苏说文化八大菜系之中国湘菜（英文版）

Hunan cuisine, also called Xiang cuisine, is one of the eight cuisines in China, which is not only popular in China, but also welcomed abroad, such as the United States, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Hunan cuisine has an aromatic and spicy flavor as pepper is the most important condiment. Its representative dishes include Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili, Tasty Lobster, Changsha Stinky Tofu, Hunan Rice Noodles, etc.

湖南菜，又称湘菜，是中国八大菜系之一。湘菜不仅深受中国人喜爱，在海外也很受欢迎，如美国、欧洲、日本和东南亚。湘菜最大的特色是香辣，这是因为辣椒是其主要调味品。代表菜有剁椒鱼头、香辣小龙虾、长沙臭豆腐、湖南米粉等。

Hunan Cuisine’s history is pretty long and is not shorter than other cuisines. It may be originated from the banquet after the worship ceremony in ancient Shu State in Eastern Zhou Dynasty. By late Warring States Period, the ingredients and cooking methods had been quite mature. Up to Western Han Dynasty, there had been a variety of dishes in Hunan, and Hunan food formed its own characteristics in materials, cooking methods and flavors. In Tang Dynasty, Hunan Cuisine dishes were quite rich and different Hunan food was cooked for different occasions, like those for birthday, wedding, funeral and promotion. It welcomed its golden age in Ming and Qing Dynasties. As the pepper was introduced into China, the spicy flavor of Hunan Cuisine was confirmed. Meanwhile, advertised unconsciously by Hunan chefs and celebrities it became more and more popular.

湘菜历史悠久，不比其他菜系短。它可能起源于东周古蜀国祭祀仪式后的宫廷宴席。战国晚期，食材和烹调方法已经相当成熟。西汉时期，湘菜种类繁多，在用料、烹调方法、风味等方面已经形成了自己的特色。唐代，湘菜已经相当丰富，不同的湘菜出现在不同的场合，如寿宴、婚宴、丧宴和烧尾宴等。明清时，湘菜达到鼎盛。随着辣椒被引入中国，湘菜的辛辣特色得以定型。同时，湖南厨师和名士无意识的宣传，让湘菜变得越来越受欢迎。

Hunan Cuisine dishes have a general flavor of spicy, in particular aromatic and spicy and sour and spicy, which are their well-known flavors. The raw materials are well matched, so that different tastes of ingredients influence each other to achieve a perfect flavor of a whole dish. These foods are usually cooked with more oil and appear to be darker compared with other cuisines.

湘菜大都有辣味，特别是香辣和酸辣，最具代表性。食材的合理搭配，让不同的味道相互渗透，进而形成完整的独特风味。和其他菜系相比，湘菜色泽上油重色浓。

In Hunan cuisine recipes, the ingredients cover a wide range of products, from plants, to land animals and seafood. People in Hunan like pickled vegetables and salted meat, which are also widely used as ingredients.

在湘菜菜谱中，配料涵盖了从植物到陆生动物和海鲜的各种产品。湖南人喜欢泡菜和腊肉，它们也被广泛地用作食材。

Hunan people love chili very much, and most Hunan Cuisine recipes include chili, either dried one or fresh one. They also invent a great variety of methods to cook chili with different flavors, for example, sour and spicy taste by fermenting chili in pickle jars; numb and spicy taste by cooking chili with Sichuan pepper and garlics. Fermented soya bean, tasting a little bitter, is another important condiment in Hunan Cuisine. The fermented soya bean produced in Liuyang is the famous local specialty. 

湖南人喜欢辣椒，大多数湖南菜都有辣椒，辣椒无论干鲜均可入菜。他们用各种各样的方法，让辣椒呈现出不同口味，例如，以泡菜法发酵而成的酸辣味；加入四川花椒和大蒜的麻辣味。略带苦味的豆豉也是湘菜的一种重要调味品。

Various cooking methods are there for various Hunan cuisine dishes. The most remarkable skill is stewing. There are not a few kinds of stewing: stewing with clear broth, thick broth, milky broth, etc. Stir-frying is also a prominent cooking skill of Hunan cuisine. In addition, braising, curing, steaming, frying and other skills are of equal importance.

不同湘菜都有不同的烹饪方法。最具特色的方法就是煨。煨的种类很多，如清汤煨、浓汤煨和奶汤煨。炒也是湘菜的一项突出烹饪技巧。此外，炖、煲、蒸、炸等也同样重要。