Anguo specialties

Many people may not know what special snacks there are in Anguo. This is mainly because people don’t know much about this place, so they are not clear about Anguo’s cultural environment and food environment. In fact, there are many special snacks in Anguo, the most famous of which is the horseshoe-shaped sesame cake, as well as braised chicken and hand-stretched hollow noodles. Horse-hoof-shaped sesame cake is loved by every Anguo citizen and is the most representative local delicacy.

The horseshoe-shaped pancake is named after its horseshoe-like shape. According to legend, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang's "Fu Shunchang Shaobing Shop" in a small street in Qizhou City was specialized in making horseshoe-shaped sesame cakes. Horse-hoof biscuits were often brought to the capital and other places by medicine dealers and became famous.

Anguo on the tip of the tongue: Anguo traditional snack horseshoe biscuits

To make horseshoe-shaped pancakes, knead the flour mixed with pepper water into a ball, then roll the dough into noodles as thick as a rolling pin, pinch them into pieces the size of steamed bun skins, and use your palms to press the pieces into a horseshoe shape. Spread peeled sesame seeds on one side, stick the side without sesame seeds on the hanging oven, and slowly bake it with sawdust for about 10 minutes. Use a small iron shovel to scoop it out of the hanging oven and use an iron spoon to catch it when it comes out of the oven. While it’s still hot, break open the thicker side of the water chestnut, and the whole pancake will be divided into three layers: base, filling, and cover. Stuff the belly with boneless meat, pork head, smoked sausage, etc. There is a saying that goes, "Shaobing wrapped with meat is so delicious that you can never get enough of it." In the old days, there was a custom of eating horseshoe-shaped sesame cakes with fried dough sticks. There is a Chinese idiom: sesame cake and fried dough sticks - a set.

During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, medicine merchants from all over the country gathered in Anguo, bringing different methods of making roast chicken from various places. The chef of "Yanbinlou" in Qizhou city, who is good at making medicinal food, absorbs the advantages of cooking chicken from all over the place, and adds 18 kinds of Chinese medicinal seasonings such as old soybean paste, pepper, aniseed, cumin, amomum, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, angelica, and galangal to the old soup. It is simmered over low heat and stewed in the old soup. The braised chicken is beautiful and plump, with bright red color, rich flavor, tender and delicious meat, soft but not rotten, and crispy and fragrant bones. After the public-private partnership, the county service company established a roast chicken group, and the braised chicken making technology was passed down. After the reform and opening up, Liu from Liuzhuang Village and Gao from the urban area inherited the old soup and production technology of the roast chicken group and sold them in the Shiqiao market in the urban area. In 1984, Zhen Gangchen, a villager of Zhenzhuang, completed his apprenticeship at Liu's house in Liuzhuang and returned to the village to open a shop making braised chicken. Zhen Gangchen inherited and improved the production process, increasing the number of seasonings to 24. After cooking, the chicken is smoked and then put back into the original soup to simmer for 6 hours, thus producing Zhen's roast chicken that has both the characteristics of traditional braised chicken and its own unique flavor. In 1994, Zhen Gangchen rented a store in the city and opened the "Zhen's Chicken Shop", producing 300 roast chickens every day, all of which were sold out on the same day. There is also a "Zhangjia Chicken Shop" that has inherited the Anguo braised chicken production process and was included in the fourth batch of Baoding city-level intangible cultural heritage list in 2013.

Anguo on the tip of the tongue: Anguo traditional snack braised chicken

Anguo Sausage It is said that during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the sausages made by the "Qixiangzhai" meat shop in Qizhou City were very popular among drug dealers from all over the country. By the time of the Republic of China, sausages made in Anguo were famous in the surrounding counties, and people called them "Anguo sausages." The sausage is made from lean and fat pork, starch and a variety of medicinal and edible seasonings. It is stuffed into pig intestines, boiled and then smoked with sawdust. Its characteristics are crispy skin that does not fall apart when cut, and fragrant and glutinous taste without being soft. During the planned economy, food companies and grassroots supply and marketing cooperatives such as Wurenqiao, Panggezhuang, and Zhangjiaying produced Anguo sausages. After the reform and opening up, Zhang Xiaopao, a villager from Junshi Village who used to make Anguo sausages in the supply and marketing cooperative restaurant, opened a butcher shop in his village specializing in sausages. He put up the brand "Xiaopao Sausage" and quickly occupied the market in Anguo and its surrounding areas.

Anguo Quxiang Liquor The liquor produced in Anguo is Quxiang-type liquor with the aroma of Daqu. Anguo Quxiang Liquor uses the traditional "old five-甑" brewing process, and is mainly made by fermenting and distilling grain and koji. The earliest documented production of Quxiang wine in the region was by Mapaoquan Shaoguo of Dawu Nu in the Qing Dynasty. In 1947, after the Minfeng Distillery moved into the county seat and was converted into the Anguo County Distillery, it developed "Hongliang Daqu" and "Qizhou Chenniang" liquors based on traditional brewing techniques. "Qizhou Chenniang" was awarded the title of Hebei Province's high-quality product. Anguo Quxiang wine has a strong aroma, is soft on the palate, has a clean aftertaste, is refreshing and mellow, and has a long aftertaste. After entering the 21st century, the three wine-making companies in the region, their white wine, health wine and other series of Quxiang wines are sold well in Hebei and its surrounding provinces, cities and regions.

Hand-stretched hollow noodles Anguo hand-stretched hollow noodles are a traditional noodle food. It is said that it originated in the Tang Dynasty and has been passed down to this day. It is still produced in Xikou Village. In 2004, Xikou Village registered the "Qizhou" brand for it. More than 20 households specialize in making this noodle, which is sold in the region and in Anping, Shenze, Boye and other counties, as well as large and medium-sized cities such as Baoding, Tianjin and Beijing.

Anguo on the tip of the tongue: Anguo snack hand-stretched hollow noodles

Hand-stretched hollow noodles are made with high-quality wheat flour as the main ingredient, and eggs, sesame oil, yam powder, and white corn flour as the auxiliary ingredients. They are made purely by hand through 13 processes, including kneading, making dough, resting, breaking into strips, rubbing noodles, putting chopsticks on the noodles, opening the noodles, putting them on the shelves, hand-stretching, cooling the noodles, cutting the noodles, and covering them. It takes more than ten hours. This noodle is as thin as a thread or as thick as a needle. It is round on the outside and hollow on the inside. It tastes good and will last a long time without deteriorating. When eating, put it in boiling water and cook for two minutes. After it is cooked, it will look like dragon's whiskers floating on the water, not messy or disorganized, so it is also called dragon's whisker noodles or palace noodles. The production of hand-stretched hollow noodles is highly seasonal and has low yields. They can only be produced for more than three months from early winter to early spring. Production is stopped when the weather turns warmer. A household can only produce about 60 kilograms a day.

Anguo yeast steamed buns are a kind of steamed buns, which originated in Bafang Village in the area. The main ingredients are wheat flour and alkali, and the auxiliary ingredients are millet flour (or sorghum rice flour) and wine yeast. At the end of the 19th century, the Liu family in Bafang Village had leftover millet porridge that had fermented overnight. They were reluctant to throw it away, so they mixed it with yeast dough and flour, and made steamed buns after further fermentation, adding alkaline water, kneading, and adding sugar. They found that the congee was fragrant, sweet, and chewy, so they invented the yeast dough steamed bun. People in Anguo like to eat it cold. They cut the steamed buns and roll them with bacon slices, egg slices, and sausages. It is fragrant but not greasy and has a long aftertaste.