Food is the most profound memory when you go to a city, as if the living conditions and patterns of a city can be well reflected in food. China's history has developed over the past five thousand years, leaving a strong mark on history and culture, and now looking back on the past development process will feel very shocking and incredible, but at the same time, there is also a great achievement is the development of gastronomy.
And because of the differences in regional environments, even if they are in the same country, the food culture is also very different, which constitutes a rich and complete food culture.
Shaanxi is an ancient cultural city with a very long history, and in the long history, they have a lot of cultural accumulation. Even from the living conditions of the locals who go to Shaanxi now, you can see that there is a certain history of microcosm. In addition to these customs, their traditional cuisine also has great characteristics. Shaanxi has its own unique food system, and the snacks in it are the most obscene everyone likes, and the famous snack of Shaanxi introduced today is gourd head.
After many people come to Shaanxi, the most anticipated thing is to be able to taste the taste of gourd head, and after each time they eat it, they will linger. Such a delicious snack is also of great benefit to people's health, and its medical value is also very high.
Hulutou originally originated from a folk snack on the streets of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was also changed into fried white intestines by many people. After hearing this name, you may not be quite sure what kind of food gourd head is. In fact, the reason why it is called this name is because the main ingredient used in the gourd head is the pig intestine, and the appearance of this pig intestine is very characteristic, looking like a miniature version of the gourd, so there is also the name of the gourd head.
And about such a dish, its source is also very interesting. It is said that a long time ago, probably in the Tang Dynasty, in the city of Xi'an at that time, that is, in ancient Chang'an, there was such a delicacy as fried white sausage. Because the raw materials are made of pork belly intestines, many people do not like to eat them very much, and they think that pig belly intestines cannot be eaten. At this time, the famous doctor Sun Simiao at that time was very researched on this aspect of dietary therapy.
One day he ate this fried white sausage in a shop in Xi'an, and when he first ate it, he felt that there was a very strong fishy smell, and there was a commotion, and the taste was not very comfortable. So later he told the boss that although the pork belly intestine has the effect of tonifying the qi and maintaining health, because the ingredients are improperly used, the taste of eating is not difficult for people to accept. So he gave the boss some Shangyuan Guihan yin pepper condiments.
Sure enough, after adding these, the taste of this fried white intestine has also improved greatly, and since then, the fried white intestine has also been accepted by everyone. Because these condiments were taken from Sun Simiao's gourds, they were later called gourd heads.
The traditional gourd head is developed from the fried white intestine, and the fried white intestine is well understood as the name suggests, that is, the pork belly long cooking is directly eaten with some seasonings, but this way of making it is actually not able to process the large intestine very well, because the fishy taste of the large intestine itself is slightly heavy, so the pig intestine made in this way is very greasy to eat.
Therefore, the dietary therapy suggestions given after Sun Simiao tasted it. After adding the seasonings of Shangyuan Gui and so on, there was a new development, and this time was also the beginning of the gourd head that began to be accepted by everyone.
Most of the later gourd heads are continuing this trend to develop a lot of traditional old shop concepts in Xi'an, Shaanxi, and most of the ingredients used are those proposed by Sun Simiao at that time, but with the continuous development of the economy, Xi'an, Shaanxi has gradually become a famous tourist city, not only in terms of culture and cuisine. Because of the development of the tourism economy, many tourists will taste and feel the unique local cuisine after coming.
At this time, the gourd head has become everyone's first choice, and there are many merchants who only want to rub this degree of interest, and they do not understand the production method and formula of the gourd head. Therefore, many tourists who come to Xi'an will say that it is difficult to eat authentic gourd head, it is for this reason, coupled with the fact that gourd head is becoming more and more famous now, there will be people in various parts of the country to open gourd head shops, so compared to traditional household heads, there is still a lack of some flavor.
One of the biggest values of gourd head is that its medical value is very high, and Sun Simiao has not studied dietary therapy. Therefore, for the pig intestine, made into food, he also said that the intestine belongs to gold, and gold can be deep in water, so it has a strong fire reduction. Efficacy, and the belly is the soil, the center has a strong health, liver and qi effect.
Therefore, as far as the structure of the pig's belly intestine itself is concerned, it is of great help to human health. This is also his most important medical value, and now many people also choose to use pork belly intestines and other ingredients to boil into soup.
In addition, as a famous traditional snack in Xi'an, Shaanxi, hulutou represents a façade in Shaanxi, and many people think of food when they mention Xi'an, and the snacks they think of will also think of gourd head. Moreover, hulutou is also witnessing the long evolution process of Xi'an's development, so its cultural value is also very high, but also because of the traditional way of making pork belly long now, there are not many people to inherit, so gradually also develop in the direction of intangible cultural heritage. And after time to develop and innovate, the current gourd head has also been recognized as a part of the Chinese famous snacks.
The meaning of the existence of food is to give you the best comfort when you are under great pressure and sadness, and it is also the most direct and profound reflection of the development process of a city, as well as the way and state of life of the people of a city. Just like when many tourists travel to a strange city, they must not miss it, and they go to some of the local streets and alleys to find the most authentic traditional snacks.
Because when you taste these time-honored snacks, you really have a feeling of being here, and you will have a real sense of integration.
The development of Hulutou is actually a microcosm of the development of Xi'an City. Although with the continuous development of Xi'an City, Hulutou is also known by more and more people in the process of innovation, and has been imitated by more and more people. However, the cultural spirit it represents and the ideological connotations behind it will not change. Regardless of the time or environment, if you have the opportunity, you may wish to go to Xi'an to experience this unique delicacy.
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Chronicle of Shaanxi Province
Folklore