Hulu head, a traditional specialty snack in Xi'an, Shaanxi. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info originated from the "fried white sausage" in the food of the Northern Song Dynasty market. Because the fat of the pig's large intestine is thicker and the shape is like a gourd, it is called a gourd head. The basic raw materials of the gourd head are the large intestine and pork belly.

When eating, the customer first breaks the bun into pieces, and then the chef arranges the pork intestines, chicken, sea cucumber, squid, etc. on the broken buns, soak them in the original broth with boiled bones three or four times, and then add cooked lard and green vegetables. When eating, it is accompanied by sweet garlic, spicy sauce, etc., which is fragrant and tender, fat but not greasy. According to legend, Sun Simiao, a famous medical scientist in the Tang Dynasty, taught the owner of a restaurant in Chang'an how to cook pork intestines, and gave a medicinal gourd to the owner for seasoning. The shopkeeper improved the production method according to Sun Simiao's instructions, and Chang'an's "gourd head" has been famous since then, and it has been passed down for thousands of years.

In the 30s of the 20th century, the gourd head has developed from meat to many varieties including seafood, and the pork gourd head has also undergone some changes in the materials, such as adding bones and chicken to the soup, making the soup taste more mellow, improving the quality, and becoming a flavor snack in autumn and winter.

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The gourd head has a long history. It was the first food in the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and it is still a famous flavor food in Xi'an. As early as the Tang Dynasty, in the capital of Chang'an and now Xi'an, there was a kind of food called "fried white sausage" for sale, which was made with pork intestines, and there were few eaters. According to legend, his ancestral home is Jingzhao Huayuan, now the famous doctor of the Tang Dynasty in Yaozhou District, Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, Sun Simiao, known as the King of Medicine, his medical attainments are very high, there are many medical monographs, and he is very researched on diet and medical treatment, among which "Qianjin Food Treatment" is his dietary therapy monograph.

One day, he occasionally ate "fried white sausage" in a small shop specializing in pork offal in Chang'an, Kyoto, and just took a few bites of the bowl, he felt that there was a fishy smell straight to the end of his nose, and his mouth was greasy, which was very unpleasant. Sun Simiao said to the shopkeeper: "The intestines belong to gold, and gold gives birth to water, so it has the function of lowering fire and quenching thirst." The belly belongs to the soil, centered, and is the foundation of nourishing qi and nourishing the body. Although the thing is good, it is in vain if it is not properly modulated. ”

So, he took out Xida incense, Shangyuan gui, Hanyin pepper and other aromatic and stomach-strengthening medicines that can relieve the smell and get rid of greasy from the medicinal gourd he carried with him, and gave them to the shopkeeper together with the medicinal gourd. The shopkeeper put these spices and medicines in the pot, and sure enough, the aroma overflowed, and the flavor increased greatly. Since then, this small shop has been prosperous and prosperous. The shopkeeper did not forget the grace of the medical saint's guidance, hung the medicine gourd on the door, and renamed the "fried white sausage" sold as "gourd head".

The gourd head is characterized by white and shiny buns, soft and smooth and tough, tender meat and fresh soup, fat but not greasy, mellow and fragrant. It is even more refreshing when eaten with kimchi. The gourd head is characterized by a thick and mellow soup, fragrant and delicious oil, suitable for both young and old, which is a delicacy and a superior tonic.

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The cake used in the gourd head steamed bun is slightly different from the mutton steamed bun, the texture is a little softer, and the broken pieces are relatively larger; Then the chef will place the obliquely cut large intestine, pork and chicken on the steamed bun in the big wrist, add an appropriate amount of vermicelli, and pour it three or four times with boiling soup, a bit like the technique of mutton soaking buns, so that the hot soup penetrates the buns; Then add an appropriate amount of cooked lard, seasoning water, monosodium glutamate, coriander, garlic sprouts, oil and spicy seeds, and finally pour an appropriate amount of boiling soup.

When eating, use sweet garlic, kimchi, spicy sauce, etc. to make a fragrant taste, which is refreshing and delicious. The soup is to wash and break the pork bones, boil them in the soup pot with fat hens, skim off the foam, put them in the seasoning bag, and boil them until they are milky white. The gourd head steamed bun in spring is broken into the size of the steamed bun into a bowl by the eater, and then the chef will soak the intestine belly cut into a knife-shaped shape three or four times to make the hot soup penetrate the steamed bun, and then add a small amount of cooked oil, seasoning water, monosodium glutamate, coriander, garlic sprouts, oil and spicy seeds, and finally pour an appropriate amount of boiling soup. When eating, it is accompanied by sweet garlic and kimchi, which is refreshing and sharp, which makes people have a great appetite.

Around 1935, after Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army was transferred to Xi'an, the soldiers were not adapted to the water and soil, and the diet was different, and the number of diseases such as diarrhea, colds, backache and leg pain increased from time to time. Later, the sick soldiers did not want to eat the "big pot rice" in the barracks, and when they went to the "spring season" to eat the gourd head to open the taste, they suddenly felt refreshed after eating, their appetite increased greatly, and they were cured of diarrhea and colds.

In fact, there is a dietary therapy theory of traditional Chinese medicine of "supplementing the viscera with the viscera". After General Zhang Xueliang found out about this, he ordered the barracks cook to imitate the "gourd head steamed bun" and list it as a "sick rice". However, the gourd head made in the barracks is neither delicious nor curative. Later, the military department researched and distributed 20 copies of the "sick rice" brand every day, and notified the "spring occurrence" steamed bun restaurant to give priority to it.

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After hundreds of years of development and innovation, the spring gourd head has been recognized as a "famous Chinese snack". Shaanxi people all know that "spring gourd head steamed buns", there are imitation shops with Chinese characteristics all over the country, what "spring comes again", "another life", "spring comes" and so on. However, if there are friends from other places who want to eat gourd heads, it is recommended to go to the most authentic Nanyuan Menchun gourd head store. The modern gourd head steamed bun was developed on the basis of the "gourd head" of the Tang Dynasty.

The modern gourd head steamed bun has developed from a single variety to four types: sea cucumber gourd head, squid gourd head, chicken slice gourd head, and large meat gourd head. There are many innovative varieties of gourd head, seafood, squid, chicken slices, pork, special, double treasure, casserole, hot pot gourd head, etc., on the basis of the original new development of casserole gourd head, hot pot gourd head, forming a set of gourd head series varieties. The people of Xi'an praised the delicacy of the gourd head and said: "When the gourd head is lifted, the corners of the mouth salivate." ”

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In 1923, the small shopkeeper of the original pork shop, He Leyi, also took on the responsibility of operating the pig offal, in order to gain a competitive advantage, he was determined to improve on the basis of the "gourd head" in the Tang Dynasty, and in the large intestine head with pork belly, white meat, chicken, bone broth and other fine workmanship, cooked belly, intestines rotten, fat and tender, delicious, seasoning to spicy, fat but not greasy, refreshing and delicious, business is very prosperous.

The production of gourd head should be made of fresh intestines and belly, after rice, picking, scraping, turning, picking, bleaching, boiling, drying, etc., and properly processed by physical methods, the mucus and dirt attached to the intestinal wall should be taken out, and the greasy and fishy smell should be removed, so that the intestines and stomachs should be white and bright, and then boiled in the gourd, and then boiled in the gourd, and cooled out of the pot after cooking, and cut into a slope knife shape for later use.

Connoisseurs believe that the gourd head is not about the meat but about the soup, so the method of making soup is very particular. First wash and smash the fresh pork bones, stew them in a pot, skim off the foam, then add white chicken and pork, add salt and seasoning packets, that is, the eight treasures condiments prepared by the legend Sun Simiao, continue to boil over low heat until the soup is thick and white like milk. The seafood gourd head is made by adding human seafood to the large meat gourd head, such as shrimp meat, shredded squid, sea cucumber, etc.