Hunan.

Hunan cuisine, also known as Hunan cuisine, is one of the eight major cuisines with a long history in China, which was formed as early as the Han Dynasty. Xiangjiang River Basin, Dongting Lake Area and Xiangxi Mountain Area are the three local flavors.

Xiaoxiang flavor, represented by Hunan cuisine, is called "Hunan cuisine" for short, and it is one of the eight major cuisines in China (Zhejiang cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Guangdong cuisine and Anhui cuisine). Hunan Province is located in the south-central region, on the south bank of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The climate here is warm, with abundant rainfall and sunshine, and the four seasons are distinct. There is Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue in the south and Dongting Lake in the north. The four rivers of Hunan, Guizhou, Yuan and Li flow through the whole province. Rich natural conditions are conducive to the development of agriculture, animal husbandry, sideline production and fishing, so the products are particularly rich. Xiangbei is a famous Dongting Lake plain, which is rich in fish, shrimp and Xianglian, and is a famous land of fish and rice. It was recorded in Historical Records that Chu was "rich in terrain and free from hunger". For a long time, the proverb "the lake is wide and ripe, and the world is full" has been widely circulated. Southeast Hunan is hilly and basin, and agriculture, animal husbandry and by-products fishing are very developed. Xiangxi is mountainous and rich in bamboo shoots, mushrooms and delicacies. Rich products provide exquisite raw materials for diet. The famous specialties are: Wuling soft-shelled turtle, Junshan silver needle, Qiyang pen fish, Dongting scarab, Taoyuan chicken, Linwu duck, Wugang goose, Xianglian, whitebait and bamboo shoots, mushrooms and delicacies in the mountainous areas of western Hunan. In the long-term food culture and cooking practice, Hunan people have created a variety of dishes. According to textual research, as early as the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,111 years ago, Changsha could make various styles of delicacies with various raw materials such as animals, poultry and fish by cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, boiling and roasting. With the development of history and the continuous exchange of cooking techniques, Hunan cuisine with three local flavors, namely Xiangjiang River Basin, Dongting Lake Area and Xiangxi Mountain Area, has gradually formed.

1. History of Hunan cuisine

Hunan, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, is one of the developed areas in ancient China, with fertile land, mild climate and superior natural conditions, and four waters of Hunan, Zi, Yuan and Li run through the whole territory and pour into Dongting Lake.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period

A large number of exquisite pottery utensils and wine vessels unearthed from Neolithic sites in Hunan, as well as the remains of grains and animal bones unearthed with these pottery, proved that Xiaoxiang ancestors broke away from the primitive state of eating animals and eating cooked food as early as eight or nine thousand years ago. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Hunan was mainly a place where Chu people and Yue people lived, with many nationalities living together, different food customs, and the wind of sacrifice prevailed. Explaining the Nine Songs, Wang Yi of Han Dynasty said: "In the past, between Wenyi and Yuanxiang in the south of Chu, people believed in ghosts and loved shrines, and their shrines were bound to make songs and music to inspire the gods ..." Every ritual activity was always accompanied by dances and music. Sacrificing to the gods, offering sacrifices to the land, enjoying ancestors, celebrating weddings, holding funerals, welcoming guests and seeing off guests all need to have dinner. There are strict requirements for the variety of dishes, and they are also very particular about color, fragrance, taste and shape. As in 311 BC? During the Warring States Period for many years, the great poet Qu Yuan was exiled to Hunan and wrote the famous poem "Songs of the South". Among them, "Evocation of Soul" and "Big Trick" reflect the rich and delicious dishes, drinks and snacks in this sacrificial activity at that time. There is a description in "Evocation of Soul": "... eat more, the rice is covered with wheat, and the yellow beam is more." It's bitter and salty, and it's hard to do something. Fat cows are more fragrant. If you are bitter, Chen Wu will have some soup. The soft-shelled turtle shoots lamb, and it has some pulp. Sour fish, fry some red fish. It' s not pleasant to show the chicken. " Interpreted in vernacular, it is like this: "The dishes you eat are rich and colorful. You can eat rice, millet, glutinous rice, and Huangliang as you like. Sour, sweet, salty and bitter, harmonious and palatable. The beef tendon is soft and fragrant. Wu Guo soup with sour and bitter flavor. Roast turtle, roast lamb and sugar cane juice. Vinegar-cooked swans, braised pheasants, fried fat geese and cranes, as well as braised chicken and stewed turtle broth, are delicious and strong-they will last for a long time. " In addition, the Big Trick also mentions Chu cheese-Chu cheese, porpoise-pig meat sauce, bitter dog-dried dog meat, roasted crow, steamed pheasant and fried. From this, we can know that there were dozens of cooking methods such as burning, roasting, stewing, frying, boiling, steaming, stewing, vinegar cooking, halogen and sauce in the food life of Hunan ancestors at that time. The raw materials used are also natural resources with the color of Chu and Hunan. In addition, according to the records in Songs of the South, snacks at that time were also very distinctive. Qu Yuan described it this way: ".. there are some honey and erbium. Yaojiang honey spoon is more feather-like. If you drink it cold, it will be cooler. Chinese food is frozen, and there is some nectar .. "Interpreted as vernacular means:" There are fried honey glutinous rice Baba and steamed honey cakes, as well as caramel. The iced glutinous rice wine is really cool and mellow, and the jade yellow rice wine is enough for you to be intoxicated ... "All these indicate that as early as the Warring States period, the dietary life of Hunan ancestors was quite colorful and the cooking skills were quite mature, forming a southern flavor dominated by sour, salty, sweet and bitter. As for the daily staple food of Hunan ancestors during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, according to archaeological and historical data, there are rice, sorghum, beans, wheat, millet, millet and rice, but mainly rice. Steamed rice retort, pot, kettle, etc. Steamed rice is not sticky and sweet. When cooking porridge, use rice and water, put them in the porridge and cook with fire until the rice is cooked. After rice porridge is cooked and dishes are cooked, it must be served in containers to facilitate eating. At that time, Hunan food containers were not only complete in variety, but also exquisite and elegant. As far as materials are concerned, it mainly includes pottery, bronze, iron, lacquer and so on. Although these food containers have appeared since the Shang Dynasty, their shapes have their own characteristics in Hunan. In particular, thousands of lacquerware unearthed from Chu tombs in Changsha, Hunan, have beautiful shapes, bright colors and smooth patterns.

Qin and Han Dynasties

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Hunan's food culture gradually formed a relatively complete system in terms of materials, cooking methods and flavor styles, with its abundant raw materials, colorful cooking methods and delicious flavor. ? 1972? It can be seen from the burial legacy unearthed from the tomb of Xin Zhui, the wife of a soft marquis in Mawangdui, Changsha City, Hunan Province, that in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,111 years ago, there were nearly 111 kinds of fine dishes and delicious dishes in Hunan. There are 24 species in 5 categories in meat soup alone. The one cooked with pure meat is called Taitang, which is the best soup. There are 9 kinds, all of which are thick soup. Clear soup cooked by stewing method is called white soup, which includes seven kinds: beef white soup, venison taro white soup, fresh mandarin fish lotus root abalone white soup, etc. The meat soup cooked with celery is called middle soup, and there are three kinds of soup: dog towel soup, goose towel soup and crucian carp and lotus root soup. The meat soup cooked with Artemisia is called every soup, including beef every soup, sheep every soup and tapir every soup; There are two kinds of meat soup cooked with bitter vegetables: dog soup and cow soup. There are also 72 kinds of food. For example, "fish skin" is the meat cut from the belly of raw fish; "Cattle fat" and "deer fat" are foods made by cutting raw meat into filaments; "Boiled rabbit" and "boiled quail" are dry-fried rabbits or quails.

Western Han Dynasty

It can be seen from the unearthed strategies of the Western Han Dynasty that the cooking methods in Hunan's food life in the Han Dynasty have further developed compared with those in the Warring States Period, and developed into many kinds, such as soup, roasting, frying, boiling, steaming, boiling, preserved, preserved, preserved, preserved, canned, fermented, steamed and so on. Seasonings used in cooking include salt, sauce, black beans, koji, sugar, honey, leek, plum, cinnamon, pepper and cornus. Because Hunan is rich in natural products, it is known as the "land of plenty", so since the Tang and Song Dynasties, especially during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the development of Hunan's food culture has become more perfect, and gradually formed a distinctive Hunan cuisine among the eight major cuisines in China.

2. Characteristics of Hunan cuisine

Cuisine in Xiangjiang River Basin

Changsha, Hengyang and Xiangtan are the main representatives of Hunan cuisine. It has fine production, extensive materials, varied tastes and various varieties. Its characteristics are: strong oil color, emphasis on practical benefits, and emphasis on sour and spicy taste, fragrant and fresh, soft and tender. In the preparation method, it is known as simmering, stewing, waxing, steaming and frying. Simmer and stew pay attention to cooking with low fire, simmer with thick juice and stew with clear soup like a mirror; The method of making bacon includes smoking, marinating and barbecued pork. The famous Hunan bacon is a smoked product, which can be served as cold dish, hot fried or steamed with high-quality original soup. Stir-frying is fresh, tender, fragrant and spicy, which is well known in the market. The famous representative dishes are: "Steamed Sea Cucumber in Pot", "Steamed Bacon",? "Braised pork with fried lobster sauce" and "spicy chicken" are all famous dishes.

The dishes in Dongting Lake area

are good at cooking seafood, poultry and family sayings, and are often cooked by stewing, roasting, steaming and waxing, which is characterized by being thick, salty, spicy and soft. Stews are often served in hot pot, while folks use steaming bowls to stew on mud stoves, commonly known as steaming bowls stoves. It is often cooked while eating, and it is hot and tender, with relish. There is a folk song in the local area that "I don't want to go to the DPRK, just steam the pot and the stove", which fully shows that the stew is widely loved by the people. Representative dishes are: "Golden Scarlet in Dongting", "Braised mandarin fish in Dongting with barbecued pork in net oil", "Butterflies floating in the sea" and? "Rock sugar Xianglian" and so on are well-known dishes in Dongting Lake area.

the dishes in the mountainous areas of western Hunan

are good at making delicacies, smoked bacon and all kinds of cured meat, with a strong mountain flavor, which focuses on salty, sweet and sour tastes, and often uses firewood as fuel. Representative dishes are: braised cold bacteria, boiled chestnut heart, Xiangxi sour meat and fried blood duck, all of which are well-known delicacies in Xiangxi.

Looking at Hunan cuisine

* * The same flavor is spicy food and preserved food. Chaotian pepper, which is famous for its strong spicy taste, is produced all over the province and is the main raw material for making spicy dishes. The production of bacon has a long history, which has been handed down in China for more than two thousand years. The cuisines in the three regions have their own characteristics, but they are not completely different. Instead, they share similarities and differences, see similarities in differences, depend on each other and communicate with each other. Looking at the whole picture, the knife work is exquisite, the shape and taste are beautiful, the seasoning is changeable, the sour and spicy are famous, the original juice is emphasized, and the techniques are diverse, especially the simmering. With the progress of the times and the development of the national economy, Hunan cuisine, a wonderful flower, will bloom more brightly.

3. The development of Hunan cuisine

Hunan cuisine with a history of more than 2,111 years, after being immersed in the rich Hunan culture, has been boldly innovated while inheriting the advantages of Hunan cuisine, and has won the favor of people all over the country and even the world. The influence of Hunan cuisine in the country has been increasing year by year, and its contribution to the economy of our province has also been increasing. As a land of plenty, Hunan has an innate resource advantage in the development of Hunan cuisine industry. The development of Hunan cuisine industry will inevitably drive the development of agricultural and sideline products, promote the development of food processing industry, and promote the development of Hunan cuisine catering industry in the direction of modernization, branding and industrial chain.

among the industries based on agricultural resources, the one with the widest coverage and the strongest driving force, I think the catering industry is the first one. The main body of Hunan catering industry is Hunan cuisine industry. In 2116, the retail sales of Hunan cuisine enterprises in Changsha reached 11 billion yuan, accounting for 85.9% of the city's catering retail sales. Hunan cuisine industry is at the key point where it is urgent to improve quality and speed up, so it needs to seize the opportunity and take more effective measures to promote its own optimization and upgrading.

the most important thing is to build a large-scale catering "aircraft carrier" that can lead the trend of Hunan cuisine and support external development, and enhance the overall competitiveness of Hunan cuisine industry. Not long ago, Hunan Huatian Hotel Co., Ltd., as the main sponsor, jointly established Huatian Hunan Cuisine Co., Ltd. with 111 well-known units and natural persons such as Daronghe, Xiangxi Tribe, Yihua Aquatic Products, Paipai Food and Hunan Cuisine Industry Promotion Association. This is a milestone in the development of Hunan Cuisine industry, but it is also the first step of the long March, and there are still many specific things to be done in the future.

Secondly, we should focus on promoting the innovation of Hunan cuisine industry. Introduce modern enterprise system, gradually formulate and improve various processing, service and management standards, constantly improve the standardization level of Hunan cuisine catering and promote management innovation; Do a good job in the development and management of high-grade, characteristic, high-quality dishes (points), flavor dishes (points) and folk dishes (points), speed up the industrialization process of catering food, develop Hunan-style cooked food, and promote food innovation; Adapt to diversified consumption needs, develop community services and customized services, develop green restaurants, theme restaurants and catering supermarkets, and promote business innovation.

Thirdly, efforts should be made to optimize the development environment of Hunan cuisine industry. Optimize industrial policies, incorporate the development of catering industry into the overall plan of economic and social development, and formulate development goals, policies, regulations and preferential measures. Improve the service system, strengthen the service functions of departments and reduce administrative intervention. Strengthen the construction of catering culture, guide the catering industry to run enterprises with advanced cultural concepts, and enhance cultural taste. Attach importance to talent cultivation, reform vocational skills education and so on.