Civic Artifact Speech Outline

Introduction:

A human’s most basic survival needs include water, shelter, and everybody’s favorite, food. Food has evolved from an essential element for human survival to an integrated part of a society’s culture and economy, take for example, Chinese cuisine. With diverse, regional flavors, the rich history of the Chinese civilization is reflected in its food. The relatively recent widespread globalization, in which global cuisines have been shared with other countries results in increased interest in foreign food. One example of this phenomenon is the ubiquitous American-Chinese dish, General Tso’s Chicken. The iconic lightly fried chunks of chicken with a sweet, sour, spicy, sticky sauce is hugely popular in the vast majority Chinese restaurants in America. However, rarely will one ever find this dish at a restaurant or dinner table in China. This begs the question: is a dish like General Tso’s Chicken a complete adulteration of true, authentic Chinese cuisine, or does it take the best of both American and Chinese flavors to create an equally delicious style of dining?

Background

• General Tso is a real person, a general who fought in a civil war during the Qing dynasty. (Last dynasty of China)
• Account #1
  • Early origin is probably from traditional chicken dishes in Hunan province (General Tso’s province)
  • Chef C.K. Peng “created” the dish in Taiwan then brought it to America in the 1960s
  • Original dish not very close to today’s dish
• Account #2
  • Originally called General Ching’s chicken and introduced in NYC by T.T. Wang
  • More close to the current version of the dish
  • Name somehow merged with General Tso in the 1980s

Analysis

• What is iconic American Cuisine?
  • BURGERS
  • FRIED CHICKEN
  • PIZZA
  • FRIES
  • ICE CREAM
  • SWEET TREATS
• What is Chinese Cuisine?
  • Highly highly dependent on regional dishes
  • Therefore extremely diverse
  • Answer: there really is no singular Chinese cuisine
• The only conclusion: General Tso’s Chicken is NOT Chinese, and Chinese people would never eat it. It is more American (fried chicken, sweet sauce) than Chinese.

Follow-up

• Initial assumption: globalization leads to interest in other cuisines
  • This conclusion is only partly true. Interest in Chinese cuisine indeeds leads people to eat General Tso’s Chicken, but the dish itself, logically deduced, is American.
  • People’s eating habits are ultimately more motivated by personal tastes rather than some innate curiosity to try exotic cuisines.
  • We like to convince ourselves that we’re eating foreign cuisine when we’re not
• Notion: General Tso’s Chicken is an adulteration of Chinese cuisine
  • Accurate in the context of General Tso’s Chicken being called “Chinese”
  • However inaccurate when considering that the dish is not actually Chinese
• Notion: Dish as a fusion of American and Chinese cuisine
  • Already proved false

Conclusion

The previous was an in depth, logical assessment of General Tso’s Chicken using culinary and cultural evidence. It concluded that General Tso’s chicken is neither a complete bastardization of Chinese food nor fusion of American and Chinese food, but rather more directly related to American cuisine by itself. As a scientist I enjoy looking at issues from a purely analytical perspective. Admittedly, this defeats much of the fun of food. The fact of the matter is, to many palates, evidently, General Tso’s Chicken is such a guilty pleasure that it is hard to resist, and we don’t really think about the authenticity or cultural composition of what we’re eating. At the end of the day, General Tso’s Chicken, when done right, is a delicious comfort food item, so enjoy it.