Wotou or wowotou, also called Chinese cornbread, is a type of
steamed bread
Steamed bread is a kind of bread, typically made from wheat, that is prepared by steaming instead of baking. Steamed bread is produced and consumed all around the world. In Chinese cuisine, ''mantou'' is a staple food of northern China, where up ...
made from
cornmeal
Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...
in Northern
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
Etymology
"Wotou" literally translates to "nest thing", since the wotou resembles a bird's nest with its hollow cone shape.
History
Wōtóu is in the shape of a hollow cone. It was a cheap food for poor people, but a legend grew on how it became a dish served in the Imperial Kitchens. The legend says that during
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...
's flight to
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
from the
Battle of Peking (1900)
The Battle of Peking, or historically the Relief of Peking, was the battle fought on 14–15 August 1900 in Peking, in which the Eight-Nation Alliance relieved the siege of the Peking Legation Quarter during the Boxer Rebellion. From 20 June 19 ...
when the
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove fo ...
invaded China in the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
, Cixi received a bunch of corn buns to satiate her hunger. After her return to Beijing, she ordered the Imperial cooks to make it again for her, and the chef used more refined ingredients to create the golden colored wotou bun, which became one of the Imperial dishes. The full name of the bun was the "Royal Wotou" 宮廷小窩頭 gōngtíng xiǎo wōtóu. It has been transformed into a popular food from its previous poor status.
A cake called wowotou was cooked in the same pot as a cabbage after being "slapped on the side", and it was made out of corn-meal and served during the late Qing at
Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
.
According to G. C. L. Howell in his article published in the ''China Journal'' of March 1934, ''The soy bean: A dietary revolution in China'' March 1934, wotou was made out of millet flour at a ratio of 8 to soy flour at 3 or 2 in north China.
Wotou steamed bread would be heavy without soda, so it was lightened by adding some
sodium bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...
according to the ''Chinese Economic Journal and Bulletin''.
A "conical temple roof" is similar in appearance to the shape of the wotou.
''The Chinese Journal of Physiology'' described an experiment using mixed flour to make the hollow cone shaped wotou steamed bread, with it consisting of 2 parts millet, 2 parts red kaoliang, and 1 part soybean.
It was known as ''wotou'' 窩頭, "maize-soybean flour bread." It was also known as ''wowotou'' 窩窩頭, "bean-millet bread".
See also
*
Baozi
Baozi (), Pao-tsih or bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings ( meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. They are a variation of ''mant ...
*
Dampfnudel
A ' ( lit. "steam-noodle"; plural ', Alsatian: ) is a dumpling eaten as a meal or as a dessert in Germany, Austria and in France (Alsace- Moselle). It is a typical dish in southern Germany.
History
There are ' city gates in Freckenfeld a ...
*
List of breads
This is a list of notable baked or steamed bread varieties. This list does not include cakes, pastries, or fried dough foods, which are listed in separate Wikipedia articles. It also does not list foods in which bread is an ''ingredient'' which is ...
*
List of buns
This is a list of buns. A bun is a small, sometimes sweet, bread, or bread roll. Though they come in many shapes and sizes, they are most commonly hand-sized or smaller, with a round top and flat bottom.
Buns
A
* Anpan - A bun that is filled, u ...
*
List of steamed foods
This is a list of steamed foods and dishes that are typically or commonly prepared by the cooking method of steaming.
Steamed foods
* Ada – a food item from Kerala, usually made of rice flour with sweet filling inside.
* Bánh – in Hanoi ...
*
Mandarin roll
Mandarin rolls, Steamed Mandarin rolls, Flower Buns, or Huā juǎn () are a kind of steamed bun originating from China. The rolls are cooked by steaming. It is another one of the staples of Chinese cuisine, which is similar to white bread in wes ...
*
Mantı
Manti is a type of dumpling popular in most cuisines of the Caucasian cuisine, South Caucasus, Balkan cuisine, Balkans, Central Asian cuisine, Central Asia, and Afghan cuisine, Afghanistan. Manti is also popular among Chinese Islamic cuisine, Chi ...
*
Mantou
''Mantou'' (), often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name ''mantou'' to a tale about Zhuge Liang.
Description
''Mantou'' are typ ...
References
External links
{{Dumplings
Chinese breads
Breads
Chinese cuisine
Buns
Beijing cuisine
Maize dishes
Steamed foods