Wotou

Wotou, also called Chinese cornbread, is a type of steamed bread made from cornmeal in Northern China.

Wotou
Alternative namesSteamed corn bread
TypeBread
Place of originChina
Region or statenorthern China, Beijing
Main ingredientsCorn flour, (or millet flour and soybean flour)
Wotou
Traditional Chinese窩頭
Simplified Chinese窝头

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's flight to Xi'an from the Battle of Peking (1900) when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China in the Boxer Rebellion, 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.[1][2][3][4][5] The full name of the bun was the "Royal Wotou" 宮廷小窩頭 gōngtíng xiǎo wōtóu.[6][7] It has been transformed into a popular food from its previous poor status.[8]

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.[9]

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 of 1934, wotou was made out of millet flour at a ratio of 8 to soy flour at 3 or 2 in north China.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

Wotou steamed bread would be heavy without soda, so it was lightened by adding some Soda according to the Chinese Economic Journal and Bulletin.[17][18]

A "conical temple roof" is similar in appearance to the shape of the wotou.[19]

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.[20][21]

It was known as wotou 窩頭, "maize-soybean flour bread."[22] It was also known as wowotou 窩窩頭, "bean-millet bread".[23][24][25][26][27]

See also

References
  1. "Steamed Corn Bread (窩頭 Wotou) - Information on Chinese Food". CHINA INFO ONLINE. CHINA INFO ONLINE. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  2. "Wotou - China Tour". Beijing 2008 BEIJING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL WEBSITE. citw2008.com, Beijing International Travel Website. 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  3. Mary, Bai (20 Mar 2012). "Steamed Bread in China, Mantou and Wotou - CITS". CITS - China International Travel Service, Head Office, China Travel. CITS - China International Travel Service, Head Office, China Travel. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  4. "Wotou". hvMuseum.com. hvMuseum. 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  5. "Chinese Food". ChinaOnYourMind.com. ChinaOnYourMind.com, LLP. 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  6. "How to say Royal Wotou (Steamed Corn Bun) in Mandarin Chinese Pinyin". LearnChineseABC.com. LearnChineseABC.com. 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  7. "Beijing Traditional Snacks". www.ho-u.com. 晃游. 2014-01-14. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  8. yuan_zcen (2008-10-28). "wotou". China Daily. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  9. Anderson, E. N. (1988). The Food of China (illustrated, reprint, revised ed.). Yale University Press. p. 118. ISBN 0300047398. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  10. Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2013). History of Soymilk and Other Non-Dairy Milks (1226-2013): Including Infant Formulas, Calf Milk Replacers, Soy Creamers, Soy Shakes, Soy Smoothies, Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, Peanut Milk, Rice Milk, Sesame Milk, etc (illustrated ed.). Soyinfo Center. p. 362. ISBN 1928914586. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  11. Shurtleff, William; Huang, H.T.; Aoyagi, Akiko (2014). History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in China and Taiwan, and in Chinese Cookbooks, Restaurants, and Chinese Work with Soyfoods Outside China (1024 BCE to 2014): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook, Including Manchuria, Hong Kong and Tibet (illustrated ed.). Soyinfo Center. p. 1233. ISBN 1928914683. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  12. Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2014). History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in Japan, and in Japanese Cookbooks and Restaurants outside Japan (701 CE to 2014) (illustrated ed.). Soyinfo Center. p. 1029. ISBN 1928914659. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  13. Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2013). History of Soy Flour, Grits and Flakes (510 CE to 2013): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook (illustrated ed.). Soyinfo Center. p. 371. ISBN 1928914632. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  14. Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2013). History of Soymilk and Other Non-Dairy Milks (1226-2013): Including Infant Formulas, Calf Milk Replacers, Soy Creamers, Soy Shakes, Soy Smoothies, Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, Peanut Milk, Rice Milk, Sesame Milk, etc (illustrated ed.). Soyinfo Center. p. 362. ISBN 1928914586. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  15. Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2013). History of Tofu and Tofu Products (965 CE to 2013) (illustrated ed.). Soyinfo Center. p. 637. ISBN 1928914551. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  16. China Journal, Volume 20. China society of science and arts. 1934. p. 142. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  17. Chinese Economic Journal and Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 1. Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information. 1927. p. 180. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  18. Horvath, Arthemy A. (1927). The Soybean as Human Food. Volume 3 of National Government of the Republic of China, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Labor, The Bureau of Industrial & Commercial Information, Booklet Series. Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information. p. 44. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  19. Horvath, Arthemy A. (1927). The Soybean as Human Food. Volume 3 of National Government of the Republic of China, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Labor, The Bureau of Industrial & Commercial Information, Booklet Series. Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information. p. 45. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  20. The Chinese Journal of Physiology, Volumes 13-14. Contributor Zhongguo sheng li xue hui. Chinese Physiological Society. 1938. p. 288. Retrieved 24 April 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
  21. The Chinese Journal of Physiology (1927-1950)., Volume 13. Chinese Physiological Society. 1938. p. 288. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  22. Chinese Medical Journal, Volume 56. Contributors Zhonghua yi xue hui (1914?-1949), Zhonghua yi xue hui (China : 1949- ). Chinese Medical Association. 1939. p. 103. Retrieved 24 April 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. Zhongguo ke xue she (1926). The Transactions of the Chinese Association for the Advancement of Science, Volume 4. Chinese Association for the Advancement of Science. p. 26. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  24. Zhongguo ke xue she (1922). The Transactions of the Science Society of China, Volumes 1-5. Science Society of China. p. 26. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  25. Zhongguo ke xue she (1922). Transactions, Volumes 1-7. Science Society of China. p. 26. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  26. The Philippine Journal of Science, Volumes 29-30. Contributors Philippines. National Science Development Board, Philippines. Bureau of Science, Philippines. Dept. of Agriculture and Commerce, Institute of Science (Philippines), National Institute of Science and Technology (Philippines). National Science Development Board. 1926. p. 291. Retrieved 24 April 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
  27. China Journal, Volume 20. China society of science and arts. 1934. p. 142. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
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