Chinese cuisine is one of the most popular and well-known cuisines globally. It has been around for thousands of years and is still being practiced today. Chinese food culture is not only about making delicious dishes, but it is also about respecting those who prepare them.
Chinese food culture dates back to over 5,000 years ago, when people discovered fermentation techniques, allowing them to preserve their food for more extended periods. If you’re looking for a new culinary experience, then Chinese cuisine is a great place to start. It is a combination of several cuisines from the numerous regions of China.
These cuisines are greatly influenced by the culture and region they come from. In mainland China, there are eight major regions: Szechuan, Hunan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong, Cantonese, and Jiangsu. Each of these regions has its own unique cooking style with different ingredients and preparation methods.
The Chinese have always believed that food should be prepared with great care. It should be enjoyed by all people regardless of social status or financial situation — In fact, it’s estimated that over 4 billion people enjoy Chinese cuisine around the world! Chinese food is made with various ingredients from all over the world, including herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables.
The main ingredients used in Chinese cooking include rice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger root, onions, and mushrooms, just to name a few! Chinese cuisine uses different cooking methods such as stir-frying, steaming, and boiling to create delicious dishes that are healthy and nutritious at the same time.
Hunan Beef vs Szechuan Beef Origins
Hunan and Szechuan are not just the names of their respective beef dishes. They are actually types of regional cuisines.
Chinese food is made up of eight traditional cuisines that belong to different provinces in China: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang. These eight styles of cuisines are very culturally important to China, and they are considered to be the very best cuisines in China. Most Chinese food in the US is based on one of these eight cuisine types.
While all eight of the traditional cuisines have a distinct style that they are known for, only Hunan and Szechuan are known for their spiciness. This is probably why they are very confusing to Americans since they are both notably spicy Chinese dishes.
Hunan (also known as Xiang) actually originated from more than one region. It is comprised of food from the regions near the Xiang River, Dongting Lake, and the western Hunan Province.
Hunan is known for its heavy use of chili peppers, garlic, and shallots. It has a distinctive hot taste. Chili peppers are so important to Hunan cuisine that they have their own class of flavoring!
The Hunan Province is well known for its rice production and agriculture. It has a subtropical climate that is hot and humid in the summer. Conversely, it is cool and damp in the winter. This makes the Hunan Province an agriculturally rich land and is why Hunan cuisine tends to have a large variety of fresh ingredients.
Szechuan (also known as Szechwan or Sichuan) originated from the Sichuan Province which is located in the southwestern part of China. Szechuan is known for its heavy use of chili peppers, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns. The capital of Sichuan Province is Chengdu, and it was recognized in 2011 by UNESCO as being a city of gastronomy for its highly sophisticated and distinguished food culture.
Szechuan is the most widely served cuisine in China. (The most common style internationally is Cantonese). It has a hot, spicy, and distinctive numbing flavor. This numbing flavor is known as ma la in Chinese which translates to “numbing hot.”
The distinctive numbing flavor comes from the Szechuan peppercorn. While you would think that the Szechuan peppercorn was related to either black pepper or chili pepper, it’s not. In fact, it’s not actually even a pepper!
Szechuan peppercorn is a spice that is made from the husks of the seeds of the prickly ash shrub from the genus Zanthoxylum in China. It is the primary ingredient in Szechuan cuisine and is also one of the ingredients in the popular Chinese five-spice powder.
It is actually the combination of chili peppers with the Szechuan peppercorn that produces the distinct and unique numbing sensation that Szechuan is so famous for. The Szechuan peppercorn has an aroma that is similar to lavender, and it has a citrus like taste.
Szechuan cuisine has seven basic flavors which are hot, sour, pungent, sweet, bitter, salty, and aromatic. This is why Szechuan has a more complicated taste than Hunan cuisine. It has many types of spiciness while Hunan can be seen as a purely hot spicy cuisine.
Hunan Beef vs Szechuan Beef in China vs the US
As with many Chinese dishes, the version served in Chinese restaurants in the US can be vastly different than what would actually be served in China. Here are some of the more notable differences:
Hunan beef in China would actually be Hunan pork. In China, Hunan typically uses pork, beef, and then fish in order of preference. However, the US loves its beef, and over time it has come to dominate many of the dishes served in Chinese restaurants here. China also serves many vegetarian Hunan dishes, because vegetarian tofu-based dishes are much more standard in China. While in the US there might be one or two vegetarian dishes, the standard would definitely be beef, pork, or chicken.
Szechuan beef in China would actually still be Szechuan beef. In China Szechuan typically uses beef, pork, and then rabbit. The Sichuan Province is distinct in that rabbit is more popular there than in any other province in China. Since rabbit has not caught on as a staple restaurant food in the US, the standard would still be beef, pork, and chicken.
A notable difference between Hunan and Szechuan is that Szechuan has fewer fish dishes. This is because the Sichuan Province is landlocked, and so they have less accessibility to fish. Just like in the Hunan cuisine there are many vegetarian tofu-based dishes in Szechuan cuisine due to its popularity in China. The Szechuan beef dishes served in the US are notably much milder versions than their counterparts in China.
Ingredients
Mongolian Beef : is a stir fry of beef and vegetables, typically served over rice noodles. The sauce consists of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar, cornstarch, and water. It doesn’t use bean paste; instead, it uses fresh ingredients and has more vegetables than Hunan beef and Szechuan Beef.
Hunan beef : is typically prepared with garlic, ginger, onions, peppers, and other seasonings to create a flavorful sauce that coats Beef when it cooks. Hunan beef uses chilies that have been dried to give them a smoky flavor and create a powerful heat that lingers on your tongue long after you’ve finished eating it.
Schezwan Beef : has a specific combination of spices used —including peppercorns, chili peppers, Sichuan pepper (which gives food an extra kick), garlic powder or cloves (for flavor), coriander seeds (for aroma), fennel seeds (also for aroma), star anise (for sweetness), cinnamon sticks (for spiciness). Schezwan Beef uses fresh chilies, which are often pickled or fermented before being added to the dish, and other spices that give it an amazing taste.
FAQ
Is Hunan or Szechuan better?
Which is hotter Szechuan or Hunan?