Dictionary

General Tso's chicken en · NOUN

Etymology

Named after Chinese general and statesman Tso Tsung-tang (Zuǒ Zōngtáng in pinyin) in late Qing dynasty, though there is no evidence connecting him with the dish. A deeper discussion of the timeframe and possible motivations behind the naming is given in the Wikipedia article.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) A sweet and spicy dish of deep-fried chicken, popular in Chinese restaurants in North America.
   • Hot and sour soup, shrimp toast, shumai, General Tso’s chicken, pork with garlic sauce, beef with asparagus, hot and spicy shrimp, sushi deluxe, cheesecake, fried bananas, litchi sherbet. 2009 May 31, Joanne Starkey, “Old-School Chinese With Efforts at Fusion”, in New York Times:

Forms

Synonyms

General Tao chicken · General's chicken

Translations (9)

fi kenraali Tson kana (sweet and spicy dish) · fr poulet du Général Tao (sweet and spicy dish) · es pollo General Tsao (sweet and spicy dish) · es pollo General Tao (sweet and spicy dish) · cmn 左宗棠雞 /左宗棠鸡 (sweet and spicy dish) · es pollo General Gau (sweet and spicy dish) · fr poulet Général Tao (sweet and spicy dish) · ru цыплёнок генерала Цо (sweet and spicy dish) · fr Général Tao (sweet and spicy dish)