Beijing Small Steamed Corn Bread

Beijing Small Steamed Corn Bread

　　Steamed corn bread is made from cornmeal or mixed grain flour. It has a distinctive shape — small on top, large at the bottom, hollow in the middle, and shaped like a cone. Originally, it was the staple food of poor people in old Beijing. To make steaming easier and quicker, a hole was left at the bottom (referred to in Beijing slang as a "nest"), and because it served as a main food like mantou (steamed bun), locals called this food “wotou” (steamed corn bread).

　　The so-called “wotou” (steamed bread) is a cone-shaped, steamed food with a hole at the bottom. Traditionally made entirely from cornmeal, unfermented cornmeal is very difficult to cook through, and this shape helps it steam faster. Wotou was originally a common food among lower-class people. However, the Empress Dowager Cixi, in a bid to “share joy with the people,” had hers made using then extremely expensive chestnut flour. Hers were also much smaller, turning it into a type of dessert, which only became available to the public after the fall of the Qing Dynasty during the Republican era. Legend says that this court snack was the small steamed corn bread once eaten by Empress Dowager Cixi. In truth, using pure chestnut flour alone cannot form the wotou shape, as it dries out and crumbles without binding well. The small steamed corn bread is made from good-quality fresh cornmeal, sifted finely, mixed with high-quality soybean flour, and steamed with osmanthus and white sugar, resulting in a soft and sweet taste. A full jin (500g) of flour must yield one hundred small steamed corn breads to be considered truly “small.”

　　The word “wotou” was synonymous with “poverty” in old China. During Chinese New Year, people typically eat dumplings, but poorer families couldn’t afford them and had to make do with wotou instead. There used to be a couplet that read: “Others ring in the New Year, folding dough with two fingers up and eight down; I see off the old year, pinching dough with one finger inside and nine outside.” The first line refers to making dumplings — placing two thumbs on top while using the other eight fingers to support from below. The second line describes the motion of shaping a wotou, with one finger inserted into the center hole.

　　At the Fangshan Restaurant in Beijing’s Beihai Park, there is a sweet dessert named “Small Steamed Corn Bread.” It is made from finely milled soybean and corn flour, mixed with white sugar and osmanthus, and then steamed. Its features include being pointed at the top and round at the bottom, delicate and cute, resembling little golden “pagodas.” It tastes sweet, fragrant, and smooth. As such, anyone who visits Fangshan Restaurant considers tasting the famous Small Steamed Corn Bread a real treat.

　　So how did these tiny steamed corn breads become a renowned delicacy at Beijing’s Fangshan Restaurant? This is related to a legend involving the flight of Empress Dowager Cixi. In 1900, when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, despite resistance from the Boxers and Beijing’s military and civilians, the city fell due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government. Empress Dowager Cixi fled the Forbidden City under the cover of night with Emperor Guangxu, along with a group of palace maids, eunuchs, and guards. Disguised as fleeing commoners and riding in three dilapidated carts, they hastily escaped toward Xi’an. The escape was so abrupt that there wasn’t enough food, and in the chaos of war, the party dared not reveal their identities to seek help or protection from local officials. Fearing for their lives and suffering hunger, they found themselves in remote areas where no food was available. When Empress Dowager Cixi demanded something to eat, her attendants were at a loss. Just then, one attendant named Guan Shili happened to have a cornbread he had obtained from civilians. He presented it to the Empress Dowager. As the saying goes, “When you’re full, even honey doesn’t taste sweet; when you’re hungry, bran tastes as sweet as honey.” The usually pampered Empress Dowager, accustomed to rare delicacies, actually found this coarse cornbread surprisingly satisfying and delicious.

　　Soon after, following the signing of the humiliating Boxer Protocol, the Eight-Nation Alliance withdrew from Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi returned. It is said that the attendant Guan Shili was rewarded for his act of providing food, and was even granted the title of “Guide Marquis.” Later, recalling the “delicious and sweet” meal, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare wotou. This posed a dilemma for the chefs — wotou was a common food among the populace. Wealthy households generally consumed refined rice and flour and had no interest in such cornmeal breads, let alone the secluded Empress Dowager. However, knowing her volatile temper, none dared to disobey her orders. As a result, the chefs fashioned a smaller version based on the regular wotou shape, adding some soybean flour, a large amount of white sugar, and osmanthus. The result was a soft, sweet small steamed corn bread that the Empress Dowager loved. From then on, the small steamed corn bread became a dessert in her diet. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the small steamed corn bread, along with other imperial dishes, spread to the public and became a famous Beijing specialty snack.