

Ding served it whenever he had important guests, including General Zuo Zongtang, the real General Tso, at one point.īelow, we’ve provided you with Kung Pao Ding’s very own take on the dish, which will be different from the imported versions you may have tried before. In his early days as a public servant, Ding had a reputation for gastronomy, hiring expert Shandong chefs in his home kitchen, who eventually invented Kung Pao chicken following Ding’s affinity of flash-fried chicken cubes and fresh peanuts. It’s perhaps one of the most internationally recognized Chinese dishes in the world. It is now perhaps one of his greatest legacies The American President was served Kung Pao chicken on his state visit to China in 2017 Chinese astronauts now eat the dish in space. That’s how much this guy loved this dish. What a man.Īnd what do we remember him for? Chicken. He was famous for challenging the corruption of the Imperial family, rescuing Chengdu’s salt industry from the mafia, and recovering embezzled money from corrupt officials at all levels – saving large amounts for the already depleted national treasury. Meaning “Tutor of the Crown Prince,” Kung Pao Ding was a progressive visionary who set up printing houses, improved access to texts in classrooms, and re-wrote national curriculums to train young people in STEM and social sciences before it was even cool acronym. China’s last imperial dynasty did not allocate funds for taming the Yellow River, so Kung Pao Ding took on this impossible task himself, paying for it by selling his wife’s jewelry, accruing debt, and fundraising door-to-door. It is still in use today and seen as one of the most important irrigation systems in the world. Kung Pao is a title awarded to a guy named Ding Baozhen for his performance as the governor of the Sichuan Province, such as the reconstruction of the ancient Dujiangyan Irrigation system.


Did you know Kung Pao is actually a person’s name? Kung Pao Ding Baozhen accomplished so many amazing things during his lifetime, and yet we remember him for his love of fried chicken.
