''Aiwowo'' ( zh, c=艾窩窩, p=àiwōwo) is a traditional

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

from

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Aiwowo became well-known as early as the reign of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Yijun, art name Yuzhai, was the 14th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reig ...

during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. There was a record of Aiwowo in Chapter 7 of the 17th-century novel ''JinPingMei''. In ''ZhuoZhongZhi'', a 17th-century book that talks about different events happened in the emperor's family, the author states the existence of Aiwowo within the royal class. During the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, the Fragrant Concubine of the

QianLong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

was bored with the dishes within the palace. When the Emperor heard that Concubine had a husband from

XinJiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

Province before she came to the palace, the Emperor commanded him to make snacks for her. He made a snack from his own hometown with Hui culture. The Concubine loved this snack so much that the Emperor commanded the chief to bring the snack every day. The snack became famous within the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

, and across the whole city of

. A

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

asked for the husband's name and he said it was “Ai Meti.” Because of the chef's family name, the emperor called this snack “Ai Wo Wo,” in which “Wo Wo” translates to bowl-shaped pastry. The word “Ai" is not only a family name but also translates as an honorific for the elderly in traditional Chinese. At that time, the Emperor often said “Yu Ai Wo Wo,” which means "give me the snack." The sentence evolved to “Ai Wo Wo,” as the snack is now called. Now, Aiwowo has traditionally been produced and sold in Hui restaurants and is available from the

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...

to late summer and early autumn. When Lunar New Year comes, people often eat the snack with Niangao, which are both sticky. There is also a saying "Nian Nian Gao" that could also mean getting better every year (could be translated to "year year up"). Aiwowo resembles snowballs in appearance. The outer skin is prepared by using

glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...

rolling over steamed, hard flour. The filling could be any sweet materials, including

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

apricot 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 also ...

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

s, and yam. People often flatten it after filling. Sometimes, people also add hawthorn to the top of the snack to add a little sourness to its sweetness.

References

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

See also

References