You may not believe it, but the first time I was curious about this place in Jingzhou was because of a pot helmet.
What is a pot helmet? It is neither a pot nor a helmet, but a baked pasta, freshly out of the pan and fragrant and crispy, hot and hot.
The first time I ate the pot helmet, it was at a night market in Shenzhen, the owner was a Hubei native, from Jingzhou public security, he said, the best pot helmet in Hubei is in the public security.
At first glance, I thought it was a specialty of the "Public Security Bureau"!
In the night market, the pot helmet he baked was very popular, and the owner was warm and talkative, and there were many repeat customers.
Because of this pot helmet, I have some curiosity about Jingzhou, and its reasons seem to be far-fetched, but it really has nothing to do with "Guan Yu carelessly losing Jingzhou".
In fact, the pot helmet is not unique to Hubei, its figure has appeared in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Anhui and other places. In Xi'an, Linxia and other places I have eaten local pot helmets, but they are really different from Hubei pot helmets, at least in my taste, Hubei pot helmets have preconceived notions.
On the pot helmet, it is really the most delicious public security pot helmet in Hubei.
The name sounds very loud, but it is very low-key. It's neither in palatial star hotels nor in ordinary restaurants, and its "appearance" is simple, as full of earthy flavor as food.
Or in the streets and alleys, or in the market, if you see a large half-man stove and a simple board, it is most likely a stall selling pots and helmets.
This is a wonderful pasta that combines hearth-wall frying, charcoal roasting, and heatwave steaming. Wake up the dough three times or two times, spread wide and elongated, sometimes into begonia leaves, sometimes into the sole of a shoe, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and then put into the hearth of the charcoal roast, after a few minutes can be out of the oven to taste.
Usually, on the street flowing pot helmet stalls, the taste of the pot helmet is mainly sweet and salty, and after baking, you can add chili peppers according to your own taste.
In the fixed stores, the taste of the pot helmet is more abundant, there are fresh meat pot helmet, sugar pot helmet, beef pot helmet, plum pot helmet and other types.
Walking on the streets, the people who eat pot helmets are not divided into north and south, young and old, sometimes fashionable young, there are elderly people, there are walkers on the road, and there are women shopping in pajamas.
With the growing fame of pot helmets in Hubei, some have entered the mall and incarnated into a kind of "net red snack", which is extremely popular. For example, Wuhan Aeon, pot helmets are quite popular.
But on eating pot helmets, it must be the most authentic public security.
Although I have never eaten pot helmets in public security, the pot helmets I eat in Wuhan, Jingzhou and other cities are all under the name of "public security" (there are also "Jingzhou pot helmets"), which shows how famous the public security pot helmets are.
There is also a "public security pot helmet" near my community, and the old lady's craftsmanship is really good, although I can't tell if she is from Wuhan or a public security person, or someone else in Hubei.
Public security has a long history, was founded in 202 BC, when it was called "Xiaoling". During the Three Kingdoms period, because the left general Liu Beitun bing Youjiangkou (the location of the present-day county seat), took the meaning of "left public security camp to set up a village", changed the tomb to "public security", and still uses it today.
Although my curiosity about Jingzhou stemmed from a piece of public security pot helmet, the origin of this pot helmet is said to have a certain connection with Guan Yu.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Guan Yu, who was guarding Jingzhou, was inspecting the marching procession in Xiaoling County. At that time, Guan Yu's imperial chef had already reconciled the noodles and was ready to start making steamed buns. Suddenly, the spies reported that Sun Quan had attacked Jiangdong, Guan Yu led the team to deal with it, and the cook also set off with the army.
When they returned to the camp, the cook found that the dough that had been hurriedly thrown on the edge of the pot was not only slowly cooked, but also emitted a crispy aroma. Guan Yu praised it after tasting it and made it the military food of the Shu state. This kind of military food is easy to carry, and it can be stored for a long time, which makes a contribution to Guan Yu's "flooded Seventh Army" in Xiangyang.
Later, The Tomb was renamed "Gong'an", and the "Gongling Pot Helmet" at that time was subsequently changed to the "Public Security Pot Helmet", which was one of the three treasures of public security.
The pot helmet seems to be a scone without cumbersome procedures, but this kind of scone is not everyone can grasp its essence.
Stemming from my love for pot helmets, when I often shoot on the street, but anyone who encounters a pot helmet seller can't help but buy a taste, 4 yuan, 5 yuan, 8 yuan, 10 yuan... Different places, different tastes, different prices have also eaten, but not every one of them is so delicious.
I have always believed that this seemingly simple street food must contain the essence that outsiders can't see.
When I was traveling in Jingzhou, I couldn't help but ask the locals about the doorway or sect of the pot helmet, and the master who made the pot helmet said lightly: "Isn't it the pot helmet, where is the doorway and what sect?" ”
I witnessed the whole process, tried to find out the subtleties, and the result was a set of procedures that came down and ended in a few minutes. I think that the reason why the teacher's pot helmet is delicious may be many years of experience.