Chinese Hunan Cuisine – One of the representatives of Chinese cuisine

Chinese Hunan Cuisine, also known as Hunan cuisine, is one of the eight major cuisines with a long history in China. It has been formed as early as the Han Dynasty. There are mainly three local flavors in the Xiangjiang River Basin, Dongting Lake area and Xiangxi mountainous area. Hunan cuisine pays special attention to seasoning, especially hot and sour, salty, fragrant, and fresh. It is hot in summer, and its taste is light and delicious. It is cold and humid in winter, and the taste is hot, spicy and fresh.

The characteristics of Chinese Hunan Cuisine

Hunan cuisine has always attached great importance to the combination of raw materials and the mutual penetration of flavors. Hunan cuisine is especially seasoned with hot and sour flavors. Due to the geographical location, Hunan has a mild and humid climate, so people like to eat chili peppers to refresh themselves and get rid of dampness. The dishes cooked with sour kimchi and chili peppers are very appetizing and refreshing, and are very popular, and have become a unique local food custom. At the same time, stir-frying is also a specialty of Hunanese cooking. Hunan cuisine is carefully prepared, with a wide range of materials, varied tastes, and a wide variety; the color is heavy and oily, and the color is thick, and it is affordable; the taste is spicy, delicious, soft and tender; , All kinds of speculation are known. The theme of Hunan cuisine is to serve with rice. In fact, many Hunanese are afraid of spicy food, and want to eat very spicy food. The spicy food leads to eating more rice, so the main function of Hunan cuisine is to serve with rice.

The cooking features of Chinese Hunan Cuisine

It has a long history. Among the three major cooking techniques of hot cooking, cold cooking and sweetening, there are as few as a few kinds of cooking techniques in each category, and dozens of cooking techniques. Relatively speaking, Hunan cuisine is even better at simmering, almost reaching the point of perfection. Simmering can be divided into red simmering and white simmering in terms of color change. In terms of seasoning, there are clear soup simmering, thick soup simmering and milk soup simmering. Cooked slowly over low heat, the original taste. Some dishes are crystal clear and mellow, some vegetable juices are pure and nourishing, some dishes are soft and glutinous, some are crispy and delicious, and many dishes cooked out of simmering have become famous dishes in Hunan cuisine.

As a Sichuan cuisine with spicy as the main feature, it is also very fascinating.

The taste characteristics of Chinese Hunan Cuisine

The seasoning of Hunan cuisine is characterized by “hot and sour”, mainly spicy, with sour in it. “Sour” is the acid of sour kimchi, which is more mellow and softer than vinegar. Most parts of Hunan are low-lying and have a warm and humid climate, which was called “the low and wet land” in ancient times. And pepper has the effects of raising heat, appetizing, dispelling dampness, and expelling wind, so it is deeply loved by the people of Hunan. Chopped peppers undergo lactic acid fermentation, which has the effect of appetizing and nourishing.

Classic Dishes of Chinese Hunan Cuisine

Fish head with chopped pepper

Fish head with chopped pepper is a famous traditional dish in Hunan Province, which belongs to Hunan cuisine. According to legend, the origin is related to Huang Zongxian, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty. Usually, bighead carp fish head and chopped pepper are the main ingredients, and it is steamed with soy sauce, ginger, green onion, garlic and other auxiliary materials. The dishes are bright red in color, rich in flavor and tender in texture. Fat but not greasy, soft and glutinous in taste, fresh and spicy.

Stir-fried pork with chili

Chili Fried Pork is a dish made with chili and pork belly as the main ingredients, and tempeh, garlic seeds, soy sauce, oil and salt, monosodium glutamate, etc. as auxiliary materials. The taste is spicy. Stir-fried pork with chili is a signature “local dish” that every household in Hunan must eat, and it is one of the most representative Hunan dishes.

Steamed cured meat

Steamed cured meat is a traditional famous dish in Hunan, which belongs to Hunan cuisine. It is made of cured pork, cured chicken, cured fish, chicken soup and seasonings, and steamed in a pot. The method is simple, the wax has a strong aroma, is salty and sweet, flexible and not greasy, and has the effects of appetizing, dispelling cold, and digesting food. Hunan is low-lying and has a warm and humid climate. Fresh meat products are not suitable for storage, but smoked bacon can be preserved and stored. Gradually, the people also developed the eating habit of eating bacon. As early as the Han Dynasty, the ancestors of Hunan used bacon to make delicacies. By the Qing Dynasty, this kind of dishes were already very famous, and “cured meat with steamed meat” was one of many preserved meat dishes.

Changsha Farewell My Concubine

Farewell My Concubine is a famous traditional Hunan dish. In Hunan cuisine, Farewell My Concubine, a century-old traditional Hunan dish, has a long history and came out in the late Qing Dynasty. It uses soft-shelled turtle (turtle) and chicken as the main raw materials, supplemented with mushrooms, cooking wine, garlic and other condiments, and is refined by cooking first and then steaming. I didn’t expect to eat this very authentic famous dish here. In the 20th century, Yuloudong, Quyuan, Xiaoxiang and Laoyiyuan restaurants in Changsha often supplied it. It is said that Farewell My Concubine in Hunan cuisine is related to the story of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji, the overlords of Western Chu.

Spicy Chicken

Spicy Chicken was first created in Changsha Yuloudong Restaurant during the Tongzhi period. The chef chooses about 500 grams of hen and chicken as the main ingredient, and cooks it with chili, yellow vinegar, garlic and various seasonings. It is delicious and very popular. There is also such a doggerel popular among Chinese folks: “Spicy chicken is tender on the outside and tender on the inside. It is golden in color and tastes new. If you ask where is the best restaurant, Jixiang is better than Yuloudong.

Xiangxi Grandmother’s Cuisine

Xiangxi grandma dish is a delicious dish. Grandma’s dish was originally a common home-cooked dish in western Hunan. The raw materials are selected from various wild vegetables in western Hunan. Such as: purslane, diced radish, big-leaf greens, native Hunan vegetables, minced meat, etc. The taste is excellent, the chewing is strong, and the taste is more fragrant. It has the effects of appetizing and eating, lowering blood fat, softening blood vessels, and nourishing appearance.

Mao’s braised pork

Mao’s Braised Pork, also known as Mao’s Braised Pork, is a famous traditional dish with complete color, flavor and taste, belonging to Hunan cuisine. Shi braised pork is made of pork belly as the main ingredient, and sugar and cooking wine are colored seasonings. After cooking, the color is golden, oily but not greasy. After cooking, the color is red and bright, the meat flavor is strong, and there is no greasy feeling. Because a little chili is added during the firing process, the taste is sweet and salty, salty and spicy, sweet but not greasy.

Zuan Shark Fin

Zuan shark’s fin, also known as red stewed shark’s fin, is a famous local traditional dish in Hunan Province, belonging to Hunan cuisine. The color of this dish is light yellow, the juice is bright and oily, soft and smooth, fresh and salty, delicious, mellow and delicious. Zuan’s shark’s fin is made of exquisite materials and unique in production. This dish has a mellow taste, the shark’s fin is waxy and soft, and rich in nutrition. It is really a treasure in the dish.

The above are some of the most famous dishes in Hunan. Some are spicy and delicious, some are salty and sour, and some are soft and slightly sweet. Have you tried them all? Hunan cuisine is not necessarily all spicy. For friends who want to eat Hunan cuisine but can’t eat spicy food, you can choose Mao’s Braised Pork and Zu’an Shark’s Fin, which are not spicy. For friends who love spicy food, you can choose fish head with chopped pepper and fried pork with pepper, which are more spicy dishes. Come and taste it~