Guokui 锅盔

Overview

Chinese Name: 锅盔
English Name: Guokui; Guo Helmet; Pot Helmet
Category: Snack小吃
Main Ingredients: Flour

Guokui锅盔, also known as Guokui锅魁 and Ganmo干馍, is a local traditional pasta snack loved by urban and rural residents in the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province and Gansu Province. The cake is round and thick, like a pot cover. Guohelmet was originally a gift from grandma to congratulate her grandson on the full moon and later developed into a special snack.

Guo helmet is one of the eight monsters in Shaanxi陕西八大怪. It is called “the open eye pot helmet is like a pot cover睁眼锅盔像锅盖”, because the pot helmet is like a helmet, it is called a pot helmet.

The production of Shaanxi pot helmets can be traced back to the Shang商朝 and Zhou周朝 dynasties. It is said that the Guokui was used as the military food for soldiers when King Wu attacked Zhou武王伐纣. There is also a variety of Guokui called “King Wu Guokui武王锅盔” in the Xifu area of Shaanxi.

In the Qin Dynasty秦朝, the pot helmet was carried forward and popularized. The pot helmet made by the Qin people is big and thick. It is said that the pot helmet was not called a pot helmet at first. Because its shape is very similar to the cross-section of the tree stump, it is called Dun cake墩饼. At that time, as the main dry food for soldiers, Guo helmets made outstanding contributions. Pot helmets have a long shelf life and are suitable for long-term storage and carrying.

It is said that during the period of Empress Wu武则天, when officers and soldiers built the mausoleum for Empress Wu because the project was huge, a large number of migrant workers needed to work busily, and there were no cooking utensils on the construction site, so officers and soldiers used helmets as cooking utensils to bake bread, so it was named Guo helmet.

Today, A’gan Guo helmet阿甘锅盔, a snack brand subordinate to Shanghai Duochuan Catering Management Co., Ltd., is spread all over China. A’gan’s pot helmet is made by hand with charcoal baking. It is stuffing generally includes plum dried vegetables, fresh meat, beef, and so on.

How to make Guokui?

Ingredients：

415g flour
230ml warm water
5g yeast
10g sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
5 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of five-spice powder
6 tablespoons cumin powder
A proper amount of soybean oil

Instruction:

Step 1, Mix flour, yeast, warm water, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of salt into a smooth dough and ferment in a warm place.
Step 2, Take out the fermented dough, exhaust and knead well.
Step 3, Divide the dough into two parts and knead each part. Roll each into thin slices and coat with oil.
Step 4, Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of five-spice powder, and 3 tablespoons of cumin powder on the rolled dough, and then apply it evenly.
Step 5, Roll the dough tightly from bottom to top and rub it a little longer.
Step 6, Roll up the reel and tuck the tail end under it. Then roll it out slightly. Sprinkle a spoonful of sesame seeds, roll with a rolling pin a few times, and roll into a green shape.
Step 7, Cover the two green pot helmets and ferment for 30 minutes.
Step 8, Pour a little oil into the pot, not too much. Then gently add the second fermented green pot helmet.
Step 9, Turn on a low fire and slowly burn it. After burning one side, turn it over gently. Burn it into golden on both sides.
Step 10, Put the baked pot helmets into a flat plate and cut them into pieces. If you haven’t finished eating, cool it and put a cloth on the back cover to prevent it from becoming dry and hard.

Tips:

In order to eat less greasy, you can put it in a bamboo basket with oil absorbent paper or newspaper to absorb the oil on the surface of the pot helmet.
After wrapping the stuffing, place it for a while, which is more convenient for rolling. People who like a crispy taste can also bake it for a while.