湖南冷知识② | 为什么这个“鱼米之乡”偏要这么辣？

湖南日报·新湖南客户端 2025-07-23 13:50:04

Hunan's Little-Known Facts ② | Why is this "land of fish and rice" so spicy?

洞庭湖鱼虾丰美，湘江流域稻浪翻滚。湖南人有了这么多“好鱼”、“香米”，怎么“下饭”才好？

The fish and shrimp in Dongting Lake are abundant, and the rice fields in the Xiangjiang River Basin are lush with waves. With so many "good fish" and "fragrant rice" in Hunan, how can one "fill the stomach" properly?

这可离不开一种特殊配料——“穷人盐巴”。据记载，清朝时盐价很贵，穷人难以担负。恰好湖南丘陵山地多，辣椒“野蛮生长”，便成了再合适不过的“盐巴平替”。

This can't be done without a special ingredient - called "poor people's salt". According to records, during the Qing Dynasty, salt was very expensive and the poor couldn't afford it. Fortunately, Hunan has many hills and mountains, and chili peppers "grew wildly" there, making them an ideal "substitute for salt".

更妙的是，湖南夏天潮湿闷热，辣椒体内的辣椒素正是“对抗”湿气的关键所在。

What's more, Hunan is humid and hot in summer, and the capsaicin in chili peppers is precisely the key to "fighting off" the humidity.

鱼米的丰饶给湖南人从容生活的底气，而辣椒的热烈则刻进了湖南人的性格里。

The abundance of fish and rice gives Hunan people the confidence to live calmly, while the passion of chili peppers is deeply engraved in the character of Hunan people.

策划丨秦慧英黄思婷

文字丨雷田甜黄思婷

视频丨雷田甜

责编：黄思婷

一审：黄思婷

二审：冯宇轩

三审：冒蕞

来源：湖南日报·新湖南客户端

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