who was gen.gao? was he a chef in army or something? like maybe the KFC colonel of the chinese world?

he was an actual fighting general.

The story goes... something like his men have for their rations only chickens and rice. They've been eating that for a long while. General Tsao, tso, I don't know how to spell his name, decides to raise moral with something different. I think he just grabs whatever garnishings they have on hand, and voila, his chicken is born.

That's what I've heard

The dish's name in Chinese is 左宋雞 Zuosongji but the way it's prepared authentically is quite different from the "Americanized" version that you may find at your local Chinese buffet restaurant...

I've never had the 'real' version before, how does it differ? I would imagine less 'fried chicken'-ish?

I never had the real version either. However, I did read an article recently regarding Chinatowns in the U.S. In the article, they made several examples of how dishes "changed" when they came to the U.S., one of the examples was General Tso's Chicken. I don't remember any of it though :-P

When I asked for General Tso's chicken in China, no one knew what it was.

How did you ask them, in English?

左宗鸡, thats how i asked for it.

As far as I know, that's the Chinese name for it too. However, I, too, have never seen it in China.

Hmmm interesting... I think that might surprise many American travelers as well....

How did Zuo Zongtang get mangled into "General Gao"?