Peng Chang-kuei

Peng Chang-kuei (Chinese: 彭長貴; pinyin: Péng Zhǎngguì; 1919–2016) was a Taiwanese chef who is generally credited with being the creator of General Tso's chicken, a popular Chinese dish in Western countries.[1][2]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Peng.
Peng Chang-kuei
Born(1919-09-26)September 26, 1919
Changsha, Hunan province, China
DiedNovember 30, 2016(2016-11-30) (aged 97)
Taipei, Taiwan
OccupationChef
ChildrenChuck Peng (son) and Walter Peng (son)

Early life

Peng was born on September 26, 1919, in Changsha, Hunan Province in the Republic of China.[3] Cooking for the Nationalist government and serving as the personal chef to Chiang Kai-shek, Peng moved to Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War and then fled to Taiwan in 1949.[4]

Culinary career

During the First Taiwan Strait Crisis when United States Navy admiral Arthur W. Radford was in Taiwan, Peng prepared a state banquet where he served a new Hunanese dish of chicken and chilies, naming it for General Zuo Zongtang.[3][5][6] Peng served General Tso's chicken in his restaurants in Taipei, and when the first Hunanese restaurants opened in New York City in 1972, including Uncle Tai’s Hunan Yuan and Shun Lee Palace, they began serving a version of General Tso's chicken, adapted for American tastes.[5]

Peng himself emigrated to New York City in 1973, opening his own restaurant, Uncle Peng’s Hunan Yuan, located near the United Nations. Henry Kissinger became a regular customer, and after gaining popularity the restaurant was renamed Peng's. A 1977 review of Peng's in The New York Times reported that the "General Tso's chicken was a stir‐fried masterpiece, sizzling hot both in flavor and temperature."[5][7]

Peng returned to Taiwan in the 1980s to open a chain of Peng Yuan restaurants, later opening a branch in his hometown of Changsha.[3][5]

Personal

Peng was married three times and had seven children, six of whom survive, along with numerous grandchildren. On November 30, 2016, Peng died from pneumonia in Taipei, Taiwan when he was 97 years old.[6][8] He has a granddaughter.

References
  1. Editor, Hilary Hanson Viral News; Post, The Huffington (2016-12-02). "Chef Peng Chang-kuei, General Tso's Chicken Inventor, Dies At 98". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-12-03.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. "General Tso's Chicken creator, Chef Peng Chang-Kuei, is dead". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  3. Langer, Emily (2016-12-02). "Peng Chang-kuei, credited as creator of General Tso's chicken, dies at 97". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  4. "Taiwanese chef who invented General Tso's chicken dies, aged 97". The Straits Times. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  5. Grimes, William (2 December 2016). "Peng Chang-kuei, Chef Behind General Tso's Chicken, Dies at 98". New York Times. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. Everington, Keoni (2 December 2016). "Inventor of General Tso's Chicken dies in Taipei at age 98". Taiwan News. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  7. Sheraton, Mimi (18 March 1977). "Restaurants". The New York Times. p. 68.
  8. Bateman, Joshua (December 6, 2016). "Remembering the Creator of General Tso's Chicken". Time. The chef, who had two children from a marriage in mainland China and five from a second marriage in Taiwan, was 97 years old by Western reckoning.
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