Mantou

Mantou are Chinese steamed buns that are usually prepared plain, without any filling on the inside. It is sometimes served as a side dish, although it is more commonly consumed as it is. Mantou has a round, flattened shape, and it is a staple food of the Northern part of China.

Traditionally, the buns are tasteless and they have no crust, while the crumb is somewhat dense. They are made from wheat flour and yeast, which is used as a leavening agent. For Chinese people, mantou is as important as bread is to the westerners.

According to a popular legend, the word mantou literally means barbarian's head. During the period of the Three Kingdoms, chancellor Zhuge Liang attempted to capture a barbarian named Meng Huo. He was told that the barbarians used witchcraft, so only the gods could help him.

Since the barbarians used to throw human heads in the river, Liang filled the buns, representing barbarian's heads, with pork and mutton, and sacrificed them to the River God. Modern buns with no filling did not appear until the mid-17th century. Nowadays, mantou is regularly consumed as a daily snack or as fast food for busy people, while in Singapore and Malaysia, it is traditionally eaten by dipping it into a gravy of chili crab dishes.