The Search for General Tso (2014)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Crappy film

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Better read the Wikipedia page. It has all the information in a shorter form. As the whole documentary is about 5 minutes long. The rest is fluff. With relevant testimonies that are probably supposed to enhance the archaeological abilities of a lazy, yet greedy production team. The testimonies are as relevant as "I remember I've just got off the Grayhound and was attracted by the neon sign and surely I was eating chop su..." What? Yea, even the food reference is about something else! And what has the prejudice has anything to do with the food? Was it originally made with urine?Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

Why the show chose to talk about General Tso's Chicken instead of Chicken Chow Mein or Chop Suey, I don't know but this documentary starts with discussing the origins of this dish and then becomes a lot of things, such as a discussion of the Chinese immigrants' experiences as well as the Americanization of Chinese food. Most of this comes as no surprise to me and probably won't be for you either, as MOST 'Chinese' food we see in American Chinese restaurants isn't Chinese at all but has been changed to suit American tastes. I've been to Chinese restaurants in the UK where 80% (or more) of the menu looks nothing like those in the States. But despite not being exactly authentic, the film does manage to trace the roots of this dish quite nicely and is a nice homage to the Chinese-American experience. Not earth-shattering in its discoveries but pleasant and informative. I do give the film a 7, however, because the graphics are really nice and help elevate an okay story.

Since I enjoy General Tso's chicken every chance I get, it was no surprise that I enjoyed this film. I was bothered about the omission of a pretty significant bit of Chinese food history in the U.S. While it is true that great numbers of workers were drawn here by the gold rush, not a few Chinese cooks came for the building of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. The eastern part employed a lot of Irish, but the western part was largely built by Chinese. They were sought not simply as cheap labor, but as experts in the use of gunpowder to blast right-of-ways through mountains. Unlike the Irish, who were hired individually, the Chinese were hired in gangs of 20, of which one was a cook. Part of the package deal was that the cook was to receive whatever supplies he requested, with the result that the Chinese enjoyed a much healthier diet than the "superior" Caucasians. After the railroad was built, Chinese cooks found work in logging and mining camps, as well as on ranches if the old television series, _Bonanza_ is to be believed. Chop suey probably got its start in a western logging camp.

Who was General Tso, and why are we eating his chicken? This feature documentary explores the origins and ubiquity of Chinese-American food through the story of an iconic sweet and spicy chicken dish.One of the first things viewers will notice are the pronunciation issues. Just as there are many spellings, there are also many pronunciations of Tso. The most common seems to be "so" or "sew", but "tau" and others come up, with no clear winner.Although the core of this doc is tracking down who Tso was and what he has to do with chicken, there is a secondary message: one of Chinese assimilation to America, and how there have been hiccups over the years, particularly during the Korean War.