The origin of Hunan cuisine can be traced back to the Warring States Period in the history of China. At that time, Hunan was called "Nanman". During the Warring States period, the main residents of Hunan were Chu people and Yue people. At that time, due to the influence of climate and geographical environment, diet formed different characteristics from the Central Plains, and these characteristics have been passed down to the Han Dynasty.

It can be seen from Songs of the South: Evocation that the main food sources in Hunan at that time were rice, millet, pipes, wild waterfowl, wild ducks, geese, swans, soft-shelled turtles and so on. Cooking skills mainly include 65,438+00 kinds of roasting, roasting, frying, boiling, steaming, stewing, vinegar, halogen and sauce. There is a cloud in the Interpretation of Chu Ci: "Great suffering, black beans." Douchi, a folk condiment in Hunan for two thousand years; Up to now, the lobster sauce produced in Liuyang is still famous all over the country.

By the Han Dynasty, the local style of Hunan cuisine had become very prominent. The diet at that time was recorded in the bamboo slips "Diet List" unearthed from the Western Han Tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha. There are nearly 100 kinds of exquisite dishes in the food list, among which there are 24 kinds of internal soup in 5 categories and 72 kinds of delicious food, such as fish skin, beef loin, deer parallel, braised chicken and so on. At this time, the cooking methods of Hunan cuisine have also developed to 16, such as soup, roasting, frying, boiling, steaming, sliding, embryo, preserved, fried and fermented. The main condiments are salt, sauce, lobster sauce, distiller's yeast, sugar, honey, leek, plum and cinnamon. At this time, there are also many unique sauerkraut, and there are 10 kinds of medlar and sour soup in the food list.

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, China's feudal society had entered a mature stage, and the food culture at this time was deliberately innovated in form, and Hunan cuisine was no exception. The strong, fragrant and light style has been established. Formally, in order to completely retain the natural form of raw materials, the dishes are not modified a lot, that is to say. A fish symbolizes "surplus" every year, and if there is osmanthus fish, it also represents "wealth", and chickens replace phoenixes. Take deer as "Lu", sheep as "auspiciousness" and turtle crane as a symbol of longevity. At this time, the menu of Hunan cuisine has been classified according to birthdays, weddings, funerals and promotions. , still in use today.