Dragon’s Whiskers: sweet delight from ancient times
Print Edition
Yihesu, also called Dragon’s Whiskers, is a cocoon-like cotton candy stuffed with ground peanuts or sesames. The process of making yihesu involves stretching a dough-like mixture of sugar, syrup and rice flour into small, thin strands that melt in the mouth.
The art of making yihesu dates back to the Three Kingdoms Period (222-280AD). Cao Cao, the king of Wei, loved the candy very much and gave it the name.
After nearly 2,000 years, the original method remains the same. Songjiang confectioner Liu Tangzhi learned the skill from his master about 20 years ago and has carried the tradition.
He said the key is to make the “whiskers” as thin as possible. “Generally speaking, a tuft of yihesu should have at least 10,000 ‘whiskers’,” Liu said.
He first stirs hot maltose slowly with two wooden clubs, then accelerates until the mass turns white. “Only when it has enough air inside, will I be able to stretch it into thin ‘whiskers’,” he said.
The maltose is stretched over and over again until thousands of hair-thin strands form. Then, fillings of peanuts, sesames and other ingredients are stuffed in the flossy candy.
Liu said he is applying to make yihesu an intangible cultural heritage of Songjiang.
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