About Hunan China

Hunan Province, situated in the South-Central region of China, is an important communications center due to its position on the Yangzi River. It was first noted in Chinese history around 350 BC. The legacy of Hunanese spicy cooking dates back to the 17th century.

Over the years, Hunan became a major rice-producing area. Hunan consistently ranks first nationally, in rice imports and exports. As a derivative product of rice — rice noodles (Mǐfěn 米粉) is a famous and popular dish in Hunan.

Hunanese food, also known as Xiang cuisine, is one of the eight mainstream traditional Chinese cuisines and is known for its spicy and hot flavors. Chili peppers are commonly used in Hunan cuisine, as well as garlic, ginger, and shallots. The many different tastes of Hunan food partly stem the wide variety of agriculture products and its humid climate. Chinese people believe the extra heat [Yang] of chili peppers balances out the excessive cold and wet [Yin].

Hunanese food is actually spicier and hotter than Sichuan food, and it is extremely tasty due to the use of soy sauce, vinegar, and the chili peppers — stimulating the taste buds.

Another notable feature of Hunanese food includes its use of vegetables. Hunanese, like to sauté vegetables with some oil to preserve the vitamins in food and keep the vegetables crunchy. A refreshing vegetable salad is usually served as an appetizer.

In Silky Kitchen, we insist to serve our food in its most authentic form. We make every endeavor to preserve the most original flavors. We hope to introduce the world to this unique traditional cuisine of our hometown: Rice noodle with toppings (盖码粉 Gaima Mi Fen).