Maybe more ubiquitous than the restaurants themselves, the famous American-Chinese dish General Tso’s Chicken begs the question: who was General Tso and what about chicken did he love so much?

Other questions include, obviously, how do you even pronounce “Tso”? You hear it pronounced various ways depending on whom you talk to, and you’ll hear it all of those ways and more throughout the course of the film. It seems the proper pronunciation of “Tso” is a mystery in and of itself.

But these rather harmless questions have cooked up a delightful documentary than trots around the globe in search of this general and his famous chicken recipe. Making great use of graphics as links and as almost a separate character on their own, as well as numerous interviews with people from all walks of life, “Tso” takes you on a worldwide culinary journey.

This lighthearted In Search Of begins on Any Street USA, and follows the trail all the way to China and back, touching on many aspects of the Chinese-American experience that would probably escape the notice of the very Americans who love and eat Chinese food.

“Tso” features stories directly from the mouths of restaurateurs and patrons alike, as well as historians, foodies, and even collectors of odd and rare Chinese menus, which delivers quite a bit of depth and breadth to a subject that may seem slim and straightforward at first.

The aforementioned graphics cleverly explain what may prove difficult to be shown, and it’s all done with a sense of wonder and cheerfulness that pulls you in. At a tight 71 minutes, the amount of information writer/director Ian Cheney was able to provide is impressive, and it’s done in a way that happily zips along. Much like the food it focuses on, by the time you’re done, you may still be hungry for more.

REVIEW

• THE FILM: ‘The Search for General Tso'
• CRITIC RATING: ***
• PLAYING: Tower Theatre, Salt Lake City. 71 minutes.
• MPAA RATING: Not rated