Who was General Tso? New documentary reveals the mysterious history behind massively popular Chinese restaurant staple

• The documentary, from writer Jennifer 8 Lee, chronicles the intersection of American and Chinese cuisine so well known in westernized Chinese restaurants around the U.S.
• The movie follows the filmmakers from Chinese eateries in the big city to country, with each serving the spicy chicken dish to hungry American fans
• The film follows the thread of food to weave a story about cultures, immigration, and how Asian-Americans have adapted in Western culture.

By Mail Online Reporter

Published: 01:50 EST, 9 January 2015 | Updated: 01:53 EST, 9 January 2015

A new film seeks to ask the age old question, just exactly who is General Tso and how did his chicken become so popular?

The documentary, from writer Jennifer 8 Lee, chronicles the intersection of American and Chinese cuisine so well known in westernized Chinese restaurants around the U.S.

The movie follows the filmmakers from Chinese eateries in the big city to country, with each serving the spicy chicken dish to hungry American fans.

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A new film seeks to ask the age old question, just exactly who is General Tso and how did his chicken become so popular?

It also visits perplexed Chinese people in the General's hometown.

'I went to his hometown. This is a billboard that says, welcome to the birthplace of General Tso,' Lee told NPR. 'And I went looking for chicken. I actually found a whole bunch of General Tso's relatives who were still in the little town, showed them all the pictures of General Tso's chicken that I showed you. And they're like, we don't know this dish.'

Lee previously wrote a book called 'The Fortune Cookie Chronicles' about her interest in Americanized Chinese dishes.

The documentary has received critical acclaim with a 93 per cent fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes

They also, according to NBC News, met with a retired chef in Taiwan who invented a Hunan-style chicken dish but called the modern, popular incarnation 'crazy nonsense.'

The film follows the thread of food to weave a story about cultures, immigration, and how Asian-Americans have adapted in Western culture.

The documentary, from writer Jennifer 8 Lee, chronicles the intersection of American and Chinese cuisine so well known in westernized Chinese restaurants around the U.S.

The documentary has received critical acclaim with a 93 per cent fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.

'The film gets its charm from the Chinese restaurant owners themselves,'writes 8Asians.com reviewer Mitchell K. Dwyer. 'Some of them, second and third-generation entrepreneurs, some of them offering their observations even while their parents, sitting right next to them, offer a slightly different take.'