KFC sells China on ‘New Orleans’ chicken

“New Orleans–style” chicken is everywhere in Beijing but not in the Big Easy, said Weilun Soon in The Wall Street Journal. Just as General Tso’s chicken is “sold in virtually every Chinese takeout in America,” but not in China, wings that have been branded as “New Orleans–style” are a Chinese concoction that has nothing to do with Louisiana, and everything to do with fast-food marketing. The “New Orleans–style” refers to the marinade, a blend of sugar or honey, vegetable oil, and spices. “Why do so many diners in China think they are eating a New Orleans specialty?” Thank KFC China, a branch of the U.S. fast-food chain, which claims credit for “inventing” the glazed wings 20 years ago. Other U.S. companies have followed along; Tyson sells “New Orleans–style wings” by the bag. When Michelle Li moved to the U.S. from China and couldn’t find “New Orleans–style” chicken anywhere, she “felt cheated.”