''Aiwowo'' () is a traditional dessert from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. It is said that the Hui people invented these balls of sticky rice during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

for the

Fragrant Concubine The Fragrant Concubine ( zh, c=香妃, w=Hsiang Fei, p=Xiāng Fēi; ug, ئىپارخان / / ) is a figure in Chinese legend who was taken as a consort by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century. Although the stories about he ...

of the Qianlong Emperor in secret. Aiwowo has in fact been known from as early as the reign of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...

during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. Aiwowo has traditionally been produced and sold in Hui restaurants, and is available from the Lunar New Year to late summer and early autumn. Aiwowo resemble snowballs in appearance. Their outer skin is prepared by cooking glutinous rice with flour and flattening the resulting mixture. The filling can be made using any ingredients at hand, including

white sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

, sesame,

apricots An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus '' Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are al ...

, melon seeds,

plums A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

and haws.

References

{{Dessert-stub Chinese desserts Chinese rice dishes Beijing cuisine

See also

References