Hunan cuisine shares many commonalities with its close, more well-known
	cousin, Szechwan cooking, both cuisines originate in the Western region
	of China. The climate there is sub-tropical – humid and warm enough to
	encourage the use of fiery spices to help cool the body, and to require
	high spicing of food as a preservative. With similarHunan cuisine climate,
	the two regions also share many ingredients – rice is a major staple in both
	diets, and chili peppers are an important part of most dishes. The two styles
	of regional cuisine are similar enough that many restaurants and cookbooks
	lump them together under ‘Western Chinese cooking’ or simple refer to both
	as Szechwan cuisine.

	There are some important differences, though. Hunan cooking is, for one thing,
	even more fiery than most Szechwan dishes. Szechwan dishes often include
	chili paste for rubbing into meats, or including in sauce. Hunan chefs include
	the entire dried chili pepper, with its intensely spicy seeds and rind.

	The differences in the actual land of the two regions also has an effect on the
	differences in their cuisine. The Szechwan region is mountainous jungle,
	with little arable land for farming. The Hunan region, by contrast, is a land
	of soft rolling hills and slow rivers. Because of its fertile hillocks and valleys,
	the Hunan region has access to an amazing variety of ingredients that aren’t
	available to Szechwan chefs. Seafood and beef are both far more common
	in Hunan cooking, as are many vegetables.

	The land, and the hardships associated with it, also give the Hunan more
	time to concentrate on food. Hunan cooking features complex and time
	-consuming preparation time. Many dishes begin their preparation the
	day before they are to be served, and may be marinated, then steamed
	or smoked, and finally deep-fried or stewed before they reach the table.
	The same attention is paid to the preparation of ingredients, and it is
	said that Hunan cuisine is the most pleasing to the eye of all Chinese
	cuisines. The shape of a food in a particular recipe is nearly as
	important as its presence in the final dish. Hunan chefs are specialists
	with the knife – carving fanciful shapes of vegetables and fruits that will
	be used in preparing meals, or to present them.

	Chinese Hunan CuisineHunan cuisine is noted for its use of chili peppers,
	garlic and shallots, and for the use of sauces to accent the
	flavors in the ingredients of a dish. It is not uncommon for a Hunan dish to
	play on the contrasts of flavors – hot and sour, sweet and sour, sweet and
	hot – pungent, spicy and deliciously sweet all at once. Hunan chefs are
	noted for their ability to create a symphony of taste with their ingredients.
	A classic example is Hunan spicy beef with vegetables, where the beef is
	first marinated overnight in a citrus and ginger mixture, then washed and
	rubbed with chili paste before being simmered in a pungent brown sauce.
	The end result is a meat that is meltingly tender on the tongue and changes
	flavor even as you enjoy it.

	More and more, restaurants are beginning to sort out the two cuisines,
	and Hunan cuisine is coming into its own. Crispy duck and Garlic-Fried
	String Beans are taking their place alongside Kung Pao Chicken and
	Double Cooked Spicy Pork. But there is no battle between the two for
	a place of honor among Chinese Regional cuisines – rather, there are
	only winners – the diners who have the pleasure of sampling both.