A Changsha signature of rat snake chopped into segments and braised with masses of red chili and whole garlic cloves — fresh, fragrant and fiercely hot.
A Changsha night-food signature, part of the local kouwei family of dishes whose name simply means tasty in the city's speech. It is documented to Ningxiang county: the Hunan-cuisine master Hu Jianming, born in 1958, opened a small restaurant in Dachengqiao in 1991 and began selling snake in 1993; the provincial cooking association certified him in 1999 as founder of Ningxiang spicy snake, and snake-eating swept Changsha after the mid-1990s.
The flesh is firm and springy with a slight chew, pulling apart in fibres and coming clean off the bone. Fresh and fragrant first, then the heat builds and turns intense; the whole garlic cloves, braised soft alongside, run all through it. It makes you gasp at the chili yet reach for more.
Snake is lean and high in protein, dense muscle with little fat, which is why the meat stays firm and springy. It is first set either by a brief blanch or by dry-frying until it stiffens and colours, with cooking wine splashed in to cut any earthy note. The cooking rule is restraint: it should be braised only to about seventy percent doneness, so it keeps a little chew and pulls apart in fibres rather than going soft. Whole garlic cloves are a defining aromatic, braised soft alongside the meat; the chili paste is fried until its red oil breaks out before the snake goes back in.
Variations
It is made both braised and flash stir-fried, with an extra-chili version and a dry-pot style as well; a beer-braised variant simmers the snake in enough beer to cover. Some Hunan cooks finish snake with a scatter of perilla to lift any earthy note, perilla being a regional staple for de-fishing aquatic and gamey meats, though it is not in the classic recipe. It should not be confused with Zilong Sheds His Robe, a separate Hunan dish of finely stir-fried eel.
On the Palate
Where Hunan Spicy Snake sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 20 min
- 15 min
Have the cleaned snake chopped into segments about six to seven centimetres long.
- 28 min
Either blanch the segments in boiling water briefly, or dry-fry them in a little oil until they stiffen and colour, splashing in cooking wine; set aside.
- 34 min
In tea-seed oil, fry the whole garlic cloves, dried chilies, ginger, star anise, cassia and bay leaf until fragrant.
- 42 min
Add the chili paste and stir until the red oil breaks out.
Watch outFry the chili paste until the red oil breaks out and floats — that separated red oil is the sign the paste is cooked and ready for the meat.
- 52 min
Return the snake and stir-fry hard over high heat to coat every piece; season with soy.
- 625 min
Pour in enough stock or beer to cover, bring to a boil, then braise over medium-low heat to about seventy percent done.
Watch outBraise only to about seventy percent done — snake is lean and firm, and cooked all the way it loses its springy chew and pulls apart mushy.
- 74 min
Add the fresh red chilies, adjust the salt, and reduce hard over high heat until the sauce clings; finish with sesame oil.
Watch outReduce hard over high heat until the sauce clings tight to the meat — a clinging glaze, not a watery pool, is how it should finish.
