1952年,美国太平洋第七舰队司令、海军上将阿瑟·威廉·雷德福访台,台湾负责接待的海军总司令梁序昭连续三天设宴款待,并请彭长贵掌厨,要求彭长贵在三天内菜色须天天不同。第三天时,眼看红烧、清蒸、油淋等传统做法都太普通,为让客人换换口味,彭长贵灵机一动将鸡肉切成大块,先炸到金黄半焦状,再下酱汁佐料,热炒做成一道新菜。雷德福特品尝后询问菜名,彭因为自己是湖南人,希望菜名响亮又能与湖南有点关系,就随口起名:“左宗棠鸡”。
In 1952, the commander of the US Pacific Seventh Fleet and Admiral Arthur William Redford visited Taiwan. The commander-in-chief of Taiwan ’s Navy, Liang Xuzhao, hosted a banquet for three consecutive days, and invited Peng Changgui to cook and asked Peng Changgui to cook in three days. Be different every day. On the third day, I saw that the traditional methods such as braised, steamed and oiled are too common. In order to change the taste of the guests, Peng Changgui swiftly cut the chicken into large pieces, fried it to a golden semi-coke shape, and then added the sauce to the sauce. Stir fry into a new dish. Redford asked for the name of the dish after tasting. Peng, because he is from Hunan, hoped that the name of the dish was loud and related to Hunan, so he named it casually: “Zuo Zongtang Chicken“.