Hunan Cuisine / Xiang Cuisine – Hot, Spicy, Salty

Hunan cuisine, also called Xiang cuisine, is one of the eight cuisines in China, which is popular not only in Hunan Province, but in the whole China. Hunan cuisine is welcomed abroad as well, such as the United States, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. It has an aromatic and spicy flavor as pepper is the most important condiment. Its representative dishes include Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili, Fried Pork with Chili, Tasty Crayfish, Changsha Stinky Tofu, Hunan Rice Noodles, Dong’an Chicken, and Spicy Salted Duck, etc.

Chinese Name: 湘菜 xiāng cài
English Names: Hunan cuisine, Xiang cuisine
Popular in: Hunan Province
Flavors: spicy, hot and spicy, sour and spicy, salty and spicy
Famous Hunan Dishes: Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili, Steamed Preserved Meat, Fried Pork with Chili, Tasty Crayfish
Famous Snacks: Changsha Stinky Tofu, Sugar Oil Baba, Hunan Rice Noodles 

Hunan cuisine history is pretty long and is not shorter than other cuisines. It may be originated from the banquet after worship ceremony in ancient Shu State in Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 - 256 BC). In late Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC), the ingredients and cooking methods had been quite mature. Up to Western Han Dynasty (202 BC - 9 AD), there had been a variety of dishes in Hunan, and those Hunan food formed its own characteristics in material, cooking methods and flavors. In Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), Hunan cuisine dishes had been quite rich and different Hunan food was cooked for different occasions, like those for birthday, wedding, funeral and promotion. Later, it had a wider influence across China. It welcomed its golden age in Ming (1368 - 1644 AD) and Qing (1644 - 1911 AD) Dynasties. As the pepper was introduced into China, the spicy flavor of Hunan cuisine was confirmed. Meanwhile, advertised unconsciously by many chefs and renowned persons who were from Hunan, it became more and more popular.

 

Hunan cuisine dishes have a general flavor of spicy, in particular aromatic and spicy and sour and spicy, which are their well-known flavor. The raw materials are well matched, so that different tastes of ingredients influence each other to achieve a perfect flavor of a whole dish. These food is usually cooked with more oil and appears to be dark comparing with other cuisines.

In Hunan cuisine recipes, the ingredients cover a wide range of products, from plants, to land animals and seafood. People there like to make pickles and preserved food with vegetables and meat in season, too; which are also widely used as ingredients.
 

Hunan people love chili very much, and most Hunan cuisine recipes include chili, either dried one of fresh one. They also invent a great variety of methods to cook chili with different flavors. For example, sour and spicy taste by fermenting chili in pickle jars; numb and spicy taste by cooking chili with Sichuan pepper and garlics. Fermented soya beans, tastes a little bitter, is another important condiment in Hunan cuisine. The fermented soya beans produced in Liuyang is the famous local specialty.  
 

Various cooking methods are there for various Hunan cuisine dishes. The most remarkable skill is stewing. There are not a few kinds of stewing: stewing with sauce, water, clear broth or milky broth, etc. Stir-frying is also a prominent cooking skill of Hunan cuisine. In addition, braising, curing, steaming, frying and other skills are of equal importance.
 

Read more: Top 10 Hunan Foods You Have to Try
 

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili	剁椒鱼头	duò jiāo yú tóu
Steamed Preserved Meat	腊味合蒸	là wèi hé zhēng
Chairman Mao’s Red Braised Pork	毛氏红烧肉	máo shì hóng shāo ròu
Fried Pork with Chili	辣椒炒肉	là jiāo chǎo ròu
Tasty Crayfish	口味虾	kǒu wèi xiā
Changsha Stinky Tofu	长沙臭豆腐	cháng shā chòu dòu fǔ
Hunan Rice Noodles	湖南米粉	hú nán mǐ fěn
Spicy Salted Duck	酱板鸭	jiàng bǎn yā
Gold Fish Playing Lotus	金鱼戏莲	jīn yú xì lián
Dong'an Chicken	东安子鸡	dōng ān zǐ jī
Sugar Oil Baba	糖油粑粑	táng yóu bā bā

Yu Lou Dong
Chinese Name:玉楼东
Location:
No. 125, Wuyi Avenue, Furong District, Changsha
No. 288-290, Middle Shuguang Road, Yuhua District, Changsha
No. 118, Middle Xiangfu Road, Yuhua District, Changsha

Xi Hu Lou
Chinese Name:西湖楼
Location: Jinma Food City, Jinma Road, Hongshan Tourist Area, Changsha

Lekoufu Restaurant
Chinese Name:乐口福家常菜馆
Location: diagonally across Zhangjiaie City People's Hospital, Guyong Road, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie

Auspicious Bird Hunan Restaurant
Chinese Name:吉祥鸟湘菜馆
Location: No. 103, Jixiangli, Chaoyangmenwai Street, Beijing
See more Hunan Restaurants in Beijing

Xiangxuan Restaurant
Chinese Name:湘轩酒楼
Location: No.411, Liuzhou Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
See more Hunan Restaurants in Shanghai

 

Xiangyang River Style: As the representative of Hunan cuisine, Xiang River style cuisine is centered in Changsha, Hengyang and Xiangtan. The dishes are generally oily with a deep color, and the flavors are mainly spicy, fresh and aromatic. Steamed Preserved Meat, Stir-fry Chicken with Hot Chili, Braised Meat with Black Bean Sauce, are all the famous dishes of Xiang River area.

Dongting Lake Style: Freshwater fishes and poultry meat are the favorite ingredients of the Dongting Lake style cuisine. The frequently used cooking methods are stewing, braising, steaming, curing, etc. The food are oily with thick starchy sauce, salty and spicy, and tender with a charming aroma. People there like to stew food in stove, and eat while stewing, just like hot pot. The representative dishes include Dongting Gold Tortoise, Barbecued Dongting Mandarin Fish, and Lotus Seedpod with Crystal Sugar.

Western Hunan Style: Smoked bacon and various preserved meats are featured ingredients. People there prefer a flavor of salty and aromatic, sour and spicy. The notable delicacies are Braised Mushrooms, Xiangxi Sour Meat, etc.