Pinghe Xiaoxi Pillow Cake

Pinghe Xiaoxi Pillow Cake

The Pinghe Xiaoxi Pillow Cake is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　A specialty of NanSheng in Pinghe, Zhangzhou, with over 400 years of production history. It is meticulously made from refined flour, premium lard, winter melon, starch noodles, maltose, citrus peel, fried scallions, and other ingredients. Shaped like a pillow, hence called the "Pillow Cake." It is novel, delicate, fragrant, and often used as a gift.

　　The Pinghe Xiaoxi Pillow Cake gets its name from its resemblance to a long pillow. Legend has it that during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, in the western part of Xiaoxi, there was a senior official named Li Wencha who retired to his hometown. One summer, his wife Lady Zhang fell ill, and Li Wencha anxiously sought out famous doctors from near and far, but none could cure her. Left with no other options, he posted a notice seeking medical help. No sooner had the notice been put up than it was taken down by a shabbily dressed, one-eyed, lame wandering monk. After examining Lady Zhang, the monk said, “Your wife suffers from a spleen dampness deficiency. She needs tonics to invigorate qi, strengthen the spleen, and eliminate dampness. This humble monk has prepared ‘Ginseng, Poria, Atractylodes Macrocephala, and White Atractylodes Powder Golden Elixir.’ Please send someone with me to Tonggu Rock to retrieve the medicine.” When the medicine was brought back, Li Wencha found the box contained eight small, rectangular, pillow-shaped medicinal cakes. The monk instructed: “Take two pieces daily, after breakfast and dinner. Come back to see me again in five days.” After taking the cakes, Lady Zhang’s condition indeed improved by 80%. On the fifth day, the monk returned for another consultation and said, “Her condition is improving, but she still needs gradual recuperation.” He then prescribed a “Astragalus Strengthening the Middle Decoction,” and instructed: “Please grind the astragalus, cassia twig, white peony root, honey-fried licorice, fresh ginger, and jujube from the prescription into powder, mix it with maltose for the filling, then grind poria cocos into powder for the wrapper, and shape them into rectangular pillow forms. Bake them over gentle heat before consumption. Take three pieces daily after meals. This medicine is sweet, warm, fragrant, and crisp—great for invigorating qi and harmonizing the middle—sure to cure your wife’s illness.” Li Wencha listened carefully, convinced and impressed. After the monk left, he followed the instructions to make the medicinal cakes, which his wife continued to take. Before long, her illness was completely cured. The story of the monk’s miraculous medicine spread throughout the town and eventually reached the capital. When Emperor Jiajing learned of it, he ordered the Li family of Xishan to present the Pillow Cake as a tribute. This worried Li Wencha greatly, because the Pillow Cake was originally a medicinal cake, not a snack—how could the emperor casually taste it? He had no choice but to modify the medicinal cake into a tea snack. He hired renowned bakers from Xikou, using fragrant citrus, sesame, and peanuts for the filling, flour for the wrapper, mixed with lard, and crafted them into exquisitely made pillow-shaped cakes to offer to the emperor. Indeed, these cakes were small, delicate, sweet, and crispy—perfect accompaniments to tea. From the emperor down to the nobles, everyone who tasted them sang their praises. Thus, the Xiaoxi Pillow Cake gained immense prestige. Later, when the Li family of Xishan declined, their descendants made a living by selling Pillow Cakes, and from then on, the recipe entered the public domain.