General Tso's is battered fried chicken pieces in a sweet, dark, chilli-tinged soy glaze, the Chinese American takeout default. Invented in New York City restaurants in the early 1970s.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
Chef Peng Chang-kuei, a Hunan-born refugee in Taiwan in the 1950s, devised the original General Tso's as a savoury Hunan-style dish. T.T. Wang adapted it for New York palates at Shun Lee Palace on East 55th Street in 1972, sweetening the sauce and battering the chicken in the heavy American style. Hunan-born chef Tsung Ting Wang at Hunam Restaurant followed weeks later. Within a decade the dish had displaced chop suey as the unofficial Chinese American national order. The dish is named for Zuo Zongtang, a 19th-century Qing-dynasty general from Hunan, who almost certainly never ate anything resembling it.
Common allergens: Gluten, Soy, Eggs
Tip from the editors. Double-fry is the difference between crisp and soggy. Skip the second fry only if you are serving the moment it comes out of the wok.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Shun Lee Palace has served Cantonese and Hunan food on East 55th Street in New York City since 1971. T.T. Wang's General Tso's chicken originated in this room.
Signature: General Tso's chicken, Peking duck
Order: Beggar's chicken, ordered 24 hours ahead.
Tip: Order the General Tso's the first time as a history lesson; on return visits skip it for the Hunan beef.
Hwa Yuan on East Broadway brought Sichuan cooking to New York City Chinatown in 1968, closed in 1992, and was rebuilt by the founder's family in 2017.
Signature: Cold sesame noodles, General Tso's chicken, Peking duck
Order: Cold sesame noodles to start, General Tso's chicken in the founder's original sweet-and-savoury glaze.
Tip: The cold sesame noodles claim to be the original American version; whether or not you buy that, order them.
Han Dynasty's East Village outpost runs Chengdu-style numbing-spicy Sichuan in New York City. The dan dan and the dry pot are the room's calibration plates.
Signature: Dan dan noodles, Dry pot fish
Order: Dan dan noodles, dry pot fish, cucumber salad to cool.
Tip: The spice scale runs 1 to 10; the menu says 7 is hot, the kitchen means it. Start at 5.
Calvin Eng's Williamsburg Cantonese American room in New York City runs roast pig, cha siu sui mai and orange-shrimp toast. Open since 2022, Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Signature: Roast pig, Cha siu sui mai
Order: Roast pig with crackling, shared between four.
Tip: Walk-ins at the bar from 17:00. The roast pig sells out by 21:00 most nights; pre-order it when you book.
Joe's Shanghai on Bowery has popularised the soup dumpling in Manhattan's Chinatown in New York City since 1997. Cash-friendly, big rooms, family-style sharing.
Signature: Soup dumplings, Drunken crab
Order: Pork-and-crab xiao long bao, eight per basket.
Tip: No reservations; expect 30 minutes at peak weekend lunch. Bring cash to speed up the tab.
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