Hunan cuisine

What defines Hunan cooking

Hunan (Xiang, 湘菜) is one of the eight canonical regional cuisines, and is consistently ranked among the spiciest. The flavour profile differs from Sichuan: Hunan uses fresh and pickled chillies more than dried ones, smaller doses of Sichuan peppercorn, and substantial fermentation and smoking.

Pillars: - **Fresh and pickled chillies** (剁椒) — the chopped-chilli paste is everywhere. - **Smoked and cured meats** (腊肉) — pork, fish, duck cured in salt and chilli, hung in farmhouse rafters. - **Sour fermented vegetables** (酸豆角, pickled long-bean; 酸萝卜, pickled radish). - **Stir-frying with high heat**, less braising than Cantonese.

Canonical dishes

• Steamed fish-head with chopped chillies (剁椒鱼头) — the most iconic Hunan dish; a fresh fish-head buried under bright red chopped-chilli paste, steamed.
• Mao-style red-cooked pork (毛氏红烧肉) — Mao Zedong was Hunanese; this regional version of red-cooked pork is associated with him.
• Stir-fried bacon with smoked tofu and chillies (腊肉炒香干).
• Hunan rice-noodle soup (米粉) — eaten at breakfast.
• Stinky tofu, Changsha style (长沙臭豆腐) — dark, deeply fermented, served with sweet-sour sauce.
• Steamed cured pork with rice flour (粉蒸肉).

Where to eat

At its peak in Changsha (the capital) and the surrounding province. The Pozi Street night market in Changsha is the canonical street-food strip. Outside Hunan, look for restaurants signed 湘菜.

Heat tolerance

Hunan is genuinely hot — possibly hotter than Sichuan in raw chilli content, though without the numbing peppercorn dimension. Order xiao la (mildly spicy) until you've calibrated. Drink mung-bean soup, light beer or chrysanthemum tea.