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Where Does General Tso Chicken Actually Come From?

NPR | By NPR/TED Staff
Published November 15, 2013 at 9:20 AM EST

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode Misconceptions.

About Jennifer 8. Lee's Talk

Journalist Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her hunt for the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes — exploring the hidden spots where these two cultures have combined to form a new cuisine.

About Jennifer 8. Lee

I really kind of came to understand that what I'd been experiencing in New York restaurants on the Upper West Side was not Chinese — at all.

Journalist Jennifer 8. Lee is the author of the book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. Her fascination with American Chinese food led her to research and write the book, in which she solves some of the mysteries around this indigenous cuisine, including such questions as: "Who is General Tso and why are we eating his chicken?" and "Why do Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas?" Her documentary based on her book is called The Search For General Tso and is available on iTunes.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR/TED Staff

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The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

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