Peng Chang-kuei (; September 26, 1919 – November 30, 2016) was a
Taiwanese chef who is sometimes credited with being the creator of
General Tso's chicken, a popular Chinese dish in Western countries.
Early life
Peng was born on September 26, 1919, in
Changsha,
Hunan Province in the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
.
He cooked for the
Nationalist government, serving as personal chef to
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
, before fleeing to
Taiwan in 1949.
Culinary career
Peng first prepared his new
Hunanese dish of chicken and chilies, naming it after General
Zuo Zongtang, at a state banquet during the
First Taiwan Strait Crisis.
Peng then served
General Tso's chicken in his restaurants in
Taipei. When Hunanese restaurants opened in
New York City in 1972, they served an adapted version of General Tso's chicken.
Peng emigrated to
New York City in 1973 and opened his own restaurant, Uncle Peng's Hunan Yuan, near the
United Nations.
He returned to Taiwan in the 1980s to open a chain of Peng Yuan restaurants, later opening a branch in his hometown of Changsha.
Personal
Peng married three times and had seven children. He died from
pneumonia in
Taipei,
Taiwan in November 2016.
References
External links
The Strange Tale of General TsoLegacy.com Peng Chang-kuei
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peng, Chang-kuei
Taiwanese people from Hunan
1919 births
2016 deaths
Chinese chefs
People from Changsha
Chinese Civil War refugees
Deaths from pneumonia in Taiwan