Minstrel Shows and General Tso’s Chicken

Minstrel Shows and General Tso’s Chicken

Cultural appropriation occurs when a majority culture misrepresents a minority culture in a way that shows disrespect that may further the oppression of that minority culture. The minstrel show is a clear example of cultural appropriation: white actors in black face, singing and dancing in ways that were disrespectful and likely perpetuated oppressive stereotypes.

Late last year, it was reported that Oberlin College students were outraged that their food service provider was failing to serve authentic ethnic cuisine. One indignant students observed “the food service management company contracted by Oberlin College has a history of…cultural appropriation…modifying the recipes without respect for certain Asian countries’ cuisines.” [http://oberlinreview.org/9055/news/cds-appropriates-asian-dishes-students-say/]



Prudence Hiu-Ying, an Oberlin College sophomore from China, torqued out because the General Tso’s chicken “did not resemble the popular Chinese dish. Instead of deep-fried chicken with ginger-garlic soy sauce, the chicken was steamed with a substitute sauce,” which Hiu-Ying described as ‘so weird that I didn’t even try.’

Hiu-Ying’s complaint is based on her belief that the Oberlin College version of General Tso’s chicken was inauthentic, which is ironic. According to an article reprinted in Huffington Post, “General Tso's chicken…was originally known as General Ching's chicken and introduced by a Chef T.T. Wang in New York City” [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/what-is-the-history-behin_b_6373782.html].

But these are murky waters.

According to the highly reputable Fuschia Dunlop, General Tso’s Chicken was a dish invented not by T. T. Wang, but by Peng Chang-kuei, a chef originally from Hunan province, who fled to Taiwan and then on to New York in 1973. Years later, he told Dunlop that "The original General Tso's chicken was Hunanese in taste and made without sugar, but when I began cooking for non-Hunanese people in the United States, I altered the recipe." According to Dunlop, “The final twist in the tale is that General Tso's chicken is now being adopted as a ‘traditional’ dish by some influential chefs and food writers in Hunan itself.” [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7639868]

According to Francis Lam writing in Salon, General Tso’s chicken was “created” by Peng but took its current – and quite sweet – form from Wang. [http://www.salon.com/2010/01/06/history_of_general_tsos_chicken/]

Murky, right?


So many claims of authenticity are baloney [http://resto.newcity.com/2015/11/20/a-genuine-myth-if-they-call-it-authentic-its-probably-baloney/]. To say a dish is “inauthentic” is usually just another way of saying, “I don’t like it,” which is apparently exactly what Ms. Hiu-Yang and other Oberlin students felt…but somehow, charging the dish with being both inauthentic AND another example of the majority oppressing the minority seems less personal, more persuasive, and perhaps more “politically correct” (meaning it pays lip service to higher principles when, in fact, it’s largely fashionable twaddle).

Can a dish evolve over time, incorporating new ingredients and, basically, changing while still being recognized as the same dish? We see this happening all the time. Two examples:

• Anchovies are considered a fundamental ingredient in Caesar Salad…but they were likely not included in the original Caesar Salad developed by Tijuana chef Caesar Cardini in the early twentieth century. Julia Child herself witnessed Cardini making the salad at her table and she mentions all the usual ingredients…except anchovies (which you’d assume would stand out). [http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/ask-the-food-lab-caesar-salad-recipe.html]. Other reports indicate that Cardini used Lea and Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce, which contains traces of anchovy, but never the whole fish.



• Spinach is now a common element in Oysters Rockefeller, which were first served at Antoine’s in New Orleans, but originally they were probably made with watercress or some green other than spinach. [http://whatscookingamerica.net/Seafood/OystersRockefeller.html]. Now, spinach is an expected ingredient in the dish.

Recently, at Avli (566 Chestnut), the GNR winner in Winnetka, chef/owner Louis Alexakis served us some delicious items including a “Greek taco” (Greek sausage and cheese on a tiny tortilla) and chocolate baklava. “Sometimes the older diners tells us ‘This is not Greek food,’” says Alexakis, “but foods of a culture change, they’re always evolving. Chefs use what they have at hand, what’s going to make their diners happy.”

What’s being served may not match everyone’s understanding of authenticity, but as with General Tso’s Chicken, meeting everyone’s expectations about authenticity is well-nigh impossible. None of these food innovations come anywhere near rising (or descending) to the level of the minstrel show and, of course, if the food is delicious, all is forgiven.

POSTSCRIPT: I took the opportunity to order (for perhaps the first time) a plate of General Tso’s Chicken at Katy’s Dumpling House in Oak Park. It was…okay, though surely the least satisfying of all the many dishes I’ve enjoyed at this excellent restaurant. To my palate, this dish was too sweet by a long shot, and though the chicken was nicely crisp, the sauce just overwhelmed with a sugary slap to the face. I’m not saying this dish was improperly prepared or “inauthentic”; I’m just saying that from now on, at Katy’s, I’m sticking with the noodles.

David Hammond wrote:Minstrel Shows and General Tso’s Chicken
fashionable twaddle).
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Love!