Aside from the beautiful scenery and hospitable residents of Central China's Hunan province, the local cuisine, especially the street food, is a great attraction for tourists from home and abroad. Here are several of the more popular and well-known delicacies in Hunan province:

Hunan rice noodles

For residents of Hunan province, a breakfast of rice noodles is the start of a typical morning. There are two types of rice noodles in Hunan, round and flat, served fried or in soup. There are various flavors and toppings: pork ribs, beef, mushrooms and different spices. But be careful, red chili peppers are widely used in Hunan's rice noodle dishes.

Stinky tofu

The black fried tofu most likely tops the list of most well-known Hunan street foods because of its pungency and great taste. Many people who come to Hunan for the first time grab the opportunity to taste this local snack.

It is essentially fermented tofu, which is why it has a strong odor. It is then fried, at which time the tofu turns dark grey or black. Seasoned with red chili peppers and salted radish cubes or other locally made spices, it's served in plastic bowls at street food stands.

A restaurant called Fiery Palace, or Huodong Dian in Mandarin, in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, is widely known for its stinky tofu. Legend has it that Chairman Mao was such a big fan of the restaurant's stinky tofu that he wrote, "Huodong Dian's stinky tofu, smells stinky, tastes great".

Crawfish

This is a popular dish in the summer, when friends would gather and order a large bowl of crawfish with beer. When cooked, kou wei xia, which translates into tasty crawfish, are spicy because of the use of different seasonings, including red chili peppers, bruised ginger and green onions.

Steamed fish head with peppers

A signature dish in Xiang cuisine, steamed fish head with diced red peppers is a favorite among Hunan residents and with most Hunan restaurants scattered across China. With a little vegetable oil, cooking wine and shredded ginger on the fish head as well as a smearing of chopped Hunan chilies over the fish's body, the fish is steamed for about 10 or so minutes. Those who love hot and spicy foods should not miss out on this fiery dish.

huangying@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/07/2015 page10)