:04:52,923
Because every -- every day,
everybody order Zuo Zongtang,
Zuo Zongtang, Zuo Zongtang.
968
01:04:52,957 --> 01:04:55,192
969
01:05:07,204 --> 01:05:09,806
This is the General Tso's
Chicken we serve.
970
01:05:22,152 --> 01:05:24,088
[music continues]
971
01:05:36,000 --> 01:05:38,568
>> We started P. F. Chang's,
about 20 years ago.
972
01:05:40,404 --> 01:05:42,906
My mother's food..
973
01:05:42,939 --> 01:05:45,475
at the Mandarin,
it was food of the courts.
974
01:05:45,509 --> 01:05:47,077
We have Peking duck.
975
01:05:47,111 --> 01:05:51,748
Uh, we had dishes that needed
more preparation, more care.
976
01:05:51,781 --> 01:05:55,719
In my style...part of the
generation gap, I think was..
977
01:05:55,752 --> 01:05:57,754
I like, I wanted something
more casual.
978
01:05:59,789 --> 01:06:03,127
We call it Chang's Chicken
here, it's one of our most
popular dishes.
979
01:06:03,160 --> 01:06:05,629
You know, there's different,
everybody has their version
980
01:06:05,662 --> 01:06:08,698
version of this dish and anyway
this is our version here.
981
01:06:11,168 --> 01:06:15,105
>> Americans embrace certain
ideas about ethnic food.
982
01:06:15,139 --> 01:06:18,708
You know, whether it's the taco
or French fries or..
983
01:06:18,742 --> 01:06:21,711
You know, Swedish Pancakes.
They make it their own.
984
01:06:21,745 --> 01:06:23,380
985
01:06:23,413 --> 01:06:25,582
There's nothing wrong
with that.
986
01:06:25,615 --> 01:06:29,119
I mean, Chinese-American food
is, it's a style.
987
01:06:29,153 --> 01:06:31,188
You know, it's a style of
cooking.
988
01:06:31,221 --> 01:06:33,157
It's a cuisine in itself,
I think.
989
01:06:38,162 --> 01:06:43,367
>> Our idea about authenticity,
we've created this value of
authenticity.
990
01:06:43,400 --> 01:06:46,170
But I don't there is such
a thing as authenticity.
991
01:06:46,203 --> 01:06:50,174
You know, the idea
that there is some
original Chinese cuisine.
992
01:06:50,207 --> 01:06:54,611
Chinese cuisine has changed
everywhere.
993
01:06:54,644 --> 01:06:59,883
>> You realize that every
country has it's own version of
authentic Chinese food.
994
01:06:59,916 --> 01:07:04,054
Because to them, that's
the version of Chinese food
which is a taste of home.
995
01:07:04,088 --> 01:07:05,589
996
01:07:05,622 --> 01:07:08,225
>> We are at Chinese Mirch
in Manhattan.
997
01:07:08,258 --> 01:07:13,263
We are actually, the first
Indian-Chinese restaurant
to open in New York.
998
01:07:13,297 --> 01:07:17,101
Indian Chinese is Chinese food,
but with Indian flavors.
999
01:07:17,134 --> 01:07:20,504
It is Chinese,
the way we eat it in India.
1000
01:07:22,906 --> 01:07:26,543
>> This is western style
Chinese vegetable fried rice.
1001
01:07:26,576 --> 01:07:30,013
>> Some of the Mexican
restaurant and Italian
restaurants
1002
01:07:30,046 --> 01:07:36,820
think that this is a good idea
and have Fortune Taco Cookie and
Fortune Cannoli Cookie.
1003
01:07:36,853 --> 01:07:39,289
>> Nothing is authentic
here in our restaurant
1004
01:07:39,323 --> 01:07:43,560
We are not authentic Chinese,
we are not authentic Mexican.
1005
01:07:43,593 --> 01:07:45,529
And isn't that American?
1006
01:07:46,596 --> 01:07:48,698
>> So this our General Tso's
veal rib
1007
01:07:48,732 --> 01:07:50,667
and mission Chinese food.
1008
01:07:50,700 --> 01:07:53,337
>> I'm gonna make a General
Tso's Tofu Sandwich.
1009
01:07:53,370 --> 01:07:56,373
>> I just order General Tso's
Soft boiled egg.
1010
01:07:56,406 --> 01:07:58,942
>> Actually, they had
General Tso's Snake
1011
01:07:58,975 --> 01:08:00,544
at this restaurant.
1012
01:08:00,577 --> 01:08:03,880
>> In fact, you can now get
General Tso's Chicken in China.
1013
01:08:06,650 --> 01:08:08,084
1014
01:08:10,086 --> 01:08:14,524
>> I admit that I don't
often look for it when
I go to a restaurant.
1015
01:08:15,359 --> 01:08:16,926
>> I've never ordered it.
1016
01:08:16,960 --> 01:08:19,896
>> I did it have a four year
General Tso's love affair.
1017
01:08:19,929 --> 01:08:21,198
1018
01:08:23,467 --> 01:08:27,204
>> I don't think,
this dish will disappear.
1019
01:08:27,237 --> 01:08:33,477
People will still like enjoying
that sort of groovy sauce.
1020
01:08:33,510 --> 01:08:34,511
They like it.
1021
01:08:35,179 --> 01:08:36,480
And why not?
1022
01:08:36,513 --> 01:08:38,448
1023
01:08:45,155 --> 01:08:47,090
1024
01:09:14,384 --> 01:09:16,320
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01:09:44,414 --> 01:09:46,350
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01:10:14,444 --> 01:10:16,380
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01:10:44,474 --> 01:10:46,876
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01:11:14,504 --> 01:11:16,440
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01:11:44,534 --> 01:11:46,470
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01:12:14,564 --> 01:12:16,500
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