Yonghe Pi Zi

Yonghe Pi Zi

Yonghe Pi Zi is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Yonghe Pi Zi

　　In some areas of Hong’an County, there has long been a custom of “making pi zi” during the Spring Festival, and “Yonghe Pi Zi” boasts the most distinctive flavor. As the Lunar New Year approaches, the pi zi workshops in Yongjiahe Town become bustling again. With its thick, tender texture, “Yonghe Pi Zi” has become a specialty dish on people’s reunion dinner tables.

　　The soybean product pi zi is commonly known as “thousand sheets.” It is said to have a history of over 200 years. The aroma of beans mixed with steam wafts from the workshops. Workshop masters say that making Yonghe Pi Zi involves 22 steps, including soaking beans, grinding beans, sieving the slurry, boiling the slurry, coagulating the soy milk, collecting the curd, and pressing. Only by enduring the complexity and hard work can one produce high-quality pi zi—from soybeans to soy milk, then to tofu pudding, and finally to thousand sheets.

　　Workshop masters say that freshly made pi zi can be dried and stored for a long time, and simply soaked in water before eating. Locals love it and often buy it as a festive dish to serve with drinks when entertaining guests.

　　Yongjiahe Town has developed soybean product processing into an industry, leveraging local resource advantages and improving processing techniques. The soybean processing industry has grown significantly. Currently, the town has over 120 processing workshops. Among them, 22 use soybean residue to raise pigs, then use pig manure as feed for biogas digesters, and subsequently use the biogas residue as fertilizer to grow soybeans—achieving a circular production model integrating planting, breeding, and processing.

　　The production area of Yonghe Pi Zi is confined to the current administrative region of Yongjiahe Town, Hong’an County, Hubei Province.

　　Hong’an County local standard: DB421122/T008-2013 "Processing Technical Regulations for Yonghe Pi Zi"