Central China's Hunan Province on Friday clarified criteria for the making of some classic and local Hunan dishes, in a bid to preserve local food culture for future generations.
This is the second set of provincial standards on Hunan cuisine. In 2013, the quality supervision bureau in Hunan published required standards for popular Hunan dishes including capsicum fried meat, steamed fish head with chopped hot chili, and Mao's braised pork.
The new standards specify cooking skills, ingredients, as well as cooking utensils for dishes in two major categories - classic Hunan cuisine and local specialties.
Classic cuisine refers to dishes that have a long history but are rarely seen in restaurants as they involve complicated cooking processes, while local specialties are popular dishes specific to a certain region.
"Classic dishes can best represent the cooking skills and flavors of Hunan cuisine, and the cooking methods of half of the classic dishes in this set of standards were almost lost," said Yang Daiming, the editor-in-chief.
The new standards also set requirements on hygienic standard, cutting techniques, delivery and final presentation of the dishes, according to Jiang Tao, deputy chief of Hunan quality supervision bureau.
Hunan food, known for its spicy flavors, is among the eight great cuisines in China. Commonly referred to as Xiang cuisine, it has won the hearts of gourmets home and abroad.
