Palace defeated the Canaries with a comprehensive display despite having a depleted squad, with Hughes playing a central role from the first kick.
The midfielder made his mark on the game by earning his second assist in club colours when he won a penalty for Odsonne Edouard to convert in the eighth minute.
He then continued to cause trouble for Norwich by orchestrating the game from midfield and setting up his attacking teammates routinely.
Speaking post-match, Hughes said: “I don’t think we started great in terms of intensity but I think that settled everyone down, the 1-0 lead. And I think we built from there.
“When you’re 3-0 up at half-time it’s about managing the game. You don’t want to give them a sniff to get back into it because in the Premier League if a team gets a goal they can get back into it. So we managed it well, slowed it down and still created chances at the same time.”
He beat Edouard to scoop the Man of the Match award, with Hughes earning 55% of the vote compared to the Frenchman's 29.5%.