Hunan cuisine
Hunan cured ham with pickled yardlong beans
Chinese湖南菜
Xiang cuisine
Chinese湘菜

Hunan cuisine, also known as Xiang cuisine, consists of the cuisines of the Xiang River region, Dongting Lake and western Hunan Province in China. It is one of the Eight Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine and is well known for its hot and spicy flavours,[1] fresh aroma and deep colours. Common cooking techniques include stewing, frying, pot-roasting, braising and smoking. Due to the high agricultural output of the region, ingredients for Hunan dishes are many and varied.

History

The history of the cooking skills employed in Hunan cuisine dates back to the 17th century.[1] The first mention of chili peppers in local gazettes in the province date to 1684, 21st year of the Kangxi Emperor.[2] During the course of its history, Hunan cuisine assimilated a variety of local forms, eventually evolving into its own style. Some well-known dishes include fried chicken with Sichuan spicy sauce (麻辣鸡丁; 麻辣雞丁; málà jīdīng) and smoked pork with dried long green beans (干豆角蒸腊肉; 干豆角蒸臘肉; gāndòujiǎo zhēng làròu).

Hunan cuisine consists of three primary styles:

Features

A bowl of Changsha rice noodles

With its liberal use of chili peppers, shallots and garlic, Hunan cuisine is known for being gan la (干辣; gān là; 'dry and spicy') or purely hot, as opposed to Sichuan cuisine, to which it is often compared.[1] Sichuan cuisine uses its distinctive ma la (麻辣; má là; 'spicy and numbing') seasoning and other complex flavour combinations, frequently employs Sichuan pepper[1] along with chilies which are often dried. It also utilises more dried or preserved ingredients and condiments. Hunan cuisine, on the other hand, is often spicier by pure chili content and contains a larger variety of fresh ingredients. Both Hunan and Sichuan cuisine are perhaps significantly oilier than the other cuisines in China, but Sichuan dishes are generally oilier than Hunan dishes. Another characteristic distinguishing Hunan cuisine from Sichuan cuisine is that Hunan cuisine uses smoked and cured goods in its dishes much more frequently.

Hunan cuisine's menu changes with the seasons. In a hot and humid summer, a meal will usually start with cold dishes or a platter holding a selection of cold meats with chilies for opening the pores and keeping cool in the summer. In winter, a popular choice is the hot pot, thought to heat the blood in the cold months. A special hot pot called yuanyang huoguo (鸳鸯火锅; 鴛鴦火鍋; yuānyāng hǔogūo; 'Mandarin ducks hot pot') is notable for splitting the pot into two sides – a spicy one and a mild one. One of the classic dishes in Hunan cuisine served in restaurants and at home is farmer pepper fried pork. It is made with several common ingredients: pork belly, green pepper, fermented black beans and other spices.

List of notable dishes

Sautéed pork with chili pepper
EnglishTraditional ChineseSimplified ChinesePinyinNotes
Changsha-style rice vermicelli長沙米粉长沙米粉chǎngshā mǐfěn
Changde-style stewed beef with rice vermicelli常德牛肉粉常德牛肉粉chángdé niúròu fěn
Changsha stinky tofu長沙臭豆腐长沙臭豆腐chǎngshā chòu dòufu
Cured ham with cowpeas酸豆角炒臘肉酸豆角炒腊肉suān dòujiǎo chǎo làròu
Dong'an chicken東安子雞东安子鸡dōng'ān zǐjī
"Dry-wok" chicken干鍋雞干锅鸡gānguō jī
Home-style tofu家常豆腐家常豆腐jiācháng dòufǔ
Lotus seeds in rock sugar syrup冰糖湘蓮冰糖湘莲bīngtáng xiānglián
Mao's braised pork毛氏紅燒肉毛氏红烧肉Máo shì hóngshāo ròu
Mala chicken麻辣子雞麻辣子鸡málà zǐjī
Mashed shrimp in lotus pod蓮藕蝦仁莲藕虾仁lián'ǒu xiārén
Pearly meatballs珍珠肉丸珍珠肉丸zhēnzhū ròuwán
Pumpkin cake南瓜餅南瓜饼nánguā bǐng
Sautéed pork with chili pepper農家小炒肉农家小炒肉nóngjiā xiǎo chǎoròu
Smoky flavours steamed together臘味合蒸腊味合蒸làwèi hézhēng
Spare ribs steamed in bamboo竹筒蒸排骨竹筒蒸排骨zhútǒng zhēng páigǔ
Spicy crawfish 香辣口味蝦 香辣口味虾 xiāng là kǒu wèi xiā [3]
Steamed fish head in chili sauce剁椒蒸魚頭剁椒蒸鱼头duòjiāo zhēng yútóu
Stir fried duck blood炒血鴨炒血鸭chǎoxuéyā
Stir fried meat with douchi and chili peppers豆豉辣椒炒肉豆豉辣椒炒肉dòuchǐ làjiāo chǎoròu
Yongfeng chili sauce永豐辣醬永丰辣酱yǒng fēng làjiàng

A discussion of Hunan cuisine overall may list a number of piquant dishes, usually but not always very hot and spicy.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "A Song of Spice and Fire: The Real Deal with Hunan Cuisine".
  2. ↑ "Why Revolutionaries Love Spicy Food". 14 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "一城一味丨长沙：最令人神魂颠倒的，是口味虾的那口香辣 - 寻味湖湘 - 新湖南". www.hunantoday.cn. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  4. ↑ Jiang, Yan (Apr 27, 2016). "Top 10 Hunan dishes you have to taste". Discover.china.org.cn. Archived from the original on 2016-08-14.
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