Mao Zedong at the table

In Mao's native Hunan, the meal is not divided into starter-main-dessert but is organized around a large bowl of white rice (the nourishing foundation) surrounded by several small shared dishes placed in the center: a braised meat dish, quick-stir-fried vegetables, a very spicy fermented condiment, and a clear soup served at the end of the meal to 'wash down' the rice. One picks at the dishes in turn with chopsticks, each bite alternating the neutral (rice) with the powerful (fatty meat or chili). Tea accompanies and concludes the meal.

Hunan claims the taste 'la' (burning and fragrant) even more than Sichuan. Fresh chili, dried chili, and especially doubanjiang (fermented broad bean and chili paste) mark almost every dish. Mao made it a regional pride: he liked to say that without chili one could not be a true revolutionary. Chili, which arrived in China in the 16th century, is perfectly period here.