China Eight: Hunan Cuisine

Hunan Province is in southern central China on the mid-reaches of the Yangzi River. At 211,800 square kilometres in size, it is not a particularly large province, but it contains a very varied terrain.

Definition

Hunan Cuisine, occasionally referred to on menus as Xiang cuisine, is actually the cuisine of the Xiangjiang region, Dongting Lake and western Hunan Province. Similar to Sichuan cuisine, Hunan food can actually be "spicier" in the Western sense (it uses lots of chilies, peppers, and garlic) but does not use the "numbing" or ma spices common to Sichuan food.

History

Hunan is and was an area of very high agricultural output, yet it is not given over completely to fields and farms and contains a fair proportion of "wild" areas. It also stands on the historical north-south trading axis. These factors mean that "standard" ingredients in Hunan cuisine tend to be of the highest quality; that there are many "game" dishes featuring unusual animals; and that Hunan cuisine has both exported and imported many of its dishes. With a history commonly held to span 2,000 years, it is sometimes difficult to tell a true Hunan dish from something that has been exported and re-imported over the years. Hunan is truly one of the culinary heartlands of China.

Recipe Book

In the kitchen: the first thing you notice are the huge stores and variety of peppers and chilies, fresh star anise, fennel seed, coriander (often called "parsley" on Chinese menus), chili bean paste, peppercorns and garlic. Several large mortar and pestles will be found in use for creating and serving direct to the table many of the mashed cold dishes, such as pigeon in consommé, or the many "secret ingredient" mashed-eggplant concoctions. The strongest aroma is of the many smoked and cured meats, which are served on their own, or sliced and added to other dishes.
At the cooker: there is much "slow" cooking in Hunan cuisine. Simmering, steaming and pot-roasting are common but stewing and rendered sauces are also featured.
On the table: Hunan dishes are somewhat "drier" than their counterparts, so be sure to have your favourite beverage ready, which will also help to drown some of the spicier morsels! Look out for the aromatic "strange-flavour" sauce (guai wei jiang) used to jazz up many dishes.

Local Flavour

Focus: Steamed fish heads in chili sauce may not sound particularly appetising to a Westerner, but this typical Hunan dish, with its distinctive "two-layer" sauce, is absolutely stunning. Warming and not-too-spicy, the perfectly steamed and presented fish (which should be large with easy-to-remove bones) has absorbed just the right amount of spice, but you can double-dip for extra oomph. Remember to start from the back of the fish, as it's been cut in the kitchen to come apart in bite-sized pieces this way. Beware of the topping - you won't want to put it down!

Words

Spicy, the original "sweet and sour sauce," thick and heady aromas.

Dishes

Chinese parsley and spicy yellow beans, Xiangdu Roast Duck, 1,000-year eggs with roasted peppers, Wuling snake in its own soup, Tongting wild duck, mashed shrimp in lotus pods.