Hubei food is famous for its freshwater fish dishes since almost every fish available in Hubei can be prepared into different dishes. There are all-fish, bream, Mandarin fish, eel, turtle, giant salamander, crab, shrimp, clam, water chestnut, lotus root, wild duck, and preserved – duck – egg dinners.

Hubei cuisine comprises four distinct styles: Wuhan style specializes in soups as well as noodle dishes, such as hot dry noodles. Additionally, Wuhan is famous for its dry pots, which are similar to hot pot but without the soup base. Huangzhou style, which is more oily and tastes more salty than the others.

All of the famous Chinese 'whacky' foods can be found in Hubei, ranging from dog and cat, to snail and frog, to pig's blood and cow's stomach all the way through to the exotic stuff like BBQ scorpion kebabs. Hubei is also famed for it's lotus root "ou" dishes, which you can get in a variety of forms from soups to french fried.