Eat Across China: Smoky, Spicy, Tender Hunan Cuisine

Author: Shenzhen Jindan Cultural Development Co., Ltd.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Hunan cuisine, also known as Xiang Cuisine, is renowned both domestically and internationally for its long history, rich variety of dishes, and distinctive regional characteristics. As early as the strategic period, after the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan was exiled to Hunan, he described the region's diverse delicacies in his famous work, The Lament for the State of Chu. "The tender sinew of fat ox, glutinous and fragrant." "The chicken of morning dew, sharp yet not harsh." By the Han Dynasty, culinary arts in Hunan had made significant progress. In 1974, during the excavation of an ancient Western Han tomb at Mawangdui in Changsha, the earliest bamboo slip menus to date were discovered, recording 103 types of exquisite dishes and nine categories of cooking methods. Many famous Hunan dishes and culinary techniques can be traced back to their origins here. Today, Hunan cuisine has gradually developed into three regional flavors due to differences in local produce, social customs, and natural conditions: the Xiangzhongnan region, the Dongting Lake area, and the western Hunan mountainous region. The Xiangzhongnan region, centered around Changsha, Xiangtan, and Hengyang, is the main representative of Hunan cuisine. Its characteristics include a wide range of ingredients, meticulous preparation, and a strong emphasis on stir-frying. Slow-cooking and stewing are done with gentle heat. Slow-cooked dishes are flavorful with rich broth, while stewed dishes have clear, mirror-like broth, such as braised abalone in red sauce and clear stewed beef. Preserved meat dishes include smoking, pickling, and barbecue. Famous Hunan preserved meat, such as smoked preserved meat, is tender, not greasy, and has a savory, fragrant taste. Steamed dishes are often made with various types of trotters, with a rich, glossy color, tender, and delicious. In the past, the "sauce-jerky trotters" made by Changsha's Mamingde Hall were considered the best. Stir-fried dishes are represented by "stir-fried pork blood balls with garlic and chili," which are tender, fragrant, and spicy, well-known in the streets, and said to have a history of over a hundred years.