The Chinese province known for its sour and spicy cuisine is Hunan. Hunan cuisine, also called Xiang cuisine, is celebrated for bold chili heat, fresh ingredients, deep color, and strong aromas.
Hunan's food is not defined by chili alone. Western Hunan cooking, influenced in part by local ethnic traditions, is especially associated with sour, spicy, and salty flavors. Pickled vegetables, preserved meats, garlic, shallots, and fresh chilies are common ingredients. Stewing, frying, braising, smoking, and pot-roasting are among the region's traditional techniques.
Hunan cuisine is often confused with Sichuan cuisine because both can be intensely spicy. The difference is that Sichuan cooking is famous for málà, the combination of chili heat and the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns. Hunan dishes more often emphasize direct chili heat and fresh, aromatic ingredients, with preserved and smoked foods also playing an important role.
Chili peppers entered local Hunan records in 1684, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. Today, dishes such as farmer-style stir-fried pork and steamed fish head with chopped chilies represent the cuisine's characteristic intensity.