Fuchsia Dunlop, who has written definitive books on both Sichuan and Hunan cooking, articulates the essential distinction: both are fiery Chinese cuisines but they are fiery in categorically different ways. Sichuan combines ma (numbing, from Sichuan peppercorn) with la (hot, from chilli) — the numbing modulates the heat. Hunan uses chilli heat alone — without the numbing. The result: Hunan food can be perceived as hotter than Sichuan food of the same chilli quantity because there is no ma to modify the sensation.
- **Hunan's chilli:** Fresh chilli (not dried) is used more frequently in Hunan than in Sichuan — stir-fried, chopped, or preserved. The fresh green chilli is the Hunan signature. - **Smoked ingredients:** Hunan uses more smoked meats (la rou — Chinese-style smoked bacon) than Sichuan — the smokiness is a defining flavour dimension unique to Hunan. - **Hunan preserved chilli:** Duo la jiao — chopped fresh chilli preserved in salt. Used in the famous Mao's red braised pork preparation (Mao Zedong's hometown preparation). - **The sour dimension:** Hunan uses sour more aggressively than Sichuan — sour preserved vegetables (suan cai) appear in preparations where Sichuan would use the pickled-chilli sourness of yu xiang.
Dunlop