The Search for General Tso
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65% Critic Match

The Search for General Tso

6.5 / 10 2014 1h 11mNR English
Documentary

Storyline

From New York City to the farmlands of the Midwest, there are 50,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S., yet one dish in particular has conquered the American culinary landscape with a force befitting its military moniker—“General Tso’s Chicken.” But who was General Tso and how did this dish become so ubiquitous? Ian Cheney’s delightfully insightful documentary charts the history of Chinese Americans through the surprising origins of this sticky, sweet, just-spicy-enough dish that we’ve adopted as our own.

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Ian Cheney's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
3.0
Every frame feels alive. The Search for General Tso is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker