Hunan cuisine

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 spicy flavour,[1] fresh aroma and deep colour. 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] During the course of its history, Hunan cuisine assimilated a variety of local forms, eventually evolving into its own style. It now contains more than 4,000 dishes, such as fried chicken with Sichuan spicy sauce (simplified Chinese: 麻辣鸡丁; traditional Chinese: 麻辣雞丁; pinyin: málà jīdīng) and smoked pork with dried long green beans (simplified Chinese: 干豆角蒸腊肉; traditional Chinese: 干豆角蒸臘肉; pinyin: gāndòujiǎo zhēng làròu).

Hunan cuisine consists of three primary styles:

Style Regions of origin
Xiang River Changsha
Xiangtan
Hengyang
Dongting Lake Yueyang
Yiyang
Changde
Western Hunan Zhangjiajie
Jishou
Huaihua

Features

Known for its liberal use of chili peppers, shallots and garlic, Hunan cuisine is known for being dry hot (干辣) or purely hot, as opposed to Sichuan cuisine, to which it is often compared.[1] Sichuan cuisine is known for its distinctive mala (hot and numbing) seasoning and other complex flavour combinations, frequently employs Sichuan peppercorns[1] along with chilies which are often dried, and utilises more dried or preserved ingredients and condiments. Hunan cuisine, on the other hand, is often spicier by pure chili content, contains a larger variety of fresh ingredients, and tends to be oilier. Another characteristic distinguishing Hunan cuisine from Sichuan cuisine is that, in general, Hunan cuisine uses smoked and cured goods in its dishes much more frequently.

Another feature of Hunan cuisine is that the 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 (simplified Chinese: 鸳鸯火锅; traditional Chinese: 鴛鴦火鍋; pinyin: yuānyāng hǔogūo; literally: "lovers' hot pot") is notable for splitting the pot into two sides - a spicy one and a mild one.

Chilies are an entire class of flavorings in Hunan.[1]

List of notable dishes

English Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Pinyin Notes
Beer duck 啤酒鴨 啤酒鸭 píjǐu yā
Changsha-style rice vermicelli 長沙米粉 长沙米粉 Chángshā mǐfěn
Changsha-style stinky tofu 長沙臭豆腐 长沙臭豆腐 Chángshā chòu dòufǔ
Changde-style stewed beef with rice vermicelli 常德牛肉米粉 常德牛肉米粉 Chángdé níuròu mǐfěn
Cured ham with cowpeas
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
Homemade-style bean curd 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
Smoky flavours steamed together 臘味合蒸 腊味合蒸 làwèi hézhēng
Spare ribs steamed in bamboo
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
Mashed shrimp in lotus pod
Pearly meatballs 珍珠肉丸 珍珠肉丸 zhēnzhū ròuwán
Pumpkin cake 南瓜餅 南瓜饼 nánguā bǐng
Shredded pork with vegetables 農家小炒肉 农家小炒肉 nóngjiā xiǎo chǎoròu

See also

References

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