Wotou

Wotou	Wotou

Wotou, or steamed corn bread, is a form of staple food in many northern regions of China. Made of corn flour, it is in the shape of a cone hollow from the base.
It used to be the cheap coarse food for the poor. But now, with refined corn flour, it has been a specialty of the imperial cuisine, served by Fangshan Restaurant in Beijing. There is an anecdote with wotou’s promoted position.
When China was invaded y the troops of the eight imperialist powers in 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi fled Beijing with Emperor Guangxu for Xi’an. On the way, Cixi filled her stomach with corn bread which eaten by the poor then. Back in Beijing, she told the imperial kitchen to make wotou for her which is not offered in the palace. The chef had to find the best refined corn flour and mixed it with chestnut butter, sugar and sweetened osmanthus flowers. With these ingredients he made dainty pieces of wotou steamed above strong fire. Thus the wotou with golden-looking and good taste was produced.