Stir-fried pork with chili peppers is a Hunan home dish: pork, fresh chilies, and a heat that does not hide. At a conference in Changsha from September 19 to 20, 120 cooks used more than 120 kinds of chili peppers to make 120 plates of it. Nearly 1,000 people had come to talk about taking that taste farther from home.
Hunan cuisine, also called Xiang cuisine, has long been known for being fiery and tied to one place. Officials now say that picture is changing. Hunan's commerce department told the meeting that nearly 2,000 Hunan restaurants operate overseas, in more than 60 countries and regions. The figure is an industry count released at the event, not a door-to-door check of every shop.
For years, many of those tables were filled by Chinese diners living far from home. A plate of chili-fried pork was a way to eat as they did in Hunan. Organizers say the crowd is widening. More local customers, not only overseas Chinese, are walking in.
Nine Hunan chefs working in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia cooked side by side and compared notes. Nearly 200 people from the trade discussed what diners abroad actually want, how to keep the food recognizable, and how Hunan ingredients might travel with the restaurants.
The heat is still the point. What once kept Hunan food inside one province is now the reason people can find it. In more than 60 countries, that sharp chili plate is becoming a small map of home. It is also, more and more, a taste that belongs to more than one kitchen.