Sanjie Bean Skin

Sanjie Bean Skin

　　Sanjie Bean Skin, a traditional specialty food of Yingcheng, has a history of over 300 years.

　　Legend has it that during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, three families surnamed Chen, Zhu, and Cheng successively migrated and settled more than 20 li east of Yingcheng. The heads of these three families were all men of great honor. Inspired by the oath of brotherhood between Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei in the Three Kingdoms period, they formed an eternal bond of sworn brotherhood. Since the three families lived in the same valley, which had not yet been named, they decided to call it “Sanjie Village,” meaning the “Village of the Three Sworn Brothers,” taking inspiration from the “Peach Garden Oath.” And thus, Sanjie Village came into being.

　　Among the villagers of Sanjie Village, one was once a royal chef in the Ming imperial palace. After the Qing army took control of the Central Plains, he seized the opportunity to flee the palace and eventually settled here. After forming the sworn brotherhood, he chose to settle down permanently. Drawing on his experience as a former imperial chef, he hoped to showcase his culinary skills. The area was rich in rice, mung beans, wheat, and other grains. He noticed that the local rice had a particularly sticky and soft texture, making it pleasant to eat, so he began experimenting with processing it into a uniquely flavored food that might sell well. Using rice as the main ingredient, along with mung beans or wheat, he ground them into a paste with water, spread it on an iron pan to make thin sheets, then rolled the sheets into tubes, sliced them into strips, and dried them on bamboo baskets or mats to create dried bean strips, known as “dou si” or “bean skin.” These could be stored for later use and cooked much faster than plain rice, offering a distinctive flavor. For example, to boil them, simply rinse the dried bean strips with water, add them to boiling water along with cabbage and desired seasonings, and they’re ready to eat once scooped out. They can also be stir-fried: soak the dried strips in warm water until soft, then stir-fry them in a pan with seasonings such as garlic. These bean skins were not only loved by the villagers but also gained popularity beyond the village, with people competing to buy them. They were even more sought-after than plain rice, and since they were processed, they fetched higher prices and profits. From then on, every household in Sanjie Village began making them, selling them in the market, and naming them “Sanjie Bean Skin.” Their enduring popularity stems from their unique flavor profile: “thin, even, richly colored, long-boiling, and flavorful.”

　　Today, to meet market demand, the villagers of Sanjie have formed cooperatives dedicated to producing and selling Sanjie Bean Skin. Building on traditional techniques, they have further refined their unique skills in controlling heat, pan-frying, slicing, and drying, creating three series with six varieties: white bean skin, mung bean skin, and soybean skin. Among them, premium mung bean bean skin, premium ginger bean skin, premium rice bean skin, and premium leek bean skin have seen high demand in cities such as Harbin, Urumqi, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Hong Kong, and Wuhan. In Wuhan alone, the annual sales volume in Honggang District reaches 200,000 kilograms.

　　As a uniquely flavored, all-natural green food, Sanjie Bean Skin made its debut at the Xiaogan City 5th Anniversary New Products Exhibition in 1998, where it was highly praised and awarded the Special Prize. In December of the same year, at the '98 Wuhan 4th China International Food Expo and the 1st Wuhan Agricultural and Sideline Products Trade Fair, it won the “Consumer Satisfaction Award” and the “Hubei Province Market Trusted Product” honors.