The Search of General Tso
2014
Documentary
Plot: 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
'Lip-Smackingly Good'
Going into this, I knew immediately that I would probably end up enjoying this documentary; being Chinese myself and enjoying Chinese cuisine, as well as other cuisines in general, just reading the synopsis for this whetted my appetite for what was to come.
In this food-based feature-length feature, The Search For General Tso seeks to delve into its origins and history of how and where this General Tso's Chicken came about. It is here where America's love affair with it first began and its so-called complicated relationships with anything that is 'exotic' was at first something that was alien to them. General Tso wasn't some mystical figure from Chinese folklore or mythology - he was a real person who existed & lived in 19th century China & led the Qing Dynasty army in one of the bloodiest civil wars.
The recipe itself consists of soy sauce, rice wine, rice wine vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, red chillies & garlic with deep fried battered dark chicken pieces & broccoli.
I've never ordered or had General Tso's chicken whenever I dined or ordered takeout from a Chinese restaurant, like ever; it's just that it is a dish (that is actually Taiwanese in origin), that doesn't appeal to me and I'm not too keen on Chinese American food. & I don't think many Chinese restaurants here in London, where I am from, have it on their menus. But the fact that other people do enjoy it, they like the sweet flavours, dishes like sweet & sour chicken, General Tso chicken, egg fried rice, chop suey, honey walnut shrimp, which is believed to have originated in Hong Kong - yet it is consumed in the West, I don't hold that against them. If they or you like it, that's fine.
Regarding The Search For General Tso, though it may come off as being superficial in its production values and whilst it could have dug a little deeper (such as the unnecessary use of sodium salt, MSG as an ingredient during cooking), this culinary based documentary on one of the most famous Chinese dishes doesn't just explore the origins and history of this particular recipe, to an extent - if not as thoroughly, it makes efforts in examining the connection between food, culture and identity and how it all ties in together. The filmmakers also visited parts of the U.S and discovering there are variations of General Tso's chicken and Chinese food in general. Likewise, there are fusion cuisine restaurants that serve Mexican-Chinese & Indian-Chinese food. There is also a guy, Harry Spiller who collects Chinese restaurant and takeout menus from 50 states.
I think when it explores America's and the West's relationship, love and fascination for Chinese food and why they enjoy its flavours and the development of Chinese American food itself, through immigration, diaspora and these become its main strengths, that is when The Search For General Tao makes sense as a documentary insight into food and culture. & with that, it becomes an eyeopener in that aspect. There is also a guy, Harry Spiller who collects Chinese restaurant and takeout menus from 50 states.
Probably one of the things that represent this notion is that the Chinese in general immigrated and fled from China to escape persecution and headed for the U.S, in order to make a living for themselves and to obtain a better life. So with that in mind, they opened their own restaurants and take out eateries, cooked and served Chinese food. One may say, these people were giving a taste of that Chinese culture that could only exist in China itself. & yet this didn't just happen in the U.S, but Canada, Australia, Britain and other countries where Chinese people moved elsewhere from their homeland to be happy and successful. & as a result, second and third generation-children of immigrants were and are born in those countries where they grew up, lived and worked.
Final Verdict:
Foodies and lovers of food, in general, who want to find out more about the cultural side of this topic ought to see this. I did and though it may not be a mindblowing affair, the information, the way it was presented was an easy watch but also one that was engaging as well. It held my attention all the way through.
Plus, seeing those food images made me hungry also!
Overall:
2014
Documentary
Plot: 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
'Lip-Smackingly Good'
Going into this, I knew immediately that I would probably end up enjoying this documentary; being Chinese myself and enjoying Chinese cuisine, as well as other cuisines in general, just reading the synopsis for this whetted my appetite for what was to come.
In this food-based feature-length feature, The Search For General Tso seeks to delve into its origins and history of how and where this General Tso's Chicken came about. It is here where America's love affair with it first began and its so-called complicated relationships with anything that is 'exotic' was at first something that was alien to them. General Tso wasn't some mystical figure from Chinese folklore or mythology - he was a real person who existed & lived in 19th century China & led the Qing Dynasty army in one of the bloodiest civil wars.
The recipe itself consists of soy sauce, rice wine, rice wine vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, red chillies & garlic with deep fried battered dark chicken pieces & broccoli.
I've never ordered or had General Tso's chicken whenever I dined or ordered takeout from a Chinese restaurant, like ever; it's just that it is a dish (that is actually Taiwanese in origin), that doesn't appeal to me and I'm not too keen on Chinese American food. & I don't think many Chinese restaurants here in London, where I am from, have it on their menus. But the fact that other people do enjoy it, they like the sweet flavours, dishes like sweet & sour chicken, General Tso chicken, egg fried rice, chop suey, honey walnut shrimp, which is believed to have originated in Hong Kong - yet it is consumed in the West, I don't hold that against them. If they or you like it, that's fine.
Final Verdict:
Foodies and lovers of food, in general, who want to find out more about the cultural side of this topic ought to see this. I did and though it may not be a mindblowing affair, the information, the way it was presented was an easy watch but also one that was engaging as well. It held my attention all the way through.
Plus, seeing those food images made me hungry also!
Overall:
No comments:
Post a Comment