Adventures In Springfield Cashew Chicken, Part 2, Fourteen Years Later

In the annals of Chinese-American food there is no dish more unique than Springfield cashew chicken. Now you're probably shaking your head, side to side, because cashew chicken has been a staple for decades in Cantonese restaurants all over the United States. But Springfield cashew chicken is different on two counts. First of all, the manner of preparation, which produces a deep fried, breaded chicken nugget served in brown gravy with sliced cashews, is far different from the typical cashew chicken that is unbreaded and stir-fried with vegetables. But more importantly, Springfield cashew chicken has been adopted as a signature dish by the entire community, yet is seldom seem outside of Springfield.

I first heard about Springfield cashew chicken in the 1980s and was immediately intrigued, but when would I ever visit Springfield, MO?  But in 2012, when I went viral in Clarissa Wei's article on how I had eaten at over 6,000 different Chinese restaurants, in the article she asked me what Chinese restaurant I hadn't tried would I most like to eat at, immediately I replied "some place that serves Springfield cashew chicken."  Little did I know that quote would quickly make its way to Springfield, where the Springfield Convention and Visitors Center invited us to come to Springfield and sample the dish.   Soon we were on our way to Springfield, surprisingly on a nonstop direct flight out of Los Angeles International airport.  

Now I had no idea that this trip would be more than a dining adventure.  But that became apparent immediately once the van drove us into the main part of town.  Here was a medium sized midwestern city of 170,000 people and looking out of the window there's a Chinese restaurant every few blocks, each festooned with a sign or banner proclaiming "Springfield Cashew Chicken."  And a few Japanese, Vietnamese and non-Asian restaurants with similar banners.   That and the fact that every single person on the street without exception was white--no Asians, no African Americans, and no Latinos.   When I got to the hotel, every employee was white. (And the only African American I saw on the visit was a hotel guest.)  And yet as I eventually learned Springfield had the greatest density of take-out Chinese restaurants of any city in the United States.  

So we had a grand old time in Springfield, eating at five different Chinese restaurants serving Springfield cashew chicken, mostly with the inventor of the dish, David Leong, who had concocted the dish in the 1960s to tie in more with the local cuisine.  Our visit to the Leong family's Chinese restaurant and David Leong's original version (there are now dozens of variations) attracted TV cameras from the local NBC television station and a reporter from the local newspaper  And we enjoyed the other local sights including the Bass Pro Shop, and a visit to Branson, where I was given the key to the city by Mayor Raeanne Presley, a relative of The King himself.   Most versions of the Springfield Cashew Chicken were very good, worthy of the worship given by the townspeople.  We even talked about coming back in the future, perhaps in connection with a future planned Springfield Cashew Chicken festival, but that never happened.  

 

Given that Springfield Cashew Chicken is such a local phenomenon limited to Southeast Missouri and Western Tennessee, I quickly concluded that I had my one and only experience with the dish.   And so it was, until early this year when I came up with the idea of doing a Chinese food crawl of Kansas.  Now at first blush that sounds ludicrous, and certainly at one time doing that would have ended up being a chop suey crawl.  And my trip planning began merely a visit to Kansas City, MO, one of only three metropolitan areas in the United States that I had never visited.  But then I took a closer look at the map and discovered that if I went to Kansas City, one thing I could easily do is visit large college campuses at Missouri-Kansas City, University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Wichita State University.  Now as I have frequently written, in the past 15 years, virtually every large American university has attracted a large number of students from Mainland China.  And unlike their Chinese foreign student predecessors in the past from Hong Kong and Taiwan, these Mainland Chinese students are generally obligated to return to China after graduation.  Which makes them much less amenable than past Chinese students to trying Western food, and spawning the establishment of authentic Mainlander Chinese restaurants nearby.

So since I was in Kansas City, Missouri, I was thinking just maybe there was a Chinese restaurant in the area that served Springfield Cashew Chicken to transplants from Southeast Missouri.  So I started examining menus of Chinese restaurants in Kansas City, MO, and while I found a few that offered cashew chicken, it was clearly the traditional Cantonese stir fried version.  Not that I pored through a lot of menus, but knowing how regional the dish was, it wasn't worth looking any further.    However I figured people would ask me if I visited both Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas, which they did, and while in Kansas City Kansas I should probably eat at a Chinese restaurant to make the visit official.  Kansas City, Kansas (or KCK as the locals call it) did not have a lot of Chinese restaurants, but I saw the menu at Tao Tao Restaurant where "Springfield Cashew Chicken" jumped out at me.  Hooray!  Springfield Cashew Chicken once more, and on the 14th anniversary of my visit to Springfield, MO.  What more could I ask for?

As it turns out, Tao Tao restaurant turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip.  As I drove down Minnesota Ave. I noticed the area was, well euphemistically, extremely working class.  I drove up to Tao Tao which was very brightly painted.  The windows announced family owned since 1972 and "Serving Chinese Food With Love" and "Chef Annie"

 

I walk up to the door to find a heavy glass, metal reinforced door.  Guess it's a tough neighborhood.

 

OK.  I pull open the door, and there is a second identical reinforced glass door.  Except this one is locked and you have to ring the bell for them to open it for you.  This is from the inside looking out.

 

The counter is nicely decorated.

 

 

Happily I see the online menu was correct and the wall menu definitely listed Springfield Cashew Chicken.  I place my order and mention that I had this dish before in Springfield.  The gal replies that Chef Annie was a protege of David Leong, still keeps in contact with the Leong family, and uses the original Leong family recipe for Springfield Cashew Chicken.  Wow!  I could hardly wait to speak with Chef Annie, but she was busily cooking my order (and all the other orders) herself.  

 

As I stood waiting for her to free up I looked at the plaques and frames on the wall.  There was a picture of Chef Annie and her family from decades ago.

 

As well as legislative proclamations and an award as the best Chinese restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas.

 

I finally got to speak with Chef Annie, and told her I was specifically looking for Springfield Cashew Chicken and had met with the Leongs and eaten at their restaurant.  While there was no table service, there was the leftover dining room from the old days, so I took my tray of food and got a table.

 

 

The original recipe Springfield Cashew Chicken was as good as I remembered.  And as I walked out of the restaurant I heard Chef Annie ask the lady at the counter whether I liked it, who replied I did and that I hadn't eaten the dish in many years.  I think that made Chef Annie happy.  And me too.