Peng Chang-kuei (Chinese: 彭長貴; pinyin: Péng Zhǎngguì; 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.[1][2]
Peng Chang-kuei | |
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Born | (1919-09-26)September 26, 1919 Changsha, Hunan province, China |
Died | November 30, 2016(2016-11-30) (aged 97) Taipei, Taiwan |
Occupation | Chef |
Children | Chuck Peng (son) and Walter Peng (son) |
Peng was born on September 26, 1919, in Changsha, Hunan Province in the Republic of China.[3] He cooked for the Nationalist government, serving as personal chef to Chiang Kai-shek, before fleeing to Taiwan in 1949.[4]
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.[3][5][6] 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.[5]
Peng emigrated to New York City in 1973 and opened his own restaurant, Uncle Peng's Hunan Yuan, near the United Nations.[5] He 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]
Peng married three times and had seven children. He died from pneumonia in Taipei, Taiwan in November 2016.[6][7]
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has generic name (help)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.