Hengjiang Eyebrow Pastry

Hengjiang Eyebrow Pastry

　　Hengjiang Ancient Town’s Eyebrow Pastry has been successfully included in the fourth batch of Yibin County-level Intangible Cultural Heritage.

　　　The pastry gets its name from being hand-shaped to resemble eyebrows, and its production process is quite intricate.

　　　　According to sources, crafting the pastry crust is particularly meticulous — first, half of the flour is scalded with boiling water to form a paste-like cooked slurry, while the other half is kneaded with lard until smooth. Then, the water-based dough and oil-based dough are mixed evenly and each portion is divided into thirds. Two of these portions are mixed with red and green food coloring respectively, after which all the dough is combined to create three colors. It is then shaped into strips, divided into small portions, flattened, and filled. The filling consists of roasted sesame seeds, peanuts, walnuts, hemp seeds, sugar, and a small amount of lard. The dough is hand-shaped into the form of eyebrows, then fried in an iron pot filled with lard until it puffs up, the crust hardens without absorbing too much oil, and takes on a slight yellow hue. It is then removed and drained of oil to finish.

　　　　Fresh out of the pan, the Eyebrow Pastry has a light yellow color, an attractive appearance, and a crispy, flaky texture that is sweet without being greasy.

　　　The Origin of the Eyebrow Pastry

　　　　There is also a story behind the Eyebrow Pastry.

　　　　Legend has it that during the Battle of Hengjiang in 1862, the beautiful Han Baoying fell seriously ill while being treated at Wansong Temple on Shicheng Mountain. When Qing army forces under Sichuan Governor Luo Bingzhang pursued Shi Dakai, Shi sent 23 soldiers to rescue her, but they were killed in the attempt. After being brutally interrogated by the Qing army, Han was left stranded in Lijiaba. Li Laoyao, a local pastry maker in Hengjiang, seeing her plight, treated her illness and proposed marriage. Noticing she was “sorrowful and sighing constantly,” he learned that when she was fourteen, war had reached her hometown. Her family fled but encountered bandits along the way and were killed. Han Baoying had hidden in the grass but was captured by the bandits. She was later rescued by Shi Dakai’s troops, who also captured the bandit leader and executed him in front of her parents’ graves. Han offered herself to Shi Dakai, but he refused and instead asked her to work as a clerk in the army for several years.

　　　　While being treated at Li Laoyao’s home, she heard that Shi Dakai had been executed by “death by a thousand cuts” in Chengdu. The following year, Han Baoying passed away with her eyes wide open and her brows tightly furrowed. Li Laoyao made an eyebrow-shaped pastry as an offering, praying, “Han and Shi Dakai could not be together in life, but may they be a happy couple in heaven.” Soon after, Han’s eyes closed and her brows relaxed beautifully. Li believed the pastry had miraculous powers and subsequently named it the “Eyebrow Pastry.” The name stuck, and his business grew more prosperous.