Aiwowo is a traditional halal snack that features snow-white color, a shape of ball, a sticky texture and sweet taste. In the early stage, Aiwowo was a common snack, but it had become a widely famous halal snack from the Ming Dynasty.

The origin of Aiwowo is related to the Palace of Gathered Elegance in the Forbidden City, which undoubtedly adds a touch of mystery to it.

According to a eunuch who once served the imperial family in the Forbidden City, empresses and concubines who lived in the Palace of Gathered Elegance preferred Aiwowo because they had grown cloyed with delicacies of every kind. One day, a Uyghur imperial cook made a plate of homemade dim sum and shared it with a maid who presented this glutinous-made snack to the empress. Since then, this dim sum gain popularity in the palace and was praised lavishly for its sweetness, softness and adorable appearance.

From the Qing Dynasty, this snack widely spread in the folk and got its name Aiwowo as an imperial Wotou (a steamed bread made of corn and sorghum flour). The origins and legends of Aiwowo are well detailed in the historical book, An Overlook of Beijing Traditions.

How to make Aiwowo at home?

To make Aiwowo, glutinous rice should be soaked in clean water for a whole night and then steamed in a container for 2 hours. Then pour in boiling water to make the glutinous rice fully absorb the water and continue steaming for 1 hour. Take glutinous rice out, pound it into a sticky lump and cut it into small pieces after the lump is completely cooled down. Take a small piece of glutinous rice, knead it into a flatten one with a rolling pin. Then, wrap it with filling made of sesame seeds, peanut, green plum paste, hawthorn cake, rock candy and osmanthus and roll it into the size of a ping pong ball. Finally, dip the ball completely with steamed rice flour and decorate it with a little red hawthorn cake at its top.

Translator: ZHANG Ruochen