When it comes to Chinese food, Hunan cuisine must be on the list. Hunan cuisine, also called Hunan cuisine, is one of the eight major Han cuisines in China with a long history. 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 the mountainous area of western Hunan. Hunan cuisine is carefully prepared, uses a wide range of ingredients, has varied tastes, and has a wide variety of varieties; the color is oily and rich, and it pays attention to affordability; the taste pays attention to spicy, fragrant and fresh, soft and tender; the preparation method is simmering, stewing, curing and steaming. , known for various methods of speculation.
Representative dishes of official Hunan cuisine are represented by Zuan Hunan cuisine, such as Zuan tofu, Zuan shark's fin, etc.; representative dishes of folk Hunan cuisine include fried pork with chili , fish head with chopped pepper , Xiangxi grandma's dish , Jishou sour pork, Beef meal, Hengyang fish meal, Qifengdu fish meal , Dong'an chicken, goldfish and lotus, Yongzhou blood duck , Jiuyi Mountain rabbit, Ningyuan stuffed tofu , Steamed steamed cured meat , sister dumplings , Ningxiang flavored snake, Yueyang ginger spicy snake, etc. Today I will share with you ten famous classic dishes in Hunan. Do you like any of them?
Fish head with chopped pepper
Fish head with chopped pepper is a representative dish of Hunan cuisine. It is usually steamed with bighead carp head, chopped pepper as the main ingredients, and supplemented with soy sauce, ginger, onion, garlic and other auxiliary ingredients. The dishes are bright red in color, rich in flavor and tender in texture. Fat but not greasy, soft and waxy, fresh and spicy.
It is said that it can be traced back to the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. Huang Zongxian, an anti-Qing scholar, fled because of the "literary prison" of literary taboos. On the way, we passed through a small village in Hunan and stayed with a poor farmer's family. The farmer caught a fat-headed fish from the pond, and the farmer's wife cooked it to entertain Huang Zongxian. After the fish was washed, the fish meat was boiled with salt, then minced with home-produced chili peppers and steamed with the fish head. Huang Zongxian ate it and found it very delicious and unforgettable. After Shiping returned home, he asked his chef to improve this dish, so "Fish Head with Chopped Peppers" was created, and it became a representative steamed dish of Hunan cuisine.
Spicy Chicken
Spicy Chicken is a classic dish in Hunan cuisine, and it best reflects the food tastes of Hunan locals. It is said that Spicy Chicken was created during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, and the century-old Yuloudong Restaurant in Changsha is the most famous. The cooked spicy chicken is golden in color, spicy and fragrant, and is highly praised by people. Zeng Guangou, the grandson of Zeng Guofan in the late Qing Dynasty, and Xiangxiang Hanlin Zeng Guanggou, once left a popular poem "Spicy chicken soup fills the stomach, making people often remember Yu Loudong".
Steamed cured meat and steamed meat
Steamed cured meat and rice is a famous dish in Hunan and one of the representative dishes of Liuyang steamed dish. This dish comes from the folk. Because it is easy to make and is an excellent choice to accompany wine and rice, it has become the most customary New Year dish. Steam the cured meat together, eat bacon, cured chicken , cured fish put together, then sprinkle some dried chili powder, tempeh, steam in the pot, then pour some sesame oil after steaming. Of course, the main ingredients are not just the above three, there are cured duck , cured beef , sausages, dried wax beans, etc., all of which can be steamed together. It has a rich flavor, is salty and sweet, and is soft and not greasy. It is the best choice for drinking and eating.
Dongan Chicken
Dongan Chicken, also called Dongan Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken, is a traditional famous dish in Hunan cuisine. There is a saying in Hunan: "The head is like a chicken, the second is like a dog, and the third is like a soft-shell turtle with red dates in its belly." It’s talking about the Hunan people’s eating habit of eating chicken during the dog days of summer. This dish pays attention to the authentic ingredients, and must use Dong'an hens, freshly cooked and killed. The finished product is bright in color, spicy, sour and refreshing, fat but not greasy. Adding vinegar to chicken is also a major feature of Dong'an chicken.
Mushroom yolk-free egg
Mushroom yolk-free egg is a traditional dish with Changsha characteristics. It was originally created by Xiao Ronghua, one of the four famous chefs in Changsha. This dish tastes fresh and tender and is well-made. The most important thing is to control the heat. It must be steamed until it is cooked without any egg white leaking out. Customers were amazed when they tasted this egg without yolk. Therefore, this dish has also been rated as one of the "Top Ten Classic Dishes of Hunan".
Group of Shark's Fin
Group of Shark's Fin is a representative dish of Hunan Hunan cuisine and a traditional famous dish of Hunan Han people.The finished dish is bright in color, mellow in flavor and rich in nutrients, making it a top-quality dish. According to legend, this dish was a famous dish in the home of Tan Yankai, the governor of Hunan in the late Qing Dynasty. Tan Yankai's character is Zu'an, so there is this Zu'an shark's fin. Not only shark's fin, but also Zuan tofu, Zuan fish lips, Zuan rose fire recipe, Zuan Ginkong apricot belly, Zuan double sesame water chestnut cake, Zuan crab steamed chrysanthemum rice dumplings, etc.
Yongzhou Blood Duck
Yongzhou Blood Duck is a special famous dish in Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, belonging to Hunan cuisine; Yongzhou Blood Duck is divided into many types, including Jiangyong , Daoxian , Xintian , Ningyuan , Lanshan , Dong'an, double brand and many other sayings. In the local area, almost every household will make this dish. It is delicious, appetizing and cooling the blood, and is deeply loved by the locals. When frying and blood duck , stir-fry over high heat, then add chili and stir-fry together. For chili peppers, choose long-threaded ones. They are famous for their spiciness, and the fried dishes will have a special "Hunan" flavor. When it is about to come out of the pot, add duck blood and stir-fry until cooked. The taste of this dish is fresh and salty, sour and numb, fragrant and smooth, which can whet your appetite.
Hair louver
Hair louver, also known as hair louver, is one of the top ten classic dishes in Hunan. It was founded in the 1820s. Hair louver is made from beef louver and shredded and stir-fried. After being cooked, it is white in color, shaped like hair, crisp and tender in texture, and has a rich taste that combines salty, fresh, spicy and sour.
Mao's braised pork
Mao's braised pork is a unique flagship product of Hunan cuisine. It has been passed down to this day and is deeply loved by locals and outsiders. To make Mao's Braised Pork, you need to use three fat and two lean pork belly. The finished product is bright red in color, fat but not greasy, and very delicious! It is said that Mao's Braised Pork is Chairman Mao's favorite dish and is famous for being made without using a drop of soy sauce. If you go to Hunan, you must try the authentic Mao's Braised Pork, it's really delicious.
Xiangxi Grandma’s Cuisine
Grandma’s Cuisine is a special home-cooked dish that Xiangxi people have been eating since childhood. Generally, we use wild vegetables and local vegetables, which are pickled in traditional ways without any preservatives. Added with minced meat, chili peppers, vegetable oil, etc., they are chewy and delicious, and are appetizing and can be eaten with rice. It is a rare and fashionable Hunan dish. . It is said that in ancient times, due to underdeveloped transportation, it was difficult for a daughter in Xiangxi to return to her parents' home to visit relatives after she got married. Therefore, before her daughter got married, the mother would cook a "dishes away from home" for her daughter, including sour, sweet, salty, crispy, and sour. , spicy and other flavors. Enter the child's mouth and into the mother's heart. A loving mother loves her daughter so much that this dish has been passed down from generation to generation.
The above is about the top ten classic dishes of Hunan. Are there any you like? If you have tasted other Hunan delicacies, please leave a message in the comment area to share. thanks for your support.
