Hunan Cuisine “湖南菜”
Hunan cuisine (湖南菜 hú nán cài) also known as Xiang cuisine(湘菜 xiāng cài), 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, 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.The history of the cooking skills employed in Hunan cuisine dates back many centuries. 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.
Mao's Braised Pork
毛氏红烧肉 /máo shì hóng shāo ròu/
Mao's braised pork is a dish that in Hunan is inseparably bound up with the memory of Chairman Mao: many restaurants call it “The Mao Family’s red-braised pork.” Mao Zedong loved it, and insisted his Hunanese chefs cook it for him in Beijing. It’s a robust concoction, best eaten with plain steamed rice and simple stir-fried vegetables; the sweet, aromatic chunks of meat are irresistible.
Steamed fish head in chili sauce
剁椒蒸鱼头 /duò jiāo zhēng yú tóu/
This dish dates back to Qing Dynasty mathematician Huang Zongxian. He got caught in a rainstorm and took shelter in a local kitchen, in which, he saw a woman salt and saute a fish, and then throw two handfuls of chopped chilies – one red, one green – into the mix before she steams the fish. Being a mathematician, Huang later said he could reproduce the recipe exactly, and this famous dish was born.
