THE GENERAL CONSENSUS

Whether it’s because of religious beliefs, loneliness, or the Bumpus’s mangy dogs tearing apart your turkey (as they famously do at the end of Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story) — chances are you’ve had at least one Chinese-food Christmas dinner that’s so stereotypically sad, it’s quaint. This year have another, and learn the origins of Chinese takeout, a uniquely American cuisine. Today’s dinner-and-a-movie screening of Ian Cheney’s food doc The Search for General Tso (2014) includes a Chinese food feast to accompany this origin story about the most ubiquitous chicken served in American establishments. Curiously enough, the wok-battered dark-meat dish is unheard of in China, and the same goes for its military officer namesake. There’s never been a better time to discover the where, why, and how of this fried favorite.

Thu., Dec. 25, noon, 2014