Hunan cuisine, also known as Xiangcuisine, consists of the cuisines of the XiangRiver region, Dongting Lake, andwestern Hunan province in China. It is one of the Eight GreatTraditions of Chinese cuisine and is well known for its hot spicy flavor, fresh aromaand deep color. Common cooking techniques include stewing, frying, pot-roasting, braising, and smoking. Due to the high agricultural output of the region,ingredients for Hunan dishes are many and varied.Known forits liberal use of chili peppers, shallots and garlic,Hunan cuisine is known for being dry hot or purely hot, as opposed to Sichuan cuisine, to which it is often compared.Sichuan cuisine is known for its distinctive mala (hot and numbing) seasoningand other complex flavor combinations, frequently employs Sichuan peppercorns along with chilieswhich are often dried, and utilises more dried or preserved ingredients andcondiments. Hunan cuisine, on the other hand, is often spicier by pure chilicontent, contains a larger variety of fresh ingredients, and tends to beoilier. Another characteristic distinguishing Hunan cuisine from Sichuancuisine is that, in general, Hunan cuisine uses smoked and cured goods in itsdishes much more frequently.Another feature of Hunan cuisine is that the menu changes with theseasons. In a hot and humid summer, a meal will usually start with cold dishesor a platter holding a selection of cold meats with chilies for opening thepores and keeping cool in summer. In winter, a popular choice is the hot pot, thought to heat theblood in the cold months. A special hot pot called yuanyang huoguo is notable for splitting the pot intotwo sides - a spicy one and a non-spicy one.
  Some typical Hunan cuisines: Shredded Pork with vegetables; Pearly meatballs; Mao’sbraised Pork; Mala chicken; Bear duck; Pumpkin cake, etc.