Principles for making Hunan cuisine: spicy dishes with plenty of sauce, plenty of containers, clever insulation, 80% local seasonings, soy sauce, multiple times of cooking, careful preparation of ingredients, and quick delivery.

1. Spicy dishes are rich in sauce and full of flavor

When it comes to spicy food, I have to say Sichuan cuisine, spicy and dry flavor is enough to sum it up. The spiciness of Hunan cuisine is different from this. The numbness is reduced and the sauce is rich. It is spicy with a thick salty aroma. This taste has been accepted by various cuisines, and with slight modifications, it can be adapted to the local market.

2. There are many containers and clever insulation

Most Hunan dishes can be divided into multiple series according to the containers, such as dry pot series, iron plate series, clay pot series, casserole series, etc. Just looking at the containers, you can tell that Hunan Kitchen pays great attention to maintaining the temperature of the dishes. Most of the dishes' utensils are served heated by a fire, which not only enlivens the atmosphere but also ensures the temperature of the dishes. In addition to using containers to keep warm, Hunan cuisine also has many soup dishes. For example, when making baby cabbage, broth is used. The soup is rich and naturally plays a certain role in keeping warm.

3. Local seasonings account for 80%

When entering the Hunan cuisine kitchen, unlike other cuisines, there are a variety of seasonings on the stove, at least there are more than 20 kinds, among which local seasonings are the most popular. Lord. Liuyang's fermented beans, Chaling's garlic, Xiangtan's soy sauce, Shuangfeng's hot sauce, Changsha's Yuhe vinegar, Liuyang River's Xiaoqu, Liling's old ginger, Lameizi chili sauce, etc. The use of seasonings is enough to highlight the personality of Hunan cuisine. .

At the same time, you will also find the shadow of Cantonese seasonings. Soy sauce, XO sauce, oyster sauce, pork ribs sauce, etc. have completely penetrated into Hunan cuisine and deeply influenced it. Hunan cuisine uses a lot of seasonings, which is one of the reasons why its dishes have a rich and complex flavor.

4. Use soy sauce and add it multiple times

The soy sauce used by Hunan Kitchen is very unique and very particular. It is not like some chefs who just pour a spoonful of soy sauce when cooking. Xiangchu uses soy sauce to add to dishes in multiple batches, and each time the quantity, function, and type of soy sauce are different. For example, Hunan stir-fried pork only uses three seasonings: salt, monosodium glutamate, and soy sauce. The use of soy sauce to get the authentic taste of Hunan cuisine is all in it.

5. Prepare ingredients carefully and serve quickly

One of the characteristics of Hunan cuisine is that it is served very quickly. The reason is that the preparation is done well. Many foreign chefs go to Hunan to study and find that Hunan Kitchen is very simple when cooking. It is such a simple process to take out a pot, grab a handful of ingredients, scoop out a spoonful of seasoning, and turn the pot to serve. However, the dishes produced are unique.

Don’t underestimate a handful of ingredients and a spoonful of seasoning, there is a lot in it. The ingredients and seasonings are all pre-processed, such as fried garlic, soaked in ginger water, stir-fried minced meat, homemade spicy oil, etc. Each one is carefully made and plays a decisive role in the taste of the dishes.